1100 fair price for Gibson explorer?

shaunk26 · December 2020

Got the chance of a 2001 Gibson Explorer in ebony. Looks in good shape. Is £1100 a fair price or is that able to come down?

DrCornelius · December 2020

Theres one on here for £999...

FS - Gibson USA Explorer 2016 - Guitars £ Discussions on theFretBoard

abw1989 · December 2020

Seems high end of the spectrum to to me, condition withstanding. I've seen a few advertised in the 800-900 bracket on Facebook.

warhead · December 2020

abw1989 said:

Seems high end of the spectrum to to me, condition withstanding. I've seen a few advertised in the 800-900 bracket on Facebook.

That sounds a bit too high, to be honest.

Funkfingers · December 2020

A guitar shop in my area took one in part-exchange. The price tag was under £1K. One of the staff nabbed it for himself.

BloodEagle · December 2020

'Got a chance'? These things arent hard to find - 1100 is way over the odds. I got one for £650 a year ago

shaunk26 · December 2020

BloodEagle said:

'Got a chance'? These things arent hard to find - 1100 is way over the odds. I got one for £650 a year ago

They don't pop up much within a reasonable drive in my neck of the woods.

xscaramanga · December 2020

The used prices for these are really all over the shop. I know because I'm considering selling mine. Looking on eBay sold listings I was seeing them fluctuate by a couple of hundred quid or more within weeks of each other. If I were a seller I'd be asking for north of £900 (and it seems I could get it, perhaps with some patience), while as a buyer I'd be looking to pay rather less.

I really don't get it. Couldn't spot a pattern or reason for the eBay discrepancies last I looked, and Reverb seemed to be a similar story.

But no, £1100 is really steep.

guitargeek62 · December 2020

I wouldn’t pay more than £750 for a used Gibson Explorer in any of the normal finishes (ebony, white, cherry)

HarrySeven · December 2020

guitargeek62 said:

I wouldn’t pay more than £750 for a used Gibson Explorer in any of the normal finishes (ebony, white, cherry)

Explorers are one of my fave body shapes, so they’re always on my radar and I agree - there are plenty out there in this^ bracket.

For a run-of-the-mill Explorer @ £1100, I’d want The Edge and Dallas Schoo to deliver it in person on a unicorn, then demo it on The Edge’s 1981 live rig.

NB. Personally, I don’t like them in black, but that’s just me.

Left-field thought - there are some really nice vintage ‘70’s/‘80’s examples by UK luthiers around (JayDee*, Pete Back, Gordon Smith, etc), along with similar-age MIJ variants - might be worth considering?

Hardass, mercenary, cut-throat thought - given the current fiscal climate and time of year, you may find prices are even keener - sadly, it *is* a buyer’s market...

*Re, JayDee - as @Funkfingers will testify - we traded a very nice JayDee Explorer back and forth many years ago.

https://i.imgur.com/NyE74lW.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/wwQ2Qy7.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/qDHb37y.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/pBhutpV.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/Ri8YPJ4.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/VriWCmi.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/Y64Z2zY.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/vSqNqdw.jpg

PhilKing · December 2020

I used to have a JayDee explorer back in the early 80's but eventually traded it on a Hamer Sunburst. I regretted it, but it was too bulky to move around easily and at the time I was living out of hotel rooms half the year. The Hamer went in a normal gig bag and my old Tom Scholtz Rockman went in the outside pocket, with leads, headphones and strap. The explorer needed a hard case and was a major hassle when trying to move my suitcase and other stuff.

To satisfy my Explorer itch in 2004, I picked up a Richwood for about 100 quid and upgraded it (a lot), and still have it.

AlexHunter · December 2020

I bought an Explorer ‘76 reissue brand new in 2006/2007 for under £700. I wouldn’t be paying north of a grand for a second hand one now.

shaunk26 · December 2020

AlexHunter said:

I bought an Explorer ‘76 reissue brand new in 2006/2007 for under £700. I wouldn’t be paying north of a grand for a second hand one now.

Thanks for that. I remember seeing an explorer in a store in 2002 when I was 14 around £800. That's why I put this post up cos it felt a bit over the odds.

Funkfingers · December 2020

HarrySeven said:
Re: JayDee - as @Funkfingers will testify - we traded a very nice JayDee Explorer back and forth many years ago.

https://i.imgur.com/qDHb37y.jpg

That "basic" Explorer reached me retrofitted with two Ibanez Super series humbuckers. It did everything that a good SG can do. The neck position pickup was capable of a fabulous Jazz tone.

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1100 fair price for Gibson explorer?

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