Best turnaround guitar deal you've ever made

Thunderface

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In response to Hammer's NGD $80 Strat post, I starting thinking about what was the best turnaround guitar deal you've ever made? You know, the one where you bought a guitar on the cheap and managed to sell it for a healthy profit.

To start things off ... a while ago, I bought a mid-80s era, two-pickup Hondo Chiquita travel guitar with case for $250 off Craiglist, It was the first of many shipped off a Craigslist ad guitars I have come to acquire. Some time after that, I wound up with a 1995 Erlewine Chiquita -- another shipped off Craigslist -- and once the Guildlust started, need to move some guitars, so I offered up the Hondo and sold it on eBay ... for $385. Was just hoping to break even, and I wound up doing way better than that.
DSCN0320.jpg


That was just to get the ball rolling. I'm sure once people chime in, my story will be peanuts compared to some of the deals people have made.
 

jazzrat

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I bought a mint MIK Korean Epiphone Emperor with hard case for $300 shipped and PayPal'd.
Traded straight across for a Gibson Es-335 Satin. Told the guy his guitar was worth way more...
He didn't care. Also no worries about it being stolen he's a long time member at another forum I know well.

Great deal but I have many other deals that were not slanted in my favor so I'm still in the hole, long term.
 

evenkeel

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MIM fender strat bought at a pawn shop. Natural ash body, 70's style fat headstock, w/ a fender hard case. Looked like this, but MIM.
70sstrat.jpg

Can't remember exact numbers but I paid about $175, sold for around $300. Guitar was filthy, but under all the grime it was in great shape. Just needed a good cleaning, set up and new strings.
 

chazmo

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Well, I paid $100 on Craigslist for an old, solid mahogany / spruce Ibanez Artwood series I. I sold it recently for $150, which was also ridiculously cheap, but I suppose it constitutes a 50% profit. :) :)

I don't ever buy anything for turn-around, though. That's never my intent.
 

adorshki

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Thunderface said:
fronobulax said:
People buy guitars and then sell them? :shock: :shock: :shock: :shock:
:lol: :lol: :lol:
HEY! What Frono said! See my sig. Thank you. :D

Ok veer alert, this isn't really a "turnaround", but how would you value owning ALL 1320 hours of play time since new on a Westerly D25 for which the total expenditure over 13 years years including two complete refrets and bone nut and saddle has been $1400.00? :?: :mrgreen:
OK, $1600, I forgot about strings. Oh, and the second refret has less than 10 hours ... neck's like new (better in fact) with all that aging of the soundbox....NOW what do you think it's worth?
Hint: the answer is in an American Express commercial... :lol:
 

Qvart

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For nearly twenty years I only ever had one guitar at a time, and always a freebie that wasn't all that great, but enough for me to mess around with. Then I decided to resurrect my then-ailing Marshall JCM900 and to get a guitar that I really liked. So I went on the hunt for a '61 reissue SG, came across Guilds, and...well...you know how that story went.

Anyway, during the SG hunt my then-roommate mentioned to a friend of his that I was shopping for a better guitar. This guy buys guitars, messes around with them, mods them cosmetically, then gives them away or sells them fairly cheap. He never has anything all that great and can't really play, but he has fun doing what he's doing. So he offered me a 60th Anniversary MIM Strat with TexMex p'ups for $250 with a nice tweed case. Not really my style but I figured I'd buy it, play it for a little while then sell it. Which I did, for $460. Although I sold it with the gig bag it should have had with it (I bought that on Ebay) and then I sold the case separately. Made a little bit on that switcheroo.

Yeah, this really isn't a Qvart guitar! :lol:

6cf9549a.jpg


Click here to see all the odds and ends the buyer got for their money. Really not a bad deal for the guitar and extras. And as far as MIM Strats go, this one was really pretty nice (except for that bridge. :shudder: )
 

Ian

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My best one was a Peavey acoustic made by Landola in Finland, paid $125 NZD off a local guy who to be honest didnt play and didnt know what he had. Sold it a few months later for $650 NZD. Nice guitar but Dreadnought, so sold it to buy my F30 ( that was also a killer deal but wont ever be sold so doesnt count right ?). I also had a Yamaha FG411 which I sold 3 months later for $20 more than I paid for it. Cant complain about that for resale value huh.
 

jcwu

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I've had plenty of really good turnaround guitar deals.... good for the person who bought from me, that is. :( I didn't discover buying used until about 5 years ago, or rather, didn't trust myself with being a good assessor of used goods. So I had bought new and sold, only to easily lose 30% or more with each transaction.

Sucker!
 

Thunderface

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Q, I like the tailpiece on that Strat. How's this for a brand turnaround. At one time or another, I've owned 12 different Peavey guitars ...
Allpeaveys.jpg


... and I've sold all but two so that I could get these (including the '77 S-300 with the HB-1s, fifth from the right, that I sold to Plague)
AllGuilds.jpg


Me thinks I have a bit of a problem.
 

mad dog

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Not exactly a fast turnaround, and not a happy one either. Bought a '39 National Steel duolian in 1978 for 400 bucks. No work in the next to last recession, 2002, had to sell it. I netted 2000 after consignment fees.
MD
 

adorshki

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mad dog said:
Not exactly a fast turnaround, and not a happy one either. Bought a '39 National Steel duolian in 1978 for 400 bucks. No work in the next to last recession, 2002, had to sell it. I netted 2000 after consignment fees.
MD
Insert sympathy emoticon here: :(
 

twocorgis

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Thunderface said:
Q, I like the tailpiece on that Strat. How's this for a brand turnaround. At one time or another, I've owned 12 different Peavey guitars ...
Allpeaveys.jpg


... and I've sold all but two so that I could get these (including the '77 S-300 with the HB-1s, fifth from the right, that I sold to Plague)
AllGuilds.jpg


Me thinks I have a bit of a problem.

Now there's a man after my own heart! 8)

That's quite a collection you have there. I've got the same problem. :shock:
 

fused

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Ok, I went to a Guitar Center...once and only once..
They had one of those sales, Labor Day sale or whatever, and I was dragged in. On the "Deal" table they had a new Warlock Fly for $40.... Listed for $500 which doesn't mean anything but I looked it over.... Not really me...but it has "PARTS!" And since I always could use parts.... I bought it. GOD it was ugly....

The sales guy was angry because HE was going to buy it and break it up on stage..... that night, if nobody bought it LOL

Anyhow, yes there is a Guild association here...be patient please :)


Well, I then inherited a Guild... (Guess that as quick a turn around as one could get... and it was FREE?)

IN restoring the Guild to playing condition again....it needed a screw to hold the floating pup on. It had to be small, and black would have been nice...
Yup, from the Warlock, when my kid swapped out the tuners, I had the exact size screw to finish the Guild A500 :)

So yeah, I guess one could also then say, my Jazzy Guild A500 has some "Shred" in its bones too ;)

k, I'm done... Sorry.... (turns and quietly leaves via the back door........)

fused


HEY, THIS IS A DOUBLE BEST TURNAROUND!!!!!!!!! I just noticed that....
Wow....

(Dodges tomatoes, bricks, bullets...as he now RUNS for the back door and dives into the...oh crap....yuk.... um...never mind....)
 
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