Fender does not sell parts (that is, necks and bodies), wholesale or otherwise, to anybody. You can buy hardware and plastics through their Accessories division, but you can't buy necks and bodies. They did for a short while, and stopped almost immediately. AFAIK, even authorized dealers can only get these parts for warranty repair.

Jay i can assure you that at £35/$50 to respray a guitar Ceri has sourced his seller very well. Especialy considering His attention to layering and producing a gloss finish.
Certainly no small builder i know gets parts at discount for bulk.

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Jay your right in its basic manufacture its cheap. When you take health & safety regulations, machinery to refine the product and insurance costs. Then add a profit to make it worth your while its going to be nearer £15 a tin. 1 tin of colour, 1 tin of clear and some sealer, Ceri has been frugal.

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Hmm, I suspect you've not analysed this particular business yet...

Not having a company like Fender's buying power and use for vast quantities I have to purchase my materials at street prices. Here's how it breaks down. I sprayed my primer from aerosols, and one was unfortunately not quite enough (you've seen how much gets sanded off again). Two 400 ml cans of nitrocellulose primer from this supplier @ £5.12 = £10.24 / $14.58:

http://www.paints4u.com/ProductDetails. ... uctID=3163

I have been spraying the color and clear coats at a nearby car body shop where I am friendly with the owner. A litre can of colored nitro for spraying costs £31.94 / $45.57:

http://www.paints4u.com/ProductDetails. ... oductID=50

That is more that twice the quantity that I need and the spray shop owner has some sort of back route where he was able to order me half a litre for which I paid him £20 / $28.47.

As to the clear nitro: my helpful car finisher is letting me delve into his in-house stock out of the goodness of his soul. So I can't give a precise costing for that, but I notice that Behlen sell their stringed instrument lacquer for £12.80 / $18.22 per 945 ml can:

http://www.behlen.co.uk/Merchant2/merch ... Code=SPGUN

That all comes to $61.27. A bit of a shocker, huh?

Of course, I haven't used every last drop of each of those cans of lacquer. However, those here who do some guitar finishing will be able to assure you there is not enough material left over to do even a second guitar body, let alone the 25 you imagine could be done for $40 - 50.

In other words, the seller of the guitar at the top of this thread is probably overcharging for his efforts. But by a lot less than you might imagine.

We can do the whole exercise over for guitar hardware if you like. The business analyst in you might be surprised by what that turns up...

Cheers - C

Thank you for your words of confirmation, Niki! For a moment I'd started wondering whether I'd got my numbers completely wrong, or been ripped off by my paint supplier. Phew: as it turns out - no.

Here's a simpler way to cost it. Stewart-MacDonald sell nitro in aerosols:

http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Finishing_s ... cquer.html

$10.00 a pop: on that page they estimate that an electric guitar body will require one can of sealer and four cans of clear coat: $50. That's without fancy custom mixed 1950s color coats, and doesn't include any grain filler or stain - or mistakes requiring redoing a layer!

Even those of us who've done it usually underestimate how much finishing will cost - in materials, let alone time.

Fender guitars just look even better value than ever!

Cheers - C

Yeah. That's exactly what I said. And the Jiminey Cricket explanation of capitalism is unneeded. We all get it.

As for your "logical" evaluation of the price of that guitar....



Uh.... yeah, whatever. Your valuation of this guitar is based entirely on assumptions. You don't know the actual cost or value of any of the parts or the labor involved, but simply present a list of guesses as fact - many of them based on the greater assumption that you can value parts by scanning eBay, finding BIN prices and assume that everyone who is selling a Fender part at a BIN price is a profiteer who purchased the piece for even less (and further assuming that the items will actually sell for that price).

Let's just scan a few paragraphs: "In my opinion... probably... I would assume... let's assume... I'd assume...who knows the value of... I wouldn't know but let's assume...." Your cost basis is nothing but a wild guess.

So the $450 "value" is what marketing folks call "graphite:" statistics made of pencil lead.

I wouldn't pay 800 bucks for the instrument in question, either. But I couldn't let stand the faulty reasoning that assumptions lead to a logical conclusion.

What we are all talking about is perceived value. If the guy buying the 1995 modded MIM Strat for $779 beleives they are getting a good deal, then they are getting value for their money, in their eyes. If the guy selling the 1995 modded Strat sells none of his guitars, then they will realize that it is overpriced, and therefore of little value to the guitar buying public. Capitalism at its' best!!
Those of us that mod/repair/restore guitars for a living, or for fun, see things differently. We want to get the best parts for the best price, and do the work ourselves. Thats what I do.
Just a point of reference, I have bought used Fender Strat Standards in sunburst finish in excellent condition for as low as $175-$200, and top of the line MIMs for $200-300. I personally would not spend $779 on that modded Strat, as I can assemble one of my own for a lot less, as Big Jay points out.
Who would spend $950 for a "Road Worn" MIM Strat with a cheesy gig bag, when $50 more will buy you a MIA Strat with a really nice hardshell case??? It is all up to what you beleive is a good value for your money.

Jay you said $450 I guessed it at £300/$424 as what i'd pay for it. Now dollar prices dont mean much in the uk, so i didnt pay much attention to your figures. We cant both be wrong with 5000+ miles seperating us. Yours as a price for parts, mine as a price i'd pay for such a guitar.

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I understand some of the many points being made on this guitar and cost. Remember for the average person to buy the CS Fat 50's would cost 180.00 to 200.00 then another 60.00 for the block. Add a 400.00 guitar then cost of labor 30.00 or 40.00 for finish supplies. Just look at how many people buy guitars and the first thing they do is spend two bills on new pickups think with that one you dont have to just to start.

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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