Low Resale Value on Guilds

[george kraushaar]

I placed my D-55 for sale on this board and others at $1000.00 and got only one inquiry. I ended up selling it to a good friend for even less than that (I'll not tell you how little I got). This guitar was in very good shape for a 30 year old guitar.

Guilds apparently have a much lower resale value than Martin and many other top line brands. A used HD-28 (a comparable guitar in all respects) would bring at least $1400-1500.

This would suggest most Guilds are poor investments from a financial standpoint, but it also means that they are great deals as a used guitar.
Kind of like buying a used Focus over a Toyota. Used GAD series Guilds seem to bring a much higher percentage of purchase price back and sell quickly. I had about 10-12 inquiries on my GAD-30R when I listed it for sale.

I replaced the Guild with a used Larrivee 000-50 in great shape at such a great deal that I don't feel bad about letting the Guild go.

 

[GardMan]

I think a lot depends on being in the right place and time, with the right instrument. A beautiful '77 D-55 SB in Exc condition just sold on eBay yesterday for $2300... 289% of the selling price in '77. That's nearly 10% per year. Another '70s D-55 is currently listed for BO or $2500 BIN. '70s era D-50s have been going from $1300 to >$2000. So condition, timing, and circumstances are important...

 

[george kraushaar]

resale

Perhaps I should have tried the Bay, but I really detest the whole deal. I doubt that I could have gotten over $1000 for mine, even given its good shape. Another seller seems to be having trouble getting rid of his JF-30, even at $700.

 

[West R Lee]

Yep, I'll agree with the timing. I think the model has much to do with it too. I'm surprised your D55 didn't get more interest, to me they're the Cadillac of regular production Guild acoustics.

West

 

[guildzilla]

I think West nails it re: timing.

Short term, it looks to me like e-Bay prices for Guilds have dropped a bit in the post-holiday winter duldrums. But there are significant exceptions.

I think the people on this forum are more attuned to e-Bay as a market than any other Guild buyers. E-bay is still pegging the prices. Everybody wants the bargains.

More mid-term, I also would contend (and have before) that Guild was building more guitars than their dealer network was selling leading up to the closing of the Westerly factory. Then they built a lot more guitars at Corona, waiting for the market to turn in their favor. But the marketing still wasn't working, and the economy wasn't so hot, either.

Consequently, IMO, a lot of the late Westerly guitar and a lot of Corona guitars are still finding their final end user. Lots of first-quality guitars are still seen in both categories, plus you have a significant number of Corona blems in the acoustic category - D-40's, F-30's, etc. This supply keeps the prices lower than they "should be," especially if you point of comparison is Martin guitars.

Until those Guild guitars are absorbed into the hands of players, not guitar traders, Guilds will continue to be a great buying value. After they are absorbed, I think prices for all Guilds - solids, archtops, flattops - are going
to surprise everybody.

It is a flat out ridiculous situation - but good for the buyer - that you can get X-170's, Starfires, Bluesbirds, and D-55's for $900.

 

[Frosty]

An "investment" is only a good one if you can "buy low and sell high". Sometimes I buy/sell guitars as investments, sometimes I buy them and enjoy them and then, when it's time to move on, account for any financial loss as "rent" due on my enjoyment. I have sold guitars at a financial loss and not looked back.

Regarding Guilds, I recently had a 70's D-55 made available to me at a favorable price. Guitar Shop A sold the instrument to me on a 3 day approval, which is what I typically ask for on a used guitar. It was a good price and low risk. I took the guitar to Guitar Shop B to get their assessment - what would they pay to buy this guitar from me. The offer I got from B was 30% higher than what I paid at Guitar Shop A! I sold the guitar to B, who then placed it on the wall tagged at twice what Guitar Shop A had asked and more than I personally think the guitar is worth. But consider this, Guitar Shop A bought the guitar from somebody who was happy with the purchase price, and Guitar Shop A was happy with the profit they earned selling the instrument to me. Guitar Shop B thought instrument was worth more (perhap they have a different customer base). Someone will, undoubtedly, think the tag at Guitar Shop B is reasonable and buy the guitar.

And, it's subjective... consider that '77 D-55 that just sold for $2350 http://tinyurl.com/2gwbbx "I don't think I'd pay that much. What was the buyer thinking?" Or the '62 F-50 http://tinyurl.com/2l9jc9 that went for $3200. "Darn! I'd pay that much, why didn't I bid?"

So, Guild guitars are not the "investment" standard that, say, a pre-war Martin might be. Everyone knows those are expensive, everyone knows what they are, everyone expects them to be "worth" more in the future. It's valuable because we collectively say so. Not everyone agrees on the value of used Guild guitars - some of my friends just don't understand my interest in anything beyond Martin! To which I say, "open your ears!". :wink:

 

[Jahn]

yep, tho i have to say Martins can also be all over the map - as you said, based on that store's clientele perhaps. my D35's current worth is about $1800 apparently, but if I put the work into it to make certain it lasts for another 30+ years, it jumps up to (and no i do NOT believe this number coming up, probably an estimate from someone wanting the repair job, hehe) double that. but what does that all matter? for me, i want the guitar(s) that "speaks" to me, and not really investment-grade axes. of course, i don't want to abuse them to the point that they are worth zero because they are lying in pieces, but as long as they have the tone, i'm not even going to pay someone $25 to run a price check on it.

but yep as said in another thread, my F30 is losing that tone and needs some TLC, so i'm going to do work on it that brings it up to a higher investment grade - but honestly, i'm doing it just so i can enjoy it again.

 

[Frosty]

FWIW - I think what an instrument means to a player ("tone") is of minimal consequence on the collectibility of a guitar - it's "investment grade", if you will. Collectibility is more about desirability from the collector's viewpoint and had more to do with supply and demand and "X factor".

When I think of Martin guitars as commodity-type investments, I speak only of pre-1950 instruments. The "pre-war" guitars. I wait for the day when I can walk into a pawn shop, or tag sale, and find one for $200. It's never gonna happen to me because the first person to find it is going to buy it, no questions asked. Everyone knows about old Martin guitars, everyone wants to find one and that, in no small part, is what drives the price. The $200 Hoboken Guild might sit there for weeks in a pawn shop until I happen to wander in. It's happened.

 

[Jahn]

come to think of it, my hoboken F30 was probably rotting in that little mom and pop shop in Lehigh for 20 years before i rescued it for 300, so i see what you're saying there.

 

[Siwash]

I bid on a new D-40 that ended up selling for $620.

 

[West R Lee]

Let's keep the perceived value of Guild guitars low gentleman, keep 'em low!

West

 

[Scratch]

Right on West!

 

[george kraushaar]

resale

In the final analysis, the Guild wasn't really what I was after in a player's guitar. It's styling was way "over the top" for my old time and celtic music. I really loved its vintage feel and wonderful aroma, however.

I ended up replacing it with a Larrivee 000-50 slothead 12 fret, which is precisely what I was after. I got the almost mint Larry at a ridiculously low price, which mitigated the hurt of not getting my price out of the Guild.
Most Larrys probably don't bring as much as standard Martins, either, so I guess the market worked in my favor in that case. I paid $900 less than what most dealers are getting for a new one.