Quandery - what would you do?

[Silly Moustache]

There is a guy who regularly comes to my club. He's a freelance IT guy whose contract has ended and he can't get another.

A year ago (or so) I sold him my Larrivee SD-50 Total sunburst - a guitar I was given as art compensation for a unusable Huss & Dalton.

Its a great guitar but not what I wanted, and I have all the 12 fret dreads I'll ever need.

I sold it to him at a very reasonable price.

Now he's asking me if I would consider buying it back for about half the price.

I like the guitar but don't particularly want/need it. He's a really nice bloke, the money isn't that important to me but obviously is to him.

What would you do?

If you're a wheeler dealer, go ahead and buy it back - then sell it at full price to someone else. It helps him, and you get a profit to boot.

[Brucebubs]

Originally Posted by Silly Moustache

He's a really nice bloke, the money isn't that important to me but obviously is to him.

The answer really lies in this sentence.
You'll be doing him a favour buying it back from him.
What you do with it then is up to you.

[dannyg1]

You mean there's actually a player that doesn't want an SD50TSB?

[Cypress Knee]

I have to agree with both prior posters...if money is not a current issue for you, then buy it back for half price (doing him a favor) and then re-sale it for a profit.

Both of you come out ahead.

Note that this idea doesn't work if you cannot make a profit on a guitar you are buying back for half the price you sold it for some time ago.

CK

[Captain Jim]

I'm more inclined to think: buy it back and hold it for a while... in case he has a change of heart. If not, then sell it.

[Brick is Red]

Originally Posted by Captain Jim

I'm more inclined to think: buy it back and hold it for a while... in case he has a change of heart. If not, then sell it.

I like this idea. It's above and beyond, but if you have the capacity then it would be kind. That guitar is an asset that you can sell later.

Any reason why your friend can't sell at market price?

[Pitar]

There are two things going on here. Taking the charitable side of the equation versus the profit side, I'd buy it back for what he paid for it. The idea is to consider his situation first, which is what he is really approaching you with, and not worry about whether I want the guitar or not. Last fellow who approached me with the same deal got full price for the guitar. I'm no philanthropist. I knew full well anything he could get would help him and taking the guitar at a steep discount was a form of theft to me. So, I was either all in or all out and fortunate enough to be the former. BTW, mine was a Larrivee OO-05.

[GaryH]

It's just me and my way of thinking, but if the guitar is still in the same condition it was when I sold it to him, I'd probably give him what he paid for it since you sold it at a fair price. I'm certainly not suggesting you do the same, but I have this type of thing in the past.

[Looburst]

Give him the money for it and then hand the guitar back to him. This will show what real do when faced with a dilemma.

[Nochops]

Split the difference between the original sale and his current offer and then either keep it at a good price or put it up for sale here on AGF. He gets a bit of a bonus and you get either a good deal on a good guitar that you either keep or sell, PLUS you get the satisfaction of doing a good deed for someone when you had the chance. That would make for a satisfying end of the day . . .

[xntric]

Originally Posted by Pitar

I'd buy it back for what he paid for it. The idea is to consider his situation first, which is what he is really approaching you with, and not worry about whether I want the guitar or not.

This right here.

[ahorsewithnonam]

Why can't he just sell it for a higher price? Or does he think you really want it back?

[rmyAddison]

I don't see how buying it back for "half its worth" (if that is correct) is doing him a favor?

Try to help him sell it for what it's worth. Personally I'd rather loan the guy some money and say pay me back when you get a good sale on the guitar.

Best of luck, these situations can get "sticky"........

[guitar george]

If you just want to help him out, give him all the money back and $1,000.00 to boot. That should make him happy. Giving him half the money back won't help him much and he wouldn't be too happy with that.

Seriously though, why would you buy back a guitar that you don't want? You say, "I sold it to him at a very reasonable price", so, maybe you could offer to help him sell the guitar and get all his original money back from someone else. Another idea would be to give him half the money now and offer to sell the guitar for him. You could then give him the other half of the money when it sells or agree to split any amount over the original amount or agree to split any amount over the half price that you give him now. These ideas would be like selling the guitar on commission which would make him feel better than losing half the original cost of the guitar.