D-40 Bluegrass Jubilee For Sale

[donboy53]

Hi guys I bought this guitar back in June and I need school money. I paid $2,200 for it new and it is in new condition. NO wear, scratches, or ugly sounds coming from it. Could one of you give it a home here in the Guild talkers hood? I promise I won't break you on this one, but give me a reasonable price.

 

[Ridgemont]

Hi Donboy,

I hate to be a nay sayer but Guilds have a very bad resale value. For example and to give perspective, a Martin D18 lists for $2600. A dealer will advertise at MAP pricing of $2000 (23% off of List). In reality, the bottom line price a dealer will sell the guitar is 40% off of list at $1500. In this scenario, a fair and typical price you see for a mint used D18 is 50% off of list at $1300. So a savvy buyer/seller could buy a D18 for $1500 and sell it with no warranty for $1300 with a $200 loss.

Unfortunately, Guild resale values do not fit to this resale model. I have seen New Hartford D40s sell for about $1K with being only a couple months old. Is a NH D40 worth $1K? Absolutely not, but that is the market. Here is a beautiful NH D40 that, over time, was lowered to $1200 with no takers (viewtopic.php?f=10&t=27226). It is a sad state of affairs.

 

[donboy53]

I just got done doing some research on prices, and you are correct sir. It is sad, and true, the resale prices are not holding up on the new Guilds. Now when you said; "is a NH D40 worth 1k? Absolutely not", I hope you were implying that they are worth a bit more than 1k, because all in all, they are still a damn fine guitar. It looks like I may have to keep it, and if it get's as cold as they say it is going to get in Minnesota this year, and they say that every year, I'll have a little more kindling for the fire, and some steel leaders for ice fishing. jk

 

[Ravon]

Donboy, I had a guitar dealer friend of mine tell me that in his long experience there seems to be a sort of 'Seven Year Rule' on the resale of American made guitars, I have found it to be somewhat true as well in my experience when reselling. Like most any product of course, as soon as a new guitar is bought its value automatically will decrease. However, after the seven year mark your guitar will be at the same price as when you bought it and should increase in value past those seven years. For example, I just sold a good condition '95 Fender American Standard Strat. Purchased it new for approximatly $550. I watched the prices through those years and sure enough, in 2002 that was the average price that a '95 strat was going for. I sold it this year for $700. Some '95 American Standards go for more but those that are, have been on sale awhile. I've sold several of my very good U.S made guitars (Strats, Pauls, Gretsches, Guilds) in the past and now realize that it would have been smarter to have held on to them a while instead of just breaking even or at the most sold them at a small profit. I don't know for sure but it seems U.S. made guitars are a better bet than the stock market. Just takes a little patience :wink:

 

[Curlington]

IMHO, eventually, players will have to come to realize that the top is critically important in defining the best tone and projection. Much more so than the exotic cocobungabinga back and sides, etc. There must be at least a 250 to 1 ratio of Sitka to Adirondack (red spruce) tops out there. There is a limited adi supply so you only see them on the better guitars.

It does take a while for adi tops to open up to their full potential. I have come to love them to the point that my Sitka tops gits are languishing. I predict adi topped gits will hold and increase in value (more than Sitka tops) and be associated with quality builds.

The skill of the builder is the most important factor, and an adi top is really only as good as the luthier. Players will come to recognize the quality and value of the New Hartfords. So, FWIW, if you can, hang in there, enjoy it, and I predict it will be worth your while.

 

[twocorgis]

Unfortunately, Guild resale values do not fit to this resale model. I have seen New Hartford D40s sell for about $1K with being only a couple months old. Is a NH D40 worth $1K? Absolutely not, but that is the market. Here is a beautiful NH D40 that, over time, was lowered to $1200 with no takers (viewtopic.php?f=10&t=27226). It is a sad state of affairs.

I know that first-hand Jonathan! The NH D40 that I owned for a while and failed to bond with struggled to fetch $1100, and it was so minty it still had the pickguard plastic attached. That was only after it languished on the market for nearly a month. I don't know why used Guild values are so low; the certainly don't deserve to be IMO. It's just the way it is I guess, and it's pretty much always been that way.

 

[6L6]

I bought my first guitar in 1963 (a new Stratocaster). Since then I've owned 73 more guitars and currently have 15 in my stash (split between acoustics and electrics).

My philosophy has always been, "Buy HIGH, Sell LOW".

I've been extremely successful at doing this over all these years!

Hang onto your Guild if you can. You won't be sorry!

6

'06 D-55
'06 F-412
'74 D-40 (bought new)
'76 F-50SB

 

[poser]

...
My philosophy has always been, "Buy HIGH, Sell LOW".

I've been extremely successful at doing this over all these years!

:lol: :lol: :lol: