fronobulax said:
steamfurnace said:
I saw an eBay listing for a 1972 F212XL for a buy it now price of $1,795. Who would even consider that when a brand new one, which got a pretty glowing review in Acoustic Guitar, has a MAP price of $1,999 and a warranty? I love the Westerly models too, but......
Someone who loved Westerlys even more than you do might consider it :wink:
Remember that sellers can ask whatever they want, whether we (or the rest of the marketplace) think it is reasonable or not. However it is the sale price that counts, not the asking price.
Someone posted (Default?) in a discussion of "outrageously" high prices that if you are lukewarm about selling something you can ask for a price that is so high you will never have seller's remorse. Given the comparison to the MAP for a similar new item, that sounds like a pretty good reason to explain the price to me.
Once upon a time.....during President Johnson's ill-fated second term...anything that wasn't brand-spanking new off the wall at Wallach's Music City (a book of Green Stamps for anyone who can remember that iconic music store in Hollywood) was considered a "used" guitar. Didn't make no difference no how...even if it was mint..it was just a used guitar. The same way that a '64 AC Cobra was just a "used"...abeit, a scary, fast and life threatening sports car in the wrong hands....at about the same time.
Folks didn't really appreciate "vintage" until a certain segment of Society became nostalgic about anything over twenty-years old. Those rascals on the
Antiques Roadshow didn't help the situation and they have you ransacking your basement, attic, garage or crawl space because you know that you still have that set of Beatle Bobblehead Dolls that your Aunt gave you Christmas '65, and an "expert" just said they're worth $800.
Is a Westerly built '72 better than a new Fender/Guild Standard? I've owned and played a '76 and it was one of the nicest, loudest 12'vers this side of a F-412/512. I'll wait judgment on the new series until I play them at the NAMM Show in January and spend some time immersing myself in guitar porn. All the new Guilds are much lighter built than any of the their older models and I'm not sure how that affects the sound.
As to almost $2k for a 38 year old guitar? The Seller can ask anything He wants.... the challenge is finding a buyer or buyers who are willing to spend that amount. It is high, but say it's in mint condition and I happen to be a Japanese Guild Guy.....to me it's reasonable, to rest of us, it might be considered $700 too much.
David
