DeArmond M-75 Reverb Deal

[DrumBob]

I found this on Reverb and it interested me to the point where I contacted the seller. It's a Moon Blue DeArmond M-75, with serious headstock damage, the usual scratches, dings and so forth, plus a case that's heavily taped together with gaffer's. The seller described it as excellent condition. I think he's being overly positive about that rating. I'd say, good condition at best. He assured me that the damage to the headstock did not have any bearing on the playability of the guitar and it stayed in tune very well. He sent me an offer of $495 which I turned down, as I felt that was quite a bit more than I was willing to pay and did not want to hit him up with an insulting lowball offer. My feeling was this is a $350 guitar, considering the damage and the sorry state of the case, but maybe that's inaccurate.

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Opinions? I'm primarily interested, because I like those pickups quite a bit.

 

[GAD]

Link to the guitar for other pics if anyone else is curious: dearmond-m-75

I have a DeArmond S73 that I bought here on LTG and I have to say that I was blown away by the quality, playability, and tone of the guitar. I like it more than the Newark St. S100 I had.

To your point, though, there's no way a guitar with a huge chunk out of the corner of the headstock is "excellent". For ~500 I'd expect a DeArmond M75 to be in actually excellent condition in a case that's in similar condition.

I agree with your assessment. I might go a touch higher if it was a color i absolutely had to have, but the market's just not there to support the price he's asking IMO.

 

[Teleguy61]

What @GAD said.
$499 is way high, $350 is ballpark may be a bit low.

 

[richardp69]

Ah, whadaya expect from a Michigan seller

 

[richardp69]

Here's one that looks cleaner and may end up at a more attractive price but ya just never know about that.

DeArmond M-75 by Guild - Electric Guitar w/ Case | eBay

Fab “Moon Blue” color that is “almost” purple. A show-stopper at gigs. Guitar is in good condition with upgraded Schaller locking tuners. Fixed neck. Very nice, low action and excellent sustain (8.8lbs).

www.ebay.com

 

[DrumBob]

Here's one that looks cleaner and may end up at a more attractive price but ya just never know about that.

DeArmond M-75 by Guild - Electric Guitar w/ Case | eBay

Fab “Moon Blue” color that is “almost” purple. A show-stopper at gigs. Guitar is in good condition with upgraded Schaller locking tuners. Fixed neck. Very nice, low action and excellent sustain (8.8lbs).

www.ebay.com

Thank you for posting that. I may bid.

The seller of the scarred M-75 emailed me and said he decided to drop the price, which he did, to $499 from $529. Thirty bucks. Big deal. I still think he's got high expectations and unrealistic ideas.

 

[DrumBob]

The seller and I had a rather pleasant back and forth conversation about this guitar. He seems like a reasonable guy. On my advice, he removed the "excellent" rating, but kept the price at $499, explaining that he sets prices higher than he expects to get in order to give himself some haggle room with potential buyers. I still think his expectations are too high for a damaged instrument, but he has the right to ask whatever he wants. If I was serious about buying it, I would offer $399 at this point. I think that's fair. Honestly, I like that guitar in black more than the blue.

 

[jp]

Agree on all counts about pricing. I'm not a big fan of that blue, actually.

 

[DrumBob]

Here's one that looks cleaner and may end up at a more attractive price but ya just never know about that.

DeArmond M-75 by Guild - Electric Guitar w/ Case | eBay

Fab “Moon Blue” color that is “almost” purple. A show-stopper at gigs. Guitar is in good condition with upgraded Schaller locking tuners. Fixed neck. Very nice, low action and excellent sustain (8.8lbs).

www.ebay.com

Three days to go and no bids. The seller wants $110 to ship it. Sounds a bit high.

 

[fronobulax]

The seller wants $110 to ship it. Sounds a bit high.

I have gotten numerous shipping quotes that are in the $150 range. I have learned that I can do much better - use Reverb to sell and ship, borrow a corporate shipping account, avoid franchise locations and deal directly with the shipping company for example - but if the seller just took the first quote they got and figured it was the buyer's problem, not theirs, $110 is understandable. They called out UPS Ground and I think it was reported here that UPS franchises are notorious for high prices.

 

[Default]

I justed shipped a guitar to the Left Coast, and it was $135, USPS.

Ouch. :-(

 

[DrumBob]

I have gotten numerous shipping quotes that are in the $150 range. I have learned that I can do much better - use Reverb to sell and ship, borrow a corporate shipping account, avoid franchise locations and deal directly with the shipping company for example - but if the seller just took the first quote they got and figured it was the buyer's problem, not theirs, $110 is understandable. They called out UPS Ground and I think it was reported here that UPS franchises are notorious for high prices.

I do know for a fact that UPS stores charge a premium for everything they do, including packing items for you. We had a UPS store here in town for a few years and they wanted something like $55 just to pack a guitar for me. I said no thanks. The owner priced himself out of existence and went under eventually.

 

[DrumBob]

Here's one that looks cleaner and may end up at a more attractive price but ya just never know about that.

DeArmond M-75 by Guild - Electric Guitar w/ Case | eBay

Fab “Moon Blue” color that is “almost” purple. A show-stopper at gigs. Guitar is in good condition with upgraded Schaller locking tuners. Fixed neck. Very nice, low action and excellent sustain (8.8lbs).

www.ebay.com

Six hours to go and only one bid so far, with the minimum set at $250.

 

[CosmicArkie]

I've got a twin to that one that is pristine, but it didn't come with a case and I paid around $275 several years ago. It would be the 2nd to last guitar I'd sell (right before the Capri). Absolutely the easiest playing piece I have. And the Gold Tones just ring & chime.
Only minus is it weighs a solid TON.
Do It.

 

[DrumBob]

It sold for $265. That proves once and for all that the guy selling his beat up M-75 for $499 or B/O is way off base in terms of his expectations.