Selling Broken & Damaged Instruments

21 guides to selling instruments that are broken, damaged or incomplete. Every one covers what it is worth at Fair and For Parts, how to grade and photograph the defect, and what buyers ask before committing.

Instruments are repaired as a matter of course, and a luthier or tech will quote from photographs. A cracked top, a warped neck, a lifting bridge or a seized valve are all known jobs with known costs, and vintage instruments are worth restoring at prices that would be absurd on anything else. Electronics are the exception that is often cheapest to fix: scratchy pots, dead jacks and failed capacitors are inexpensive and quick.

Before you write it off

Amplifiers and electric instruments that crackle, cut out or hum usually need a jack, a pot cleaned with contact spray or a lead replaced, none of which is a fault worth declaring. On acoustic instruments, a high action or a buzz is very often a setup rather than a warp, and a truss rod adjustment costs very little. Check whether the neck is truly twisted before saying so.

What a defect actually costs you

WishThrift grades run New with Tags, Like New, Good, Fair and For Parts. Fair is roughly 45% of the working price and covers heavy use or a described fault; For Parts is roughly 25% and covers something not working or incomplete, sold as seen. Grades are seller-declared — nobody inspects them for you — so an honest grade plus a clear photograph of the defect is what actually closes the sale. All five grades explained.

Across the 21 guides below, For Parts prices run from about £4 at the low end to £200 at the top, against £15 to £800 for the same items in sound condition. Those are guide figures in sterling; WishThrift lists in your local currency and does not convert for you.

Every instruments guide

Frequently asked questions

Is a guitar with a crack worth selling?

Yes, and often for more than sellers expect. Luthiers repair cracks as routine work and will quote from photographs. What changes the answer is a broken or twisted neck on a cheap instrument, where the repair can exceed the value.

Do broken amps and pedals sell?

Readily. Scratchy pots, dead jacks and failed capacitors are inexpensive fixes and the valve and vintage market in particular is full of people who prefer to do their own work. Say whether it powers on and whether it passes any signal at all.

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