Why so many brand new guitars for sale?

[Jeff Mc]

Originally Posted by gmruegg

Back when I played golf, I was always looking for the perfect set of clubs, the driver that could finally cure my slice. I went through several sets of clubs and many drivers. Same thing happens with guitars. I went through a large number of guitars over the past 10 years. I've pretty much settled on the 5 in my signature as being really nice. Do I still look yes, but my days of turning over guitars that are less than 2 years old, I think, are over.

I agree that buying guitars sight unseen over the Internet has contributed to this phenomenon. I'm lucky to live in a large metropolitan area with several good guitar stores where you can actually try out guitars in person. In fact of the 5 guitars I currently own, 4 were picked out in person only one was purchased remotely, from My Favorite Guitars. Would be interested in others experience in what this ratio of locally purchased vs. remotely purchased is.

I went through the golf thing too. I finally decided that I was not playing as much and the newest club was not going to make any difference in my game so I resolved no more golf clubs. I took a series of lessons and that was more valuable than new clubs anyway. I was/am decent but not in my own mind.

If I was logical, I would apply that to guitars also. I have 12; 4 not played before I purchased but from the luthier(only one was a custom order by me) not internet so I guess that I could have returned if dissatisfied (one of these from a luthier who lived nearby at the time and I did see and play before I took it home but I had paid for it prior to then). My weakness is that I can go into my favorite guitar store and almost always find something that I can lust after. I have never purchased via the internet and I have not really felt the need because there is enough local temptation.

I made a purchase at the BIG event in the spring which has put the brakes on my guitar lusting til at least 2020. I have been a good enough customer in that store that whenever I come in, the guitar manager is handing me his newest guitars. Last time, he gives me a D-45 they had just received.

I have never thought about resale when I buy, but also have never sold or traded a guitar in less than 2 or 3 years.

[tbeltrans]

Originally Posted by ChrisE

Same here. Bought my new D-18 in 2017 assuming it was a 2017 model. Got home and checked the serial # and it was made in 2015. I got such a good deal on it I really didn't care. I still have it and it's still great.

As for why so many new guitars are for sale, I know of a user on a couple of other forums (he may even be on this one) who is pretty new to guitars but has bought and sold probably 20 new guitars in the past year.

I tease him about it whenever I see another NGD post from him. He always gushes about how great the new guitar is and I'll reply with something like, "Great pictures! Be sure to use them in the Buy and Sell section next month!"

The solution to this situation is for folks to post a video of themselves PLAYING the new guitar instead of pics. The saying That if there aren't pics, it didn't happen, should be changed to if there isn't a video of you playing it, it didn't happen. Tell folks why this guitar is important to you in the video and then show them.

Tony

[tbeltrans]

Originally Posted by Jeff Mc

I went through the golf thing too. I finally decided that I was not playing as much and the newest club was not going to make any difference in my game so I resolved no more golf clubs. I took a series of lessons and that was more valuable than new clubs anyway. I was/am decent but not in my own mind.

If I was logical, I would apply that to guitars also. I have 12; 4 not played before I purchased but from the luthier(only one was a custom order by me) not internet so I guess that I could have returned if dissatisfied (one of these from a luthier who lived nearby at the time and I did see and play before I took it home but I had paid for it prior to then). My weakness is that I can go into my favorite guitar store and almost always find something that I can lust after. I have never purchased via the internet and I have not really felt the need because there is enough local temptation.

I made a purchase at the BIG event in the spring which has put the brakes on my guitar lusting til at least 2020. I have been a good enough customer in that store that whenever I come in, the guitar manager is handing me his newest guitars. Last time, he gives me a D-45 they had just received.

I have never thought about resale when I buy, but also have never sold or traded a guitar in less than 2 or 3 years.

This is a great idea. I have been investing in various lessons of things that I want to learn. I have been getting material from Truefire, Homespun, Stefan Grossman, and Guitar College. I feel that money will have been spent in a much more useful way than yet another guitar that I will probably end up selling off anyway.

Tony

[fngrpck]

Maybe we should alter the acronym GAS (guitar acquisition syndrome) to GAS (guitar application substitution)?

[Denny B]

Originally Posted by tbeltrans

The evidence for this is all over this forum when folks say they have been for 30, 40, or 50 years and still aren't very good. How many things do we do, such as our careers, that after all that time we still don't do very well?

Tony

Speaking only for myself, I play guitar for "fun", not for a living...I don't "work" at it, or it wouldn't be "fun" anymore for me...

I'm also retired from a career that I was very good at because I studied hard, stayed on top of new developments, and worked hard every day to do better...

I did that because my career was the means to support my family and make a quality life for all of us...

That's why it's called going to "work", not going to "fun", and why I was much better at the former than I am at the latter...

[justonwo]

I think a lot of people experiment with new guitars for fun. They sell them just to try something new. I don’t usually find anything wrong with these instruments. I’ve sold my share of exceptional guitars over the years.

[tbeltrans]

Originally Posted by Denny B

Speaking only for myself, I play guitar for "fun", not for a living...I don't "work" at it, or it wouldn't be "fun" anymore for me...

I'm also retired from a career that I was very good at because I studied hard, stayed on top of new developments, and worked hard every day to do better...

I did that because my career was the means to support my family and make a quality life for all of us...

That's why it's called going to "work", not going to "fun", and why I was much better at the former than I am at the latter...

I had a response here that I chose to remove because I don't know how what I said would be interpreted and it is not my intention to cause undue friction. I will say that the challenges of balancing career and home life as you describe sounds similar to my career in engineering, also now retired aside from a few months a year doing short term contract work.

Tony

[DCCougar]

Originally Posted by dustint

....I enjoy keeping up with the used market, its fun and interesting to me and I've stumbled upon some pretty nice guitars in my time.... What's weird to me is the amount of 2018/2019 guitars in the used forum. Expensive guitars that are 6 months old being sold by whoever purchased them brand new. I have to get an opinion on this. Is it that everyone is infected with GAS, which I totally understand. Or is it having to do with guitars "breaking in" a little and turning out to be something the original owner doesn't want.....

Not sure of the cause in general, but I'm happy to pick up a $1,000 discount on what was apparently a customer return to Chicago Music Exchange. Like you, I've "stumbled upon" some great deals in the used market....

[brencat]

Originally Posted by JayBee1404

Amen to this!

I’ve never, ever purchased a guitar intending to sell it, I’ve never ever even considered resale value when buying a guitar.

Every guitar I buy is a ‘Keeper’. Until it isn’t - then it goes for whatever I can get for it. If I take a loss, that’s simply the price of the pleasure it gave me while I owned it.

The first time you take a $2000+ loss selling a Santa Cruz or other boutique as the original owner, perhaps future resale may finally become a consideration for you.

[gitarro]

Whether people buy guitars to play or to collect or for the thrill of commissioning and specc'ing out a build - all of these purposes are none of anybody else's business, and are legal, valid and they keep the luthiers and guitar companies in business.

No matter which one is your purpose you have nothing to feel ashamed of - so if you are a collector, and not much of a player, all power to you.if you are a player and guitars r just tools to you, all power also to you.

It is also entirely possible to collect guitars and to buy and sell without making a loss or even making a profit if you are really good at it.

[JHey!]

Originally Posted by gitarro

It is also entirely possible to collect guitars and to buy and sell without making a loss or even making a profit if you are really good at it.

I get the impression there are people on this forum that fit this description, or close to it. And I say good for anyone who is able to enjoy a continuous stream of fine guitars, whether they take a little loss (as long as they can afford it), break even, or turn a profit. Life is short and there’re a lot of beautiful guitars. If only I could play them all!

[BrunoBlack]

I’m not sure there really are “so many” new-used guitars for sale. Given how many new acoustic guitars are sold each year, I have no idea if the relatively small number of “newish” guitars we see listed here on AGF, REVERB, etc. represent an unusually large percentage when compared to other $500 - $10,000 purchases people make. When you consider how many people even “visit” AGF for every reason, that’s not very many people as a subset of the guitar-buying demographic. Then consider how many people even peek into the AGF classifieds and how many “New” guitars being offered for sale — that number seems minuscule. These numbers may only seem big to the AGF faithful. People with ample disposable income spend it and often hunt for that “special” purchase. I don’t know that I accept the premise and have no way to analyze the premise either. I don’t think much about it for that matter.

[rpguitar]

There is great and honest insight (self-reflection!) in this thread. I can relate. Especially the points about internet buying, and about having so many choices that something better just has to be out there.

Another reason people flip guitars they have just obsessed over, hunted down, and acquired is that they have no idea how to either perform a setup or find someone who can. There is nearly always something less than ideal about a guitar that's new to you.

The setup process is utterly crucial and it's not given nearly the focus it requires. And it also takes time, usually days if not weeks to carefully hone the finer details while playing and evaluating. I have had guitars from every decade since the 1920s to brand new, existing on this planet for a very long time, that have still needed basic setup work like saddle and nut slot lowering.

In fact I am playing a guitar right now that I've owned for 6 years and had a hard time bonding with; I recently spend a ton of time on its setup, and also found the perfect strings for it. Whereas I've put it back in its case in mild annoyance numerous times, it is now blowing me away. In fact it was about to get traded to fund something new, but now I probably can't do that! (I guess that's a good thing??)

[TBman]

Originally Posted by brencat

The first time you take a $2000+ loss selling a Santa Cruz or other boutique as the original owner, perhaps future resale may finally become a consideration for you.

If you are flipping a guitar, then that's a loss. If you had the use of the guitar for years and then sold it for $2,000 less than what you paid for it, that's a loss on paper, but it doesn't factor in the value of the use of the guitar for those years.

[cdkrugjr]

Better it gets sold, maybe to someone who thinks it’s The Guitar, than it gather dust