Need help pricing a Telecaster

[Bix58]

Fender Telecaster American Special. Cream w/ a black pickguard. Excellent condition. I don't have a case or a box, so this will be a local sale and priced accordingly. I've always tried to price my guitars so they move quickly. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

[muscmp]

check ebay sold listings as well as reverb. that will give you a good idea.

good luck with your sale.

play music!

[ChrisN]

Speaking for myself, I'd be looking to pay about 50-65% of retail (not MSRP) for a more common model electric guitar. Above that, and I might as well avoid the vagaries of buying used and get a warranty. I'd go higher for unusual/attractive appearance/features, factory hard case, etc., and lower for bumps/bruises, and mods other than higher quality pickups/electronics (with originals included).

So, an American Telecaster Special without a case and no mods that I can find retail all over town for $999 and can get 15-20% knocked off of from a zzounds or similar (meaning $800-850 or so shipped) with just a phone call, I'd be willing to go up to $500 for, assuming no appearance or functionality issues.

That said, I happily went to $640 for my '93 Wine Red /Gold Hardware LP Studio that I probably could find in a pawn shop for $400-450, just because it was cool, funky, intact, unmolested, and unlike the new stuff which I don't like as much. 9.4 pounds of bliss, that one.

Just my approach to the hobby, and I'm likely an extreme example of what you'd run into, but there you are.

[Bix58]

ChrisN, Thanks for the helpful and thorough analysis. And muscmp, thanks for pointing me to Reverb.

Taking everything into account, I'll be pricing it at $550.

[Ed-in-Ohio]

Originally Posted by Bix58

ChrisN, Thanks for the helpful and thorough analysis. And muscmp, thanks for pointing me to Reverb.

Taking everything into account, I'll be pricing it at $550.

$550 seems very reasonable, and it will likely move in a reasonable amount of time at that price. FYI, here's Reverb's price guide page for this model.

[ChrisN]

I agree with Ed.

I also wholeheartedly recommend reverb.com. I've bought/sold on there - nothing but good experiences. If you ship through them (I do), you do so via UPS on their account, which is significantly discounted from retail UPS prices, which is nice. They issue the label, you print and ship, they send the tracking info to the buyer. In the event of a return, you can also ship via their account.

Whether to do so is up to you, but I also include shipping in my price (it costs about $50 send a guitar across the country), as I think it facilitates the decision to purchase. The other school of thought is that showing a lower initial price (not including shipping) gets you more economy-minded eyes looking for a bargain. I might do it differently with a less popular guitar, but there are a LOT of Telecasters on reverb, so $550 plus $50 shipping may get you better results than $600 shipped. I also accept Offers, but would think you'd be OK if someone came in at $500 - that's where I'd hold the line, in your place, at least for a month or so.

Consider your "Shop"'s policies re: returns, inspections, etc. Lots of potential for problems with the wrong buyer (though less potential for problems with an electric, than an acoustic). I offer a 3-day inspection, return at their expense if they don't like an ACOUSTIC (due to subjective tone issue and sight-unseen) for any reason, but offer returns (my expense) on an ELECTRIC only if the guitar is not as described. Reverb handles any disputes very professionally, from what I'm told. If their other customer service is an indication, that's likely true.

Good luck!

[jomaynor]

At $550, people will be wondering "where's the gig bag that comes with it?" however.