Not a good investment regardless

[Curlington]

IMHO, an acoustic guitar is not a good investment unless you are an expert and can truly evaluate whether it’s a good or bad deal. If you are not an expert, it’s best to buy retail from a reputable company, where you know you are not buying low but not buying a real problem either. Once you have it, it will need some care, including keeping it humidified, depending where you live. These instruments are carefully crafted of balanced wood parts. It will need work sooner or later, and, like cars, you have to find a good mechanic and pay accordingly. If you play it, you will ding and devalue it.

All that said, Westerlies have the cache and Coronas generally sell at somewhat of a discount. Buy a Westerly, and leave the screaming killer Corona deals to the players. Again, just IMHO.

 

[dapmdave]

IMHO, an acoustic guitar is not a good investment unless you are an expert and can truly evaluate whether it’s a good or bad deal. If you are not an expert, it’s best to buy retail from a reputable company, where you know you are not buying low but not buying a real problem either. Once you have it, it will need some care, including keeping it humidified, depending where you live. These instruments are carefully crafted of balanced wood parts. It will need work sooner or later, and, like cars, you have to find a good mechanic and pay accordingly. If you play it, you will ding and devalue it.

All that said, Westerlies have the cache and Coronas generally sell at somewhat of a discount. Buy a Westerly, and leave the screaming killer Corona deals to the players. Again, just IMHO.

Great thread idea...

IMHO, buying a new acoustic guitar at retail as an investment means that you will probably be holding on to it for a LONG time if you hope to see value rise above cost. And this assumes you are buying a guitar that will indeed escalate in value at some future date. At my age (no remarks, please! :lol: ) I'd buy new for some other reason.

Don't you think that careful and considered collecting of already vintage guitars could make you a few dollars? And you get to own and enjoy some cool old guitars during the process. There's a fun factor involved in collecting guitars, or anything else.

But what about all those Hoboken and NYC Guilds??? :roll:

Dave

 

[fronobulax]

I always consider an investment as doing something with money I have now in hopes of having more money later. It's all about the money. So for me buying an object that may have some functional use but also has the future price influenced by condition means the object is babied and never used. This is a sad thing for a guitar and one reason why I bristle at the use of the word "investment" for any guitar that costs less than (a somewhat arbitrary) $2,500.

So for me the much more practical question is can you get your money out of it when you sell it? My present belief is that if you are the person who paid for regular maintenance and the neck reset then the answer is no - you will never get your money back, which just means you can put a dollar value on the joy you had owning and playing an instrument.

Since reference was made to factories I think the marketplace will always value Westerly guitars more than Corona or Tacoma. I think that has more to do with the "mismanagement" of the brand than the quality of the instrument. However I think both hold their values so if the goal is to get your money back on a sale, the real issue is the neck reset. If you paid for the reset then it doesn't matter which factory - you will lose money on paper.

IMO. YMMV.

 

[Ridgemont]

If you are expecting to make a profit on your investment, then I would say that, more often than not, guitars are not a good investment or a great way to make money if you are not an expert. Yes there will be a dozen examples of really really old people posting saying that they bought their Guild for $500 back in 1972, and now the same guitar is selling for 3X that amount. It is great that you have a 300% increase in your investment, but it also took 40 years to achieve that. There are much better ways to invest $500 in you are solely in this to make money.

Guitar stores make money off of used instruments by buying low and selling high. These numbers, of course are dependent on the market value of the guitar, but I believe this to be the trend. Ever take your guitar into GC for a trade in? You will be appalled at the trade in value. But if you trade it in, your guitar will be on the shelf the next day selling for a much higher price. This business model also goes for individuals hoping to make money on flipping guitars. Buy low and sell high.

Outside of the above business model, buying a used guitar, regardless of brand or factory location, will provide a stable place to put your money. This goes on the assumption that you do not get taken advantage of when you buy. A used guitar will have already depreciated and you will be able to sell for roughly the same price assuming the guitar is in similar condition as to when you bought it. But like all things, if you damage it, it sells for less. In my opinion, this is minimal risk if you are relatively responsible.

Off topic, but I have never found a used guitar that did not have problems. For me, the money saved by buying used seems to correlate with issues needed to be addressed. Bad set up, unlevel frets, neck reset, body cracks, poor saddle design. The list goes on. In recent years, I have chosen to pay the premium for new to 1) avoid issues, 2) have a new guitar that I can break in myself, and 3) have a lifetime warranty in case there is a defect like some I found on my purchased used guitars. To each his own I guess.

 

[evenkeel]

Another point to consider is the issue of inflation. What you could buy for $500 in 1970 you would need almost $3k to buy today.

 

[mutantmoose]

Guitars do seem to work like many investments, in that there is no security, no certainty, and the market is completely insane and devoid of reason.

But really, guitars are more like buying a house. You buy a house (at least your first one) so you can live in it. You are going to use it. You are paying for the use of the house. Guitars are like that - you buy a guitar to use it.

If you aren't using it, and want to get your money back, you have to hope somebody else out there will be interested in buying it from you. Except that now, the guitar functions like a car - there are a few vintage cars that are worth a lot, but usually a used car is worth far less than it was bought for originally.

Sometimes a guitar is like an analogy - it doesn't make any sense.

 

[chazmo]

I think guitars can be great investments if that's what you're after.

I think very few *Guilds* fit that description though.

 

[Curlington]

OoPs

Oops, I intended this as a reply to rachelsdad in the thread he recently started: F 50r: This could be the one

 

[fronobulax]

Re: OoPs

Oops, I intended this as a reply to rachelsdad in the thread he recently started: F 50r: This could be the one

I wondered about that but I thought you were suggesting an interesting question/discussion point, so ran with it here.

 

[tjmangum]

I think guitars can be great investments if that's what you're after.
I think very few *Guilds* fit that description though.

Until recently, I could say that my guitars had lost less value in the past few years than my 401k, however the difference was I didn't "invest" in guitars expecting a return, other than the pleasure of playing and owning.

Guild has never commanded the price in the used or vintage marketplace that the top names do. The only way they could, would be if you rewrote popular music history from the 50's & 60's and take those Gibsons, Fenders & Martins out of players hands and replace them with our beloved instruments.
T

 

[Just_Guild]

Good discussion but unless you are a serious collector, I don't think guitars in general and Guild specifically (IMHO) make good investments, at least in the traditional sense of investing. Even classic cars have taken a huge hit in this economy.

That being said, how do you put a value on something, an instrument, that provides such pleasure and enjoyment? After last weekends LMG III, the "Made to be Played" slogan has a whole different meaning to me.

At LMG III I was overwhelmed, frankly, by the attention my 1972 Guild Starfire received from all. Here is the original receipt. See if it was a good "investment" over 40 years.

What do you think I could sell this for now? (Don't get excited, I'm not!).

 

[fendersrule]

To me, it's an investment if I can sell it for what I paid for it (taking inflation into account). This assumption is based on taking the best possible care of it.

The year's I've spent having the joy to play on it? That was free entertainment.

Buying a new Guild is a tough investment. I still think getting good deals on used Guilds can still easily make little investments. Best investments ever? No.

 

[dapmdave]

Good discussion but unless you are a serious collector, I don't think guitars in general and Guild specifically (IMHO) make good investments, at least in the traditional sense of investing. Even classic cars have taken a huge hit in this economy.

That being said, how do you put a value on something, an instrument, that provides such pleasure and enjoyment? After last weekends LMG III, the "Made to be Played" slogan has a whole different meaning to me.

At LMG III I was overwhelmed, frankly, by the attention my 1972 Guild Starfire received from all. Here is the original receipt. See if it was a good "investment" over 40 years.

What do you think I could sell this for now? (Don't get excited, I'm not!).

Your guitar is awesome! I have never seen a finer example.

However (ducking for cover here) the hard cold facts say that you'd have to scrape up $3,742.28 today to cover the $679 you laid down in 1972. Could you get $3,700 for it today? I'd say no... but also being the owner of an old Starfire I'd be rooting for you. :wink:

But putting that sentimental value aside is easier said than done, isn't it? You've had 40 years of playing pleasure for your money. Who could even place a value on that? It was made to be played.

Dave

Inflation link is here: http://www.usinflationcalculator.com/

 

[killdeer43]

OK, forget about the money for a bit....every guitar I've ever owned provided an emotional investment in my life that has no dollar value, and I could certainly elaborate on that theme.

Just sayin', 8)
Joe

 

[Just_Guild]

Good discussion but unless you are a serious collector, I don't think guitars in general and Guild specifically (IMHO) make good investments, at least in the traditional sense of investing. Even classic cars have taken a huge hit in this economy.

That being said, how do you put a value on something, an instrument, that provides such pleasure and enjoyment? After last weekends LMG III, the "Made to be Played" slogan has a whole different meaning to me.

At LMG III I was overwhelmed, frankly, by the attention my 1972 Guild Starfire received from all. Here is the original receipt. See if it was a good "investment" over 40 years.

What do you think I could sell this for now? (Don't get excited, I'm not!).

Your guitar is awesome! I have never seen a finer example.

However (ducking for cover here) the hard cold facts say that you'd have to scrape up $3,742.28 today to cover the $679 you laid down in 1972. Could you get $3,742.28 for it today? I'd say no... but also being the owner of an old Starfire I'd be rooting for you. :wink:

But putting that sentimental value aside is easier said than done, isn't it? You've had 40 years of playing pleasure for your money. Who could even place a value on that? It was made to be played.

Dave

Inflation link is here: http://www.usinflationcalculator.com/

Thanks Dave for the kind words.

Yes, $3700.00 plus tax too! It makes me appreciate all the more the sacrifice my folks made to buy this guitar.

I think a comparison is in order too. I ride bicycles and with the guys and gals I ride with, we take our sport pretty seriously. Most people have no idea of the money we have "invested" in our equipment. My 2011 Felt F2 retails for $7500.00 (bought for $5800.00, new, another story). I will never, ever, be able to get anywhere near that amount of money for it (or my other bikes) on a used resale. Unlike the tradition bound guitar industry that Ren and Chris alluded too, at this end of the bike world everyone wants the latest technology, the lightest materials, etc. Perceived obsolescence abounds. Old equipment holds no value.

On the other hand, when I got into playing again in the late '90's, I started checking out music stores to see what was "hot." Guess what, everything old was new again. My Starfire (and ES 335's) and Fender Twin were "in." Everyone wanted tubes and vintage and well, you know. No one was going to laugh when I opened my case. (If I came to a bike event with a 40 year old bike, I would not be able to keep up with the group).

So in that sense, the ability to pick up a 20, 30 or 40 year old guitar, and start right back in again, is pretty amazing.

 

[Brad Little]

Guilds can be a good investment, all depends on your definition of investment. If you think of it like a carpenter or craftsman would, it's an investment in a tool of your trade. Since Guilds tend to go for less than some other makes-at least used-they give good bang for the buck for a working musician. When I gigged, I had a pleasure guitar (my Mark V) and my oldest friend (my F-212) but the third guitar was a revolving door depending on what type of band or music I was playing. That one was an investment in a tool of my trade. Did I make a million dollars? No, but I managed to at least get some return on my investments in guitars.
Now I don't gig, I do buy guitars, but not with an eye to returns on the cost, just because I like them and my current situation allows me the luxury of buying non-essential items.
Brad

 

[Geo]

Once I decided I wanted to collect a few guitars I knew I would go after Guilds. I’ve picked up most at very good prices and a couple I paid what I would say was close to top dollar for the model. All but two are Westerly built and either un-played, mint or excellent. Of course I have a few players but most of those are other brands.

I’ve owned a few Gibson’s and a couple of Martin guitars. If I had tried to collect those brands I would have maybe five or six at the most but I have 15 Guilds and as you all know they are just as good as any major brand on the planet.

So collecting Guilds allows me to enjoy many more guitars and I do think I will make a small profit when I do decide to sell them. If I break even I’ll be happy.

As for the Gibson, Fender, Martin, Larrivee & others I’ve bought and sold in the past, I’ve come out a little ahead so far.

Win, loose or draw this will be one time I won't have to look back and say I wish I'd bought a few back when they were more affordable.

George

 

[Bikerdoc]

Nice interesting thread. I don't delve into material things as an investment. I simply want what I want; be it a D50 Guild or Harley Panhead. Nothing I have is for sale and yet everything I have is for sale. Regardless of what I may have given $$$ for something, it's never worth more than what someone is willing to pay.

Peace

 

[davismanLV]

The term which is bandied about and is in the subject of this thread, is "investment". To make things relevant I'd say you need to define that term. There are all kinds of "investments". Monetary and emotional, to name two. You really have to define that term otherwise it gets all screwed up.

There's another term, "value" which is a ratio of what you PAY for what you GET.

Some of these comparisons are apples and oranges.

Still..... it's fun to hear what people think about their guitars and the money they've spent over the years, and what they feel they've received in return.

Kinda depends on your point of view and what scale of judgement you're using. 8)

 

[Christopher Cozad]

...it's fun to hear what people think about their guitars and the money they've spent over the years...

I vote for having more of both!



Christopher