what is a good deal?
 

I'm looking at a 2019 Santa Cruz OM used in mint condition.... dealer lists it for 6800.00? Any thoughts?

Specs will dictate how desirable it is, which will affect the value.

That seems pretty steep to me, unless there are a lot of upgrades like premium woods, abalone purfling etc. I think MAP for a new one is right around that. You can look on Santa Cruz’s website to see what the up charges are for various specs. There are quite a few used OM’s an Reverb that you can use as a base, as well.

A "good deal" is subjective, and only you can decide if it is a good deal for you. Some may say you are spending too much, and some may say it is the deal of a lifetime, but ultimately any item is only worth what you are willing to pay. You probably already know this, but you asked, and it is the most honest answer I can think of...

A couple of thoughts regarding “good deals” that have helped me:

“You’ll know it when you see it”.

“If it ain’t yours, don’t buy it”.

Simply specifying "OM" is not nearly enough information to even ponder the wildest of guesses for the value. There's a huge range between sitka/mahogany and European spruce/BRW.

Good deal, you’re kidding right?

It’s not a good deal, not a fair deal, or any other kind of deal but a bad one, IMO.

A good deal would be <2000 for a Santa Cruz.

You have received a bunch of good answers...it is relative to your needs/budget and only you can decide if that is a good deal. If it was Brazilian rosewood, maybe. Anything else, personally would say no thank you--it is a used guitar and you could buy new with warranty most likely for a few dollars more.

I had my eyes opened recently regarding SCGC used prices. It helped me by googling the model you are looking at via fairly recent (within the last year) Reverb and AGF listings and an advanced search on EBay completed listings. Current listing prices versus selling prices are significantly different. It appears that current asking prices are greatly inflated compared to sales over the last 6 -12 months. I cooled my heels after seeing the discrepancy. However, your mileage may vary.

These three are the best replies in my opinion:
* "A good deal would be <2000 for a Santa Cruz." <----this would be an insane screaming unheard of deal.
* "It’s not a good deal, not a fair deal, or any other kind of deal but a bad one, IMO."
* "That seems pretty steep to me, unless there are a lot of upgrades ..."

A final thought: every good deal gets snatched up right away. Any listing that has been for sale for a while and not sold is probably not a good deal.

I've not been in the market for a used guitar at that high of a price point. All of my guitars were purchased used between $275 and $900.

That being said, what I do is setup a custom feed on Reverb for the make and model that I am interested in and review listings for several weeks of the guitar I am interested in and other similar makes/models.

Doing this over a reasonable amount of time educates me as to the market value and condition of the guitars. You will notice that, over time, you will begin to understand what is well priced and what is overpriced. Any "good deals" will jump out at you.

I know nothing about the guitar you reference. Check the new list price of that guitar (its list price from dealers, not the MSRP). IMHO, a used guitar in mint condition should be listed for about 80% of that new list price, unless you are talking about a limited edition or other rare or collectible model. I'm sure there will be widespread opinion on this.

Lastly, a "good deal" is really anything you feel good about. If you feel you are getting good value, then who's to say it is not a good deal for you?

A good deal is something relatively cheap (cheaper than other equivalent examples) that makes you happy and/or something that has a high expectation of reselling at the purchased price or higher.

I like reverb as an appraisal tool.
you can go to reverb and begin a listing for the guitar model you’re after and when it comes to settings the asking price, reverb will show you a range of actual sale prices by condition.

Not easy to answer TODAY as prices exploded during these tormented times !!!

Take note that I do not know how it usually goes for high end acoustic guitars.

In the mid-range, a brand new acoustic guitar would loose some 30%
as it gets out of the store even though it was a store demo one paid
almost full price...

By now, nice used guitars in good shape sells the price of a brand new one.

These times are for sellers, not buyers, sorry.

If it's a bone stock OM it is definitely not a good deal. Really depends on the woods used, for example if it had Brazilian rosewood it could be a fair price.

....

EIR and italian spruce.....