Guitar Market SLUMPING??

[1979Charvel]

Just wondering if you guys in the rest of the country are seeing what we are seeing here in California? Seems like people are selling GREAT STUFF below market values and even then not moving thier stuff?

* Recent sightings (a Cunetto era strat 2500.00) AND NO BUYER?

* I bought a BOGNER 100B in essence for 2999.00 Plus 200.00 for the PROPER FOOTswitch.

* I sold a Charvel Bullseye and barely got 1178.00 for it on EBAY?

* Deizel Einstien 1800.00 - 2400.00??


Can any of you guys chime in as to whats going on in your neck of the woods.?

[straycat]

Used amps are dirt cheap here in KY.There have been some Roland 120's (combo) sitting in a shop and have been there for some time,Sunn 1/2 stack 100 watt.Even the vintage Fender stuff is going begging.The vintage market is real slow here guitar wise I know of several Kramer stagemasters that just wont sell.Some Fender basses well worth the asking price.
People are buying the hell out of stomp boxes/pedals that I have noticed.
BTW I have seen several 900 and 800 Marshall heads for sale but the cabs people tend to keep them.The heads have been in the $600.00 range

[Joe_Steeler]

Everything that goes up (beyond reason) must come down (to reason).
Life has a funny way of leveling things of and returning them to balance.

[CharvelRocker]

I think the market at the whole is dangerously close to crashing. First off, its absolutely FLOODED with too many variants of the same thing. ESP and Ibanez are perfect examples of this, along with Behringer and to some degree Crate. Next, prices are going up on everything, guitars, food, gas, etc. And when prices start going up and money gets tighter, people starting cutting out "luxury" items like guitars and eating out. And with the market for guitars hurting and bloated, as well as the dollar which seems to get you less and less, its not a very good combination.

As for what goes on here, I live in a fairly middle class area. And gear isn't selling. Every store I go has had the same crap in it forever now. Even the guys at guitar center said they are having a hard time moving big ticket items like amps and guitars. Used stuff is a bit pricey, but can be had cheap if you know where to look, like the paper, garage sales, and Craigslist.

[Joe_Steeler]

This bodes well for the Frankies

[1979Charvel]

Yeah Frankies are UP THE CREEK!! I dont know anyone personally here in LA/HOLLYWOOD who is even LOOKING AT THEM!

[Joe_Steeler]

Not THE Frankies.... I am sorry for the poor dealers that were duped and maybe "forced" into buying them for store stock.

[Soap]

How can I say this....
In regards to guitars, amps and gear, When I decide to invest I KNOW what I want/need. I don't look or consider any aquisition without having the funds before hand. In other words, when I invest money isn't a concern.

Although, I will pay what I believe to be reasonable and if its offered at a price outside of reasonable, most of the time I'll wait and look else where.
I get in no hurry because I always have backups of everything so I don't end up in a pickle. The former years of gigging learned me this lesson.
I've waited for 6+ months on several occassions for gear I wanted.

With that said, I have paid a higher price for gear and have no problems doing so if thats the way I have to go to get that piece of gear, amp or guitar. I don't like to but there are times when you have to.

IMO here is the problem.
Guitars, amps, speaker cabs, gear and etc.
There is a over saturation, alot of everything, actually way too much.
So the stuff just sits forever in most cases.
Price may be an issue, but to me its a total overkill complete over saturation of everything. Its gone beyond a flavor for everyone and beyond providing competition to drive prices down. Its now having the reverse affect because theres way too much of it and no one knows what to do with it.
It stifles sales and long term business management.

[Axewielder]

I thought about snagging an Soldano SP77 last year on the bay, and they were going for $350. Now they are going for over $500. Typo edit: No sign of a slump on those!

[fett]

ebay has made buyers very happy and sellers up shit creek. I bought a copy of "Classic Guitars USA- A Primer for the Vintage Guitar Collector" (35 cents) It was published in 1992.:ROTF: Pre-ebay. It tells you all need to know about buying and selling. It's a cool read. However.

[j4vice]

The Guitar market has slowed-up. That said, I just got a great deal.

[j2379]

depends on what it is, i still see alot of BCR's selling for alot of $. a local store by me that specializes in "vintage" equipment actually sold a few late 70's Deans he had been sitting on for a while do to there $2800 price tag. The rarer stuff still seems to be bringing big $ & selling. plus at least on ebay i havent seen alot of NICE, ORIGINAL guitars lately. granted i only look at bcr, dean, hamer & dimas era C/Js.

[Axewielder]

depends on what it is, i still see alot of BCR's selling for alot of $.

Very true! I was watching 80's gunslingers go in the 300's last year. This year, I'm seeing the same one go in the 500's and up. Dang I missed the boat again

[RobRR]

Its definetly hurting, which is why Ive been offering overseas shipping. Hell, the Canadian dollar is worth almost as much as the USD now... theyre more than happy to pay what we want.

[emperor_black]

The guitar market is flooded with great gear for cheap. Just 10 years ago what could be recorded only in a studio can be recorded on your home PC with software that can even cancel noise digitally. Like the thread from a few weeks ago said, guitar companies like ESP are coming out with great guitars (LTD) that sound pretty good and cost way less. Why pay $3000 for a great guitar? For killer distortion, you dont need ENGL or even the 5150. A spider is good enough and costs so less. Of course big-ticket items are gonna be hard to sell!

Unfortunately, nowadays even if you pay the big price, you still dont get good quality. Dont want to start a big fight, but I am talking about $1999 priced Gibsons with low quality workmanship. Marshalls are riddled with problems and Custom shops have QC issues (Skorb's RR). So, bottom-line, big money does not mean great quality anymore. people seem to have realised that.

As far as ebay goes...after reading all the horror stories, anyone trying to buy a $1000+ guitar is gonna have butterflies in the stomach until the guitar arrives in stated condition. ebay is just not what it used to be!