The International Vintage-Guitar Collectors Association is here in town for FIVE Big Days of Guitar BUYING! They took out two full-page ads to announce the event, have run single full-page ads every day so far. This outfit is looking to buy rare guitars. Here's how they say it works: You bring in your rare collectible guitar, they appraise it, then they check their monster database of collectors who are looking for YOUR guitar, then they make you an offer and you, being stupid, sell your guitar for 20 cents on the dollar.

Here's a published example: Dennis S of Illinois, brought in his late 60s Gibson 335 electric guitar in original HS case... DS said he had the guitar since 1976 and was just wondering if it was valuable. After review, DS received an offer of $2,600 for his guitar. Doesn't say whether or not he sold it...

This "event" is at one of the local hotels and I'm going to head over there this afternoon to check it out, but it's not a sales event, says it's a BUYING event. To me, it sounds like those Gold & Silver buyers who come through town every year offering you untold fortunes for your unwanted gold and silver. I missed them the last time they were here, meant to unload several ingots I've had laying around for years. I've no doubt that a few of the old-timers in this town will haul some valuable guitars to this event and get taken. It still happens now and then at local pawn shops.

My wife really liked one line in the ad: So whether you have one instrument you think might be valuable or a large collection you recently inherited (yeah, like that's gonna happen), you can talk to these folks and see if you get lucky. My wife says, so if I take all your guitars over there, can I tell them you're dead and sell them all?? God, I love her sense of humor!

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Dennis in CR
Rockin' since 1963

Rip-off artists. Run (don't walk) away.

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Good Vibes To Y'all!



Screamin' Armadillos
Texas Roadhouse Music
Guitar/Slide Guitar/Harp/Vocals

Buy as much canned and non-perishable food as you can, and board up your house! Surely they can't buy ALL of the vintage guitars for nothing

Makes me want to hang around outside the hotel (in a trenchcoat, of course), going pssst, mister, what you got there? Wanna sell it?

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Dennis in CR
Rockin' since 1963

I doubt very much that you'd get true market value for any instrument because they are in business not as or for collectors but to sell the guitars at a tidy profit so they'll give you far less than the guitar's true worth to allow for a large profit margin.BTW I know a girl who went to a local music dealer to get her guitar appraised for insurance purposes and he gave her an estimate about 1/4 of its true worth because he had hoped to weasel it off her.I had told her it was worth about $3,500 at the time and told her to send pix to George Gruhn and his estimate came back spot on to what I'd told her but whereas I'm not a dealer my quote wasn't good enough for them even though retailers routinely call me to find the value of vintage guitars.BTW it was a near mint '58 Gibson SJ-400 and this was about 25 years ago.

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'65 Strat,65 Mustang,65 Jaguar,4 more Strats,3 vintage Vox guitars,5 Vox amps,'69 Bassman with a '68 2-15 Bassman cab,36 guitars total-15asst'd amps total,2 vintage '60s Hammond organs & a myriad of effects-with a few rare vintage ones.

george gruhn's pic estimate is just that, A ESTIMATE. it will go up or down when it gets in his hands. thats the $50 estimate. for a $200 or so more he will have your guitar completely taken apart, documented, and put back together and cleaned.
then, he will offer to buy it off you for pennies on the dollar, as a known example,
a $60K guitar for $15k. (go screw yourself george).
now, if you sell it, he will then try his best to get you to spend the money in his store before you leave. if you dont he will ignore you the rest of your visit.
ok, if you decide not to sell the guitar, its the same, he will walk off from you and ignore you and your questions about any of his stuff up for sell. his staff is pretty much the same way. again GO SCREW YOURSELF GEORGE.
sorry just venting and at the same time giving you guys a warning on his business.

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63supro
"The good thing is in a club situation, most of the patrons are trashed and really can't tell the difference."

Nobody will give you true market value for your guitar. Even a good price on eBay that you are happy to get won't necessarily be a true indication of real market value, though it would/could be close. That's why I tell my wife, I'm just going to keep them ALL until I die - then you can do what you want with them... or the kids can, I won't care. Until then, I'll just keep playing them all. And keep on hoarding.

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Dennis in CR
Rockin' since 1963

I agree with your philosophy on holding on to gear, CRGuitarMan.

yeah my g.friend doesnt understand the hoarding mentality.
"you can only play one at a time" she says.
"3 words" i tell her, "selection, option, and tone".
"3 words" she tells me, "way to many".

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63supro
"The good thing is in a club situation, most of the patrons are trashed and really can't tell the difference."

These literally are the guys who write "The Blue Book." They fix the prices to suit their wants and inventories where if you bring them an instrument for possible sale, they whip out, "The Red Book". This is another of their creations where they tell and will be happy to show you of course, what a private player can expect to be offered for a given instrument from a "high end dealer" (meaning, them). Further, that due to they being the 'first and last word' of all guitars known or that will ever be known to humanity, the Blue Book value does not apply to any of their purchases. Notwithstanding, they'll be happy to reinforce upon you that it is the final and absolute source when it comes to any of your purchases.

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You dig?

thats kind on the low side nevin

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63supro
"The good thing is in a club situation, most of the patrons are trashed and really can't tell the difference."

no the fun would be to watch the idiots fall for it.
cut out the middle man as often as possible in life.

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63supro
"The good thing is in a club situation, most of the patrons are trashed and really can't tell the difference."

If anyone says to me"You only can play one at a time."I counter with "You can only wear one pair of shoes at a time." that usually shuts them up-especially women with Imelda Marcos syndrome.

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'65 Strat,65 Mustang,65 Jaguar,4 more Strats,3 vintage Vox guitars,5 Vox amps,'69 Bassman with a '68 2-15 Bassman cab,36 guitars total-15asst'd amps total,2 vintage '60s Hammond organs & a myriad of effects-with a few rare vintage ones.

lol shes dont collect shoes or purses though. that is a good one though for the rest of the folks.

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63supro
"The good thing is in a club situation, most of the patrons are trashed and really can't tell the difference."

My wife does hit me now and then with the old "you can only play one at a time" line, but I always tell her, I can still play five or six a night! And five or six more the next night... and five or six more the next night... After 8 or 9 days I can start over.

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Dennis in CR
Rockin' since 1963