X-rated Bob wrote:
kevjones wrote:
Tokai guitars. PRS Guitars and many Gibson guitars defy this trend and you can pay more than the original retail price.
Also that may not be a gain in real terms. I know guys who will sell you a Martin and tell you that in five years time, if it's in good condition, they will buy it back from you for what you paid for it.
That's not necessarily breaking even in real terms.
That's a flat out loss. We shouldn't need to even explain this to anyone over the age of 14.
There are a handful of new guitars (like a limited run of highly desirably reissues, for example) that will be worth more than you paid for them in two years' time, and a slightly larger handful that are worth more in 15. Tokais from 1979 to 1985 are sometimes worth more than new depending on the model. They're certainly worth more than they were 20 years ago. This is true too of Gibsons from the same era. It's not hard to buy a Gibson LP Custom from 1981 for R16,000 or less and you could easily pay over R30K in the store for a new one.
The hit you take when you walk out of the store is so huge that that slow increase in value of highly desirable guitars from a highly desirable era takes a long time to make it back up. When people talk about some brands having a higher resale value, all they really mean in practise is that they're easier to move because there are more people looking for them. It doesn't mean that they're willing to pay a higher proportion of the retail price. The prices I've heard some people talking about buying 2nd hand flametop PRSs for boggled my mind. If I was going to lose that much money, I simply wouldn't sell.
