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Negotiating Sales Prices for Guitars

Aloha_Ark

Active member
Joined
Apr 2, 2020
Messages
154
This is a topic that has not been covered very deeply on youtube.


Do you feel guilty about squeezing the last dime out of a deal? I guess I do, which is why I basically only bargain hunt on ebay and reverb. Both online auction sites are loaded with sellers who misrepresent gear, so the only way to cover mistakes is to always underpay. Because, even if you think you got a good deal, you got shafted on another deal. With so many sellers on these sites, its is rare to buy from the same seller more than once, especially on expensive gear. Thus, there is no inherent mechanism to maintain loyalty.

Just about all dealers have an internet presence these days. My tip is to develop a relationship with a dealer. But this is tricky to maintain because you may be buying more gear than you actually need. I dumped thousand of dollars into Musician's Friend Private Reserve, and then my salesman left.

If you shop around for a pre-owned guitar, then you're faced with a dilemma when the same model sells for at least a 25% difference between competing dealers. Is it fair to lowball your favorite dealer to match the price? The worry here is that most vintage dealers are mom and pop operations. Do we risk their survival by not patronizing them on a regular basis? I have no idea what the profit margin is for vintage gear. The prices are all over the map, and encourage gouging by some dealers. I think elite customers like Joe Bonamassa and Kirk Hammett are the only ones who can score a great deal, right?

In conclusion, today I found a vintage Fender Jazzmaster (VG condition) for 25% less than the going price. I feel like a slug for this type of bargain hunting. Last month, I got a near mint Danny Gatton sig tele (with warranty) for a great price. I'm going down, down, down, down.
 

jrgtr42

Well-known member
Joined
Mar 24, 2005
Messages
2,308
It's one thing to get a better deal - it's another to lowball a dealer.
What it comes to is knowing about what a particular piece is going for, both online and brick-and-mortar.
It can be tricky with flame tops, a small increase in grade can mean a big increase in price.
I don't put a ton of stock in Blue Book or even the Vintage Guides, since by definition, the prices quotes are minimum 6 months out of date, and vintage instruments vary widely in less time than that.
If you see a piece, and you think it's high, make an offer (again, no low-balling, unless it's really not as represented, but cite chapter and verse as to what is wrong.) The dealer can say no, but as often as not they'll come back with a counter offer. If you come to an agreement, great.
Some places won't haggle at all, most will.
The dealer knows what he has into the piece, he knows what he has to sell it for to cover costs, and to make a profit.
An individual on Ebay or Craigslist etc doesn't have costs involved in rent, power, salaries etc. but they may or may not be willing to deal - depends on the person and what they perceive as the value.
 

El Gringo

Well-known member
Joined
Apr 8, 2015
Messages
5,657
This is a topic that has not been covered very deeply on youtube.


Do you feel guilty about squeezing the last dime out of a deal? I guess I do, which is why I basically only bargain hunt on ebay and reverb. Both online auction sites are loaded with sellers who misrepresent gear, so the only way to cover mistakes is to always underpay. Because, even if you think you got a good deal, you got shafted on another deal. With so many sellers on these sites, its is rare to buy from the same seller more than once, especially on expensive gear. Thus, there is no inherent mechanism to maintain loyalty.

Just about all dealers have an internet presence these days. My tip is to develop a relationship with a dealer. But this is tricky to maintain because you may be buying more gear than you actually need. I dumped thousand of dollars into Musician's Friend Private Reserve, and then my salesman left.

If you shop around for a pre-owned guitar, then you're faced with a dilemma when the same model sells for at least a 25% difference between competing dealers. Is it fair to lowball your favorite dealer to match the price? The worry here is that most vintage dealers are mom and pop operations. Do we risk their survival by not patronizing them on a regular basis? I have no idea what the profit margin is for vintage gear. The prices are all over the map, and encourage gouging by some dealers. I think elite customers like Joe Bonamassa and Kirk Hammett are the only ones who can score a great deal, right?

In conclusion, today I found a vintage Fender Jazzmaster (VG condition) for 25% less than the going price. I feel like a slug for this type of bargain hunting. Last month, I got a near mint Danny Gatton sig tele (with warranty) for a great price. I'm going down, down, down, down.

You sound like you are a rich and a wealthy individual . Shops know how to properly price items to sell . Every shop I have ever made purchases from always knocked off some money for me from the price . I would ask politely and all shops would help me out with the price , except for one idiot that had the audacity to tell me and I quote " why should I sell to you ? " Shops have a built in margin for dealer cost /profit margin , it all part of business -which means making money !
 

thejaf

Member
Joined
Oct 27, 2006
Messages
527
It depends on the guitar itself. If the price is abnormally low and/or the guitar is unplayed for 20-years, then my experience dictates there is a reason. For instance it's either faked, stolen, or in the later case a tone turd.
 

Bob Womack

Well-known member
Joined
Apr 8, 2002
Messages
2,191
That was an interesting video that considered a lot of factors. For some reason I've always seemed to hover around the human factors of the negotiation biz and the objective value of the item. I've looked at it as an opportunity to save money, but have wanted it to remain reasonable so that I can look the other guy in the eye the next time I see him. I was negotiating a vintage guitar purchase last week. I had done a lot of research leading up to it and called up the fellow who owned the guitar. The fellow I talked with spent a pretty long time getting to know me, talking about his life, about his father's life, guitar in general. Eventually he told me the reason: He said that at his age, in his sixties, good will was far more important to him that making the biggest amount of coin. The guitar he was selling had belonged to his father and he wanted it to go to someone who would love it and play it. Once he knew something about me and my intentions, he made me his offer. From my research I could tell it was a pretty killer deal. I told him about my philosophy of negotiating, which I learned from Amy Grant: "A good deal is only a good deal if it is a good deal for everyone involved." He liked that.

I accepted his offer without further negotiation. He took care of me.

I've got a couple of pages on my webpage that deal with negotiation. You can start HERE.

Bob
 

deytookerjaabs

Well-known member
Joined
Nov 6, 2016
Messages
1,592
Way to complicate **** :bike


Last "deal" I got was on a used CS Strat from tweedle dee & tweedle dum who run the platinum room at Nashville GC. Those two stiffs have half a brain between them at best and never room on prices for me (even though I'm always nice/polite, they're just natural born liars, I got a few stories). Starting way back when I'd often send in a girlfriend if I wanted a deal on a used guitar. Now, it's the missus.

Anyways, this particular guitar, I walk in and check it out then tweedle dee tells me he has room on the price as it's been there a while, it was $2400. I say lemme think on it. I get permission, go back and all of the sudden dum & dee have NO ROOM on the guitar. Cool, I leave. Next day I send in the missus and they sell it to her for right under 2k with $100+ in accessories. Losers.

It doesn't always work, but sending in a lady really levels the playing field.
 

Aloha_Ark

Active member
Joined
Apr 2, 2020
Messages
154
Way to complicate **** :bike

Next day I send in the missus and they sell it to her for right under 2k with $100+ in accessories. Losers.

It doesn't always work, but sending in a lady really levels the playing field.

Here is what would happen if I sent my wife into a store with a credit card. We have two members of our extended family with perfect pitch. The wife would have them find the most expensive guitar which could not be intonated correctly, and which was dead sonically above the 7th fret. She would then look for a crabby neck, another thing I hate about some guitars. The case would be chosen to be moldy. The pickups would be fake. After charging $15K, she would drain the credit card enough that I could not buy another guitar for a month. Therefore, not all wives act in the best interest of their husbands, so be very careful. Lol.

I would like to master the Kirk Hammett technique for guitar buying. Details are not exactly spelled out in this link.

https://www.ultimate-guitar.com/news/general_music_news/kirk_hammett_talks_buying_greeny_les_paul_surprisingly_cheap_recalls_peter_greens_odd_reaction_to_seeing_the_guitar.html


"You know, it's really crazy. It really feels like this guitar came to me. I've been in London a couple of days when I got a phone call from a friend of mine who's a guitar dealer, and he said, 'I have a guitar for you to check out.'


"I said, 'Okay, what's the guitar?'; he said, 'Greeny.' I said, 'Bro, I'm not interested in a guitar with a price tag of $2,000,000,' and he said, 'No, it's all poppycock. It's not $2,000,000, it's not even $1,000,000; that's all rumors.'

Later on, he indicates that he was destined to buy the guitar the moment he auditioned it. How was he able to hide his enthusiasm, and hold down the price? On Ramon's youtube video, one watcher claimed that the final selling price was under half a million. This is the era when Kurt Cobain's (left handed) Martin guitar sold for $6 million at auction. Dealers and auction houses are like hawks. They seem to have an instinct for pulling the most cash out of you bank account in the least amount of time. Exactly how did Kirk manage the deal of a lifetime? Did he bring his lovely wife to the meet?
 

tiller2

New member
Joined
Sep 1, 2017
Messages
22
https://www.ultimate-guitar.com/news/general_music_news/kirk_hammett_talks_buying_greeny_les_paul_surprisingly_cheap_recalls_peter_greens_odd_reaction_to_seeing_the_guitar.html

Later on, he indicates that he was destined to buy the guitar the moment he auditioned it. How was he able to hide his enthusiasm, and hold down the price? On Ramon's youtube video, one watcher claimed that the final selling price was under half a million. This is the era when Kurt Cobain's (left handed) Martin guitar sold for $6 million at auction. Dealers and auction houses are like hawks. They seem to have an instinct for pulling the most cash out of you bank account in the least amount of time. Exactly how did Kirk manage the deal of a lifetime? Did he bring his lovely wife to the meet?

"That's not my guitar"--Peter Green. No certificate of authenticity? Lol
 

El Gringo

Well-known member
Joined
Apr 8, 2015
Messages
5,657
Way to complicate **** :bike


Last "deal" I got was on a used CS Strat from tweedle dee & tweedle dum who run the platinum room at Nashville GC. Those two stiffs have half a brain between them at best and never room on prices for me (even though I'm always nice/polite, they're just natural born liars, I got a few stories). Starting way back when I'd often send in a girlfriend if I wanted a deal on a used guitar. Now, it's the missus.

Anyways, this particular guitar, I walk in and check it out then tweedle dee tells me he has room on the price as it's been there a while, it was $2400. I say lemme think on it. I get permission, go back and all of the sudden dum & dee have NO ROOM on the guitar. Cool, I leave. Next day I send in the missus and they sell it to her for right under 2k with $100+ in accessories. Losers.

It doesn't always work, but sending in a lady really levels the playing field.

You know what ? I totally believe that as they are thinking south of there belt buckles . I for one would love to hear the stories and if you want send me a private message if you like as this topic fascinates me . Also you must have a really super Lady that gets this done for you !
 

deytookerjaabs

Well-known member
Joined
Nov 6, 2016
Messages
1,592
You know what ? I totally believe that as they are thinking south of there belt buckles . I for one would love to hear the stories and if you want send me a private message if you like as this topic fascinates me . Also you must have a really super Lady that gets this done for you !


Eh, it doesn't work everywhere but sometimes it does, lol. Yeah, she's supportive as long as I'm on the in/out plan so for every get there's other(s) who move on.
 

El Gringo

Well-known member
Joined
Apr 8, 2015
Messages
5,657
Eh, it doesn't work everywhere but sometimes it does, lol. Yeah, she's supportive as long as I'm on the in/out plan so for every get there's other(s) who move on.

Ok, I get that . It would be awfully hard for me to get one and then have to get rid of one . That would be like the movie Sophie's choice .
 

Robinottawa

New member
Joined
Jun 11, 2008
Messages
77
Are you saying that having to decide which guitar to get rid of would be the equivalent of a mother at a Nazi concentration camp having decide which child goes to the gas chamber and which goes to forced labor? That was “Sophie’s choice”.

Just asking..
 
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