Hello folks

Any good resources for getting a realistic valuation on a guitar? It's a 90s SG Standard so it's not rare or collectable but it is of value. Looking on eBay/Gumtree Etc there seems to be a large variation in price so I'm a little bit lost.

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Original artwork and unique devices inspired by vintage technology http://www.thisisobsolete.com

Would this be a valuation for insurance purposes? If so, you might want to ask your local, friendly, guitar shop to give you a written valuation on headed paper. Most decent shops will do that for you, but be prepared to pay a small fee.

Andy

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When the going gets weird, the Weird turn Pro.

price will vary with geographic location, condition, and colour/model desirability.. and whether it's for insurance or resale estimate.

with relation to resale , for example, people tend to pay less in less affluent areas, and no one is going to really want a neon pink SG , so the price achievable would be lower..... and if it's covered in dings and scratches, despite being a good player... it will be less valuable, (unless it's properly vintage, and even then a good nick one will be higher priced)


and no one should ever give a valuation without having physically inspected it first hand.

Not insurance value no, value for sale

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Original artwork and unique devices inspired by vintage technology http://www.thisisobsolete.com

then what i said above counts fully..... and unless you get a pessimistic valuation, you're still unlikely to get the price....


(i've been burned on ebay several times this month.... stuff is just not reaching it's proper value.... and i'm not being over optimistic in the first place.... )

Ultimately, it's value is what someone will pay for it. Listings are a little deceptive, you know what people are asking for, but you don't know what they actually sell for.

See if you can find the identical model with a dealer and check their price. You won't get that (one of the benefits of buying from a dealer is the warranty and support they offer) but it will show you the absolute maximum you can hope for. Then you take between 10% and 30% off the dealer price (remember, they have to pay VAT). And then, you have to decide for yourself, how much cheaper you are prepared to sell it for.

Also, check more specialist listings like guitar magazines. That should give you a better idea than Gumtree et al.

Andy

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When the going gets weird, the Weird turn Pro.

Make a temporary visit to www.musicradar.com

Lot of geetar nuts there and a classifieds section where you might see other guitars and get some price ideas.

Dave.

Quote zenguitar:

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Ultimately, it's value is what someone will pay for it.

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Many years ago I hauled a diamond ring around several high-street jewellers, all of whom told me it was flawed & offered me peanuts. On the way back to the car I called into a very exclusive jewellers for a laugh. The guy came back 5 minutes later, told me it was an antique cut diamond & gave me 20x what the others had offered.

Sometimes you need to go to the specialists to get a real valuation, rather than trusting the first quotes you get.

DM

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Not much in life worth running for. Or from.

Quote Dynamic Mike:

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Quote zenguitar:

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Ultimately, it's value is what someone will pay for it.

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Many years ago I hauled a diamond ring around several high-street jewellers, all of whom told me it was flawed & offered me peanuts. On the way back to the car I called into a very exclusive jewellers for a laugh. The guy came back 5 minutes later, told me it was an antique cut diamond & gave me 20x what the others had offered.

Sometimes you need to go to the specialists to get a real valuation, rather than trusting the first quotes you get.

DM

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+1

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Strictly project and just for fun

Quote Dynamic Mike:

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offered me peanuts. On the way back to the car I called into a very exclusive jewellers for a laugh. The guy came back 5 minutes later, told me it was an antique cut diamond & gave me 20x what the others had offered.

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40 peanuts?

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Original artwork and unique devices inspired by vintage technology http://www.thisisobsolete.com

Edited by jellyjim (12/10/11 03:36 PM)

Quote jellyjim:

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Quote Dynamic Mike:

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offered me peanuts. On the way back to the car I called into a very exclusive jewellers for a laugh. The guy came back 5 minutes later, told me it was an antique cut diamond & gave me 20x what the others had offered.

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40 peanuts?

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Yep. I planted them as soon as I got home. Mum was livid...

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Not much in life worth running for. Or from.

What they all said. (I actually once took a university course on valuation; so long as you're dealing with trackable demand on commodity goods, it's incredible... & pretty much rubbish for anything else.) There was the time I bought a cheap necklace with an amber plastic stone that turned out to be, well, amber -- not because I was looking for profit, just that it was a good-looking antique trinket for my girlfriend.

Last month, a friend told me he had "a cheap old guitar" sitting unused in his closet for 30+ years. Long story short, it's a Hofner, probably early 1970s. We're in a remote region, & I told him that, to get top dollar, he'd be best driving 350 miles to Minneapolis, though perhaps he could find someone who both knows the coolness factor AND has enough cash to pay properly.

Most valuation sources simply don't have access to data that's thorough or recent -- with only a handful of data points per year, the market could be saturated OR it could be arid. I rely on the various Fjested "Blue Book" publications, though I'm reluctant to show people that their "pristine" instrument rates as 40%-60%. And they're disappointed when I make an offer of only ~40% of THAT value, so I have a brief speech on how I have to store a given guitar for months while I hunt down someone who'll pay me 60% of the Blue Book value.

If you want to pay $14.95/month or $4.95 for a single search:
https://store.bluebookinc.com/InstantAccess/Default.aspx?id=2

Anyway, my friend has things going for him. Back in the 1960s in this region, many mom-&-pop shops couldn't get (or maybe afford) a supply of Fender or Gibson, or even Gretsch or Guild, but Hagstrom & Hofner could be had, & had an "old world" cachet that sat well with the many third-generation immigrants (I'm only six in myself), so we likely have a higher proportion of Hofner fans. He found a regional shop that's interested in giving him at least $800 store credit.

Insurance is another matter entirely. If you rely on one particular instrument for income, then it makes sense to insure it (at a premium) for immediate full-value replacement; if you just want a similar one should disaster or theft strike, then you could get by at a lower valuation.

While I consider Blue Book definitive, it's not the last word. A guitar that's "worth" $5,000 but languishes with a $500 pricetag isn't even worth $500 in any practical sense. And there's an emotional factor: if you get a price, but feel abused, then it was clearly worth more TO YOU. On rare occasion, I feel guilty (briefly ) because I casually ask for an inflated price, & get it without argument.

Last year, I bought a 60% 2005 Standard Precision bass for $180, from a shop. Even at that price, it'd hung on the wall for almost six months. Yet I could readily turn it on eBay for $400+, or locally for maybe $350. And my Hofner-toting friend has been wanting a good used Telecaster, so he's ecstatic about his own dealings.

An SG Standard, well... looking at the Blue Book & other sources, guessing 60%, I'd put the top value at $475. Barring variables (& IMO only), you'd be justified in hoping for store credit of ~$450, & local sale of ~$350 (maybe $400 if you're ready to flog it for months on CraigsList or similar). If you find someone who adores that specific model & era, you could get more.

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resident troublemaker, http://forum.frugalguitarist.com/

Ebay is a pretty good tool, if you search for the instrument you wish to value go into advanced search you can check a box "completed listings" and that will show you what they have actually been making on ebay, Forums that are about the guitar in question can be very helpful, I, for example, am an Ibanez fan and there is a forum there where the members all share current info on what particular models are selling four, and at times trade amongst them selves.

For me that completed listing is first pot-of-call then add a bit for the privilege of being able to pick it up a play it before committing, If for example a guitar seemed to regularly sell for £400 on the bay it would probably get £500 in a shop.

Of course using Ebay to value and to sell are two different things.

If you want to sell it then good images are a must (use photo bucket its free) Mention every thing there is to know about it, invite bidders to come and try it,

You can always end listings if you feel that the bids are not meeting your needs the worst "burn" you can suffer are the listing fees. (unless you forget and miss the deadline )

I would get my price right and list as a Buy-it-Now for 30 days with a full range of photos and a very accurate description

Hope this helps

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Strictly an amateur with some nice toys,


Edited by DAGGILARR (30/10/11 09:07 AM)