This is really starting to annoy me now.
Fender 60s Classic Jaguar, asking price £850 when you can buy a new one for £901 with free postage. That comparison is from a shop selling on ebay, so you could probably negotiate a hefty discount if you walked into the shop. A few months ago they were only £800-850 new so it wouldn't surprise me that's what the buyer paid for it anyway.
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Fender-Classic-60s-Jaguar-/253038423263Fender Johnny Marr Jaguar, asking £50 more than what a new one costs. OK, you might struggle to find one in that colour, but still.
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Fender-Johnny-Marr-Jaguar-Limited-Edition-USA-Sherwood-Green-MINT-L-K-/232417913376Fender Telecaster 69 Thinline, Not quite as bad as the last two, but it's 18 years old with peeling decals and I wouldn't pay more than £400. This has been on sale for months, if not a couple of years.
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1999-FENDER-TELECASTER-THINLINE-MEXICAN-SUNBURST-/322514300026I know that they don't sell immediately for these prices, but some of them must eventually sell at an inflated price. I've bought 3 guitars off the fretboard classifieds in the last couple of years, and all three have been mint-to-vgc and bought for very reasonable prices indeed.
Comments
The fact is though eBay puts them in front of a lot more eyes than the Fretboard does... and therein lies the advantage/value... but because people are flakey I imagine something is more likely to go wrong on eBay than here.
Look on the bright side - you are not one of those people. You'll get a better deal (eventually) because you know how to find it.
I think these prices are just set to sell to people with more money than sense. Why sell cheaper when there's a whole internet crammed full of naïve people?
Shops are partly responsible imho, they've been abusing the system for years by using ebay as a shop window.
Yes, why risk buying a used guitar for £850 through ebay when for £50 more you could get one new with no worries about potential warranty issues and with a set of strings, strap, or even a basic setup thrown in?
Like most people I think, ebay is getting less appealing day by day for anything worth more than about £50.
Theres guitars that are just sitting on ebay/gumtree and forums with over priced tags on. To me it's simple, if something hasn't sold for months or years it's over priced. People seem to forget that something is only worth what someone will pay.
What's making worse is all these bedroom dealers that are around now.
I'm just starting to keep an eye out on prices, I don't have the full amount I'll need yet but I saw a used White UV71P at £1,350 the other day.
It's a 2015 model so it's not one of the original models that might be worth more, in that respect it's nothing special.
Andertons have one as available to order for £1179 and gear4music have them on offer at £799 because they can't get stock until December.
I refuse to believe these people aren't aware.
Maybe a few years ago but now everything is just a tap away on a phone even.
Prices are so subjective
But these silly prices are distorting the market.
Listings cost nothing, and you can have it auto-relist, so just leave it there for as long as you want.
It is what it is, it's an organic reaction that's happening over time, you can't reverse it or stop it, so you just have to live with it.
Bandcamp
http://www.thefretboard.co.uk/discussion/57632/
http://www.thefretboard.co.uk/discussion/57632/
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Fender-Road-Worn-Jaguar-Nitro-Candy-Apple-Red-/253050463185?hash=item3aeafba3d1
http://www.thefretboard.co.uk/discussion/57632/