Used 2005 Starfire IV vs New Starfire VI

jiagap

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In great condition with the original case my magic number is $1200. I consider anything below that to be a good deal. If it’s been therr for a year I’d start negotiations at $900, but with consignment they’re at the mercy of what the owner thinks it’s worth.

I happen to have a Corona sunburst SF4 here if you’d like to know any details about them.

I was thinking of offering 1000, but may start with 900. But I will get the serial # first.

Yes, anything you want to share about your SF4 would be appreciated.
 

GSFV

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Almost all of the major big box stores advertise a certain number of inspection points. I know for sure that Sweetwater advertises a 55 point inspection. They claim to have excellent action right out of the shipping box. Action is subjective, but manufacture errors are not and should be caught/noticed prior to shipping.
 

fronobulax

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Almost all of the major big box stores advertise a certain number of inspection points. I know for sure that Sweetwater advertises a 55 point inspection. They claim to have excellent action right out of the shipping box. Action is subjective, but manufacture errors are not and should be caught/noticed prior to shipping.

Got it. Thanks. I wonder if any of the "offending" NS guitars were sold by Sweetwater (which would suggest their inspection process is imperfect)?
 

GAD

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There's a Corona Starfire IV in sunburst on eBay right now for $1100+ shipping with a make offer button: https://www.ebay.com/itm/Guild-Star...722224?hash=item1efc592fb0:g:5uAAAOSwOXlc~-Gp

It's not mint, but the flaws are relatively minor. Also the knobs and pickup selector switch tip aren't original.

s-l1600.jpg
 

jiagap

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The serial number on that Starfire IV is CW000164. Can anyone help me understand what that means and what something like that is worth in good condition? I will ask this as a new thread in hopes of getting a quicker answer as I will be checking it out and possibly be making an offer tomorrow. Thanks all. You guys are great!
 

jiagap

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So, I went into the store today. It is a guitar repair shop that also sells guitars and amps on consignment. This Starfire has been there at least a year. I played it through a Fender Deluxe, Victoria Bassman, and a Peavey Classic 30. Sounded sweet through all of them. Stayed nicely in tune and intonated. Felt solid and smooth. No frills, but a solid workhorse with great tone. I played around for quite awhile with the pickup combinations dialing in different volumes and EQs blending the pickups. Lots of sweet versatility.

He was asking $1400. So I offered the store keeper $900. He called the owner and the owner said YES. I was willing to go up to $1000. But it had been sitting in the shop for so long I took a chance he would take a nice low ball offer, and he did. Very happy about it. It comes with original hard shell case in great shape. The store keeper said the owner was more of a studio guy and not a gigging guy, so the case never got banged up on the road.

Looks very similar to the one posted above but the sunburst color is a shade browner than the one above. I would post a pick but I don't know how.

Thanks to you all for all your help. I now have an X-170, a Bluesbird with a Bigsby (both a beautiful blond), and a Sunburst Starfire IV. I think I will sell my Gibson Custom Shop Larry Carlton ES335. I love that guitar except for the thin neck. The neck on this Starfire is much better for me.

cheers!
 

adorshki

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Thanks to you all for all your help. I now have an X-170, a Bluesbird with a Bigsby (both a beautiful blond), and a Sunburst Starfire IV. I think I will sell my Gibson Custom Shop Larry Carlton ES335. I love that guitar except for the thin neck. The neck on this Starfire is much better for me.

cheers!
Thanks for the update, congrats and ya done good!!!
:victorious:
I'll leave it for somebody else to help with the posting pics , I gotta run.
 

GAD

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Nice! I love it when we can help someone score a nice guitar for a nice price!
 

txbumper57

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Congrats! $900 is a hell of a deal on a great guitar. I hope you enjoy it for a long time to come and it sounds like you have a nice collection of Guilds that it is joining. Look forward to hearing more about it in the future.

To post pics here you have to host or upload them elsewhere like imgur, imageshack, or even a craigslist ad. Then you right click on the image at your hosting site and copy the image address of the photo. After that you click on the picture frame icon on top of the posting window here on the forum and paste the image address into the slot that pops up. Viola, Your photo is now visible in your posting. I think it allows up to 8 images per individual post.

Hope that helps and best of luck!

TX
 
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Mark WW

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Guild resale prices seem to be pretty low. I have been trying to sell a 2015 NS Starfire III at a crazy low price in mint condition with no takers. I bought my Corona SF III for $850. Why would anyone buy new unless of course that was discounted as well. I do not think this is good for Cordoba or Guild but great if you are buying.
 

adorshki

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Guild resale prices seem to be pretty low. I have been trying to sell a 2015 NS Starfire III at a crazy low price in mint condition with no takers. I bought my Corona SF III for $850. Why would anyone buy new unless of course that was discounted as well. I do not think this is good for Cordoba or Guild but great if you are buying.

Well for me warranty was a big issue.
(Still is)
And to a somewhat lesser degree, the whole "Virgin Bride" element of being the first owner.
 

GAD

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Paying double for a guitar just to get a warranty makes no sense to me.
 

adorshki

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Paying double for a guitar just to get a warranty makes no sense to me.
OK I'm taking that as a bit of hyperbole, I didn't pay list for any of mine, but it was a mandatory non-negotiable item when I was shopping for my first "good" one which led to the D25.
I just didn't want to have to worry about inheriting somebody else's possibly unknown-even-to-them's problems either.
I was also completely unaware of a lot of the stuff that I've learned since joining here, like evaluating a neck angle, for example.
I barely knew about checking for loose braces.
So from my perspective it led to a very wise investment in that brand-new D25.
$700.00 OTD for a $1199.00 list I think it was.
So I humbly submit that there's a significant market segment out there for whom such niceties are worth the price.
Granted I never used it, and who would have thought Fender would ever render my warranty(s) "questionable"?
But I considered it to be like insurance and the basic premise still holds.
:tranquillity:
 

GAD

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OK I'm taking that as a bit of hyperbole, I didn't pay list for any of mine, but it was a mandatory non-negotiable item when I was shopping for my first "good" one which led to the D25.
I just didn't want to have to worry about inheriting somebody else's possibly unknown-even-to-them's problems either.
I was also completely unaware of a lot of the stuff that I've learned since joining here, like evaluating a neck angle, for example.
I barely knew about checking for loose braces.
So from my perspective it led to a very wise investment in that brand-new D25.
$700.00 OTD for a $1199.00 list I think it was.
So I humbly submit that there's a significant market segment out there for whom such niceties are worth the price.
Granted I never used it, and who would have thought Fender would ever render my warranty(s) "questionable"?
But I considered it to be like insurance and the basic premise still holds.
:tranquillity:

Maybe for an acoustic.

I've easily payed half of the street price for Newark St. Guilds (the subject of this thread) and would absolutely not pay full price for one.
 

adorshki

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Maybe for an acoustic.
I've easily payed half of the street price for Newark St. Guilds (the subject of this thread) and would absolutely not pay full price for one.
Yes, no argument but my post was in response to the specific question "why would anybody buy new"?
:friendly_wink:
And in fact the subject of the thread is the question of whether to buy a new NS or a used Corona, and I avoided the warranty issue at the time because I myself have a prejudice in favor US-built and it's not an apples-to-apples comparison as folks like yourself made clear in a more diplomatic fashion than I felt capable of.
:friendly_wink:
 
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dbirchett

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If you are patient, you can usually pick up a Westerly or Corona SFIV, SFIII, Bluesbird or even an X-170 for about a grand or so. I wouldn't think that anyone would pay close to that for a Newark Street. Not to take anything away from a Newark Street, as they are very nice guitars. Now when the Newarks are around $500, that may be another issue. That was kind of the same situation with the DeArmond Guitars or the Epiphone Elitist models. Everyone thought they were overpriced and they eventually got blown out. Then they became extremely popluar and everyone wanted them ... at the blow out prices. Still wish that I had jumped on a few of those.
 

GAD

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If you are patient, you can usually pick up a Westerly or Corona SFIV, SFIII, Bluesbird or even an X-170 for about a grand or so. I wouldn't think that anyone would pay close to that for a Newark Street. Not to take anything away from a Newark Street, as they are very nice guitars. Now when the Newarks are around $500, that may be another issue. That was kind of the same situation with the DeArmond Guitars or the Epiphone Elitist models. Everyone thought they were overpriced and they eventually got blown out. Then they became extremely popluar and everyone wanted them ... at the blow out prices. Still wish that I had jumped on a few of those.

Almost every NS guitar I've bought I've paid around $500 for with the exception of the goldtop Aristocrat and the SFIII. Sometimes it takes time to score them at that price, but if you want to talk about losing money on resale, then Newark St. is a good focus because not only are they not getting much on resale, but the market is flooded with them, too.

At least there's an interest in them. Try selling an '80s Guild S270. Yeesh.
 
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