If I were a Rich man

[kydog]

what do you all think of this one :shock:
http://cgi.ebay.com/Guild-DK70-Peacock_ ... dZViewItem

 

[JerryR]

All day long I'd biddy biddy bum, if I were a wealthy man :mrgreen:

 

[chazmo]

Oy.

 

[Jeff]

These things have come up before, interestingly more often than I would have imagined.

Fella in Anchorage AK lists one on Craigslist every once in awhile. So far as I know no one has bit on his 5K asking price.

previous discussion here

search.php?keywords=peacock&terms=all&author=&sc=1&sf=all&sk=t&sd=d&sr=posts&st=0&ch=300&t=0&submit=Search

 

[cjd-player]

Crappy pics for such a high asking price. Not even supersized. :roll:

 

[West R Lee]

Same guy has been trying to unload this one for at least 3 years that I can remember. Sometimes it's listed out of Alaska and sometimes from someplace in Georgia. He did start out at 5K, looks like he's coming down to earth a bit. Still a bit pricey.

The thing that bugs me about this seller and a few others, is that in this case, "I think it could be buffed out".......why doesn't he buff them out if it's so easy to do and just not mention it? Sometimes they say, "can be easily repaired".... why not go ahead and repair it? :shock: The smudges on this one, mentioned in past listings, are wear marks from a guitar hanger on each side of the bottom of the headstock.

West

 

[fronobulax]

The thing that bugs me about this seller and a few others, is that in this case, "I think it could be buffed out".......why doesn't he buff them out if it's so easy to do and just not mention it? Sometimes they say, "can be easily repaired".... why not go ahead and repair it?

Sorry, answering rhetorical questions seems to be what I do these days. I for one would never suggest that something could be buffed out because I have no idea how a luthier or woodworker would actually address a particular problem. Ditto for easily repaired. Thus I have no basis for suggesting how difficult a repair might be. So in that case I would have no business offering an opinion on the difficulty.

However there are several reasons why I wouldn't undertake the repair even if I had a good estimate of the difficulty. We've all seen the Antiques Roadshow episodes when someone finds out that the value of their piece was 50% of what it could have been because of a poorly done repair, or refinishing or over polishing the patina. If I let you (the buyer) do that repair than I won't be that person who just lost money. You may know someone who can do the repair easily but I don't. Easier to warn the buyer of the condition than risk making it worse.

Finally, I have no real idea how much correcting the situation will raise my take. If it costs me anything (and remember that I'm not competent to do the work myself) I need to get that money back in order for it to be worth it. But how do I find out that the unbuffed smudge has lowered someone's maximum bid by $100? I'm better off emotionally and probably financially by letting you fix it.

On the Peacock in question the seller obviously thought that "Guitar Has Never Been Played. " was an important thing to tell (even if it is almost certainly not literally true) but anyone who thinks "unplayed" is a value increasing attribute of a guitar is almost certainly not going to do any repair work, however minor.

(sounds of crashing as he steps off his soapbox and loses his balance in the process. good thing he wasn't carrying a bass).

 

[chazmo]

West,

Personally, I think folks are wise to leave well enough alone once they've decided to let go of an axe. I think it's just fine to disclose any issues and sell as-is. I think folks who do repairs often don't get their money back, and really who wants to put energy into something that you're letting go of. As a buyer, I'd just as soon handle the issues myself and have those issues as a bargaining chip. I'm not speaking from personal experience, but I have seen some folks go through this around here. Just sell the thing (my opinion, of course).

So, that all said, something simple like cleaning something up a scuff, whatever doesn't involve any real money or time.... that seems like trivial effort to get that tick mark off the listing.

 

[West R Lee]

Well that depends. It depends on if a mark caused by hanging on a hanger or stand is merely a scuff that CAN be easily buffed out, or if it's a mark caused by a hanger or stand that goes fairly deeply into a finish, or through a finish.....and that's a completely different story. On a guitar this expensive and this rare, I'd want to know for certain that it's not a serious blemish, and the seller offers NO picture of the area in question. I've certainly seen guitars in the past in which a hanger wore completely through a finish, and in my view, that would diminish the value of this one considerably. A few well taken pictures could certainly satisfy my curiosity on that point if I were a potential buyer. It's certainly a beautiful guitar.

West