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Joined:
April 2011
Posts: 97
Location: Marlton, NJ | I've been watching the prices of 1867s for the past 6 months or so, or more recently have done more focused searches on that and other models and I'm surprised at how widely the prices vary. I've seen guitars that appear to be in excellent condition sell for $350 or less and I've seen ones in poor condition where the seller is asking $700 or more. Obviously the latter are just out of touch with the current value of the guitars.
Last Fall I was trying to sell my mint-condition 2005 Collector's edition; I didn't try eBay, but I watched a few come & go; even at $600 it took several rounds of listing a guitar before it sold; I guess the demand for Ovations was even lower then. I finally traded it in at Guitar Center where they gave me around $600, plus greatly discounted the item I was buying, making the trade-in value around $800 for me, which wasn't that great. So I know how hard it is to swallow the low value of Ovations.
I've gone through the same thing with Parker guitars and Hamer guitars; buy one new and you're going to take a beating when you sell it. And just like with Ovations, the used prices are all over the map; there are a lot of great bargains mixed with a lot of out-of-touch people asking high prices.
So now, I'm hesitant to pay any high (though reasonable) price for a used Ovation because I think 1) if I ever try to sell it, I'll have a hell of a time getting my money back and 2) if I wait long enough, I'll find a similar guitar for half the price.
I've got my eye on a used 1869 in excellent condition for around $800 - but I'm thinking that might be too high (not for the quality of the guitar but for the resale value).
Sorry for the rant.
Mark |
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Joined:
December 2001
Posts: 10583
Location: NJ | it has something to do with
Ovation
it has something to do with
the economy
figure it out
impossible |
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Joined:
October 2008
Posts: 639
Location: NW of Philadelphia | Unless you are investing a musuem piece, getting your money back shouldn't be a factor. That being said, get the best deal you can and enjoy your purchase. |
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Joined:
March 2005
Posts: 12759
Location: Boise, Idaho | Despite being called a collector, I buy my guitars to play them. It would be nice if they appreciated in value, or even stayed the same, but even stocks don't do that these days and they aren't any fun to play with. |
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Joined:
April 2010
Posts: 823
Location: sitting at my computer | IMO if you really want that particular 1869 then it's time to go do some serious haggling with the seller. It's a buyers market out there these days! Asking Price is one thing.... Selling Price is another!
If you can't get it for what you're willing to spend... give the seller your phone number just in case he changes his mind... then keep searching and enjoy the hunt!!!
FWIW - I never bought any of my Ovations worried about what their resale value might be someday - probably because I ain't planning on selling any of them!! :D |
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Joined:
April 2011
Posts: 97
Location: Marlton, NJ | I understand the thought of "getting your money back shouldn't be a factor" as I apply that logic to most things I buy; for example, when I buy a TV, I plan to use it until it breaks or becomes obsolete which is hopefully a long time.
With guitars it's different for me. When I buy a guitar (or other music gear), it sometimes can take months to determine if it's a keeper or not; just playing it in the store isn't enough time to know (unless it's obviously a dog), and often it's not even possible to try the guitar first so I have to buy it to try it. So if I spend a lot of money on an Ovation (especially when I can't play it first) and after some time I decide I'm just not bonding with it, I'd like to be able to get close to what I paid for it when I sell it again.
Over the last 20 years I've owned 22 guitars and I still own 11 of them, so I don't think I excessively flip guitars, but some of them just don't last long-term. |
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Joined:
April 2004
Posts: 13303
Location: Latitude 39.56819, Longitude -105.080066 | If you shop around with the current economy it is a great time to buy guitars. In 4-5 years when the economy is hopefully in better hands and has recovered, it should bring more than you paid for it.
Slipkid's current breadwinner offering is a good example....3-4 years ago, that price would have been a bargain for a minty white one....now it is on the high side but still a bargain for what the guitar really is. In a couple years he will re-post it and probably sell it for a couple hundred more than his current asking price. |
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Joined:
January 2006
Posts: 5881
Location: Colorado Rocky Mountains | Money is but one form of value. Enjoyment and utility are others. When I buy gear, I never think about what its cash or resaale value will be. I think about what its value will be to me in ownership, use and and enjoyment. If I was really concerned with resale value, then my purchasing habits would likely be quite different. I would certainly never order custom-made gear. People who buy and sell gear for a living know a lot more about this than we do. Their interests are different than mine. Its interesting to attend a guitar store liquidation auction and watch what the used gear dealers bid on versus what they pass up. It is obvious that they look at gear from a business perspective and are in it for resale value, not personal use and enjoyment. We all have our own definitions of value as applied to our purchase decisions, and it applies to everything in our lives, not just our guitars and guitar gear. |
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Joined:
April 2011
Posts: 97
Location: Marlton, NJ | Originally posted by ProfessorBB:
If I was really concerned with resale value, then my purchasing habits would likely be quite different. I would certainly never order custom-made gear. That explains a lot of my behavior :) I've spent $8k on a custom guitar that ended up having problems and $4k on another custom guitar that ended up having problems. In the first case, the builder wasn't willing to fix it (which I would have preferred) but accepted a return; in the second case, I was stuck with the loss and I'd value the guitar at around $1200 but I've just kept it warts and all (it was an anniversary gift), though I often kick myself when I think about it.
I guess my experience with buying (both custom or mass produced, new or used) taught me that I should factor in the resale value in case it ultimately doesn't work out. |
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Ovation prices all over the map
