Hi Guys,
I don't post in here very often but you guys are always so helpful when I'm having a dilemma.
I've been considering selling my Jem GMC for several months now and am getting tired of thinking about it. I am hoping that some fresh outside opinions might help me decide what to do.
The motivation for possibly selling is a financial one. I quit my full time job and went back to school full time a few years ago and am running extremely low on funds.
History of my Jem
The GMC was the guitar I always dreamed of owning. After learning that there were only 366 and how expensive they were to buy, I gave up attempting to own one. As fate would have it I began working at an Ibanez dealer in the mid 90's. The Ibanez rep and I were pretty chummy and during one of our conversations I mentioned that I always wanted to own a GMC. He said that he travels to stores all over the United States and would keep an eye out. I remember laughing to myself and saying "Yeah, right, like he's really going to find one".
6 weeks later, I got a phone call from the rep saying that he had seen a brand new one hanging on a music store wall in Louisiana. The store had more banjos on the wall than guitars and this one had been hanging there for 3 years. I couldn't believe it! I made arrangements through the store I worked at to buy the guitar at dealer cost and had it shipped to me.
Since purchasing it in 1996, it has for the most part stayed under my bed in its case. This brings me to the point. I have had this guitar for 16 years and have barley played it for fear of damaging it or putting wear on it. I don't even have it on display. It seems silly having something so expensive sitting under my bed when I have more important financial obligations to consider. The finances are nothing serious but it would just make things a whole lot easier for me if I had the dough.
Here are my reasons for wanting to sell
1) At the rate Ibanez is kicking out reissues these days. I speculate that a GMC reissue might not be too far off. I feel this might devalue my original GMC as it would not be as rare as it once was.
2) It has literally been sitting under my bed collecting dust for 16 years. Its hard for me to justify keeping such an expensive instrument that I am not playing when I have more pressing financial matters to attend to.
3) I have 9 guitars total (6 electrics and 3 acoustics) that are all nice instruments (I don't like to buy crap!) that are hanging on my wall. Its not like I'm short of having good quality instruments to play. The jem is a guitar that I would never play out with and barely play at home. Seems like an excessive waste of resources.
4) Its not like the Jem is the pinnacle of instrument craftsmanship. I feel like my Charvels and Fenders are at least as good quality if not better than my Jem. I feel the jem is a good guitar but most of its value is in the hype of it being Steve Vai's signature model and for the paint scheme. I don't hold it up on the pedestal that I once did when I was younger.
Here are my reasons for not wanting to sell
1) It was a once in a lifetime opportunity that I came to own this guitar. Its hard for me to give up knowing that it would be hard to replace....especially at the price I paid for it.
2) I still think its the coolest guitar in the world. To me its a nostalgia piece that makes me grin every time I see it.
3) The value might continue to go up
4) I am in a transitional phase right now with school and think I might regret that I sold it later on.
5) I enjoy playing it and also get pleasure out of owning it.
Well there it is. Thanks for reading through this long post. I would really appreciate hearing anyones feedback or opinion about my dilemma. Like I said, my financial situation is not an emergency but it would just make things a little easier on me to have the extra money. Thanks again for reading. Please let me know what you think.
I don't post in here very often but you guys are always so helpful when I'm having a dilemma.
I've been considering selling my Jem GMC for several months now and am getting tired of thinking about it. I am hoping that some fresh outside opinions might help me decide what to do.
The motivation for possibly selling is a financial one. I quit my full time job and went back to school full time a few years ago and am running extremely low on funds.
History of my Jem
The GMC was the guitar I always dreamed of owning. After learning that there were only 366 and how expensive they were to buy, I gave up attempting to own one. As fate would have it I began working at an Ibanez dealer in the mid 90's. The Ibanez rep and I were pretty chummy and during one of our conversations I mentioned that I always wanted to own a GMC. He said that he travels to stores all over the United States and would keep an eye out. I remember laughing to myself and saying "Yeah, right, like he's really going to find one".
6 weeks later, I got a phone call from the rep saying that he had seen a brand new one hanging on a music store wall in Louisiana. The store had more banjos on the wall than guitars and this one had been hanging there for 3 years. I couldn't believe it! I made arrangements through the store I worked at to buy the guitar at dealer cost and had it shipped to me.
Since purchasing it in 1996, it has for the most part stayed under my bed in its case. This brings me to the point. I have had this guitar for 16 years and have barley played it for fear of damaging it or putting wear on it. I don't even have it on display. It seems silly having something so expensive sitting under my bed when I have more important financial obligations to consider. The finances are nothing serious but it would just make things a whole lot easier for me if I had the dough.
Here are my reasons for wanting to sell
1) At the rate Ibanez is kicking out reissues these days. I speculate that a GMC reissue might not be too far off. I feel this might devalue my original GMC as it would not be as rare as it once was.
2) It has literally been sitting under my bed collecting dust for 16 years. Its hard for me to justify keeping such an expensive instrument that I am not playing when I have more pressing financial matters to attend to.
3) I have 9 guitars total (6 electrics and 3 acoustics) that are all nice instruments (I don't like to buy crap!) that are hanging on my wall. Its not like I'm short of having good quality instruments to play. The jem is a guitar that I would never play out with and barely play at home. Seems like an excessive waste of resources.
4) Its not like the Jem is the pinnacle of instrument craftsmanship. I feel like my Charvels and Fenders are at least as good quality if not better than my Jem. I feel the jem is a good guitar but most of its value is in the hype of it being Steve Vai's signature model and for the paint scheme. I don't hold it up on the pedestal that I once did when I was younger.
Here are my reasons for not wanting to sell
1) It was a once in a lifetime opportunity that I came to own this guitar. Its hard for me to give up knowing that it would be hard to replace....especially at the price I paid for it.
2) I still think its the coolest guitar in the world. To me its a nostalgia piece that makes me grin every time I see it.
3) The value might continue to go up
4) I am in a transitional phase right now with school and think I might regret that I sold it later on.
5) I enjoy playing it and also get pleasure out of owning it.
Well there it is. Thanks for reading through this long post. I would really appreciate hearing anyones feedback or opinion about my dilemma. Like I said, my financial situation is not an emergency but it would just make things a little easier on me to have the extra money. Thanks again for reading. Please let me know what you think.