"Has it got all the paperwork?"

mort

How many of us who bought an R8 last year have thrown the COA away?

StuartMac290

bgmartinsbridge said:

Pmsl - it's only a forum thing. 

Only 'real players' should buy guitars and they don't ask for paperwork and everyone else should just fade away. 

And again, it's top end guitars, not 600 - 1500 quid. 

Again, mine were Custom Shop Gibsons and Fenders. The cheapest one went for £1800. Lack of paperwork didn't affect the price on ANY of them.

Folk out there don't give a shit. Your total inability to accept this is amusing, however!

bgmartinsbridge

OK - so we all throw away the paperwork and noone on fretboard, ebay, reverb, private or trade buyers and sellers gives a fig about paperwork. And there is no demand and therefore associated value of custom shop or private stock paperwork. 

Just saying it is silly and responses are getting sillier. 

Whitecat

mort said:

How many of us who bought an R8 last year have thrown the COA away?

Well I will NOW. 

bgmartinsbridge

This thread has become like the relic versus nos debate, where people stated that relics are disgusting and how could anyone want to own one. Because they don't like them and that's their opinion. 

stickyfiddle

I'm not sure I understand how this has got to 5 pages. I don't care about certificates at all, but plenty of folks clearly do. I have kept them for every guitar that they've come with to save the inevitable headaches if I sell them later. 

Is that so complicated?

KDS

Doesn’t affect price to me whether buying or selling, but I  like anything associated with the guitar, receipts, picks, string wrapper, stickers, etc. My mate even had semi precious stones in his acoustic case, some mystical mumbo jumbo..... but to me adds to the character of the guitar

Dan_Halen

bgmartinsbridge said:

This thread has become like the relic versus nos debate, where people stated that relics are disgusting and how could anyone want to own one. Because they don't like them and that's their opinion. 

Except it's not though. That's just a question of taste. If you would like to pay me more for a guitar because it's got a bit of paper with it, or sell me one for less because it hasn't then go for it.

From your earlier example, if there are 5 identiacal R9s for 3k and 1 has COA then (buying blind) I'd go for the one with the COA obviously. However, if the one with the COA was £3050 then I'd go for the one without it and save myself 50 quid. When it then comes to selling it, I'd not sell to a buyer that wants to try and knock the price down because it's not got a scrap of paper with it. If I think it's priced right I'd tell them to do one.

You're perfectly entitled to be happy to pay more but I think you're mad for it.

TimmyO

chrisv said:

Is the rise in people asking for the paperwork related to CITES concerns, perhaps? 

I'd be very surprised if that was it @chrisv - it's never been mentioned specifically to me and my sales are of older things and within the UK. The thread seems to paint a picture that genuinely surprises me - that many people ascribe value to these bits and bobs.- even when the authenticity of the guitar itself is not in question. Some seem to be completist-fetishists and others looming for an angle to haggle and flip - that's my take anyway. 

HarrySeven

TimmyO said:

Some seem to be completist-fetishists and others looming for an angle to haggle and flip - that's my take anyway. 

Interesting point re. completists.

Someone I know won’t rest until he has every single bit of original gubbins associated with any guitar he buys (accurate case, all paperwork, hang tags, tools, stickers, bits and pieces in original sealed bags, etc) - and this doesn’t just apply to high-end stuff. He’ll trawl t’interweb globally to track stuff down.

Re. this thread - thing is...he doesn’t beat people down when purchasing ‘incomplete’ guitars or hike when selling ‘complete’ ones - it’s just part of the (OCD?!?!) process for him.

TimmyO

HarrySeven said:

TimmyO said:

Some seem to be completist-fetishists and others looming for an angle to haggle and flip - that's my take anyway. 

Interesting point re. completists.

Someone I know won’t rest until he has every single bit of original gubbins associated with any guitar he buys (accurate case, all paperwork, hang tags, tools, stickers, bits and pieces in original sealed bags, etc) - and this doesn’t just apply to high-end stuff. He’ll trawl t’interweb globally to track stuff down.

Re. this thread - thing is...he doesn’t beat people down when purchasing ‘incomplete’ guitars or hike when selling ‘complete’ ones - it’s just part of the (OCD?!?!) process for him.

It must be hard being him!

adampeter

ICBM said:

bgmartinsbridge said:

the majority of people buying guitars want the paperwork

Wrong.

It’s a small minority who buy and sell high-end guitars, and possibly even a minority of those.

Sorry but totally wrong, in fact LOL

adampeter

ICBM said:

You said it is the majority of people buying guitars. You are wrong, period.

It’s a minority who buy and sell high-end guitars, at most.

And personally, if I wanted to buy an R8 or R9, whether or not there was a piece of paper in the case would have precisely zero input into the decision.

thats cool, thats you, not the majority

adampeter

ICBM said:

bgmartinsbridge said:

Next time you sell a guitar on here, list it without paperwork and see what happens.

lol

I’ve sold my guitars to people who actually play them and none of them have asked for the ‘paperwork’... ever.

That includes several PRSs and a couple of Gibsons.

I also work for a shop and I can’t think of one case where ‘paperwork’ has had any bearing on the sale price.

As StuartMac290 said, it’s an internet forum thing.

Thats cool that you sold some guitars without the paperwork, well done
Also well done for working in a shop
Still wrong

adampeter

Seems to me there are a few guys on this thread with their fingers in their ears and they don't want to hear the truth.
selling time will find them out
Don't lose the coa/certs, its simple guys

TINMAN82

I think some of the purists who don’t need certificates are being a bit hard on those that prefer paperwork tbh.

If it’s a custom shop level guitar, the certificate booklet is part of the charm and quite nice to own. Nothing wrong with that.

For higher ticket instruments sold by a private seller, the documents and case candy are part of the provenance and offer some reassurance the guitar is genuine.

For me personally, if buying used from a respected store, the paperwork would be less important. It’s possible those whose main experience of this is customers buying used from a store have a skewed view for that reason.

Finally, I guess for some buyers having that stuff possibly adds a bit of the “new guitar” experience to a used purchase.

I always leave the tags etc in the case. Why not? I quite like all the guitar paraphernalia and it may (or may not) help if I later sell.

HarrySeven

TimmyO said:

HarrySeven said:

TimmyO said:

Some seem to be completist-fetishists and others looming for an angle to haggle and flip - that's my take anyway. 

Interesting point re. completists.

Someone I know won’t rest until he has every single bit of original gubbins associated with any guitar he buys (accurate case, all paperwork, hang tags, tools, stickers, bits and pieces in original sealed bags, etc) - and this doesn’t just apply to high-end stuff. He’ll trawl t’interweb globally to track stuff down.

Re. this thread - thing is...he doesn’t beat people down when purchasing ‘incomplete’ guitars or hike when selling ‘complete’ ones - it’s just part of the (OCD?!?!) process for him.

It must be hard being him!

Indeed. 

I can think of better things to do...

bgmartinsbridge

'From your earlier example, if there are 5 identical R9s for 3k and 1 has COA then (buying blind) I'd go for the one with the COA obviously.' 


Sounds like the coa has value and importance then..... 

Dan_Halen

bgmartinsbridge said:

'From your earlier example, if there are 5 identical R9s for 3k and 1 has COA then (buying blind) I'd go for the one with the COA obviously.' 


Sounds like the coa has value and importance then..... 

Only in the sense that I’d have it if it’s on offer. I’d not pay more for it. Not sure why that is so difficult to comprehend?? You’re obviously just being awkward.

If you’re buying some 8k ltd run as and investment then I see why you’d keep it. If you’re just buying any old production guitar, even a high end such as a fender CS, then I couldn’t care less.

As most used guitars aren’t sold with all the paperwork it seems that the majority of the used market buyers don’t care less either.

Adey

I bought an old Aria top end CS model recently with original case. I agreed a price with the seller. When I went to pick it up, I found in the case the original tool kit and instructions for adjusting the adjustable machine heads and some other original sale bits and bobs.

I wouldn't have paid more if I knew those bits were there. I just thought "oh, fancy. After all this time.."

I left the bits and pieces in the case and haven't looked t them since..