FENDER USA STRAT 60th Diamond Edition

Sukkafool

Hey All

Its been MANY years since i was last here but I need some advice from any Fender guru's out there.
I have a Fender 60th Anniversary Diamond Edition Strat (serial # Z6130096) that has been sitting in its case in its cupboard for a very long time. I am trying to establish what it is worth in order to sell it and was wondering if there are any knowledgable people on the forum that can point me in the right direction?

Sadly when i took it out of its case for the first time in a few years and picked it up by its horn the paint/Laquer cracked. I have had Foster Van Der Merwe quote on restoring it but im trying to establish if its worth Spending the R3500 and then selling or selling as is, and if so what sort of price range i should look at restored or unrestored.
Any help or recomendations you can give me would be greatly appreciated.

V8

Hey man!

Kinda tough to say what's it's worth locally - but the local market likes Fenders and particularly, Fender strats.

I usually trawl ebay & reverb for similar items and thumbsuck from there.

This is at around USD1100 -> https://reverb.com/item/130449-fender-usa-60th-anniversary-diamond-edition-commemorative-stratocaster

Solid specs though, I'd say there's a slight premium (+10/15%) over stock US strats, but not a huge amount. Case candy (tags, stickers, etc) and original hardcase all add a little bit too.

The cracking isn't pretty, though not affecting the playability (e.g. not spread to neck pocket)?. I reckon the reasoning for the $$$ bill is that the paint to colour match is pricey (so is the skill, it's quite tricky to get a close to perfect match). Foster's work is excellent though - if you want a 2nd opinion, try Traut Guitar Worx in Salt River (works from the Gear Junkie).

So, thinking out loud, 15kish -as is- should be a easy sell. 18-25k restored, depending on how long you want to keep it listed (and how many lowballs you can deal with).

Sukkafool

Hi V8, Thanks for the reply. That all sounds pretty reasonable. Foster has done work for me in the past on other guitars and his work is of the highest quality for sure. I did look on ebay but didnt see one that has the maple neck ( not sure if that makes a difference or not) Ill have to give this one some thought.

V8

Sukkafool didnt see one that has the maple neck ( not sure if that makes a difference or not)

Not sure myself - usually those that like a maple neck want one - I think they are the minority though. Most peeps want the sunburst w/rosewood or a black one w/rosewood (ala clapton). Still it's a US Fender with good spec's - time will help find the right buyer (SAMIS on Facebook, Gumtree or consign at Gear Junkie).

Sukkafool

FWIW, Went back to Ebay and found two:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/114885955945?hash=item1abfbc9169:g:b~kAAOSwBRFg6XW~
and
https://www.ebay.com/itm/325097750526?hash=item4bb155fffe:g:5twAAOSwy8tiLObl

Your pricing was pretty good.

V8

Sukkafool Your pricing was pretty good.

Thanks, It's always a thumbsuck guesstimate! We don't quite achieve the same prices as UK/US - I reckon it's a smaller market and less resilient currency. But we also see that a Classic Vibe is R10k+ new and a US starts at around R20k+ new - so that keeps the local 2nd hand market value for Fender's & Gibson's fairly decent.

Were it a Cort. Ltd, etc... it'd be minimum 50% less when you walked out the store. Even up to 80% less for some models. I paid R1700 for my Cort, as new , just setup by Foster - was R8200 retail at Bothners 😅