Is it a soft resell market for guitars?

[hat]

There are too many alternatives to choose from. There are so many guitars on the market, and a lot of them are all 'variations on a standard theme' - a RW dread, a 000 or OM, etc. Not to say that they are cookie cutters, but close enough that the $3500 model sits, while the very close one listed for $1800 sells. The rarity's, vintage guitars that are in demand such as old Gibson's, Martin Brazilian guitars, etc don't seem to sit for very long.

[PorkPieGuy]

Higher-end stuff is almost always harder to sell.

It's much easier to sell a Toyota Corolla as opposed to a McLaren.

[jaymarsch]

I think that it is the higher priced instruments that take a bit longer to sell. People either ride it out or drop the price if they want it to move sooner. I have had a high end guitar on consignment for about 7 months now and I recently decided to drop the price on it. I do think that generally it is a buyer's market these days when it comes to higher end guitars. There seems to be quite a bit of an inventory to choose from.

Best,
Jayne

[BrunoBlack]

I’ve sold about half a dozen guitars over the past 5 or 6 years and they all sold in less than a month. Maybe things are tightening up right now. Having said that, I prefer to trade in unwanted guitars if I’m buying new at the same time.

[Tnfiddler]

I too went the trade route to pick up my Bourgeois. I talked to the owner LOTS of times on the phone and we were both very upfront and honest about what we had and what its worth was. Like stated above, I'd love to have another Bourgeois, but there's not another one out there that's so special that it'd take the place of my Banjo Killer, which is the best guitar I've ever played. That being said, my guitar collection is enough to satisfy me fully and though I may surf the classifieds from time to time, there's no desire to buy! My GAS is OVER!!

[jseth]

Well, in general, it seems the market has been "soft-ish" for used guitar sales for a while now...

But, like everything being sold - you don't have to have a boom market, you just need to find that ONE person who really wants what you're selling. Pricing it reasonably (by market standards, not what YOU think it's worth!) is going to help a whole lot.

[6L6]

To answer the OP's post, "Yes".

The market IS soft and I only see the situation worsening. The day will come when a real 1937 D-28 Martin will sit on CL for $2K and get no action.

Todays music that makes it to radio doesn't include much guitar work apart from Taylor Swift. Kids don't have much interest, want instant gratification, etc.

At 74, I'm currently cutting my stash down. No one else in my family plays and so I'm going to convert the guitars to cash and reinvest in a conservative market option.

Makes me sad, but I see the guitar as mostly the instrument of my own Boomer generation. Times change, guitar heroes become few and far between, and the world changes.

And Boomers like me are dying every day.

[RP]

Lots of good answers, and I really can't add to the collective wisdom except to suggest that sellers should try multiple marketplaces. I've sold multiple guitars at mutually acceptable prices using AGF, Reverb and Craigslist. I'll use Craigslist exclusively for lower priced items that might be unsaleable with shipping figured in. I know the usual negatives about Craigslist, but I've sold both lower cost items and mid-level Taylors and Martins. No worry about shipping or buyer displeasure and the transaction ends with cash in hand - hard to beat....

[tippy5]

You never know what a guitar that you want to recoup your money on will fetch. I keep a 15 baseline (I have bought and sold 150 in 20 years). I am glad I did this back a ways, before this new 10% tax is now here to stay.

I just sold a strat for the rare profit. But 90% of the time I lose a percentage of my expected sales price. Just try to not think of the the $ and price it aggressively. My losses for the last few years I call rent. The gems are there. The learning about designs, tonewoods, etc that I learned this expensive way was rewarding for that period in my life. I was lucky enough to partake in the GAS game.

As far as now I think it is a good time to sell. Seems like this time is one of the top two. The other being after Labor Day. The summer family fun gives way to back to work. Checking the ads for some new project/instrument that ignites a buyer into action.

[FLRon]

I think part of the reason for the slowdown in sales is that those who typically have that kind of discretionary income, namely those well into their late 40’s and 50’s, either already have enough guitars or they are starting the downsizing process as retirement nears.

Like a lot of people here, I’ve been buying/selling/trading guitars for a long time, and I’ve reached the point in life where I have what I want and need. At just a few days shy of 65, I can’t imagine there is a new guitar out there that I just have to own. As it is, my wife or daughter will have enough to do should they decide to sell the 4 remaining guitars I have, no need to add to that pressure.

[stratmansblues]

I'm finding it harder these days to come up with a used value when trying to sell or trade gear. eBay sold listings used to be the golden standard, but now Reverb seems to be the place that has sold price data, but it is sold asking prices.

[Methos1979]

Originally Posted by Rev Roy

I keep hearing about this “soft” resell market but that hasn’t been my experience. I’ve sold 10 or so guitars over the past 5-6 years on Reverb and co-listed here. Virtually all of them sold for a fair price within a couple of weeks. Full disclosure: They were pretty much all popular higher end guitars (D-28, D-18, J-45, etc.) listed at a reasonable selling price. The stuff I see that doesn’t sell is often over priced (sometimes nearly as much as you could buy the guitar new) or a model that’s not particularly popular...

Yep - this. There's a lot more nice guitars for sale these days but if it's a popular guitar for a good price it will sell. I've never had a problem selling Martins. After that the boutique brands sell fairly well Especially Collings. Guitars from relatively unknown (to the masses) builders can be tough especially at higher prices.

Originally Posted by PorkPieGuy

Higher-end stuff is almost always harder to sell.

It's much easier to sell a Toyota Corolla as opposed to a McLaren.

Yes and no. As with my statement above, it depends on the guitar. I've seen some really high-end and expensive guitars from 'premium' builders sell really quickly. Greenfield. Olsen. Kinnard.

[Lakewood_Lad]

I have enough guitars now. Twice in the last few weeks I've nearly bought another one but I stepped back. I guess that makes me one of those people who could but won't because they already have plenty.

I know I would really enjoy having another one but I've made a rule with myself that I have to either sell a guitar before I can buy a new one or (even better) become a noticeably better player and sort of "earn" it.

I can report that this second rule means that I'm doing some serious practising at the moment and it's beginning to pay off. I also know which one which I'm going to sell and which one which I'm going to keep (which means there are 4 on the maybe list but it's a start).

Having said that I've been reaching for the Larrivee almost instinctively for the last few weeks. I've had to make myself play the Lakewood (although when I do I still love it and I definitely can't sell it yet) and I pretty much ignore the Martin (that's the one that's going). The others are beaters which I might keep for different reasons. But if this carries on I can see a day coming when I get rid of them all except the Larrivee. Every time I pick it up it sounds and feels better to me.

[tbeltrans]

There are more of the boutique instruments around too. Many are built by people nobody has heard of. I would expect a Taylor, Martin, or Gibson to sell in a reasonable amount of time (reasonable meaning in step with whatever the market is doing at the time), but an unknown maker of a fine guitar may not do so well, if it moves at all.

Since I don't have kids, I can't really comment from personal experience what the kids are into these days. It does seem possible that the guitar has had its day. The piano was the thing until Elvis and the early rockers showed up strumming away on guitars. So maybe something else is the thing these days. If so, that could explain a softer market.

I will say that, since I retired, I have largely overhauled my own collection, so not everybody of retirement age is downsizing. It may well be that enough are to negatively impact the used guitar market. I don't buy sight unseen, so my purchases would not have gone to somebody advertising online.

It does seem funny to me that when I was growing up, it was common to buy stuff from catalogs. Then, as an adult, for some time the norm was to buy in a local store. Then, with the internet, we are essentially buying from catalogs (called "websites" now) again. Amazon seems to have replaced the Sears and Montgomery Wards catalogs.

Tony

[mcduffnw]

Originally Posted by golfreggie

Hi, I have been considering selling one or two of my guitars, and I look at the classifieds for guitars on AGF and it appears that the market is soft. Really nice guitars take a long time to sell, or some don't sell at all. Any observations from our great members? Thanks

Hi golfreggie

Yeppers...the market it soft, and it will be getting softer over the next 20 years as we "Boomers" who were/are the driving force of the guitar market, both acoustic and electric, age on and pass away...and out...of the market.

If you do have nice guitars, especially in demand name and model brand guitars under the $5K price range, you can still do pretty well, but, it is definitely a buyers market pricing wise, so you have to be aggressive in your pricing and very detailed and specific in your description and spec listings, and great, clear pictures that highlight all the important views of the guitar.

Above $5K, the market has always been a bit soft, just due to what the vast majority of folks can afford.

But if you are at all thinking of selling, now is going to be better than later, both short and long term. Us Boomers ain't getting any younger...


duff
Be A Player...Not A Polisher