Ok, to the best of my knowledge, this is what I think the guitar is:

1996 (serial number is MN6*****) MIM Fender Strat. I know that. Does the color look like Lake Placid Blue to you? If it's Lake Placid, does this make it a 60s Strat?



What would you price something like this at, assuming it's stock and in good condition? (that "blemish" is not really a blemish, just some weird photo trick. It's in good condition.)

I'm considering a trade for it but it's likely this will just be a stepping stone to something MIA, so I want to figure out what resale will be like.

Do the prices of MIM strats go up over time like the MIA ones do, or is the value decreasing as it gets older?

I'd appreciate your advice, I'm a complete newbie to the world of strats!

~Mo

No, it's not a '60s Classic and no, it's not Lake Placid Blue.

The guitar looks to be a MIM Standard model in Agave Blue.

Arjay

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"Here's why reliability is job one: A great sounding amp that breaks down goes from being a favorite piece of gear to a useless piece of crap in less time than it takes to read this sentence." -- BRUCE ZINKY

Finish looks too bright for a 60's Strat and they weren't made in Mexico back then at all. So, it its an MIM Strat, it's fairly recent. As for how much it'll sell for, if it's in good shape (looks like it is), I'd take the amt you paid for it and subtract 20%, for starters, because even if you bought it new, it's now considered used. If you trade it at a music store, you won't get as much discount on the new one that you will when you buy it outright, so I'd try to sell it myself before I went that route.

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"It's about sound and sound alone. Looks are irrelevant. You can have the best-looking guitar on earth, but if the sound isn't there it is nothing more than a beautiful piece of trash. The sound it makes is the soul of any guitar."

I forgot to add that, in my opinion (far from expert), an older MIM Strat *may* increase in value somewhat, but it would take years, as there are many, many of them out there. And it would never bring as much as a California Strat, in any case, unless it is a rare model, with special features, etc. As a rule, the older and rarer something is, the more it will be worth. For example, an early 60's Gibson Les Paul, with the SG body style, is today worth a small fortune, because they only made them two years (1960-62), so they are VERY rare. And the same holds true for Fenders.

_________________
"It's about sound and sound alone. Looks are irrelevant. You can have the best-looking guitar on earth, but if the sound isn't there it is nothing more than a beautiful piece of trash. The sound it makes is the soul of any guitar."