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1963 Gibson L5 CES


electrickn

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Hi all...new to the board and wanted your opinion on a guitar.

We listed on craigslist (ignore the asking price, we only put that to avoid extreme low-ballers.)

I know the guitar is worth a lot though. We've been contacted by a lot of dealers...including GC, who wants it for their

LA vintage guitar shop. The appointment with Guitar Center for their offer is tomorrow, and I don't want to let it go for too low of a price...hence this post. Any suggestions would be appreciated. It's in very good condition...here's a link to the ad for pics...

 

https://buffalo.craigslist.org/msg/4388875485.html

 

Thanks!!

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Can I ask you why on earth you are even dealing with Guitar Center regarding this guitar? Do you have any idea regarding what you have here? You really need to stop and get some help from some of the guys on this group BEFORE you end up giving this very rare L5 away! DO NOT EVEN continue dealing with Guitar Center! They will steal this L5 from you plain and simple. Can you give us the serial number for this guitar as well if you have them a couple of jpegs taken a bit closer of the back,front,headstock and side of the your L5 if you could? Also can you tell us a bit about the history of this guitar? Did it belong to your dad or another relative maybe? DO NOT start dealing with these dealers like Guitar Center! jim in Maine

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HI

 

Thanks for the input. The Guitar Center offer wasn't what we wanted and knew it wouldn't be. It's my Father's guitar, but he does not use the internet at all so I'm doing this for him. He's an old school Bop player and guitar teacher and he's just fine with that. He did want someone to look at it and at least get an idea for a starting point. GC took more photos and some black light ones as well....along with verifying the pickups and all the original hardware etc...in the end it was a low offer from LA (over the phone as we're from NY.) The guys in the store thought it would be more and still think LA will call him...but we think the offer will still be too low. It was cool to see everyone in the guitar department wanting to get their picture with it though.

While I've bought and sold my my gear on ebay for just over 15 years now, this is way out of my comfort zone for ebay. I've sold my custom PRS, Mesa, and Diezel gear there, and while those items are not exactly low end...this is a much higher and riskier sale.

 

He bought this guitar from one of his students in the late 70's / early 80s's. I think a partial trade for his S400 too. The serial number is: 61572. Anyway, he just plays his Johnny Smith now and would like to let this one go. He also wants to take some of the proceeds from this guitar and buy another Johnny Smith, ~ 65'-80'.

He will get some more close-up pictures, and I will post them here later when I get over there (I have to get them off the camera for him.) If anyone is interested here, or has any questions feel free to message me and I'll give you his phone number.

 

Paul

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I've offered a couple of "vintage" pieces to Guitar Center just out of curiosity to how they dealt on on this kind of stuff. It turned out to be a pretty simple formula, they offered 50% of what the stuff was really worth.

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I've offered a couple of "vintage" pieces to Guitar Center just out of curiosity to how they dealt on on this kind of stuff. It turned out to be a pretty simple formula, they offered 50% of what the stuff was really worth.

 

To be fair, that's all that any dealer will offer you on a straight cash buy. Consignment shops usually take 20%, but stuff can sit around for awhile--since the place has no investment in your guitar, they don't care if it dresses up their website or stock list for months. I've been lucky selling stuff on Ebay and I've occasionally done a sale on a guitar forum. Even with Ebay and Paypal fees I come out ahead of dealer's net and the sale happens quickly.

 

Danny W.

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A really short story about the Guitar Center in Hollywood which I believe everyone would get a kick out of. I used to live up in the San Fernando Valley just over the Sepulveda pass from West Los Angeles. Norm Harris of NormansRareGuitars wanted to see my '60 Guild Aristocrat that at the time I had just picked up on the East Coast. This was around 2006 at the time. On the way back to San Diego I stopped at the G.C. in Hollywood just to see what they had there at the time. I wasn't going to leave the Guild in the car so I brought it in with me. That of course is when the fun really began. A very long story short is that the 'big shot vintage guy whose name you all probably know but I won't mention' said with a 'BIG' grin on his face that he would give me the large sum of $500 for that Guild........yeah sure of course.......I then proceeded to tell them that 'hey guys I am now leaving as I only wanted to show Norman Harris the Guild and I had no intention of selling it period'. I almost had to call the L.A. police to escape from the Guitar Center in Hollywood.......jim in Maine currently working in Denver,Colorado

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To be fair, that's all that any dealer will offer you on a straight cash buy. Consignment shops usually take 20%, but stuff can sit around for awhile--since the place has no investment in your guitar, they don't care if it dresses up their website or stock list for months. I've been lucky selling stuff on Ebay and I've occasionally done a sale on a guitar forum. Even with Ebay and Paypal fees I come out ahead of dealer's net and the sale happens quickly.

 

Danny W.

 

Yeah, and to top it off, eBay is charging 10% now. Combine that with Paypal fees, shipping, and insurance, and you have lost a lot of value. And, unless you are a buyer with a track record of 35 (I think) positive sales or more, Paypal/eBay will hold your funds for 3 weeks.

 

I have quit using eBay. I sold a $19,000 motorcycle on Craig’s List a couple of months ago. I also use local classified ads in papers. Sometimes it takes longer but you keep your money.

 

I don’t let strangers come to my house. Sometimes you have to come up with creative meeting places, especially musical instruments. I have met people at GC and told those clowns we wanted to try out an amp. Being a retired Military and Police Officer, I will show up at the meeting armed and possibly with a big friend. [cool] Just don’t be a victim.

 

But yes, as others have said, get it appraised. For me, that would be Fuller’s Vintage Guitars in Houston. And I would be willing (and expecting) to pay a fee. No doubt they would make an offer. Best of luck. I would rather have that guitar than the money it will bring because if I had the money, it would just get spent.

 

Cheers,

Woolly

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I've offered a couple of "vintage" pieces to Guitar Center just out of curiosity to how they dealt on on this kind of stuff. It turned out to be a pretty simple formula, they offered 50% of what the stuff was really worth.

 

 

To be fair, that's all that any dealer will offer you on a straight cash buy.

The last time I was selling something (a few years ago), 60% seemed to be pretty much the industry standard for cash from a dealer (Gruhn, Archtop.com, etc). At any rate, it's not clear to me if Larry was complaining or just stating something matter-of-factly, but as I've said to Larry more than once, business is business. A vintage dealer is not going to give you anywhere near what the stuff is "really worth" unless they're buying it to keep. Naturally there are ways to try to make more money for oneself, but that will take longer, and usually involves both a higher level of effort and a higher level of risk (especially with a high end instrument).

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Yeah, and to top it off, eBay is charging 10% now.

 

Cheers,

Woolly

 

The final value fee for an Ebay auction of a guitar would have a cap of $250. On a $7000 guitar that represents 3.6 percent. Add another three percent for Paypal and you're still way below what a dealer will nick you for. In return you have to deal with the buyer and assume some risk, but I've been happy to do that and keep the change.

 

Danny W

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  • 1 year later...

What about HOG??? Are they in the market for vintage instruments?? They aren't that far away from you.

 

 

Yeah, I haven't been there in ages. I don't remember them being big on Archtops.

I've been wanting to get back there for a while now to demo some amps, so it might be worth looking into.

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