How a Father-Son Team From Goa Founded an Online Marketplace for Music Instruments

At the height of the pandemic in 2020, a tough decisions many musicians had to make in order to sustain was sell off music instrument and recording gear. Goan musician Lester Rodrigues – a former chef who became part of covers band A26 – and his son Craig Rodrigues began building Sell My Gear, a website they call a community-driven initiative to not just trade musical instruments but also network with likeminded artists.

Lester feels that a marketplace for musical instruments that goes beyond WhatsApp and Facebook groups remained absent until they came along. He recalls about the situation during the pandemic, “A surplus of high-quality second-hand music gear had become available, yet there was no streamlined way for them to access it. This situation created a significant gap within the music industry. This is where the Idea of Sell My Gear was created.”

To that end, the website is meant to be a singular source for anyone looking to sell or buy secondhand musical equipment, across the country. The platform – which is currently free for users – uses the advertisement-based format and also has the option to filter gear into categories such as brand, instrument, price and more.

Craig adds about the bestsellers on their platform right now, “So far we have sold several music instruments. The most sought after instruments are guitars, pianos/ keyboards  and drum kits in that order. Sell My Gear has also facilitated the sale of speaker systems and mixers.”

Lester credits his son’s “financial and operational knowledge” as key to helping the platform thrive. “It’s a true partnership where we’ve learned from each other and grown together. It’s not just a business venture but a journey of fulfilment,” the artist says. Craig, for his part, says that his dad always told him to dream big and growing Sell My Gear is part of that ambition. “We share a common goal of making it the biggest go-to platform for musicians and sound/light vendors across India,” Craig says.

In the works for three years, Lester says it was a “chicken and egg scenario” when they were setting up and making sure they attracted both sellers and buyers to their platform. He adds, “It was a puzzle, as we needed sellers to list products for buyers to purchase and buyers to give sellers a reason to list their products. This presented a real test of our patience and determination in the early stages but we have been successfully overcoming this challenge as we speak.”