Wow, That is a nice guitar !

[rockin_ron]

Perusing the web this morning and I was surprised to see a beautiful collector's edition Larrivee for sale at of all places Guitar Center.  Thought I'd post it here just in case someone might be in the market for one.  Seems like a reasonable price, but I must say someone unfortunately got "*****" because GC typically only gives you 40% of retail on your trade if your lucky!

I'll never understand why Larrivee guitars don't hold their value better, such a shame especially for the quality and craftsmanship you get for the price.

https://www.guitarcenter.com/Used/Larrivee/Used-Larrivee-lv10-50th-anniversary-Natural-Acoustic-Guitar.gc

[B0WIE]

Wow, I don't see those pop up too often.

In fairness, GC typically gives between 50 and 60% trade value, and takes all work and risk off the seller's hands. While it's not something I'd ever do personally, there's a lot of people who don't want to deal with everything involved in selling an instrument and shipping so it's a good option for some. GC isn't going to get $5,400 for that guitar, so someone might have done ok, IMO.

 One thing that interests me though, is how someone buys a magnificent instrument like an L10 50'th, and isn't savvy enough about guitars to sell it themselves online. Maybe it's an estate situation where a family member doesn't know what to do with it. I think GC is really helpful in that kind of scenario. Much better than what happens at a pawn shop.

[rockin_ron]

Wow, I don't see those pop up too often.

In fairness, GC typically gives between 50 and 60% trade value, and takes all work and risk off the seller's hands. While it's not something I'd ever do personally, there's a lot of people who don't want to deal with everything involved in selling an instrument and shipping so it's a good option for some. GC isn't going to get $5,400 for that guitar, so someone might have done ok, IMO.

 One thing that interests me though, is how someone buys a magnificent instrument like an L10 50'th, and isn't savvy enough about guitars to sell it themselves online. Maybe it's an estate situation where a family member doesn't know what to do with it. I think GC is really helpful in that kind of scenario. Much better than what happens at a pawn shop.

I recently dealt with GC in that respect and that was the direct answer from the store manager "40% of retail or what they think they can sell it for".  Anything higher they have to call it in to the corporate office to get approval.  Also depends on the used/resale market and economy at the time, which these days is flat.  You'd be surprised how few people can walk in and drop five grand on a guitar without blinking an eye!  He also said he has to factor in how long he may have to sit on it.  Larrivee guitar's don't move as quick as a Martin, Gibson, or Taylor, at least from his re-sale perspective.  That is just the unfortunate fact.  So yeah for a savvy buyer who knows the value, that maybe turn out to be someone's prize.

[BlueBowman]

I recently dealt with GC in that respect and that was the direct answer from the store manager "40% of retail or what they think they can sell it for".  Anything higher they have to call it in to the corporate office to get approval.

That's the lowest percentage for a trade-in I've seen. I've dealt with my local GC, which is a great store as far as GC's go, a few times in such cases, as have my friends. 70% was common for Taylor or Martin. These days I think it's closer to 60% from what I'm told, and that includes Larrivee (GC sells a lot of used Larrivee's).

As far as straight up buying, GC was a pretty good place to buy a used guitar once upon a time. You could get a reasonable deal. For the acoustics I'm interested in, I think those days are now gone.