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A very sweet (and overly trusting) lady from my church has decided to part with her deceased boyfriends guitar. According to the Jackson Website Support info, it is a Jackson / Randy Rhoads flying V produced in 1985 (San Dimas). It is obviously used. The lady knows nothing about computers and asked me search online to try and sell it. But I know nothing about Guitars. Where should I go to try and help her sell this thing ????? She seems to think it is a rare item (maybe that's what her boyfriend told her??) . I just don't want her to get ripped off...... Any help is appreciated
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If you were trying to post pics of this guitar, you need to use a hosting site for them as the JCF doesn't allow direct picture posting. I use IMGR, which is a free site to host pics and can post the links here. As for selling the guitar, best to get an idea what she has and a possible range of values for it first. Condition is important as well as the specs and originality of the guitar. If you can post some pics, guys here will generally help out and give an idea of what it's worth. You can also check Ebay for closed sales of Jackson RRs to see what they are selling for.
Next, if you're selling it for her, do you want a local sale (so you don't have to pack and ship this, which is a oversized case/package)? If so, consider posting on your local Craig's List, but be prepared to get low-balled and crazy offers. If you're ok selling online, consider Ebay or Reverb to get a bigger audience. But you have to consider the fees when selling online. So it may depend on how much effort you want to put into the sale and how much the seller is trying to get for it. Hope this helps a little. -
If you are not an "old pro" with musical item deals on global/national sites like eBay and Reverb, I would keep it to a local face-to-face cash sale.
Yes, you are limiting the amount of money you will get and lengthening the amount of time it will take to sell.
But you will be limiting the hassle and risk.
Also, the fact that you are not a musician means that you can't honestly post an item and get "fair value" for it because, as example, you have no clue what the most basic things like a scale length is or what scale length is used on this guitar. We may be able to see pictures to see what shape the finish is in, but we can't trust what you say about the playing condition - because that 1/16th of an inch difference, or the 0.001" difference, makes a huge difference. And yes, those are real measurements of various parts. I'm not blowing it out of proportion or nit picking the way 1950s Gibson "thread counters" do (they will count the threads on a screw and tell you it is not original). A 0.001 inch difference means a lot to a player.
*However, the truth is, in the case of Jackson, many of us will drive well beyond our local Craigslist posting regions to pick up a decent USA model. Excluding the "trips" I make while travelling, I think my "record" is 4 hours for a deal.
As to the "rarity" of it ----
yes and no
Every Jackson from back than was considered a one-off. But because every guitar was one of a kind, it also kind of limits the rarity of them. And it was a fairly new company, so they weren't in demand by the mass population, which is fine because they did not have the ability to make more. I mean, you can look at the serial number list and can plainly see that in 1985, there were 757 Rhoads made (probably a third have passed through this board at one point or another). So, you have 757 in existence (less the ones that have been lost and destroyed). That is pretty rare as far as if someone was specifically looking for a 1985 Rhoads when compared to a 2019 iPhone which has sold millions. But, when compared against the other 1985 Rhoads that were made, there is most likely nothing too rare about it. You do find the occasional oddity/rarity, but of the 757 made that year - most will have a Kahler tremolo, 22 frets with "triangle" inlays, 2 humbucking pickups, a control plate on the front of the body, 3 knobs and a switch.
In fact, what I said (other than the Kahler, which was stopped being used around 1987), everything I said applies to most Rhoads (later renamed RR1) made in America from 1983 through today.
To put it in modern political terms - Jackson was the original snowflake. Each one was unique - which makes none of them unique, no more special than the next. Although, Jackson doesn't easily melt when confronted.
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