Buying new, buying used

Rocker

Buying used is the preferred choice on this site.  Most of you live in the UK,  a country where even mid sized cities have more guitar players than are on the island of Ireland.  So the choice of used gear is much greater than in Ireland.

Most of my kit is bought new.  Buying new means really being certain that the item is what I need and up for the job.  Paying the high premium for new means that kit gets kept.  And used.

There is an active music community in Ireland but standard kit like Strats and Teles are the main weapons of mass destruction.  And if you spend good money on a Strat and it does the job, why change it?  So there is a very small market for quality kit in Ireland.  Lots of cheap electrics and acoustic guitars.  Cheap as in <€100 and thus hardly worth bothering with apart from learning to play on them.

Just idle musing on the oft used phrase, buy used.

thegummy

Something to ponder about buying used: if you buy new there is a tiny chance it could be that one in a million perfect guitar that just has that special something.

The fact that by definition used guitars are being sold so have already been judged moor to be that rare special instrument (despite what a lot of the adverts claim lol)

prowla

I prefer to buy used, so the instrument is run in.

Rebar

I live in the north of Ireland and I know exactly what the OP means. There are no local stockists of higher end Gibsons or PRS - and forget anything more boutique. One store in Belfast carries around 4 or 5 CS Fenders, but there are no CS Gibsons to be had in the city. There are, however, a decent selection of high end acoustics due to these being locally made. High end second hand gear is thin on the ground too. Oh, if only we had a Peach or Coda - it would be heaven! Our relatively low population means that that's not going to happen, so online is the only real option. With private sales conducted online, returns are not possible (in cases where the guitar isn't damaged or faulty) so new seems to be the only viable option to have some real choice, but it comes with a premium. 

robgilmo

When I lived there guitar shops were few and far between, that was donkey's years back, if you want something high end would it not be better to get a cheap flight over to here? A long week end to a city over here would allow you to try out a fair few used guitars.

Rebar

robgilmo said:

When I lived there guitar shops were few and far between, that was donkey's years back, if you want something high end would it not be better to get a cheap flight over to here? A long week end to a city over here would allow you to try out a fair few used guitars.

That's exactly what I have to do. I try to get to Denmark St any time I'm in London for work, but if I spot something tasty on Gumtree, it's usually gone by the time I get over. 

clarkefan

I remember the same thing, it's sad it hasn't changed.  I'm from Dublin, and back in the 80s even the guys in the shops would say get over to London if you're set on a Gibson. Even a used Gibson!

Which I did, and found an SG

Gotta suck it up, it is what it is, look on the bright side, you live next door to a ton of good stuff  

TINMAN82

thegummy said:

Something to ponder about buying used: if you buy new there is a tiny chance it could be that one in a million perfect guitar that just has that special something.

The fact that by definition used guitars are being sold so have already been judged moor to be that rare special instrument (despite what a lot of the adverts claim lol)

I kind of relate to this. I’m immediately put off by the “this is the best example of a xxx guitar I’ve ever played” ads. I don’t think those special guitars are commonly sold, at least not on eBay and the rest.

I’ve never sold a guitar I didnt have some kind of beef with, even if it was just a cosmetic niggle that I couldn’t get past.

I suspect that the genuine cases of “just need the money” are fewer than we hope.

guitarfishbay

If everyone bought used all the companies would eventually go bust.

These days I buy on availability and spec. Of the last 3 instruments I’ve bought, 2 have been new because there were no equivalent used instruments available during the time period I wanted them.

I don’t regret my decisions, even if I decide to sell them one day I made the right choice because otherwise I’d have wasted a lot of time not making music the way I wanted.

grungebob

For me buying new means I get the guitar I want in the configuration/colour I want but really I mostly buy used as it’s the only way I can afford the model I want. 

OilCityPickups

I always buy second hand ... firstly someone else has had the pain of putting that first scratch or ding into the finish ... secondly I actually don't like the feel of an unplayed guitar: they take time for all the wood to settle ... issues to appear and be sorted ... I get a head start in that process by letting someone else 'break in' the guitar. 

Roland

I usually buy second hand ... I don’t mind scratches, and am happy that someone else has taken the hit on the original sales price.

Funkfingers

I live in the extreme South West of Wales. A trader at the local Sunday market used to get plenty of customers from the Republic who had travelled over on the ferries. The bulk of his stock was Korean and Chinese "beginner" guitars and small solid state amplifiers.

Whilst I doubt that those shoppers had travelled just to buy musical instrument Christmas/birthday presents, the savings must have been worth the time, trouble and expense.

munckee

I'm surprised to hear that about Ireland, I spent a reasonable amount of my mis-spent early twenties staying with my mates extended family just outside sligo, the amount of excellent bands I saw in tiny pubs in the middle of nowhere always lead me to believe every other person in Ireland must be in a band.

Having bought new and used I can't imagine I would ever buy new again, buy it used and its worth roughly what you paid for it, I've sold stuff I love just to try new stuff, the buying and selling is a hobby in itself.