1968 ES330 value…

[Bulletman]

Hello, I have a 1968 all original ES330 with original case. It is Sparkling Burgundy and in perfect condition and plays beautiful and all electronics are good. Has some checking. Would like to know an approximate value of the guitar if I sold it outright. Not as a trade in.   
Thank you

Edited March 19, 2022 by Bulletman
Added more information

[Dave F]

Per Reverb

 

[Grog]

The 2022 Vintage Guitar Price Guide lists it as $4,800 for “High” value. Yours looks about as mint as you will find. Should go higher yet…….

[JO'C]

Hi Bulletman,

First of all, Beautiful Guitar!!! Always nice to see a 50+ year old instrument in such great shape. I had a '66 JazzMaster that looked like yours condition-wise with just some slight checking. I've had a Reverb shop for about 6 years and sold a couple dozen high end guitars, including 3 ES models. Two years ago I sold a '69 ES-335 in great shape but not as nice as yours for $5400. 2 years later pricing is around $7K for a similar one. I did a quick check and '68 ES-330's are listing from high $4000's to $10K for rare, special ones. I would consider yours in the rare, special category with that color and condition. Long ago I used to have a '65 ES-330 but couldn't bond with it because of feedback issues. Now that I'm older and don't play as loud I wish I still had it. But the lack of center block will always have 330's priced less than 335's. The other issue with ES models from '66-'69 is the thinner 1 9/16" nut width. From '59-'65 the nut width was 1 11/16", which Gibson went back to in the early '70's. I notice quite a few Strats in your photo background. The thinner nut is basically the same as a Strat nut. It has never bothered me but when I was selling my '69 335 a lot of perspective buyers lost interest over the thinner nut. I also had a '66 ES-335-12 that had 12 strings stuffed into the same narrow nut. It sold in a week when I put it up for sale.

That said you surely have a gem and it should fetch top dollar from the right buyer. Even the case condition, if it is original will add to the value. Most 50 year  old cases are beat up. Reverb selling fees are much less than eBay but still gives worldwide exposure. One downside is with either you will get a 1099-K at the end of the year and will have to deal with taxes. This started a couple of years ago and has caused me to slow my sales down to a crawl.  Before that it was all tax-free. Seeing where prices are sitting now I would estimate the minimum for yours would be $5500 and maybe much higher. You can always start high and lower your pricing if necessary. I was never in a big rush to sell so I had some listings up for three years and still got top dollar once the right buyer turned up. Reverb also has 15% off sales every couple of months, so you could list it for 15% more than you want to get. Then when it goes on sale people think they are getting a great bargain and you still make your margin. Depending where you are located, consignment at a high-end shop might be another option. 

Good luck,

JO'C

[Bulletman]

2 hours ago, JO'C said:

Hi Bulletman,

First of all, Beautiful Guitar!!! Always nice to see a 50+ year old instrument in such great shape. I had a '66 JazzMaster that looked like yours condition-wise with just some slight checking. I've had a Reverb shop for about 6 years and sold a couple dozen high end guitars, including 3 ES models. Two years ago I sold a '69 ES-335 in great shape but not as nice as yours for $5400. 2 years later pricing is around $7K for a similar one. I did a quick check and '68 ES-330's are listing from high $4000's to $10K for rare, special ones. I would consider yours in the rare, special category with that color and condition. Long ago I used to have a '65 ES-330 but couldn't bond with it because of feedback issues. Now that I'm older and don't play as loud I wish I still had it. But the lack of center block will always have 330's priced less than 335's. The other issue with ES models from '66-'69 is the thinner 1 9/16" nut width. From '59-'65 the nut width was 1 11/16", which Gibson went back to in the early '70's. I notice quite a few Strats in your photo background. The thinner nut is basically the same as a Strat nut. It has never bothered me but when I was selling my '69 335 a lot of perspective buyers lost interest over the thinner nut. I also had a '66 ES-335-12 that had 12 strings stuffed into the same narrow nut. It sold in a week when I put it up for sale.

That said you surely have a gem and it should fetch top dollar from the right buyer. Even the case condition, if it is original will add to the value. Most 50 year  old cases are beat up. Reverb selling fees are much less than eBay but still gives worldwide exposure. One downside is with either you will get a 1099-K at the end of the year and will have to deal with taxes. This started a couple of years ago and has caused me to slow my sales down to a crawl.  Before that it was all tax-free. Seeing where prices are sitting now I would estimate the minimum for yours would be $5500 and maybe much higher. You can always start high and lower your pricing if necessary. I was never in a big rush to sell so I had some listings up for three years and still got top dollar once the right buyer turned up. Reverb also has 15% off sales every couple of months, so you could list it for 15% more than you want to get. Then when it goes on sale people think they are getting a great bargain and you still make your margin. Depending where you are located, consignment at a high-end shop might be another option. 

Good luck,

JO'C

Thank you very much for all the information. I was able to purchase the 2022 guitar buyers guide and it’s listed at $4800. I’m going to list it for $5500 and see if I get any hits on it. It is a beautiful guitar and is owned by my cousin. I have a 1963 Guild Starfire that is pretty much in new condition also. I love that guitar!! Thank you again sir. 

 

 

[JO'C]

So.... both Reverb and eBay allow the buyers to make offers so you may want to start higher. You can always lower the price at any time if you don't get any nibbles. Of the two dozen guitars I sold on Reverb only a couple were bought for the listed price without any haggling. I always list at least 10% over what I'd like to get so that if someone makes an offer I have room to make a counteroffer that is still where I want to be. And the buyer feels good for getting it for less than the asking price. I was a collector for many years and as I got older I felt I really didn't need more than three dozen guitars, so I started selling some off. They were all case queens in excellent or mint condition, a lot of Custom Shop and vintage. Due to either condition or rarity I was always able to get way more than the buyer's guide pricing. Now I'm down to a respectable 10 and pretty much have one of everything I want. There are lots of folks out there willing to pay a premium for something special. A lot of people, myself included, want a guitar from their birth year, and have the money to plop down on a 50 or 60 year old guitar. Unfortunately for me there are no bargains in my birth year, 1958.

Those old Guilds are great guitars. My cousin and bandmate has a '59 Bluesbird and another friend has a few old Starfires. Unfortunately they don't command any where near the price of an old Gibson.

[Bulletman]

10 hours ago, JO'C said:

So.... both Reverb and eBay allow the buyers to make offers so you may want to start higher. You can always lower the price at any time if you don't get any nibbles. Of the two dozen guitars I sold on Reverb only a couple were bought for the listed price without any haggling. I always list at least 10% over what I'd like to get so that if someone makes an offer I have room to make a counteroffer that is still where I want to be. And the buyer feels good for getting it for less than the asking price. I was a collector for many years and as I got older I felt I really didn't need more than three dozen guitars, so I started selling some off. They were all case queens in excellent or mint condition, a lot of Custom Shop and vintage. Due to either condition or rarity I was always able to get way more than the buyer's guide pricing. Now I'm down to a respectable 10 and pretty much have one of everything I want. There are lots of folks out there willing to pay a premium for something special. A lot of people, myself included, want a guitar from their birth year, and have the money to plop down on a 50 or 60 year old guitar. Unfortunately for me there are no bargains in my birth year, 1958.

Those old Guilds are great guitars. My cousin and bandmate has a '59 Bluesbird and another friend has a few old Starfires. Unfortunately they don't command any where near the price of an old Gibson.

Thank you again. I have it listed on the Facebook Market Place right now. I’ll see if it gets any hits. Thanks again for your time