JR48 Posted July 8, 2014 Share Posted July 8, 2014 I live in New Zealand and over the years my love of old arch-top guitars has seen me end up with quite a few good instruments. I am now at a stage in life when I need to think about what to do with them. Back in the day - the 1960s - I was the only local person interested in these old instruments when everyone else wanted a Strat. A lot of good guitars came into NZ courtesy of US Armed Forces stationed in Christchurch, NZ for Operation Deep Freeze, which serviced the the US base in the Antarctic. NZ is way too small a market to do anything with these guitars. Among the Gibsons: 1980 Super 400CES;1966-67 Johnny SmithJSDN;1973 L5CES; 1961 L4CN; 1953 ES175 CES; 1949 ES 125; 1939 Kalamazoo ES 150. Any sensible suggestions!? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jannusguy2 Posted July 16, 2014 Share Posted July 16, 2014 I would definitely be looking at eBay were it me. I mean, that's the best way to get to the largest audience. Either that or reach out to a dealer in the states or Europe that might consider purchasing the lot. You have some valuable guitars there depending on the condition and playability... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimR56 Posted July 17, 2014 Share Posted July 17, 2014 You could make more of a profit if you sell them yourself, whether online (ebay or gbase), or locally via ads. This involves a bit more effort and time on your part also, and it may take longer to find the right buyer, and you have to concern yourself with customer satisfaction when you're shipping a guitar to a non-local buyer. With higher-end guitars, I find these things a bit worrying. The other standard option is consignment, either at a local store or via an online dealer. The standard industry consignment fee is typically 20% of the final sales price, but dealers can often maximize the selling price via their network of contacts, so you might actually end up with a higher profit this way. I don't know whether you've established any relationships with dealers in different places, but there are many reputable dealers to choose from. When I have consigned to dealers here in the U.S., I have used Archtop.com (Joe Vinikow, in Seattle WA), with generally very good results. I have also received estimates from George Gruhn (Nashville TN) and a couple of others over the years. Hope this helps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dReit1 Posted July 17, 2014 Share Posted July 17, 2014 Sounds like you have a great collection. If I was trying to sell, I think I'd give Reverb Dot Com a try. I've heard that they keep a lot less money than eBay does. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carloshoek Posted July 18, 2014 Share Posted July 18, 2014 Sounds like you have a great collection. If I was trying to sell, I think I'd give Reverb Dot Com a try. I've heard that they keep a lot less money than eBay does. They charge around 3.5 and ebay around 10% Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
L5Larry Posted July 18, 2014 Share Posted July 18, 2014 The problem here, selling to a "world" market, it that the guitars are in New Zealand. Shipping, packaging and duties/customs fees, etc, are going to be astronomical, especially if sold to a U.S. or E.U. buyer. Selling these guitars individually with the SOP of charging packaging/shipping/duties directly to the buyer will increase the buyers costs significantly. In my opinion, your best bet is to work a consignment/brokerage deal with a "reputable" U.S. vintage guitar dealer for the lot. You would still have to get the guitars to the dealer, for a "reputable" dealer will not be advertising, or selling, guitars he does not actually have. I would look into costs associated with shipping a "crate", or "container" of the lot to the dealer. In shopping dealers, you will also need a dealer willing to "push" these guitars. High-end archtops don't really sell too well just by hanging on the rack. Internet sales is a little better. The way the high-end pieces will sell is by the dealer personally contacting his clients and the "old boys club" vintage dealer "network". The "network" ships guitars back and forth to each other all the time for client inspection, and usually absorbs the cost of doing so. There are also a few ways to come to a brokerage/consignment agreement with a dealer. The most prevalent is the consignment "percentage". The dealer gets a percentage of whatever he sells them for, regardless of the price. This motivates the dealer to move product, but provides little incentive for maximizing profit for the "owner". What I do, and have found works best for me, both economically AND mentally, is I set MY price on the guitar. This is the amount I receive after the sale, PERIOD. Anything above that amount the dealer gets to keep as his "commission". On paper, this works out the same as if the dealer had bought the guitar, and then "flips" it for a profit, but without any of HIS money invested in the inventory. But... I get MY price for the guitar, and don't have to worry about retail sales prices or commissions. If you set reasonable "owner to receive" prices, I think this works best for both parties. Just some thoughts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RayWhitley Posted July 21, 2014 Share Posted July 21, 2014 Why not list them on Australian ebay? That's a large market where vintage guitars are scarce and close enough to ship without much worry. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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