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Old 07-25-2020, 11:22 PM
guitarwebguy guitarwebguy is offline
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Default Pricing and selling a used CF guitar

For those of you have sold a CF guitar online, how did you decide your selling price or what you considered a fair value? Thanks.
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Old 07-25-2020, 11:42 PM
dmcginnis dmcginnis is offline
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I dont really have a great answer to your question except...it depends. You should research comparable guitars on AGF and other forums like Mandolin Cafe, Reverb, etc. Think about what you have in the guitar and how much you feel you need to get out of it in a sale...and then realize you probably will not get as much as you want. In my opinion, selling on AGF is a safe venue and you should offer a better price here than you might on a more commercial site like Reverb.
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Old 07-25-2020, 11:46 PM
steelvibe steelvibe is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by guitarwebguy View Post
For those of you have sold a CF guitar online, how did you decide your selling price or what you considered a fair value? Thanks.
Depends on how fast you want to move it, but a good place to start would be to check Reverb. It would be just for a general idea though as some of the CF guitars on there have been up for sale forever and seem priced way high to me. Those prices have remained the same for literally months and I wonder if that person really wants to sell that guitar afterall? Then there is the clearly mis labeled stuff, like a RainSong marked "mint" and I'm looking at that beat up guitar like

I always spot CF guitars here on AGF for a much better deal. So I guess it also depends on where you want to sell it.

Last edited by Acousticado; 07-28-2020 at 09:08 AM. Reason: Edited edited quote
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Old 07-26-2020, 12:19 AM
AZLiberty AZLiberty is offline
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The problem here is "custom"

Just because you paid a lot of money to change some standard feature does not mean anyone else necessarily wants that feature or is willing to pay extra for it.

So it really depends what "custom" means. One of the more desirable woody tops is probably going to retain some of the upcharge, a nonstandard neck width, carve, or scale length is probably a determent and won't recover any of the several hundred it cost to have a custom neck.

Otherwise, CF guitars seem to hold their value much better than other instruments. I have paid over 80% of new cost for a used CF in the past.
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Old 07-26-2020, 06:18 AM
ed62 ed62 is offline
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Just to get an idea of pricing for a similar guitar go to Reverb and Ebay and filter your search to only show sold items...It will then show the prices they sell at ..Many guitar stores do this when you are looking to trade gear in towards new ...then they make you a lowball offer and you end up keeping the old guitar anyway
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Old 07-26-2020, 09:37 AM
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My impression is that the traditional guitar trade in allows about 50% of new value and then sells the item at about 75% of value. There is a lot of variance to this equation.

Carbon fiber guitars, I believe, are different than run-of-the-mill wooden instruments in that their relative rarity can drive value--just as it does with the more exotic Martins and Taylors.

I've always worked from the premise of buying high and selling low. It not be the smartest premise, but my guitars don't hang around on the market place for very long.
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Old 07-26-2020, 09:55 AM
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David Eastwood David Eastwood is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by EvanB View Post
My impression is that the traditional guitar trade in allows about 50% of new value and then sells the item at about 75% of value. There is a lot of variance to this equation.
That mirrors my recent experience - I sold an electric guitar to a local store (Music-Go-Round) last week. This model now retails for $399; I got $175 for it, and they’re reselling it for around $300. As I only paid $299 for it new, I was quite happy with the deal. If I’d been trading, I would have got a bit more, I’m sure.

Usually when I’m selling gear, it’s because I have something else lined up to buy, so I have a number in mind that I’ll be happy with. As long as I get somewhere close to that goal, I don’t worry too much about whether I could get another 10-20% elsewhere.

My observation is that CF guitars seem to hold their value pretty well. I’m sure the durability helps - you’re most unlikely, as buyer, to encounter structural issues due to age (need for a neck reset, for example). Customizations can be a challenge, though, as others have pointed out.
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Old 07-26-2020, 02:05 PM
Mark L Mark L is offline
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What is (are) the custom feature(s)?
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Old 07-26-2020, 02:11 PM
bsman bsman is offline
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It's not only the relative rarity of CF that I think adds to their resale value. It's also the fact that, barring real clumsiness, they're essentially indestructible, the tone isn't going to change, and the neck will never need resetting. If it's an Emerald and has stainless frets, change strings occasionally, and that's all the maintenance it will ever require.
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Old 07-26-2020, 07:44 PM
Captain Jim Captain Jim is offline
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Last time I considered a trade at Guitar Center, the looked at e-bay to get an idea of what my trade was currently selling for; they offered me 40% of that. "Well, we have to make something when we resell it."

I sold it in a day and a half on a local FB group. For a fair price.

When I sold my RainSong Shorty, I did so on the classifieds here. RainSong had just announced their underpriced CH series... I sold my FLG-SE Shorty for about half what I paid. The buyer got a good deal. I got a fast sale. Making room for the custom scale X10 that I ordered.
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Old 07-27-2020, 06:21 AM
jonfields45 jonfields45 is offline
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I think CF guitars can be sold relatively quickly. I found you need eBay to get a large enough audience. You can get ~<70% of retail for a guitar in excellent to mint condition.

However, you need to calculate your sales price with tax and shipping, and reference the retail price point with a likely 15% discount off of MAP and free shipping. Small dealers are still shipping guitars out of state with no sales tax, or like MF give you 8% off in future credit to offset sales tax.

Make sure you set up the listing to accept offers. Often a small compromise will accelerate a sale remarkably.
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Old 07-27-2020, 08:20 PM
AZLiberty AZLiberty is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Captain Jim View Post

I sold my FLG-SE Shorty for about half what I paid. The buyer got a good deal. I got a fast sale. Making room for the custom scale X10 that I ordered.
Jim is underselling it. I almost drove across town chasing him with a wad of bills when he decided to sell his Shorty.
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Old 07-27-2020, 09:09 PM
steelvibe steelvibe is offline
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I sold my Shorty at a pretty decent loss too- about $650 less than I paid. I look at it this way though, I had it 4 years= $162 a year rental fee. Not bad.

And yes, the introduction of the CH-OM pretty much killed Shorty's vibe.
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Old 07-27-2020, 09:37 PM
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Totally depends on the guitar. I usually buy used so I sell for what I paid. But even my full-on customs I've done well with only losing a few hundred dollars which is good. You need to do your homework, see what others are selling for and just get a feel for it.
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Old 07-28-2020, 05:14 PM
Earl49 Earl49 is offline
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FWIW, I start at ~70% of the purchase price as the ask, and we negotiate from there. Wood guitars are more like 50% of street price. Carbon fiber is somewhat rare on the market -- the new video mentioned with great pride Emerald #6000 after 20 years in business. Either Martin or Taylor build more guitars every single day than the entire CF industry produces in a year. CF guitars are not usually in stock anywhere, so finding one is not easy. But there is also a smaller potential buyer pool, since some folks will not even consider CF over wood.

Any item is only worth what someone is actually willing to pay for it at that time. It is all theoretical until cash changes hands.
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