Why are bolt-on Kellys so inexpensive (used)?

[tolstoi]

Am I missing something? I have always kind of liked the Kellys, but never pulled the trigger on one. With the quality of the imports being pretty good, I have been looking around. It seems that bolt-on Kellys just have terrible resale values (which is a plus since I'm thinking of buying one).

Is there any good reason for this that I'm unaware of? Do they suffer from a problem, or is it primarily perception, or something else entirely?

They certainly look like steals on paper - what am I missing?

Thanks.

[JACKSONFREAK]

Your not missing anything. All bolt on Kellys are imports. They sell rather inexpensively new. So that translates to even less expensivley used.
Gil

[RacerX]

There a couple problems that immediately spring to mind:

#1 Neck dive. Check the search function to see the extent of - and solutions for - this problem.

#2 If you have a bit of a spare tire on your stomach (or a lot ) the Kelly hangs in such a way that the top of the guitar angles away from you (points toward the floor). This is the main reason I sold my Kelly XL.

[DonP]

I love mine, but as you already know, I got it for cheap ($195 shipped). Sold the hardware and neck, and got black hardware and a DK-1 neck for it. I love blacked out Kelly's (Ron would want me to spell this as Kellies, but it just doesn't look right ).

[tolstoi]

...If you have a bit of a spare tire on your stomach ...

I have spent years building this gut! I guess I'll have to try one out to see if I can handle it. I think the imports are easy enough to find locally.

I'll start reading about the neck dive.

Thanks.

[wilkinsi]

KE3's are by no means cheap over here, nor is anyone willing to let one go for less than 3/4 of the original price on ebay.co.uk whether it be mint or damaged. However, take one to a shop, be lucky to get half the value in credit against another guitar, and they'll sell it as new. Only the original buyer will know the truth. I paid £379 for my 2006 KE3, got £220 credit, but then they charged £350. It sold. This is the same KE3 I modded (forward strap button through the neckplate) .I wanted to buy it back but didn't get there fast enough.

[RacerX]

I love blacked out Kelly's (Ron would want me to

...spell it without the apostrophe


Kellys