onewilyfool Posted December 18, 2014 Share Posted December 18, 2014 Even a casual scanning of websites like Reverb and Craig's list, etc……show a marked upswing in prices even for the most mundane guitars that can be considered "vintage"…Don't get me wrong….I'm not complaining…..this keeps my G.A.S. in total check….lol…..Just wondering if you all had similar impressions? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j45nick Posted December 18, 2014 Share Posted December 18, 2014 Yes. Haven't seen a bargain in quite some time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zombywoof Posted December 18, 2014 Share Posted December 18, 2014 The vintage dealers I talk to tell me prices have been rising but they do not think they will hit the obscene prices of yesteryear. I can't complain though as I have done real well this year and gotten two of the three guitars on my hit list for well below market value. Probably has a lot to do with the kinds of guitars I covet as much as anything though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blindboygrunt Posted December 18, 2014 Share Posted December 18, 2014 time of year maybe has a bearing on it? ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
retrorod Posted December 18, 2014 Share Posted December 18, 2014 I casually and occasionally look at Ebay for asking and selling prices. It is my opinion that the guitars with the inflated (pre-economic downturn) prices are not selling. Just as Real Estate took a hit......so have vintage guitars. I have found very few 'deals' on Vintage instruments lately. Most sellers are holding a hard-line on pricing however. I am a bit 'spoiled' I guess. I have found great deals in the past.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fumblefingers Posted December 18, 2014 Share Posted December 18, 2014 There are many things in bubble territory right now. Used vehicle prices, specifically diesel trucks, are outrageous. And art prices. Wow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ksdaddy Posted December 18, 2014 Share Posted December 18, 2014 I'm pretty much staying put. I'm the happiest I've ever been and it's with one guitar I've had for 30 years and another I've had for 36. I have a good happy archtop now in my '49 L-48 and if I upgrade, I won't be spending $4000 on an old L-7. Screw that, I'll take that same money and buy a Bozeman L7 from 10 years ago or a Heritage Golden Eagle or a Guild Artist Award. Those are scary overpiced but not as overpriced as something that was cranked out in 1946 and happened to survive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tvguit Posted December 18, 2014 Share Posted December 18, 2014 I'm definitely biased on this issue but in my opinion, prices have been stabilizing rather than rising. I have seen steady sales at my store at what I would consider market price. Overall, prices for the general market have been a bit stagnate compared to the last year or so (See the first few pages in the VG Price Guide 2015). Maybe you're seeing prices for the style of item you look for rise. Maybe you're ahead of the trend? (VG indicates that the prices for vintage Martin guitars have dropped by 5% in the last year while Gibson and Fender prices have increased by about a percentage point). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MorrisrownSal Posted December 18, 2014 Share Posted December 18, 2014 I think the only vintage guitar I have ever wanted was Jorma's J50. I am lucky on two counts though... First kids'college tuitions keeps me in check, and second my SJ gets better every day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J-200 Koa Posted December 18, 2014 Share Posted December 18, 2014 Don't confuse "asking prices" with "selling prices". I have seen some ridiculous prices lately but those guitars never seem to sell. I would be nice to see the actual selling price to compare. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zombywoof Posted December 18, 2014 Share Posted December 18, 2014 I have a good happy archtop now in my '49 L-48 and if I upgrade, I won't be spending $4000 on an old L-7. Prices on archtops really are still in the toilet. There is a 1937 L-12 for sale locally which has dropped about $1K in asking price over the last year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BluesKing777 Posted December 18, 2014 Share Posted December 18, 2014 Yes -advertising is very different than actually selling! I would like the 37 Gibson below to have a 37 Martin companion! I keep playing that if asked by relatives in the chance they may think I'm in trouble, but apart from one "urk, urk, urk, you look like you need to buy a new guitar!"....nothing so far.......................... But a Martin friend from the same year, well.....probably sound the same, but the prices...... And if the relatives find out how much I've spent on the Gibson, well I guess they will put in for a.....committal hearing. BluesKing777. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fumblefingers Posted December 19, 2014 Share Posted December 19, 2014 I am different in that I value new guitars more than "vintage." I never even gave a thought to purchasing an old guitar. That's a pretty cool looking guitar above, but I'd be scared to death of it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cunningham26 Posted December 19, 2014 Share Posted December 19, 2014 Agree with most of the points here- I think a lot of boomers are selling, making the market awash with great product, but want top dollar for everything. Rather than observe whether there's a market bubble, I'd be interested to see what the margins are for vintage dealers. Fumblefingers kinda hit on it- there's a weird bubble on a lot of things right now, exacerbated by a transparent market where people can easily see the going rates Another weird trend is the Dan Auerbach/Jack White effect- crappy plywood guitars and suuuppeerr cheap electrics from the 60s are all these amazing blues machines with "great black keys tone". Sometimes a guitar is just old wood. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
QuestionMark Posted December 19, 2014 Share Posted December 19, 2014 I've heard the bubble thang for years. What seems to really happen as with any collector market is some go up and some go down, depending on what is a hot collectable at the time. What is interesting is how Taylor's never seem to be collectable guitars in the vintage guitar marketplace. There doesn't seem to be a demand for them as vintage guitars in the vintage guitar marketplace even though some now are old. Maybe if Taylor ever sold to Fender, suddenly authenticTaylors made by BobTaylor would become collectable.?? Stuff like that figures into the collectable market. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rambler Posted December 19, 2014 Share Posted December 19, 2014 I dunno. High end vintage may still be recession proof. Ditto the more exacting reissues (why else would Martin ditch the vintage and GE models to go all in on authenthics?). For both, there are people that can afford to play, which keeps prices up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fumblefingers Posted December 19, 2014 Share Posted December 19, 2014 I've heard the bubble thang for years. What seems to really happen as with any collector market is some go up and some go down, depending on what is a hot collectable at the time. What is interesting is how Taylor's never seem to be collectable guitars in the vintage guitar marketplace. There doesn't seem to be a demand for them as vintage guitars in the vintage guitar marketplace even though some now are old. Maybe if Taylor ever sold to Fender, suddenly authenticTaylors made by BobTaylor would become collectable.?? Stuff like that figures into the collectable market. Perhaps it's the junky, bright sound? Uh-oh.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
onewilyfool Posted December 19, 2014 Author Share Posted December 19, 2014 BK…how about a '33 Martin R-18 for a companion? Yes -advertising is very different than actually selling! I would like the 37 Gibson below to have a 37 Martin companion! I keep playing that if asked by relatives in the chance they may think I'm in trouble, but apart from one "urk, urk, urk, you look like you need to buy a new guitar!"....nothing so far.......................... But a Martin friend from the same year, well.....probably sound the same, but the prices...... And if the relatives find out how much I've spent on the Gibson, well I guess they will put in for a.....committal hearing. BluesKing777. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BluesKing777 Posted December 19, 2014 Share Posted December 19, 2014 BK…how about a '33 Martin R-18 for a companion? Thanks OWF. It looks pretty cool, but far too nice a condition to be friends with my L-0... I was thinking more of the beaten up look, like maybe this one - the thread was vintage price bubble - well look at this bubble: http://www.elderly.com/vintage/items/10U-6784.htm BluesKing777. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
onewilyfool Posted December 19, 2014 Author Share Posted December 19, 2014 Thanks OWF. It looks pretty cool, but far too nice a condition to be friends with my L-0... I was thinking more of the beaten up look, like maybe this one - the thread was vintage price bubble - well look at this bubble: http://www.elderly.com/vintage/items/10U-6784.htm BluesKing777. Yeah…that's oneI'm saving up for too…lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mountainpicker Posted December 19, 2014 Share Posted December 19, 2014 I don't know, I still feel like there is a huge glut in the used guitar market. The true vintage stuff seems to hold up pretty well but plain old used guitars seem to be less expensive and staying there. I'm not really looking since I don't think I want to go through all the break in time that a new guitar takes not to mention all the upkeep on yet another guitar (here in the land of low humidity). I do think that if all the large price increases that are being bantered about by all the major manufacturers happens in 2015 that the used prices will notch up proportionally. But only God knows and he certainly ain't talkin' to me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DenverSteve Posted January 12, 2015 Share Posted January 12, 2015 What is interesting is how Taylor's never seem to be collectable guitars in the vintage guitar marketplace. There doesn't seem to be a demand for them as vintage guitars in the vintage guitar marketplace even though some now are old. Nothing about 1974 Taylor's seems vintage when compared to an 1874 Martin. Too many great old guitars for collector's to drool over before getting to the new kid on the block. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tpbiii Posted January 12, 2015 Share Posted January 12, 2015 I have all the Vintage Guitar Price Guide for many years. This is a form estimate of the long term history of vintage guitar prices -- not perfect but the best around that is accessible. Here is a chart with three 60s Gibsons -- 62 HB, 65 Dove, and 65 F-25 -- plus two J-45s for reference: 52 and 42. This seems to match my memory for wartime and postwar Gibsons. The sort of behaved as a clump with a group jump about 2007 and with the banners jumping up alone starting in about 2007. Prewar is a different deal. I'll make a chart on the prewar stuff tomorrow. Let's pick, -Tom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smurfbird Posted January 12, 2015 Share Posted January 12, 2015 Could I interest anyone in selling guitars at 1993 prices? I have dollar bills from that era. That balances things out right? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
retrorod Posted January 12, 2015 Share Posted January 12, 2015 Even a casual scanning of websites like Reverb and Craig's list, etc……show a marked upswing in prices even for the most mundane guitars that can be considered "vintage"…Don't get me wrong….I'm not complaining…..this keeps my G.A.S. in total check….lol…..Just wondering if you all had similar impressions? Send some of them buyers my way.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.