While up at the Philly show I picked up the electric guitar blue book just to check out prices and if we all went by this book we would all be sick.lol The book breaks guitars into categories of -New -100%/Mint-98%/ Exc+-95%/ Exc-90% /Vg+ 80% /Vg-70% /G- 60%/ Now they also show you a color picture of a guitar in each stage and a guitar does not looked like it was played at all till you hit Exc-90% which only shows minimal wear. Now for everyone to grab there vomit bags.lol

The book states that once you buy a guitar from a store it can never be new again and they liken it to driving a new car off a lot which then drops it into the mint condition category but the guitar still has to have the hang tags and case candy closed and could maybe be strummed.

So that we are not here all day I will give a quick briefing. Take any artist series guitar that sells for $,2020 and look at the six conditions I showed from New to G the pricing goes like this $2,020/$1,600/$1,300/$1,050/$900/$775

So what this book is saying is the minute you walk out the store door you just lost $420 on your new ax and the minute the tags are off and you play it you lost $720 Is that barfing I hear through my speakers.

Now this applies to custom shop models even worse. You buy a custom Rory Gallagher for $4,000 and once out the door it drops to $2,350 or a Clapton Custom for $3,500 out the door $2,250

Now I grew up with books like this since my older brother by 7 years was a vinyl record collector from when he was a kid and it is the same thing all over. The good news is that you can just look at what your guitar sells on ebay in good shape and the cuts are no where as drastic as this crap. I believe these books are published so stores and collectors can try and justify paying you peanuts for your guitar. Even super high end master builts like Claptons Blackie goes from New-$24,000 to Mint -$18,000 that is a 6K loss the minute you go out the door.

One thing that shocked me is just about all MIM are worth more than MIJ which put a smile on my face since I own 3 MIJ Teles.lol The same pricing order holds true for just about all non vintage Gibsons to.

The one holy grail of new Fenders seems to be SRVs #1 which sold for $10,000 and is up over $30,000 The Lenny model did not fair so well selling for New-$17,000 Mint- $13,500 There are some guitars that you can see they labled future collectables maybe not in the biggest way but the 50th anniversary with gold hardware sold for $1,300 and is close to $1,800 and the early 57 and 62 MIA reissues are all on the up swing just the same.

This book is fatter than the Bible and some brands are a bit shocking especially Ibanez guitars which show a lot of up swing on certain models but to bad I dont like Ibanez guitars.lol To sum it up it is pretty interesting and outside of the Fender and Gibson vintage models of which I have seen sell on ebay or listed in Vintage Guitar for 3 or 4 times the amount they have. I would still stand by what I said that this book is friendly for the store or collector who wants to give you as little for your guitar by saying well it is only listed in the blue book for-------------

It's on Google now too. Google books.

Open google, go to the dropdown to books and search.

Lots of good music books on there now.

_________________
Being able to play and enjoy music is a gift that's often taken for granted.

Don't leave home without it!

This will make you even sicker.

Let's say you have 2 Guitar Stores right across the parking lot from one another. You buy a new guitar at Store A for $2,000.00 as soon as you walk out the door the value of that guitar is $1,000.00. If you continue across the parking lot to Store B and want to sell that guitar they would offer you about $500.00!!!

_________________
Chet Feathers

Authorized TonePros Dealer
Authorized WD Music Products Dealer
F/A Official Southpaw Compliance Certification Tester http://faamps.com/

http://www.facebook.com/cafeathers


I didn't Lose my mind, I traded it for this guitar.

Well what were you expecting to find in a book? Guitars are not the best things there are to invest in. Even more so if you buy a guitar for 900.00 and you change things on it at a cost of 400.00 its worth even less. Its no longer a virgin and sadly most guitars that are not virgin have been diddle by a inexperienced amature. A simple thing like a good looking solder job takes practice and you no how many guitars I seen were someone set them up and I think what the ----- is that. They play bad sound bad because someone mods them.
I am not saying don't mod your axe but don't think its going to add value.

_________________
The strongest reason for the people to retain the right to keep and bear arms is, as a last resort, to protect themselves against tyranny in government.

Thomas Jefferson

Keep in mind that its the dealers who will hose you on the value. The buyer on the street or on e-bay will pay a fairer, more reasonable price.

_________________
"My mind is a raging torrent, flooded with rivulets of thought cascading into a waterfall of creative alternatives." Blazing Saddles...

That's why I buy used. I actually got my Fender Standard Strat for $300 new a couple of years ago. The shop where I got it was going out of business. Technically, I could sell it and get back what I paid for it. But it's not going anywhere.

_________________
Website: http://www.rebeccalaird.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rebeccalairdmusic
Twitter: https://twitter.com/beckslaird
Instagram: http://instagram.com/beckslaird

I also buy used, and probably always will. It's the same with cars... you lose thousands just driving it away from the dealer, so you may as well get something that's had that first unkind cut of depreciation already taken. I'd only buy a brand new guitar if it was at a discount too good to pass up, or if I had commissioned a custom instrument that I was intending to keep.

I buy new and I keep it forever.. I have my investments to make me money and my Teles to make me

Interesting read. Good thing I tend to keep my guitars for years before I trade or sell them.

My 2 guitars I have now are not going any where any time soon.

RK

I've never sold a guitar=\ The only trade I have ever made was a Jagstang for a J5 triple tele and I had no concern about what was worth what. I only hey I would love to take that off your hands

_________________

Hey Straycat - good info - thanks! If you remember, I had a post a few months back about the collector market and you and I talked off line a bit about the way the market works.

I am very passionate about my gear collection, but I just don't have any hopes that it will ever really rise in value much. Just go to fleaBay and see how many Custom Shop pieces still w/ the hang tags are selling for $1,000 or more less that what they cost from the dealer, and these are still new guitars.

Sure, there are a few pieces that will keep their value and a few that raise in value, but all in all, they are a depreciating asset, and a depreciating asset ain't an asset.

Saying that, that's why I have so much fun hitting the pawn shops, used gear shops, eBay, etc. I have several Tele's, Strat's and others that are literally brand new guitars, but I paid hundreds less than what they cost new. These to me are the value guitars, because I think in most cases if I would need to sell one, I would be able to recover most of what I have in it. I've got some that I've bought new too, but that's usually when I'm GASing real bad for a particular guitar.

I'm starting to look for used, collectible amps and have a '65 Champ I'm going to grab the first of the month and hope to find a few more different amps for the collection.

I think they key to buying used, and sometimes collectible gear is to deal with cash, don't be afraid to make a realistic offer on a piece that is way overpriced (the pawnshop/dealer guy knows what it's real value is, and most that i deal with don't get insulted if I throw them an offer $3-400 less than it's sticker price if my offer is not low balling the real value), and not to fall in love with a particular piece where you can just walk away if they don't take what you offer.

But no matter the value - at the end of the day, it's sure fun to dig out something I haven't played in a while, dust it off, plug it in and make some noise - it's like having a beer w/ a buddy you haven't seen in a while.

Rock on brother 'Cat!

_________________
Old age and treachery will win every time over youth and enthusiasm.

"You can never have too many Tele's." A quote from my Sweetwater Sales Engineer