Martin historical pricing information

[grasser]

I've read a lot of discussion about pricing of new and used guitars, primarily Martins, and it seems to be generally accepted that you can buy a new guitar for around 60% of MSRP and a good used model for around 50% of MSRP.

My questions are, if you're looking at an older used guitar, from say 15 to 25 years old, (1) do you consider the MSRP at the time the guitar came out when determining an offer, and (2) if so, how do you find out that information?

I'll often see some nice 20-year-old "picker's grade" Martins on Craigslist and I wonder what a good price for them is.

[Johnny K]

Your not to far off on new. The dealer I bought my HD28V sells them at about about 25% off MSRP (or 75% of). I paid about $500 less than that because I went to the Martin trunk show they were hosting at the shop and got special show pricing.

[ChrisE]

Your calculations for Martins above are correct.

I don't think you can really compare the new price of an older guitar, mainly because of inflation. A Martin that someone paid $1,000 for new back in 1982 may be worth $2,000 now. The guitar hasn't really increased in value, because $1,000 in 1982 dollars is worth $2,576 in 2017 dollars.

Probably the best way to determine a ballpark price would be to look for prior sales on ebay and reverb for that year and model.

[sid45]

for older guitars check the VG price guide and work from there, sid

[JonWint]

A quick look at the Vintage Guitar Price Guide shows values (D-18, D-28) starting to increase when the guitar is 30 or 40 years old. That is for guitars in excellent condition. Those with significant wear may not increase until they age much more.

A 1985 D-28 had a MSRP of $1490 and a current book value in EXC condition ranging from $1600 to $2200.

I paid 100 times (10,000%) more than the original price for an 1895 0-28. Did I pay too much?

[L20A]

So to simplify this, a used guitar usually sells for about 75% of what the same guitar sells for new.
I would agree with that as a general starting point.
Condition then comes into play.

Most guitar shops will give you about 50% of the new value and then mark it up 25% which puts the guitar back to 75% of what the new guitar price is.

[Sagebrush Tom]

Originally Posted by grasser

I've read a lot of discussion about pricing of new and used guitars, primarily Martins, and it seems to be generally accepted that you can buy a new guitar for around 60% of MSRP and a good used model for around 50% of MSRP.

Just to be clear, it's not 60% off MSRP. To arrive at the 40% off discount, you take the list price and times it by 6 to reach the largest discount that a some dealers offer.
Tom

[Rmz76]

Originally Posted by grasser

I've read a lot of discussion about pricing of new and used guitars, primarily Martins, and it seems to be generally accepted that you can buy a new guitar for around 60% of MSRP and a good used model for around 50% of MSRP.

My questions are, if you're looking at an older used guitar, from say 15 to 25 years old, (1) do you consider the MSRP at the time the guitar came out when determining an offer, and (2) if so, how do you find out that information?

I'll often see some nice 20-year-old "picker's grade" Martins on Craigslist and I wonder what a good price for them is.

As I mentioned in another post this morning, the number of years on the guitar doesn't matter it boils down to the 1.) demand for the model 2.) condition. To keep the discussion simple, if we're talking about one of the iconic models like D18, D28, 000-18, J-45, etc... You're going to see a general depreciation from new to used and that works out to about about 20% less than street price on that guitar, or 40% less than MSRP (which no one actually pays anyway).

2018 Martin D-18 New
MSRP: $3099
MAP: $2459 (everyday low price you see Guitar Center and others advertise)
Street: $2159 (you can usually negotiate about 12% off MAP)

Martin D-18 Used *Prices resale shops will try to get (20 years old 1998 D18 or could be a 2017 D18, doesn't really matter)
Excellent/like new used condition: $1750-$1850 (about 20% less than new street)
Good to Very good condition: $1250-$1450

Assuming excellent condition of the used guitar, it's about 20% less than the current street price for that make and model. As time moves on and the new price increase due to inflation, then that difference between new street price in say 1998 to 2018 becomes the value the guitar has gained. But until that value is greater than 20% you're still not going to get your money back. According to CPI inflation calculator there has been a 53% increase in the cost of goods and services in the past 20 years. Had you bought a new Martin D18 for street price in 1998 and resold direct in 2018 you should be making about 33% profit. Maybe someone with an old Martin dealer price sheet can confirm.


Martin D-18 Used *What you're likely to get for it
Trade in in excellent condition at pawn shop/GC/etc: $850-$950
Direct sell on craigslist/reverb: $1650-$1750

Keep in mind retailers buying for resell are going to offer 40-60% what what they can resell it for used, not 40-60% of the new street price! That's not them ripping anyone off, it's just how their business works. When Guitar Center buys a new D18 from C.F. Martin they are paying about 50-60% of what they are going to resell it for and that's for a product where a dealer contract exist and warranty is offered. They are NOT going to pay more (percentage wise) for used product to resell. If anything, they want higher profit margins off used gear not smaller. As with many things, used guitars are valued entirely on demand and physical condition. So a few scratches and nicks can knock of an additional 20-30% from the guitars Excellent to Like New condition used price, but the degrading condition is the only thing that should make it less valuable as years go on.