RE: Guitar Grading - Beauty is in the eye of the beholder

Re: Guitar Grading - Beauty is in the eye of the beholder

Does anybody have experience with used "relic" Fenders? How do you navigate those waters? What is the difference between a used "relic" Fender and a well-used Fender of equal build quality? While semi-rhetorical, I'm am curious to hear any insight.

Rich used a word that I rarely see (and admittedly rarely use) on the internet that makes a world of difference: please. He also knows how to buy guitars so I would listen to him.

I wouldn't copy him verbatim because I do not have the level of knowledge or expertise he does. I would buy a guitar to play it. Over time, it will acquire wear and tear so I'm not too concerned about a reasonable level of wear and tear to start with. (I would like to know about it though.) Rich might do the same, but he may buy a guitar for a whole host of other reasons which is why the detailed documentation of the condition is needed. (I assume.)

To the OP, you are right, disappoint, and negative feedback both suck. It errodes trust between people. Buying guitars on the internet will always come with some level of risk and inaccurate information doesn't help. Unfortunately, guitarists grading their own guitars accurately is highly improbable. An appraiser can estimate the value of a guitar but that can cause more problems than its worth.

TL;DR - Listen to Rich. :wink:

Re: Guitar Grading - Beauty is in the eye of the beholder

Rich said:

Be polite, if you're not you'll get the same in return.

I buy for me or to resell, and either way it doesn't matter except that I'll pay more if it's something for me. But the bottom line is condition is one of the biggest criteria in what any object is worth. And you can't judge it's worth when it's a bogus description. If you're going to spend money do it wisely, unless you have so much you don't care 8O

Click to expand...

"Courtesy counts."

I agree. If the seller is not giving an accurate description of the guitar, you can't judge its worth.

The reason I brought up Fender was "relic'd" guitars are made in the Custom Shop and some of them are rather good. How does condition factor into the worth of those guitars?

Growing up, I remember my guitar teacher had a 1st edition copy of The Hobbit. This was not by chance. He and his wife decided to look for a "mint" 1st edition because they really love the book. They paid a lot of money for it. I am not sure when they actually bought it but I get the impression book condition is rather unforgiving/rewarding as it applies to the value of the book. In contrast, an RG570 with a scratch compared to an RG570 without a scratch has less of an effect on the value between guitars.

Expertise through experience seems to be the best grading system available for guitars at this point in time. However, if desired, a system could be devised. It would be hard and probably take a long time but it could be done.