Help With Selling Guitars Please

[AfxTwn]

Hello, I have 2 Epiphone electric guitars that I want to sell but I need some help finding out the model of one of them and to see if both are limited editions or rare guitars and then to see how much they are worth. One of them I know is a Epiphone Les Paul Gibson and on the back it says it is a limited edition. The other guitar is a full-body Epiphone but I don't know what model. I have took some pictures:

 

 

Please can someone help me with this as I don't know where to get the help.

 

Thank you.

[Whitmore Willy]

AfxTwn,

 

Welcome to the forum.

The L.P. was made Unsung Plant, Korea, December 1996, Production Number: 09O5.

The finish appears to be a Les Paul Classic Plus....except...I don't think they made them in '96.

(That would account for the Limited Edition Stamp)

 

Value would depend on overall condition and fret ware.

Frankly, I don't know.

I have seen newer ones going on Ebay for $350 to $400 with a hard shell case.

 

The closest thing I could compare it to in the "new market" would be an Epiphone L.P. PLus Top Pro which has

better pickups and coil splitting. They go for about $500 new.

 

The second guitar is a Sheraton II.

With that sticker I can tell nothing. It could have been a referb or a second. Some only have the most minor flaw.

It does look well worn.

A new one goes for $600.

I would check Ebay for used prices. Watch what they sell for. "Buy It Now" prices are often inflated and ignored.

 

Hope others are of more help,

 

Willy

[Dagwood]

Yep welcome to the forum.

 

I'd say $300 and $400 respectively. Anything more than that you'll get people wanting to haggle you down. I'd expect it if I inflated my asking price but I usually don't.

 

I usually sell stuff via Craig's List and I put a fair price with terms like Price is FIRM, Cash only, No Trades.

Fair price meaning I'll find what something is going for in my area, some folks though think their stuff is worth more or equal to what they paid for it. NOPE! Big mistake. These are Asian made "off-brand" guitars, meaning it ain't no Gibson USA. The hard fact is they don't retain their value unlike most USA made instruments.

 

Good Luck.

[AfxTwn]

Thanks very much for your replies. I should have mentioned that I am in the UK and will most likely sell through eBay here. A quick look on there and as you said Whitmore, most of the prices are "Buy It Now" prices and seem to be around the £200-400 mark: http://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_trksid=p5197.m570.l1311&_nkw=epiphone+sheraton+ii&_sacat=0&_from=R40. I can't find an exact match for the Les Paul but at least now I know it was made in Korea.

 

Do you think a fair price for the Les Paul would be starting at £200 and then say £300 for the Sheraton II?

 

I also have a couple of acoustic guitars to sell but I'm expecting them to be worth a lot less. I have an old Eros Nevada 612 12-string guitar and a Brunswick BTK50 6-string electric-acoustic guitar. The Eros has seen better days so I'm thinking maybe £50 for that and I'm not sure on the Brunswick, it's in pretty good condition (almost looks new) and they sell new for £149 so I thought £100 seems fair.

[Whitmore Willy]

I see you mention the Euro but I see the £ sign.

Isn't that the sign for GBP?

 

As you can tell, I have little experience with money on your side of the pond.

I tried both with a currency converter and you seem to be in the park with what Dagwood said.

http://www.usforex.com/currency-converter/?cid=401

 

What I do know from talking to other members from your part of the world is that guitars cost more over there.

Don't short yourself.

 

Good luck,

Willy

[stein]

That Sheraton there, that's a SAMICK made one from the late 80's/early 90's. Maybe a little later.

 

EpiHeads find these the most desireable. As far as used Sheraton II's go, these are worth the most. Not a lot, but at the top of the price range. You could even ask a little more and would likely get it.

 

If I was buying, I would easily pay fow-fiddy for it. If I thought you were cool or really needed the dough, even half a cake.

[AfxTwn]

Yes I live in Britain so my currency is GBP. The reason I'm selling my guitars is that I have just moved into a smaller house and I'm low on money and so wanted to use the money for various things for the house. I don't really have anywhere to put my guitars and so rather than just seeing them collecting dust (I don't play anywhere near as much as I used to due to moving on to electronic music and learning to play piano instead), I thought it would be best to sell them.

 

I'm afraid because of a lack of money I'm also having to sell some old samplers and synths but those should be easier to sell as people are very aware of the models and they're not like guitars where you can get many different makes that look exactly the same. I'm having a big clear out basically.

[AfxTwn]

That Sheraton there, that's a SAMICK made one from the late 80's/early 90's. Maybe a little later.

 

EpiHeads find these the most desireable. As far as used Sheraton II's go, these are worth the most. Not a lot, but at the top of the price range. You could even ask a little more and would likely get it.

 

If I was buying, I would easily pay fow-fiddy for it. If I thought you were cool or really needed the dough, even half a cake.

 

How do you know it's a Samick made Sheraton? I don't know a lot about guitars and this particular one was given to me some time ago by the wife of someone who had passed away as he used to give me lessons (he was a kind old man that lived near me when I was a kid). I think he knew a lot more than me and I would imagine he knew it was a good guitar when he bought it. I couldn't see any labels inside the small grooves, just that little sticker on the back of the stock head, that's why I was struggling to identify it.

 

There are a few music shops I could take the guitar to and see if they'll buy it but I suspect they'll probably take advantage of my lack of knowledge and pay as little for it as possible. The same goes for the Les Paul, it's a limited edition of some sort but it's hard to pin down exactly why and what model it is to maximise the value I could get from it.

[stein]

How do you know it's a Samick made Sheraton? I don't know a lot about guitars and this particular one was given to me some time ago by the wife of someone who had passed away as he used to give me lessons (he was a kind old man that lived near me when I was a kid). I think he knew a lot more than me and I would imagine he knew it was a good guitar when he bought it. I couldn't see any labels inside the small grooves, just that little sticker on the back of the stock head, that's why I was struggling to identify it.

 

There are a few music shops I could take the guitar to and see if they'll buy it but I suspect they'll probably take advantage of my lack of knowledge and pay as little for it as possible. The same goes for the Les Paul, it's a limited edition of some sort but it's hard to pin down exactly why and what model it is to maximise the value I could get from it.

The bridge- that's the main telling giveaway. But they are more thought of because of the 5 piece neck and the overall quality. Body shapes and headstock shapes vary a bit or a lot through the years of the many different ones made in different places. A true expert might be able to look at that and say, "that's a Samick built".

 

As for a "book value" or a written value, I don't think you will find anything separate for a Samick built vs other Sheraton II's. There is likely not to be a separate listing for these.

 

As for the "limeted edition" on the back of the LP, I think these are common. I wonder if MOST do not have them. They are also used on copies and fakes. Not that your's is. But for what it's worth, I am not the Epi expert guy.

[Lord Summerisle]

 

 

There are a few music shops I could take the guitar to and see if they'll buy it but I suspect they'll probably take advantage of my lack of knowledge and pay as little for it as possible. The same goes for the Les Paul, it's a limited edition of some sort but it's hard to pin down exactly why and what model it is to maximise the value I could get from it.

 

It's not so much that music shops are out to rip you off, it's just that they are in business and would have to offer you relatively little for the guitars because the actual retail value of used, modern Epiphones (excluding Elitists) is not that high. They'd have to pay you a modest sum in order to extract any profit. You'll do much better with a private sale.

 

These are not collectible guitars, they are straightforward players' instruments. Good, used guitars. But that's all. I wouldn't attach too much importance to the limited edition or custom shop logo on the LP's headstock....just sell it as what it is - a used Epi LP. Lots of special run Epis turn up with that logo, but they are not "custom shop" guitars in the same way that a Custom Shop Fender is a Custom Shop guitar....Rather they are guitars built to the usual Epiphone standard, but in smaller numbers or for a limited period of time or what-have-you.

 

I see that a new Epiphone Sheraton can be bought from an online dealer in the UK for around 450 quid. That gives you some kind of benchmark. That looks to be a nice Korean made Sheraton II you have there, with the 5 piece neck etc. Personally, I'd prefer it to a new Sheraton, but, as someone else mentioned earlier, that type of thinking is found amongst Epi enthusiasts. At the end of the day, it's still just a used, modern, Asian Epiphone - but no doubt a nice guitar. If it were mine I'd be tempted to stick it on eBay with a reserve of maybe 275 quid or so and see what happened.

[Whitmore Willy]

I just received a PM from a person who knows as much about dating guitars as anyone I have ever met.

I am not sure why he is not posting but, I am sure he has his reasons.

 

Hi Willy,

the blonde Sheraton is Samick, Korea made March '89

 

I believe him.

I have no other reason to post this as I have already admitted to knowing nothing about it.

 

Willy

[AfxTwn]

Thanks very much for everyone's help with this. I am much better informed now and can at least list them correctly on eBay. I think I will put a fairly modest reserve on the guitars seeing as there are a lot of them out there, I'm not expecting to make lots of money and would be happy with £500 between them, I was thinking around £600 for my four guitars total would be a reasonable amount (the two Epiphone's and the two acoustics I mentioned).

 

Thanks again for all the help, I really appreciate it and will recommend the forum to other guitar enthusiasts.

[Bender 4 Life]

"Limited Edition" basically means limited to however many tens of thousands they can turn out before they stop being popular.

[RobinTheHood]

I just received a PM from a person who knows as much about dating guitars as anyone I have ever met.

I am not sure why he is not posting but, I am sure he has his reasons.

 

Hi Willy,

the blonde Sheraton is Samick, Korea made March '89

 

I believe him.

I have no other reason to post this as I have already admitted to knowing nothing about it.

 

Willy

 

Yep, its an '89. The serial number sticker is common for Samick guitars, as well this label predates the Samick "S" designation factory code.

[clarkuss]

I also live in the UK. Sheraton is definitely late 80s/early 90s before they swapped to orange stickers. I think you're bang on correct with a £200/£300 start if you want to auction the LP and the Sheraton respectively. Probably end up getting somewhere between £200-275 for the LP and £300-£400 for the Sheraton. Do they both have cases?

[AfxTwn]

No they don't have cases so I will have to package them really well. I've read on another forum that some music shops have spare guitar boxes that their new guitars normally come in and they are happy to give them away for free to save them throwing them away so I will see if any of the music shops near me have any and then buy a big roll of bubble wrap.