Would you buy a used guitar?

[mawmow]

My first three guitars were bought brand new,
two laminates, then a solid wood (in 2006) :
I had discovered solid woods prices !!!
So I began to look toward used market.
Learned what to look for...
and discovered though action is sometimes described,
side views of neck and saddle are mandatory !!!

[Andyrondack]

Originally Posted by AH Acoustic

Hi all,

Let's discover where we stand on purchasing preference:

#2. Would you buy a used guitar?

This is not a public poll, so no one can see your votes, but feel free to chime in with replies.

Only 1 answer please.

-a.h.

Depends on what it had been used for.

[BT55]

As soon as you pick up a new guitar it’s used. Would you buy that guitar?

[Rogerblair]

Of course, why not if it meets with my approval on a few levels?

A buddy once said, and I’ve adopted the phrase, “when I die I want to come back as something I owned”. I take very good care of my stuff.

Rb

[Yrksman]

I must have bought at least 120 used guitars over 56 years and numerous new ones too.

Not sure what the point of this poll is?

[PHJim]

I bought my first guitar, a late fifties Goya M-26 in the summer of 1960. It was gently used and cost me $75.
My second guitar was a 1958 J-50 that I bought in 1964 for $125. It had a few more battle scars, but was in great shape.
My third guitar was a used single pickup ES-175 that cost me about $275 in 1967. It was in practically new shape.
My first new guitar was an Aria 12-string that I bought on my first honeymoon in 1970.

[pieterh]

Yes of course!

Many of my instruments were bought used though a fair few were new.

My G&L was NOS, my Ibanez Musician bass was a discontinued model when I bought it NOS; my Strat was new from the distributor; both my Furch acoustics were bought used but were and are in such good condition they are still almost as-new; my Taylor was new; Tele used; 335 ex-demo.

And so on.

Sometimes a deal comes up on a cool used guitar or the time and feeling is right for a new one. One of the great things about getting a good used instrument is that - for me at least - there isn’t quite the same level of nervousness when playing it at a gig...! This feeling soon goes over anyway - I buy them to be played and while I am usually very careful the only way to keep a guitar in mint condition is to never play it...!

[Frankie2blue]

The trick is finding one that meets my OCD expectations as far as condition. That and things modified like adding a strap button, pickup etc. I know a lot of folks like them, but I never use straps and to me is a deal breaker on a used guitar. That said though, I have purchased many used guitars and have been quite happy. The best part of it if you are a buyer, is that the market is soft these days and you can find really good deals on a basically new guitar for more than a third to half off the price. Lots of folks try to get close to retail prices, but seldom succeed. They are like driving anew car off the dealer lot and losing close to 7000 dollars in depreciation. Of course you lose any warranty on a used guitar if that matters, so that’s reflected in the reduced price also even if the guitar is a month old. The depreciation hit though is always tough on the seller trying to sell a basically new guitar.

[SpruceTop]

I just bought a used, like-new guitar today!

[Mark Stone]

All of my guitar purchases are new, and all locally purchased so I can play them first. I've received some used, but they are all trades or gifts.

[jontewright]

I have no problem whatsoever buying used, in fact I prefer it as I think it gives you the chance to try more guitars. If you buy wisely you won’t lose much and might even make a small profit on resale.

[Dru Edwards]

Yep. I've bought used at a retailer, at a personal seller's home and online. I'd do all three options again.

[AH Acoustic]

Interestingly, at the 1 work week mark, it's about 96% voting that they would buy a used guitar, with about 4% overall stating they would not.

Will be curious to see how this looks in the future.

Thanks everyone.

-a.h.

[varmonter]

As your poll results indicate pretty
plainly . The used mkt is what
Alot of folks do. I have 3 acoustics
I bought used and one 56 tenor.
I have a tele I built from
Scratch and one nice mandolin
Which I bought new.
I like used instrument. No break in
And the sound is consistant because
Of that. New inst change.

[Dru Edwards]

Originally Posted by AH Acoustic

Interestingly, at the 1 work week mark, it's about 96% voting that they would buy a used guitar, with about 4% overall stating they would not.

Will be curious to see how this looks in the future.

Thanks everyone.

-a.h.

It's a great thread, A.H. I don't see my opinion on buying a used guitar changing; however, the channel (i.e. online personal seller vs online retailer) could always change. Same with ordering cross country border, which I haven't done and do not want to. That might be a good thread that follows this thread and the 'buying new guitar' thread - buying cross border.