Your thoughts on the used Guitar market.

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  • 57Deluxe57Deluxe Frets: 7329
    edited June 2014
    ...is not what it USED to be...!!
    <Vintage BOSS Upgrades>
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  • richardhomerrichardhomer Frets: 24793
    57Deluxe;275700" said:
    ...is not what it USED to be...!!
    Like nostalgia...
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  • mellowsunmellowsun Frets: 2422
    High-end gear doesn't shift because few people have that sort of cash at the moment, those that do tend to trade/sell amongst themselves. In the end, the high end stuff gets reduced to a ridiculously low price before it sells.

    Some high-end gear doesn't shift because the second-hand price wanted might only be a few hundred quid less than the new price. If you're in the market to spend a couple of grand, then you'd rather buy new for peace of mind than save a couple of hundred for a preowned one.

    Mid-level gear seems to sell pretty quickly on here. I've missed out on a few Epi tribute pluses, Teles and others that have been snapped up almost immediately.
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  • NPPNPP Frets: 236
    and then there's the lefty market which basically doesn't exist - that protects me from buying stuff I don't need. 

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  • crunchmancrunchman Frets: 11413
    It does depend on the model.  My two most recent sales have been on consignment in a shop.  They both went for full asking price in a couple of weeks, but they were both models that seem to popular at the moment - a PRS DGT and a Fender Japan 62 bound body Tele.

    I've been trying to sell a PRS Singlecut on and off for a couple of years now and it's not gone.  It's priced sensibly - there is currently another one in the shop at £100 more than mine (it was £200 more but has been reduced). I could reduce it a bit more, but I think it will sell eventually at the current price.

    Even if I reduced it by another £150, after commission I'd still see £200 more than someone offered me on this forum!
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  • guitarfishbayguitarfishbay Frets: 7953
    Most stuff under about £400 seems ok to me, so long as it isn't too obscure or damaged. The high end is pretty quiet IMO, it has worked to my advantage in some respects as I've been able to buy gear for good prices when I wanted it. Selling it looks pretty grim right now, and I doubt that will change... I consider all my high end gear (except my Les Paul!) potentially but not actively for sale at the minute. If someone specifically wants something I have I'd probably sell it because I think I can be just as happy with less expensive gear and I kind of feel I've over invested in guitar gear. But with the way the market is I'm not in a rush to liquidate because I'm having fun with the gear and don't want the hassle with selling anything that I don't definitely want gone. So long as it is still worth something at the end of the day I reckon it has still been a better buy than consumables/random stuff I don't need. At least I love playing guitar. But yeah, I don't think I look at guitar purchases the same way now as I did 3-4 years ago when it seemed (to me) easier to sell stuff without having to take a big hit.
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  • xSkarloeyxSkarloey Frets: 2962
    NPP;275759" said:
    and then there's the lefty market which basically doesn't exist - that protects me from buying stuff I don't need. 
    ...and stops me getting what I want (sniff sniff).

    I looked again at the Lesters on ebay and gumtree yesterday and it really is the case that people are trying to shift second hand guitars at prices near enough what a shop would charge for trying to shift new stuff but last year's models.
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  • Stagnant on all but the rare stuff. Dealers are cutting £300 off the £1500+ guitars to get them moving. Only then do you see them sell. Ebay just full of the same old guitars.
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  • Dave_McDave_Mc Frets: 2326
    So long as it is still worth something at the end of the day I reckon it has still been a better buy than consumables/random stuff I don't need.
    That's the way I look at it, too. I'm not saying for a second I don't have too much stuff, but when I look at what else I could buy instead, guitar kit is arguably the better buy. Most consumer stuff has obsolescence built-in, for example.
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  • Moe_ZambeekMoe_Zambeek Frets: 3419
    Look at what the retailers are doing - there are massive discounts on lots of stuff right now and for the past 6-12 months - either as straight 'sale!' 'demo item' sales or whatever. High end makers too. The only things that don't get heavily marked down it seems are custom shop fenders and Gibsons (at least the high end stuff, I see vos SGs and ESs getting marked down fsiy regularly).

    Who'd be mad enough to buy a new Suhr / Vigier / Tom Anderson / whatever at retail these days? Suhr moderns dropped from 2500 to 1500 over a 6 month period at guitar guitar. Tough to make 70% of new on a used sale if the retailers are blowing them out for 60%...

    I suspect times are getting hard for a lot of retailers and that means tough times for private sellers.
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  • Must be the same in the rest of Europe. Was just looking at a large Fender Custom Shop dealers website and noticed plenty of 'new' guitars for sale  with COA's dating around 2010. Four years is a long time to have heavyweight guitars in stock. I'm old enough to remember in the 90's dealers would only stock five or six of these guitars at once, now its not uncommon to see large dealers with a stock of 60 to 100! The market is well and truly flooded.
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  • richardhomerrichardhomer Frets: 24793
    telesquire;277098" said:
    Was just looking at a large Fender Custom Shop dealers website and noticed plenty of 'new' guitars for sale  with COA's dating around 2010. Four years is a long time to have heavyweight guitars in stock. I'm old enough to remember in the 90's dealers would only stock five or six of these guitars at once, now its not uncommon to see large dealers with a stock of 60 to 100!
    My understanding is that you need to have a minimum of 10 instruments in stock or on order at any one point in time in order to become/remain a Custom Shop dealer.

    I would imagine for a small retailer that this is a bigger commitment than they would wish to make and therefore a small number of big-hitters dominate the market for CS guitars.

    I agree - there are too many instruments about, given the level of demand which there appears to be.
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  • SkippedSkipped Frets: 2371
    On new stock.....

    There still seem to be unsold 2012 Gibson Historics around. Not too bad if you are Coda Music and it just an odd guitar among a large stock of  2014 guitars. But if all your stock is 2012......???
    Should Gibson be stepping in to buy back these guitars? If Gibson then put them on ebay with no reserve I am sure they would recover the trade price and not be out of pocket.

    It's not just about the model year is it? It seems that Gibson did up their game in 2013 and the changes ( Different Pickups, truss rod without condom, one piece fingerboard, Hide glue) are arguably significant. I am trying to think what the discount would need to be to shift a 2012 Historic Les Paul and I reckon the answer is: a lot.


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  • jeztone2jeztone2 Frets: 2160
    I think currencies have radically changed in the last few years, especially the Yen. I've imported guitars from Japan before & when I did it in 2005/06 it was ¥211:£1 I think in 2011 it was ¥128:£1 that's quite a big difference. It's about ¥178:£1 at the mo so buying a grey import Fender used is a more reasonable proposition now.

    There is a NOS PRS Singlecut Trem from 2007 in Peter Cooks


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  • JookyChapJookyChap Frets: 4234
    jeztone2 said:

    There is a NOS PRS Singlecut Trem from 2007 in Peter Cooks


    That's quite an OldNOS, blimey.

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  • PolarityManPolarityMan Frets: 7273
    It is what it is. People are more educated about what they're buying, too.

    The oddest bit is relic guitars (as in, stock relic) are worth more than played in, genuine wear guitars of equivalent spec (example - fender custom shop). It still doesn't quite fit for me.
    If you buy a "new" relic then at least you know it doesn't also have structural problems as well as a shitty finish.
    ဈǝᴉʇsɐoʇǝsǝǝɥɔဪቌ
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  • Dave_McDave_Mc Frets: 2326
    edited June 2014
    Skipped said:
    On new stock.....

    There still seem to be unsold 2012 Gibson Historics around. Not too bad if you are Coda Music and it just an odd guitar among a large stock of  2014 guitars. But if all your stock is 2012......???
    Should Gibson be stepping in to buy back these guitars? If Gibson then put them on ebay with no reserve I am sure they would recover the trade price and not be out of pocket.

    It's not just about the model year is it? It seems that Gibson did up their game in 2013 and the changes ( Different Pickups, truss rod without condom, one piece fingerboard, Hide glue) are arguably significant. I am trying to think what the discount would need to be to shift a 2012 Historic Les Paul and I reckon the answer is: a lot.

    Yeah. Not a custom shop one, but I got a 2012 SG Standard pretty cheap in a sale. It may well have the laminate rosewood board (I haven't checked)- I was happy enough either way considering the discount, but I don't think I'd have been buying a 2012 model without said discount.
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  • Blimey, just found a Masterbuilt Mary Kaye Strat NOS unsold from 2005!! 4400 euro! 
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  • crunchmancrunchman Frets: 11413
    Who built it?  Some master builders do seem to be more desirable than others.

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  • telesquiretelesquire Frets: 5
    edited June 2014
    Greg Fessler. Fender Masterbuilt prices have gotten a little out of control in recent years. I've owned a dozen or so and never paid more than £2300 for one. The cheapest was an nearly new Tele that I imported from the US for £900 including shipping and some duty! Saw it sold recently for £2200 as an eight year old used guitar! And believe me it wasn't worth it! 
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