guitar prices

[DaveyO]

Anyone notice that guitars are getting
Very expensive?
Larrivee used to be a great deal
But a quick look at reverb and eBay and
You can't help but notice all guitars have
Gone up
Thoughts?
David

[George]

The economy is improving.  Sellers are not as apt to take low ball offers anymore...

[broKen]

I think they still are  a great deal.

[B0WIE]

New guitars are going up, but so are wages so it's nothing unusual.  Used guitars are such a steal right now though.  I have to stop myself from buying because I simply don't have the space anymore.  I just picked up a brazilian rosewood Larrivee at the cheapest price I've seen in 5 years.  With most builders, the braz back wood itself would cost almost double what I paid for this nearly mint guitar.

[Mikeymac]

Martin now charges something ridiculous like $20,000 (yes, that's the right number of zeroes) to upgrade to Brazilian (say on a Custom Shop guitar).  And most of that isn't the nice, quartersaw, straight-grain stuff like the old days... One of the best buys in used guitars these days is a '60's Martin D-28 or D-35. Brazilian b/s for very little $$.

[Casey86]

Anyone notice that guitars are getting
Very expensive?
Larrivee used to be a great deal
But a quick look at reverb and eBay and
You can't help but notice all guitars have
Gone up
Thoughts?
David

Check out the prices of Santa Cruz or top end Martins on the used market and Larrivee's look great price wise.

I just tried out some new $5,000cdn guitars (Taylor, Martin hd-28v) and none of them sound better than my wife's D-04.

[teh]

That was a great question David and here's my answer.

Everything is relative and remember; It's only a bargain if you would be willing to pay more for it.

I paid $636 including tax for my first new Martin in 1977 and drove to pick it up in my used 1974 VW Super Beetle that cost me $1,200.

In 2004, I paid $570 including tax and a hard shell case (to replace the Gig Bag) for my first new Larrivee Special Edition Parlor. I picked it up in my 2003 Honda Element that I bought used the same year.

I still own these two great guitars which I consider appreciating assets while both vehicles (depreciating assets#) are long gone. I've only bought two new cars in my 46 years of driving and I trade vehicles every 8 to 14 years. During that same time frame, I've purchased a bunch of guitars and only ever sold or traded one of those (Ovation 12 String Pacemaker).

#I taught my kids that depreciating assets start losing value the moment you buy them and continue losing value until their useful life is depleted.

When I buy a guitar, I ask myself two questions before I say yes:

1) What is the useful life of this guitar and the cost to own it over time? My first guitar cost $15.50 per year or 30 cents per week or 4.2 cents per day ($636 divided by 41 years divided by 52 weeks divided by 7 days). This calculation doesn't include present or future value of the $600 but I always pay cash* for my guitars and never finance them.

*Once they turn 4 and are big enough to understand, I explain to my grandchildren that cash is this green stuff that fits in their pocket and requires careful thought before giving it to someone else.

2) Which of my 3 sons (37, 35 and 34) and eventually my 9 grandchildren (Ages 8 to 1) will end up with one of my guitars when I'm gone? If my 8 year old granddaughter ends up with my first guitar, it will be over 100 years old when she reaches my current age. 

If I had known in 1966 what I know now, I would have used the money I made on my paper route and cutting grass to buy a new D-35 with Brazilian Rosewood back and sides.

[psr-740]

Are you kidding me?
I tried to sell here  2013 c-10 for $2000 and no one took her. What else you can find for this amount of money that will look and sound good as a c-10?
Expansive? I don't think so.

[JOYCEfromNS]

Are you kidding me?
I tried to sell here  2013 c-10 for $2000 and no one took her. What else you can find for this amount of money that will look and sound good as a c-10?
Expansive? I don't think so.

I don't think I'd need a 3rd hand to count the # of times I've seen a used Larrivee sell for >$2,000

[B0WIE]

Are you kidding me?
I tried to sell here  2013 c-10 for $2000 and no one took her. What else you can find for this amount of money that will look and sound good as a c-10?
Expansive? I don't think so.

Used Larrivees are known for fetching fairly little. 2k is nearing Brazilian rosewood territory. However, I have seen many 10 series go for $1,500 or less sometimes. Doesn't change the fact that new prices are still going up though.

[psr-740]

Thank you for the responses.
I didn't know that 10 models were selling below $1500. I can't get it.
Guitar Center paid me $1750 for my guitar after serious inspection. That is 60% below what they thought they will get for her her.
We are here because we love larrivee, so we are subjective, I, as a Larrivee lover, don't see anything at this price point that can give such a high quality. The C-10 is the top model Larrivee makes. But maybe I can't think right because I am subjective...

[Mikeymac]

It's market driven - there's a whole lot more demand for used Gibsons, Martins and Taylors than for used Larrivees.

I just sold my 2012 Martin D-18 on Reverb for $1400 - in about 36 hours. If you go to the right dealer, you can buy a new D-18 for around $1800-2000. They're popular guitars (and worth it, in my experience - I loved mine, but am waiting on a custom).

Larrivees upper end guitars (09 and up series) aren't in high demand, so prices stay low. I'll probably be trying to sell my C-10 in the near future, and I'd be ELATED to get $1500 for it; I just don't think that will happen.

Why? Again, supply and demand. 

[markj]

Are you kidding me?
I tried to sell here  2013 c-10 for $2000 and no one took her. What else you can find for this amount of money that will look and sound good as a c-10?
Expansive? I don't think so.

Don't think I wasn't severely tempted to buy your C-10. I was. I laid out some serious coin last year on GAS pains. Most of which was consumed by the LV-10 50th Anniversary. Your C-10 would have complemented my LV-10 perfectly.

I wanted to buy it.  I really did. 

[rosborn]

Are you kidding me?
I tried to sell here  2013 c-10 for $2000 and no one took her. What else you can find for this amount of money that will look and sound good as a c-10?
Expansive? I don't think so.

I have sold two guitars here. I did both buyers a huge favor because I gave them really good deals...really good deals. Guitars don't sell all that well here and I think part of the reason is that the number of active participants here is relatively small. You probably would do better on Reverb or AGF (the Acoustic Guitar Forum) - more eyes to see what you're selling.


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[psr-740]

markj, I wish you bought her. now she is on the wall at GG. Who knows when someone will buy her.
rosborn, I posted her also on the AGF for a month.No one was interested.
Mikeymac. Yes, but it hurts.

[Davy Vanthuyne]

No matter how good our Larrivée guitars really are, it's a shame if  you want to sell a guitar that you ain't get the money for what the guitars are really worth, it's frustrating after all. I have two Larrivées, here in Europe, i've paid 3000$ for the RS4. I've bought the RS2 in the usa, even with shipping and taxes i've got a good deal. But not even 5% of the European musicians knows the Larrivée brand, you can't expect that they will be interested or pay a fair price, when they don't know the guitars.