Fair price for a 1978 D40 in the UK?

[Guest]

Hi,

I have just joined this forum and want to start playing guitar again after three years. I just tried out my first Guilds a couple of weeks ago and fell in love with them, especially the look of the vintage ones.

There's a vintage 1978 D40 selling on Ebay in the UK for around £1000 (about US$2000). I know it's a lot pricier than buying them in the US but does this seem like a fair price for the UK?

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/GUILD-D40-1978-D- ... 286.c0.m14

Would really appreciate any help.

Many thanks,
Ken

 

[wombat]

Hi Ken,

I'd say it's a bit on the high side, even given the relative scarcity of Guilds in the UK vs the US. That said, the advantage of this guitar is that you can try before you buy: if it works for you and you can afford it then maybe it's worth it, though I don't think you'd get your money back if you later decided that you wanted to sell it.

If you don't mind buying from ebay and are prepared to bide your time I think you should be able to win a Guild of this era for £700 to £800.

What's your position? Have you already decided that you want the guitar but are just in two minds about the price? Unfortunately the UK is not blessed with an abundance of cheap Guilds - it is very difficult to familiarize oneself with the different models.

AnltI bought a '74 D-40 from the States a couple of years ago for the equivalent of £500. Around the same time, I owned two D-35s. I always think the D-40 is to the D-35, what the D-55 is to the D-50 i.e. the former is a more refined/sophisticated/smoother sounding version of the latter. I've no idea why this should be the case unless it is a psychological trick played by the extra bling on the higher end models. That said, both of my D-35s had a bit more 'zing' than my D-40 and were better for DADGAD playing.

Another factor is that late 70s necks are a bit chunker and guitar bodies a bit heavier than early 70s necks and bodies (early 80s guitars even more so). This makes them sound slightly different though which one is 'better' is purely a matter of taste.

I guess the bottom line is that it all depends on you. If money is a big issue I'd buy from the States - you could buy one and get it shipped over here for £700 or so all in. You'd have to ask lots of questions and make sure it didn't have any cracks or need a neck reset or anything like that before you buy though.

Great guitars, great all rounders.

 

[sitka_spruce]

I've seen UK auctions for Guild acoustics that had rather high opening bids. I suppose you can't reckon the usual economic maths here. I'd say a used Guild of this sort would be 1/2 of a brand new Martin HD-28 (Martin is always, I find, a great price comparison) if in excellent condition. If the condition is less than excellent, perhaps between 1/2 - 1/4. Looking at it from this perspective 1000 Sterling may not be unreasonable, but of course you could try and bump the price down a tad. Wouldn't hurt to try, at least.

Edit: Another interesting factor would be the price for one new. I see a new but demoed D40 is £1100 Buy It Now at Fleabay UK.
Quite possibly you may find one at a better price, new or used, just looking across the channel. During my visits to the UK I've been baffled by the prices for instruments you got there. Sweden isn't exacty cheep either, especially with the pricing philosophy out side of the US of A. The best deal you can make I'm sure is getting one from the States or one of those online, often German, supermarkets.

 

[marcellis]

At that price - I wouldn't consider buying it. At half the price, it's worth some serious thought.

I own a 1976 D-40, BTW. $2000 for a D-40 is crazy - even after factoring in your VAT and
the relative scarcity of the instruments over there.

$2000 for an old D-50 in the UK might be worth serious consideration though.