Pick a bass and see the lowest current prices on eBay, the largest used instrument marketplace, with shipping, condition and seller rating side by side. Prices are pulled live, so what you see is what sellers are actually asking this minute.
Live from eBayScale length decides whether the instrument suits you, and it is the thing least often mentioned in a listing. Standard is 34 inches. Short scale is 30 to 32 and it plays much easier for small hands or anyone coming across from six strings, which is most of why the Mustang, the Jaguar and the Hofner keep their following. The tone differs too: shorter strings are slacker and warmer, longer ones tighter and more defined. If a listing does not say, ask, because it changes the instrument more than the colour does.
Work out whether the electronics are passive or active, then check the battery box. Active basses need a 9 volt inside and go quiet or distort when it dies, and sellers who do not play bass often list a perfectly good instrument as faulty for exactly that reason. That is a bargain if you know it and a nuisance if you do not. A StingRay, a Sire and most Ibanez SR models are active; a Precision is not.
Sight down the neck and ask about the truss rod. Bass strings pull far harder than guitar strings, so necks move more, and a neck with a hump where it joins the body or a truss rod already wound tight is a repair rather than a setup. Relief you can adjust is normal and expected. A rod at the end of its travel is the one fault that makes a cheap bass not worth buying.
Ask what it weighs. Ash-bodied basses from the seventies onwards can pass ten pounds, and players sell them for that reason alone rather than any fault. It is the most common cause of a good instrument going cheap, and the least visible in photographs.
Shipping is the real risk on a long-necked instrument. Headstocks break in transit when the strings are left at full tension and the neck is not supported inside the box. Ask for the strings to be slackened and for packing under the headstock, and favour a seller who says how they will pack it.
Value. American Fenders, Music Man and Rickenbacker hold their money for years and are bought as much for that as for the sound. Entry level instruments do not: a Squier Affinity or an Ibanez GSR loses most of its value the moment it leaves the shop, which is exactly why buying one secondhand is such good sense. The steepest discount against new is almost always on the cheapest instruments, not the famous ones.
Live eBay listings. Pick a model and it fetches the current lowest-priced listings in real time, with the listing shown next to each price.
Long scale is 34 inches and is standard. Short scale is 30 to 32 inches, easier to play and warmer sounding, which is why the Mustang, the Jaguar and the Hofner stay popular. Neither is better. If the listing does not say which it is, ask before bidding.
It means there is a powered preamp and a 9 volt battery inside. A flat battery makes the bass go quiet or distort, and sellers who do not play bass often list one as faulty because of it. Worth knowing, because those are frequently the cheapest listings on the page.
Sight down the neck for a hump at the body joint, and ask whether the truss rod still turns freely. Ask about the weight, since ash bodies can pass ten pounds. Then ask the seller to slacken the strings and pack under the headstock, which is where these break in transit.
American Fender, Music Man and Rickenbacker hold value for years. Entry level instruments lose most of theirs immediately, which is the argument for buying those used rather than new, and the reason the biggest discounts here are on the cheapest models.
A daily snapshot of the lowest genuine eBay price for every model we track, and how good that price is right now versus its usual level, updated automatically. Prices last refreshed 7 August 2026 . Tap a price to see that model's cheapest listings on eBay, or tap a model name for the full live list here.
Under each model is the actual listing that price came from, so you can see whether it is the thing you want or a bundle, a variant, or an accessory that happens to share the name.
| Model | Cheapest now | vs typical | This week |
|---|---|---|---|
Ibanez GSR200 Ibanez GSR200 Electric Bass Guitar | $120 | – | new |
Squier Affinity Jazz Bass Squier Affinity Jazz Bass V 5 String Electric Bass | Sunburst | $200 | – | new |
Yamaha TRBX174 Yamaha TRBX174 Electric bass | $200 | – | new |
Peavey Millennium Peavey Millennium BXP 4 String Electric Bass w/ gig bag - Gray Wave | $224 | – | new |
Sterling Ray4 Sterling by MusicMan, Sub series RAY4 | $240 | – | new |
Squier Classic Vibe Jazz Bass Squier Classic Vibe '70s Jazz Bass V - Black with Maple Fingerboard | $265 | – | new |
Epiphone Thunderbird Epiphone Thunderbird 4 String Right-Handed Electric Bass Guitar | $315 | – | new |
Hofner Ignition Bass Hofner Ignition Violin Bass, Sunburst | $325 | – | new |
Squier Classic Vibe Precision Bass Squier Classic Vibe '60s Precision Bass Guitar - 4 String - Sonic Blue | $330 | – | new |
Ibanez SR300 Soundgear By Ibanez SR300 DX 4-String Bass Guitar Black | $350 | – | new |
Yamaha TRBX304 Yamaha TRBX304 4-string Bass Guitar - Factory Blue | $357 | – | new |
Schecter Stiletto Schecter Stiletto Extreme-4 4-String Right-Handed Bass Guitar - Black Cherry | $426 | – | new |
Yamaha BB434 Yamaha BB434 Electric Bass Tobacco Sunburst 197881530792 | $480 | – | new |
Ibanez SR500 IBANEZ SR500 Bass - SOUNDGEAR BY IBANEZ, MADE IN INDONESIA | $500 | – | new |
Fender Player Jazz Bass Genuine MIM Fender PLAYER II Jazz J Bass ALNICO V LOADED ALDER BODY Gray Guit… | $560 | – | new |
Fender Player Precision Bass Fender Player Precision 4-String Solid Electric Bass Guitar - Black (01498025… | $599 | – | new |
Sire Marcus Miller V7 Sire Marcus Miller Bass Guitar V7 Alder 4-String Alder Body Maple Neck, Elect… | $650 | – | new |
Sterling Ray34 Sterling by Music Man StingRay RAY34 Bass Guitar Neptune Blue Satin | $662 | – | new |
Warwick Corvette Authentic WARWICK RB CORVETTE $$ 4 #270-004-303-8944 | $681 | – | new |
Fender Mustang Bass Used Fender Player II Mustang Bass PJ - Polar White w/Maple FB | $710 | – | new |
Fender Jaguar Bass Fender Player Jaguar Bass Tidepool | $959 | – | new |
Fender American Professional II Jazz Bass 2021 Fender American Professional II Jazz Bass – 75th Anniversary | $1,200 | – | new |
Fender American Professional II Precision Bass Fender American Professional II Precision Six String RH Electric Bass Guitar | $1,229 | – | new |
Gibson Thunderbird Gibson USA Thunderbird Studio Electric Bass Tested | $1,279 | – | new |
Ernie Ball StingRay Ernie Ball Music Man StingRay 3 / Electric Bass Guitar w/ SC made in 2007 USA | $1,555 | – | new |
Rickenbacker 4003 Rickenbacker 4003 Jetglo Maple Solid Body 4 String Electronic Bass - Black | $2,125 | – | new |