Gibson Custom Shop Value Increase?

thegummy

Just a quick question:

I've seen it said many times that Gibson Custom Shop guitars (R8, R9 etc.) can be sold for more than they're bought for.

Is that actually true?

It's hard to imagine how it could be, can't picture someone paying more for like a 5 year old second hand R8 than they could get a brand new one for.

darthed1981

I guess it depends how many modded Harley Bentons there are out there...?

TINMAN82

Might be possible to sell higher if the original buyer took advantage of the sellers circumstances and made a significantly lower than market value offer which was accepted.

thegummy

TINMAN82 said:

Might be possible to sell higher if the original buyer took advantage of the sellers circumstances and made a significantly lower than market value offer which was accepted.

I'm meaning when buying brand new.

TINMAN82

thegummy said:

TINMAN82 said:

Might be possible to sell higher if the original buyer took advantage of the sellers circumstances and made a significantly lower than market value offer which was accepted.

I'm meaning when buying brand new.

I was being facetious based on other threads! As far as I can tell from eBay & reverb a new R8 will generally lose some of its value as soon as it leaves the shop. The 2017 £2.5k run might be an exception I guess but I think many looking would be wise to that.

Strat_a_tat_tat

thegummy said:

Just a quick question:

I've seen it said many times that Gibson Custom Shop guitars (R8, R9 etc.) can be sold for more than they're bought for.

Genuine question... who has said that?

thegummy

Strat_a_tat_tat said:

thegummy said:

Just a quick question:

I've seen it said many times that Gibson Custom Shop guitars (R8, R9 etc.) can be sold for more than they're bought for.

Genuine question... who has said that?

Won't point to a specific example, it's just something I've read people posting on forums variously over the years.

SouthpawMark

It will likely happen, but will probably take 10+ years. A lot of it depends on how much Gibson hike their prices by year on year. 

Strat_a_tat_tat

thegummy said:

Strat_a_tat_tat said:

thegummy said:

Just a quick question:

I've seen it said many times that Gibson Custom Shop guitars (R8, R9 etc.) can be sold for more than they're bought for.

Genuine question... who has said that?

Won't point to a specific example, it's just something I've read people posting on forums variously over the years.

There must be some delusional people around (or maybe they don't understand inflation... and think that buying a guitar for £2000 in 1983 and selling it for £2200 in 2009 results in a real-terms profit).

While it's possible that some limited production model may become sought after in later years - and hence the price rises - I think that's likely to be the exception, not the rule.

If it was a given that you could sell a Gibson CS guitar for more than purchase price (after allowing for inflation), wouldn't we all be putting our pension cash into Les Pauls?

crunchman

It will take a long time for the actual cash price to go up, and with inflation, you will be losing money in real terms.

Having said that there are a lot worse things for long term value.  Some young lad at work went out and spent £30k or so on a BMW - and then got banned for drink driving!  15 years down the line, that will be rotting in landfill.  It's strange how spending £30k on a car is not an issue for a lot of people, but spending £3k on a guitar is - especially when the guitar will be worth more than the car 10 years down the line.

Just don't take up golf and buy lots of golf gear!

Strat_a_tat_tat

crunchman said:

It will take a long time for the actual cash price to go up, and with inflation, you will be losing money in real terms.

Having said that there are a lot worse things for long term value.  Some young lad at work went out and spent £30k or so on a BMW - and then got banned for drink driving!  15 years down the line, that will be rotting in landfill.  It's strange how spending £30k on a car is not an issue for a lot of people, but spending £3k on a guitar is - especially when the guitar will be worth more than the car 10 years down the line.

Just don't take up golf and buy lots of golf gear!

I'm thinking the BMW was a relative bargain... compared to the price of those few drinks that pushed him over the limit.

terada

thegummy said:

Just a quick question:

I've seen it said many times that Gibson Custom Shop guitars (R8, R9 etc.) can be sold for more than they're bought for.

Is that actually true?

It's hard to imagine how it could be, can't picture someone paying more for like a 5 year old second hand R8 than they could get a brand new one for.

Honest answer: depends on what you bought them for. At the ridiculous 5 grand it currently is for an r9, no way. 

From last year’s blow out prices, absolutely. There are already plenty that have been moved on for the same or slightly more. 

Also some have gone for less, but that’s down to the individual circumstances of each sale. 

I know that so far, I myself have not lost out. 

Ossyrocks

I bought a new 2014 R0 with a nice figured top for £2800 (discounted), sold the Custombuckers for £250, dropped in some zebra Sheptones which stood me at £100, played it for two years and sold it for £2650. Basically I broke even. 

There may be more room for manoeuvre on the 2017's in a year or two. The spec of those guitars is unlikely to be repeated and in my opinion is better than the current R8 offering. 

terada

Also, just to add this is not unique to Gibsons. It’s just about buying right. 

Last year the trade price I got for my 69 avri tele was £100 more than I bought it for new in the andertons blowouts a few years back. 

Philly_Q

Strat_a_tat_tat said:
There must be some delusional people around (or maybe they don't understand inflation... and think that buying a guitar for £2000 in 1983 and selling it for £2200 in 2009 results in a real-terms profit).

In the last 30-odd years I've sold about 80 guitars and at most 2 of those have been for a "profit".  Please don't spoil those small triumphs for me by talking about "real terms" ! 

Sassafras

The only game in town now is Fender guitars with clay dots. They're set to skyrocket.

andy1839

I've made money on standard production Gibsons but not CS ones when bought new.

Ossyrocks

Philly_Q said:

Strat_a_tat_tat said:
There must be some delusional people around (or maybe they don't understand inflation... and think that buying a guitar for £2000 in 1983 and selling it for £2200 in 2009 results in a real-terms profit).

In the last 30-odd years I've sold about 80 guitars and at most 2 of those have been for a "profit".  Please don't spoil those small triumphs for me by talking about "real terms" ! 

Are you buying new, at full retail?

In the last 30 years I have never made a significant loss on any purchase, in fact, overall I'm up by quite a margin.

I do keep my eyes open for bargains though, and no matter what it is, if there's money in it, I buy it. I do have one particular mate who impulse buys gear, amps, PA's etc, and quite soon after he's selling them and needs the money yesterday to pay bills or go on holiday (tomorrow). I buy the stuff, and it's really underpriced (his price) because he needs to sell it fast. The last time he did it, I bought a pair of PA speakers off him which were basically brand new and unused. I put them in the hallway and after just a couple of weeks of touting them around Facebook I sold them for £200 profit. It seems mercenary I know, but he's selling and who am I to argue.

thegummy

When I see people say they only by second hand so they can shift it on without much loss, if any, it sounds ideal but any time I've actually tried to look I never seem to find what I'm looking for anywhere near close to me.

I take it the people who only buy second hand must decide what to buy based on what's available rather than looking for a specific model?

There's a couple of basses I'm dying to buy just to have some time to try them out and see if I like them. So I'd love to get them used so I can shift them on if they're not for me.

Sassafras

Ossyrocks said:

Philly_Q said:

Strat_a_tat_tat said:
There must be some delusional people around (or maybe they don't understand inflation... and think that buying a guitar for £2000 in 1983 and selling it for £2200 in 2009 results in a real-terms profit).

In the last 30-odd years I've sold about 80 guitars and at most 2 of those have been for a "profit".  Please don't spoil those small triumphs for me by talking about "real terms" ! 

I do have one particular mate who impulse buys gear, amps, PA's etc, and quite soon after he's selling them and needs the money yesterday to pay bills or go on holiday (tomorrow). 

Just one mate?
That sound like most of the people on here.

Philly_Q

Ossyrocks said:

Philly_Q said:

Strat_a_tat_tat said:
There must be some delusional people around (or maybe they don't understand inflation... and think that buying a guitar for £2000 in 1983 and selling it for £2200 in 2009 results in a real-terms profit).

In the last 30-odd years I've sold about 80 guitars and at most 2 of those have been for a "profit".  Please don't spoil those small triumphs for me by talking about "real terms" ! 

Are you buying new, at full retail?

For most of that time, yes, I was buying mid-priced stuff, nearly always new.  All of those sold at a loss, even the end-of-line-clearance things which seemed liked crazy bargains - turned out they were end-of-line because nobody wanted them...

The last few years I've been buying more expensive guitars, but fewer of them and usually secondhand.  I've become a fan of relics, which has made me a lot less fussy about non-relics with a few scrapes and dings.  I'd expect to pretty much make my money back if I sold any of those.