As others have written, whether it's a deal-killer depends on the person who might buy the guitar, and what purpose they plan on putting it to.
I gig out, and to me it's important that most of my instruments be stage-ready. But that doesn't mean I'll necessarily want the factory original electronics that might be in it (rarely,) or aftermarket electronics that the current owner might have installed (it depends.)
My most recent major guitar purchase was a used Martin Custom Shop D-18 that had a high end pickup system factory-installed. It's a pickup system that a lot of players happen to like, particularly people who gig out a LOT. But while I do gig out, I'd had this same system in a previous guitar, and had disliked it enough to have my guitar repairman yank it out and replace it with a K&K Pure Mini bridgeplate pickup.
Which is what I ended up doing again. I didn't let the fact that the guitar had a pickup system I dislike kill the deal for me.
Preferences for guitar pickups, like automobile brand preferences, can be very personal. I've been through enough of both to realize that all of them are temporary, really. I liked the guitar, so I bought it, knowing it would be no big deal to replace it. I didn't pay any extra for it with that pickup in it: I paid a fair price for the guitar alone. The electronics were lagniappe. (Pronounced "lanny-app.")
"Lagniappe" is a word I learned the first time I ever gigged in New Orleans. It's a Cajun French term that means "a little bit extra to seal the deal" or "a little sugar on top," so to speak. It's the extra doughnut in a baker's dozen, that kind of thing.
When I've sold or traded off stage guitars of mine, I leave the pickups in place. They don't add or subtract from the market value of the guitar; they're lagniappe for potential buyers.
In some player's minds, they definitely detract from the value of the guitar, at least for a significant percentage of folks on guitar forums like this one. Some of the posts in this thread reflect that attitude, and any time the subject arises there'll be at least as many electronics-haters insisting that installed electronics detract from the market value of used guitars as there will be people like me saying:
"Uh....not really."
However vociferously the anti-electronics sentiments get expressed online, though, in real life I've never encountered this. Not once. On the contrary, whenever I've put one of my stage instruments on sale, having electronics onboard has tended to speed the sale considerably. It's been the deciding factor many times - I've had lots of folks play the guitar, think about it, then say: "I've been needing a good guitar with a pickup in it," then pull out their wallets and pay me my price.
It's happened repeatedly.
So take any and all of the positions expressed in threads like this one with a grain of salt, including what I'm telling you. It just depends on the guitar itself, its condition, its price point when new, and the needs and wishes of the folks out shopping for a new used guitar that day.
Hope that makes sense.
Wade Hampton Miller
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