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.
