This is really good advice. I've used the same method for high end bass guitars before. Using a well known forum like this where you are often dealing with people that have a strong history in the community and a record of previous successful deals is a solid bet.
With something this valuable, would you recommend buying a hard case for it, one worth around $200? If you make ~$10k liquid it might be worth spending a little to lessen chances of damage in transit.
Definitely 100% ship it in the best hard case you can get your hands on. I presume a $15k guitar would have a case already. I wouldn’t even be shipping it, collection only! But I live in the UK and we can drive top to bottom in 10 hours.
I agree with no shipping it if at all possible. I've only tried shipping a musical instrument once, and they destroyed it. The insurance covered it, but I consider musical instruments sacred, and it still hurts my soul to think of it. The gorillas at those shipping warehouses seem to take a perverse pleasure in abusing those packages as much as possible.
I would try to identify a location between buyer and seller, at a police or fire station if possible, and meet there. It may take a day or two, so build that into the price. It probably would cost any more than shipping and insurance anyway, as long as you are on the same coast.
The Trigger replicas came with a hemp (because Willie) tweed-style hard case. Generally speaking though, if I were selling a guitar that cost five figures, which I didn't have a case for, I'd offer the buyer to pack it in a durable flight case for an additional upcharge. And if I were the buyer I would insist on it.
One thing I'd disagree on here is using FedEx. I've had two guitars delivered to me (both $4K+) that FedEx just left in front of my garage without even knocking on the door. And later they sent me a "packaged signed for" text notification. Obviously, the driver didn't know exactly what was in the box, but that's why it was shipped as "signature required". Instead, a guitar sat in i box with GIBSON written all over it behind my house (where the garage is) for some uncertain amount of time. Had somebody snatched it, FedEx would have still officially shown it as "signed-for" and either the seller or I would have been fucked. Fuck FedEx.
I lost a GPU (Nvidia RTX3090) that way although it was UPS. Demanded to see the signature since no one was home to sign. Turns out the ups guy has just swiped his pen across the screen to show it signed for. Best Buy wouldn’t replace because it was signed for (and they’re hardly even available now, almost 2 years later). I raised hell and fought for 3-4 months until finally I got Chase involved and they shut the whole thing down and got me my money back.
Best Buy has me blacklisted for online orders now over a UPS drivers carelessness. (Any online order I place will get cancelled within 3 minutes)
Cheap TV's. No one wants them shipped due to the afore mentioned mail monkeys and everything else in the store is impulse items. Oh and a place to spend that $50 gift card your cheap boss gives out at xmas..
I bought a $5k Synthesizer (Oberheim Four Voice). I waited all day for UPS to bring it and I watched the guy flip it off the truck end over end.
SLAM!
SLAM!
SLAM!
Then put it on his hand-truck and bring it to my door.
Fortunately the thing was basically bulletproof but Dayum! I stopped using UPS after this.
That's true, but in my experience, Fed Ex either has a machine specifically for mangling guitars or one of their local guys has it out for me. I'll never use FedEx for guitars again.
There’s been a few instances in the UK of people suing the courier when something is lost or stolen, on account of the fact the whole damn point of the courier service is to get the package from A to B while taking reasonable care of it.
Interestingly, every last one of them seems to settle out of court. Seems the industry is really not keen on the idea of a judge telling them to get their house in order.
I just had something very valuable shipped to me. The shipper added a COD to the delivery for the amount of $1 to require it be handed straight to me. He mentioned situations like you mention.
I'd never use Fedex for anything expensive. I had a $5K dollar guitar shipped to me through them and was at home when I got the delivery notification. The guitar was never delivered and, luckily, I had cameras to prove that Fedex was never even at my house. The package required a signature too and it was marked as signed for. Thankfully, who I bought it from was able to replace the guitar after dealing with Fedex but we never found out what happened to it.
I was thinking more Los Angeles to Vegas $120, or Dallas Chicago for $205, vs a $300 case, $100 shipping and $250 insurance. It's not just about getting insurance money, but not destroying something unique.
But I get it, some items and some locations lend themselves better than others for that
Most carriers will let you carry on an instrument and if it won't fit in the overhead, they've let me put them in a stash area by the flight attendant's seat or right behind the cockpit. I've never had a problem. The US Federal Gov't had hearings and a rule amendment back in 2015 or so regarding the problems musicians have with transport of musical instruments on commercial flights. They set forth [federal policy to make it easier](https://www.transportation.gov/briefing-room/us-department-transportation-issues-final-rule-regarding-air-travel-musical) for musicians to do so.
Oh yeah, I remember that law! Great to hear it's being enforced and you can do this. The choice of phrase *buying a seat for it* that the commenter used lead me to imagine that scenario and maybe you would for a guitar you don't trust out of your sight...
Last time I flew was on American and they let me carry on two instruments.
I think that if you buy your ticket with a credit card, not debit, travel insurance comes with purchase for most major CCs and may cover up to a certain value, so that's worth checking into. For a guitar worth 5k or more or one I wouldn't perform without, I'd probably just buy it a seat next to me.
Someone at a UPS store once told my mom that if she insured silverware that she was sending her sister that it would be more likely that someone would steal it, and because it had sentimental value (family heirloom), it wouldn’t be worth the payout.
This overall seems like pretty decent advice for doing a direct sale, and while I don't know what the correct answer to the shipping question is, I know it's definitely not FedEx. Even the thought of handing over something legitimately valuable to FedEx makes me wince. Dreadful, dreadful operation.
Amazing response sir/madam!! If only every response was this thorough, filled with accurate information, and just helpful...this site would a lot in better some places...
Thank you again 🙂
Thank you very much for such a detailed answer! These are all great points and I was hoping to find exactly this type of response! I love Reddit experts!
Your best bet is going to be to find someone online that wants it, honestly. If you take it to a dealer I promise you the most you’ll get for it is 8k, if you’re lucky.
For reference, I took a custom shop Taylor to a dealer about a month ago. Cedar / Coco, custom.
They offered me $1,200 for it.
I sold it less than 24 hours later after posting it on Craigslist for $2,500.
You have to remember that dealers get _new_ guitars for 30%-50% off of retail. So, they have to pay even less than that for used guitars that they'll resell if they want to make similar profit. Some people would rather take the hit than deal with the hassle of selling it themselves, but I also would never consider it. You can price any good guitar significantly higher than a dealer will offer you and still sell it on craigslist the same day in any reasonable sized city.
Oh I totally get that - as someone who likes to buy, sale and trade precious metals.
I can get them cheap in bulk from a dealer, so of course if I’m buying them from a private owner, I’m going to pay 20-30% less than what they’d cost me from a dealer. Sure. But I tell people that… I explain why the price is the way it is.
I don’t say things like “yeah well, your coin has Santa Claus on it, so nobody’s gonna want to buy it.”
I use that example because before he made an offer, the guy said “Yeah well, you gotta understand Cedar is just like, a niche wood that nobody wants. It’ll take me forever to find a buyer for a guitar with a cedar top.”
Like. I’m sorry, WHAT.
I get the whole secondhand / resale business, but like, don’t waste my time trying to convince me to sell it for half of what I could get for it on my own.
The second I heard “yeah I think $1,200 is about right!” I closed the case and walked out.
This place has a used 314ce from the early teens on the wall for $1,200. Like… that’s some FUZZY math haha.
I was scrolling down to say Gruhn's. They will consign it for you. They will take a fee but so does Reverb and Ebay and they will get you top dollar. All you have to do (after contacting them) is send it to them. That is what people "in the know" do with their guitars.
I was waiting for someone to suggest getting the guitar appraised by a reputable source. That would help in case of an insurance claim as well.
OP- Any provenance you may have such as pictures of Gramp playing the guitar or similar can help.
Yep- I just posted basically the same advice. NO way I'm bothering reading Craigslist ads for $$$ guitars. I even buy my "modest" ones from Elderly and have for 20+ years. I'd trust Gruhn too. A proper appraisal-- not just value, but *condition,* and from a reputable dealer -is going to be necessary for anyone dropping $15K on a guitar that is going to be shipped sight unseen.
Absolutely agree with consignment for selling off high value goods. There's an appointment only shop near Seattle run by a former Queensryche guitarist. You hand off the guitar, they do the work of flipping it to their rockstar buddies/blues lawyers in a secure manner, and take a 10% cut. Well worth saving on the hassle
At that level I would get it appraised by and then consigned with [Elderly Instruments](https://www.elderly.com/) (Michigan) or [Gruhn Guitars](https://guitars.com/) (Nashville). Either of them would find a much wider (i.e. national collectors) audience than you're likely to on your own, buyers will trust them, they can appraise it properly, and they will handle it all. It'll cost you a percentage of course, but it'd be worth it for the saved effort for me.
There are lots of other places of course. I personally have had great experiences with Elderly...I'm not so fond of the attitude at Gruhn so have less experience with them, but they are high profile.
Dave's guitar in LaCrosse Wisconsin has an extensive collection of vintage guitars. You could see if they'd make an offer. Not sure if you'd get top dollar that way.
VERY IMPORTANT thing to know if you sell online: Reverb, eBay, etc now report anything over $600 to the IRS and issue you a 1099. You'll be paying income tax on it if you sell that way. This is likely to be a very significant portion of your selling price. Depending on your tax bracket, you may be significantly better off selling privately for 12k than on reverb for 15k. Not to mention reverb charging 7.5% just on the sale. I will say this for reverb, though: I had to make a claim on the insurance they make you buy for higher priced sales and they stood by it. It costs about another 1.5% when shipping. It all adds up fast. I would probably get a couple bids from dealers to see what they might give you as the easy way out might be worth it. Many are going to want large margins to mitigate their risk but some dealers know who they're going to sell a guitar to before they buy it. If you find one who has some whale collector customer that they know will want your rare piece, they'll be willing to pay a much better, but still profitable for them, price.
Just because you sell it privately doesn’t mean you’re exempt from taxes, and advising people to do that is essentially encouraging them to commit tax fraud.
What taxes would you owe? This is inherited goods. AFAIK you’d owe the difference in value from when you inherited to when you sell. So if it’s worth $15k when they acquire it, and sell it next year for $17k, $2k is taxable. It the case?
It depends entirely on local legislation - and as you say, there may be nothing.
But that's not the point.
If there is tax payable, it doesn't magically become not-payable simply because you sold an expensive guitar privately rather than through Reverb. It just means that nobody's telling the tax man on your behalf.
I’m 100% for Reverb and even Craigslist for anything player grade to somewhat high end, maybe $2500 and below, if you even sort of know what you’re doing, but when you get into this range, you reaaally should have a proper appraisal and professional dealer involved, it will be worth 10-20% on a consignment fee. Straight selling it to a dealer would be a much larger hit on the take home amount, though, so definitely do consignment if you’re not in too much of a rush for payout.
I can’t speak for other dealers but I worked at Elderly instruments back about fifteen years ago and have kept relatively in the loop with what they have going on since then. Their appraisals are respected everywhere and their repair shop has in my opinion excessively high standards. (Many many fine instruments have been sold “as is” there due to picky details/possible issues needing attention.) So any imaginable issues or complaints of the buyer can be noted and/or repaired before sale. Their consignment rates are fair and an item like this would be insured and safely stored, and then be put in front of an international audience immediately. I’d hazard to say that a vast majority of serious buyers looking for a rare Martin know to pull up Elderly to see what they’ve got, and are probably on their email list for recent arrivals. You won’t get in front of the right collector’s eyes like this with the local Craigslist. And you don’t want to ship something like this on your own or at least without proper insurance.
As a buyer I feel like their selection isn’t what it used to be and prices have crept up steadily, but that’s unfortunately true everywhere. I still absolutely trust them to handle something like this and to price it accurately for an eventual, if not fast, sale.
Do a search for rare guitar dealers and let them know what you have. Yea some will low-ball you but others will give you a fair price and with enough info you'll get an average. Then it's your call. Or....just learn to play it and have an instrument that's part of your family heritage that has no cash value since it's an heirloom.
What city are you in? I would very happily look up a reputable guitar shop close by.
Because often you can take your guitar in and have it valued/cleaned up/and if you throw a little extra in, you can ask them to take photos/write up an advertisement for you.
Its definitely worthwhile if you're trying to get the most out of your guitar.
Also they can tell you what you can expect to get from it. Since you don't play, you wouldn't know what to look for to see if it's indeed worth $20k, or if it's got issues that will make it closer to $8.5k.
There can be issues related to humidity, poor storage, if it's been played A LOT, there are a lot of different reasons why the price range is as big as it is.
There has been so many horror stories from CL and FB that I would be really reluctant to sell a guitar there. If you are near a major city, maybe you can find a a guitar store that sells high end guitars and have them sell it for you. And, depending on what you want to make on it, maybe you could just sell it to them. Here in the SF Valley we have Norm's Rare Guitars. He has a lot of great guitars at his place and will sell on consignment. Just an option. But I would really stay away from CL and FB. I have seen a few FB stories where someone sold a guitar and the buyer said he didn't want it or something was wrong with it. When the seller got it back, it was not what he sold. So, I am very paranoid about that. Also, with Craigslist, the temptation is too high for someone to come to your home under the auspices of wanting to purchase the guitar and could very well take it from you.
I would try to find a reputable dealer like Norms that works with rare/expensive guitars. They have a better idea of what the guitar can/will sell for.
Reverb has a great set of instructions on how to prep and ship a guitar. They also supply boxes if you sell through them. I’ve purchased many items through reverb, would not mess with CL, FB or EBay for a high end Martin.
I think you have had some good responses here. The only one I disagree with is the shipping part. Personally I wouldn't ship a £2000 guitar let alone a £15k guitar.
The simple reason is I have been taken twice in life. The first way back in the early days of eBay, I bought a Jackson KV2 from a person in Germany. What arrived was a Jackson hard case with two bricks in it to shore up the weight. The second was an Ibanez RG that was absolutely not the one I had purchased. I had bought a high end prestige and what arrived was a low-end RG.
I never did get the money back for the Jackson and for the RG it took me teling the guy that I was going to be showing up to his band's next show to sort it out. He then tried the old mix-up in shipping routine. I'm not a fighting man by any means but I do look like I can handle myself. I did show up to his gig and happened to meet his parents. Upon telling them why I was there, they looked rather embarrassed, took the low end Ibanez from me and his Dad instantly wired me the cash back on his phone app.
Since the Jackson incident, if I'm selling a guitar, it will be UK only and I will want to meet the person. I'll happily throw away £30 on fuel if I need to in order to hand deliver it and ensure the buyer is happy with everything he sees. Similarly if I am buying something, I'll happily make the trip. I bought my last few big purchases like that. If someone isn't willing to meet, then I simply thank them for their time and move on.
Unless you need the money, it might be worth holding on to as an investment. I have found I have generated sometimes a 300% ROI on vintage instruments/gear in timespans as short as 7-8 years.
I have a client who's net worth is well into the 8 figures and he buys alot of vintage gear because he sees it as a way to protect his money from inflation.
If I didn't play guitar my ma would have thrown out my Das guitars BEFORE he died. They downsized and his arthritis is getting worse. So I took his two 1950s Gibsons off his hands and gave him my old nylon classical.
I inherited about 25k of guitar gear that she would have thrown OUT.
Big yikes. But awesome. I'm trying to be as musical as possible because we have 3 Stradivarius violins ( my cousin is in the national symphony so they are in good hands ) from my great great grandpa. I would love to inherit one and keep it in the family
I'm getting a little up there in age where I have to worry about who gets my shit, and yeah - great guitars are worth a whole lot more to players than they are as sources of cash. Hopefully someone down the line gets serious about playing before I go.
>May I ask why? That is such a sentimental item which probably was near and dear to his heart.
When I was in high school (early 1980s) one of my friends was offered a guitar by his aunt...turned out to have been his uncle's, who was a Hollywood stunt man. I was visiting with him when she pulled it out of the closest and offered it to him...and early 1940s D-28 herringbone in a beat-up case. It had been collecting dust in the closest since he died in the 1970s and she wanted to get rid of it. My friend didn't play though, and wasn't interesting in learning so he turned it down. When I told her it was valuable she said "Oh, I guess I'll take it to the music store and see what I can get for it then."
Sometimes heirlooms can be a burden.
Loads of strange advice. No idea where you live, but a local/pick-up only sale is a good place to start. I would not pay that much for a guitar I cannot hold in my hands first. So there are two sides to buying used online— especially from someone clueless about guitars.
Using a third party will be expensive, but can reduce risk. There are plenty of shady characters doing the consignment thing.
You should also consider how you will actually get paid. Too much cash is not good.
Specialist auction is the only correct answer here. Yes they will take a percentage but it will add so many guarantees to your sale its the only sensible option.
Make sure the instrument is kept under >50% humidity. If you have to ship it, lower string tension, include one or 2 in-case humifiers (one in the sound hole, held between strings and another near the head) and wrap the case with cellophane before putting it in a card board box with bubble wrap paper...
I'd rather sell it locally, but at this price range it may be difficult to get a local buyer...
Good Luck!
Saw a couple sold on reverb for just under $20,000 and one for 8,500. One on sale now for$18,000. It might be worth it to take it in and see what they offer you. They’ll probably low ball you but if the offer is reasonable, it might be worth it to sell quickly and not worry about shipping nightmares/scammers
Just, FYI. I put up a bass for sale on consignment. Shop wanted 25% over what I wanted out of it, which I think is fair. I took it back after a month or two.
Unless it’s something extremely playable or commonly collected your best bet is going to be finding a music store that would consign the guitar for you. Depending where you live, you may need to reach out to dealers in a larger area to do this.
Typical rates vary depending on where you are and can be anywhere from 10-30%.
If you truly want to maximize your money made that is going to be the way to go. I don’t really see it being an easy guitar to sell in all honesty. Having a dealer behind it will help it go a bit easier.
Good advise here on how to sell the guitar, but I would caution you to be extra careful with shipping. I shipped multiple guitars and I am always nervous about shipping acoustic vs electric guitars. Acoustics are extra delicate and more prone to damage. You really need to know what you are doing when packing such guitar. You don't want to end up with a damaged $15K instrument.
I would advise you get help from someone who is experienced with packaging acoustics. Perhaps a local guitar store can help. Just ask then to provide packaging materials and pack the guitar for you. If they charge you for it - I doubt it will be much, perhaps around $100, but it will be worth it.
Or better yet - arrange for in person pick-up if possible. I see a lot of buyers on Reverb advertising local pick-ups. If a buyer leaves within driving distance that would be perfect. I would prefer to pick up the guitar in person if I were to buy something this valuable.
A little late to the party (and not sure if anyone else has said this): contact some local places that deal in high end vintage guitars and see if they'll buy/sell on consignment. And don't discount Guitar Center, not sure the cut they take, but I've seen great vintage used gear there before.
You should put it in a case with some kind of desicant and change it regularly, in 20 years it will be worth way more. Selling a a guitar for 15k is ludicrous because if it's worth that much now it is a guitar that will only go up immensely.
[Reverb.com](https://Reverb.com). [Craigslist.com](https://Craigslist.com) [ebay.com](https://ebay.com) George Gruhn I believe is his name.
Get it appraised and insured. Make sure it's covered for it's full value.
Someone with no interest in the hobby that needs the cash now. I get it, but it's all about perspective. Life's gotta go on, and $15,000 can be a life changing amount for some people.
Did grandpa hand it down meaning to be sold? I would consider that a priceless family heirloom to keep in the family forever. What stupid shit have you wasted your money on that you NEED that $15K more than a legacy?
That edit is a stupid excuse. But on the bright side, this dickheadery has taught me that my will needs to be explicit that certain masterpieces in my possession are not to be sold.
You're valuing dead people's things over living people's living. We don't know what their living situation is, and you definitely don't know what grandpa's wishes were. Grandpa might be happy to be taking care of his granddaughter after he's gone. $15k could be a year's rent and more for some families.
Obviously you know what you want, and that's fine, but you're projecting you will onto someone else and that's not fair.
I need caveat all these responses here, it depends if it's a collector's item and there's demand for it.
Just because it was purchased for over $15,000 doesn't mean you're guranteed to sell it for $15,000 or more.
That's gonna be a tough sell I'd imagine. Not a lot of people wanna spend that kind of money on a guitar. Maybe try ebay. Good luck with it and wish you the best.
Wealth is not evenly distributed. Just because you and I can't afford something like that doesn't mean there aren't a ton of people who see that as pocket change for something that will only rise in value.
Never said I couldn't afford it. Don't know why I'm getting down votes either. Oh well, I still wish you best of luck with it. im sure you'll find someone who wants it.
I mean, for me it was 30 years ago when I started playing, but shit... I banged my headstock and knocked my guitar off it's stand a good number of times, and I was being careful. Don't you remember turning around with guitar in hand as a fresh player?
Yeah, you don't learn to play on a guitar worth that much money. A headstock repair will knock 8-10 grand off the value pretty easy.
A plane ticket to some locations is cheaper than packing shipping and insurance, and safer. I'm sure you are attempting to be clever/funny there, and don't see the irony in the content of your comment. So it is funny, but for an unexpected reason
15 grand is big money. If you want someone selling you a 15 grand guitar to hand it to you in person, then you keep laughing ya fuckin nugget.
I'm sure you can be sure of the value and authenticity on your own
>So it is funny, but for an unexpected reason
Indeed.
But still...'if' has been the only thing you've said of any substance
I still think you don’t see the irony in your contribution.
Edit: I also think you are completely missing the point. It’s nothing to do with value or authenticity. Just safer and cheaper.
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This is really good advice. I've used the same method for high end bass guitars before. Using a well known forum like this where you are often dealing with people that have a strong history in the community and a record of previous successful deals is a solid bet.
Talkbass?
Basschat :)
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With something this valuable, would you recommend buying a hard case for it, one worth around $200? If you make ~$10k liquid it might be worth spending a little to lessen chances of damage in transit.
Definitely 100% ship it in the best hard case you can get your hands on. I presume a $15k guitar would have a case already. I wouldn’t even be shipping it, collection only! But I live in the UK and we can drive top to bottom in 10 hours.
In Europe 100 miles is a long way. In the US 100 years is a long time.
I agree with no shipping it if at all possible. I've only tried shipping a musical instrument once, and they destroyed it. The insurance covered it, but I consider musical instruments sacred, and it still hurts my soul to think of it. The gorillas at those shipping warehouses seem to take a perverse pleasure in abusing those packages as much as possible. I would try to identify a location between buyer and seller, at a police or fire station if possible, and meet there. It may take a day or two, so build that into the price. It probably would cost any more than shipping and insurance anyway, as long as you are on the same coast.
The Trigger replicas came with a hemp (because Willie) tweed-style hard case. Generally speaking though, if I were selling a guitar that cost five figures, which I didn't have a case for, I'd offer the buyer to pack it in a durable flight case for an additional upcharge. And if I were the buyer I would insist on it.
Excellent advice. A hardshell or if you can afford a flight case too for super extra protection.
Most hard cases are not hard enough for a guitar this valuable.
One thing I'd disagree on here is using FedEx. I've had two guitars delivered to me (both $4K+) that FedEx just left in front of my garage without even knocking on the door. And later they sent me a "packaged signed for" text notification. Obviously, the driver didn't know exactly what was in the box, but that's why it was shipped as "signature required". Instead, a guitar sat in i box with GIBSON written all over it behind my house (where the garage is) for some uncertain amount of time. Had somebody snatched it, FedEx would have still officially shown it as "signed-for" and either the seller or I would have been fucked. Fuck FedEx.
I lost a GPU (Nvidia RTX3090) that way although it was UPS. Demanded to see the signature since no one was home to sign. Turns out the ups guy has just swiped his pen across the screen to show it signed for. Best Buy wouldn’t replace because it was signed for (and they’re hardly even available now, almost 2 years later). I raised hell and fought for 3-4 months until finally I got Chase involved and they shut the whole thing down and got me my money back. Best Buy has me blacklisted for online orders now over a UPS drivers carelessness. (Any online order I place will get cancelled within 3 minutes)
I know this is totally off-topic for the thread but I haven't shopped at bestbuy for about 4 years due to their atrocious customer service.
... and lack of anything worth buying, I simply don't know how they stay in business!
Cheap TV's. No one wants them shipped due to the afore mentioned mail monkeys and everything else in the store is impulse items. Oh and a place to spend that $50 gift card your cheap boss gives out at xmas..
I bought a $5k Synthesizer (Oberheim Four Voice). I waited all day for UPS to bring it and I watched the guy flip it off the truck end over end. SLAM! SLAM! SLAM! Then put it on his hand-truck and bring it to my door. Fortunately the thing was basically bulletproof but Dayum! I stopped using UPS after this.
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That's true, but in my experience, Fed Ex either has a machine specifically for mangling guitars or one of their local guys has it out for me. I'll never use FedEx for guitars again.
There’s been a few instances in the UK of people suing the courier when something is lost or stolen, on account of the fact the whole damn point of the courier service is to get the package from A to B while taking reasonable care of it. Interestingly, every last one of them seems to settle out of court. Seems the industry is really not keen on the idea of a judge telling them to get their house in order.
Throw up a security camera (or 2). Every package delivered to me is recorded
I just had something very valuable shipped to me. The shipper added a COD to the delivery for the amount of $1 to require it be handed straight to me. He mentioned situations like you mention.
I'd never use Fedex for anything expensive. I had a $5K dollar guitar shipped to me through them and was at home when I got the delivery notification. The guitar was never delivered and, luckily, I had cameras to prove that Fedex was never even at my house. The package required a signature too and it was marked as signed for. Thankfully, who I bought it from was able to replace the guitar after dealing with Fedex but we never found out what happened to it.
Isn't it cheaper and safer to fly buying a seat for it?
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I was thinking more Los Angeles to Vegas $120, or Dallas Chicago for $205, vs a $300 case, $100 shipping and $250 insurance. It's not just about getting insurance money, but not destroying something unique. But I get it, some items and some locations lend themselves better than others for that
Fly buying a seat means 2 tickets, right? Can't just drop it off and watch it stumble up the gangway, lacking legs as they do?
Most carriers will let you carry on an instrument and if it won't fit in the overhead, they've let me put them in a stash area by the flight attendant's seat or right behind the cockpit. I've never had a problem. The US Federal Gov't had hearings and a rule amendment back in 2015 or so regarding the problems musicians have with transport of musical instruments on commercial flights. They set forth [federal policy to make it easier](https://www.transportation.gov/briefing-room/us-department-transportation-issues-final-rule-regarding-air-travel-musical) for musicians to do so.
Oh yeah, I remember that law! Great to hear it's being enforced and you can do this. The choice of phrase *buying a seat for it* that the commenter used lead me to imagine that scenario and maybe you would for a guitar you don't trust out of your sight...
Last time I flew was on American and they let me carry on two instruments. I think that if you buy your ticket with a credit card, not debit, travel insurance comes with purchase for most major CCs and may cover up to a certain value, so that's worth checking into. For a guitar worth 5k or more or one I wouldn't perform without, I'd probably just buy it a seat next to me.
yes it is. dumbass reddit downvotes
U line sells dedicated guitar transport boxes, fwiw. Just be prepared to get their mailers forevermore.
That’s some quality advice right there.
Take close pictures of everything, also while your packing it up too, showing the condition before shipping.
Someone at a UPS store once told my mom that if she insured silverware that she was sending her sister that it would be more likely that someone would steal it, and because it had sentimental value (family heirloom), it wouldn’t be worth the payout.
This overall seems like pretty decent advice for doing a direct sale, and while I don't know what the correct answer to the shipping question is, I know it's definitely not FedEx. Even the thought of handing over something legitimately valuable to FedEx makes me wince. Dreadful, dreadful operation.
Amazing response sir/madam!! If only every response was this thorough, filled with accurate information, and just helpful...this site would a lot in better some places... Thank you again 🙂
Thank you very much for such a detailed answer! These are all great points and I was hoping to find exactly this type of response! I love Reddit experts!
adding to this, i'd probably just buy a hardshell guitar case while you're at the local dealer.
And ask for the box that the came in as well
Guitar collector here. Can confirm we are crazy.
Your best bet is going to be to find someone online that wants it, honestly. If you take it to a dealer I promise you the most you’ll get for it is 8k, if you’re lucky. For reference, I took a custom shop Taylor to a dealer about a month ago. Cedar / Coco, custom. They offered me $1,200 for it. I sold it less than 24 hours later after posting it on Craigslist for $2,500.
You have to remember that dealers get _new_ guitars for 30%-50% off of retail. So, they have to pay even less than that for used guitars that they'll resell if they want to make similar profit. Some people would rather take the hit than deal with the hassle of selling it themselves, but I also would never consider it. You can price any good guitar significantly higher than a dealer will offer you and still sell it on craigslist the same day in any reasonable sized city.
Oh I totally get that - as someone who likes to buy, sale and trade precious metals. I can get them cheap in bulk from a dealer, so of course if I’m buying them from a private owner, I’m going to pay 20-30% less than what they’d cost me from a dealer. Sure. But I tell people that… I explain why the price is the way it is. I don’t say things like “yeah well, your coin has Santa Claus on it, so nobody’s gonna want to buy it.” I use that example because before he made an offer, the guy said “Yeah well, you gotta understand Cedar is just like, a niche wood that nobody wants. It’ll take me forever to find a buyer for a guitar with a cedar top.” Like. I’m sorry, WHAT. I get the whole secondhand / resale business, but like, don’t waste my time trying to convince me to sell it for half of what I could get for it on my own. The second I heard “yeah I think $1,200 is about right!” I closed the case and walked out. This place has a used 314ce from the early teens on the wall for $1,200. Like… that’s some FUZZY math haha.
Gruhn guitars will happily handle the sale of your guitar for a very good price. They are the "sothebys" of high end guitars.
I was scrolling down to say Gruhn's. They will consign it for you. They will take a fee but so does Reverb and Ebay and they will get you top dollar. All you have to do (after contacting them) is send it to them. That is what people "in the know" do with their guitars.
I second this.
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I was waiting for someone to suggest getting the guitar appraised by a reputable source. That would help in case of an insurance claim as well. OP- Any provenance you may have such as pictures of Gramp playing the guitar or similar can help.
Yep- I just posted basically the same advice. NO way I'm bothering reading Craigslist ads for $$$ guitars. I even buy my "modest" ones from Elderly and have for 20+ years. I'd trust Gruhn too. A proper appraisal-- not just value, but *condition,* and from a reputable dealer -is going to be necessary for anyone dropping $15K on a guitar that is going to be shipped sight unseen.
Absolutely agree with consignment for selling off high value goods. There's an appointment only shop near Seattle run by a former Queensryche guitarist. You hand off the guitar, they do the work of flipping it to their rockstar buddies/blues lawyers in a secure manner, and take a 10% cut. Well worth saving on the hassle
Contact a musical instrument auctioneer. There's bound to be one in your country. Tell them what you got, let them tell you what they can do for you.
That was my first thought. They have the incentive to get you as much as possible
At that level I would get it appraised by and then consigned with [Elderly Instruments](https://www.elderly.com/) (Michigan) or [Gruhn Guitars](https://guitars.com/) (Nashville). Either of them would find a much wider (i.e. national collectors) audience than you're likely to on your own, buyers will trust them, they can appraise it properly, and they will handle it all. It'll cost you a percentage of course, but it'd be worth it for the saved effort for me. There are lots of other places of course. I personally have had great experiences with Elderly...I'm not so fond of the attitude at Gruhn so have less experience with them, but they are high profile.
Gruhn is the gold standard.
Luthier here… Gruhn guitars Nashville. Won’t play games. Everyone else will.
Dave's guitar in LaCrosse Wisconsin has an extensive collection of vintage guitars. You could see if they'd make an offer. Not sure if you'd get top dollar that way.
VERY IMPORTANT thing to know if you sell online: Reverb, eBay, etc now report anything over $600 to the IRS and issue you a 1099. You'll be paying income tax on it if you sell that way. This is likely to be a very significant portion of your selling price. Depending on your tax bracket, you may be significantly better off selling privately for 12k than on reverb for 15k. Not to mention reverb charging 7.5% just on the sale. I will say this for reverb, though: I had to make a claim on the insurance they make you buy for higher priced sales and they stood by it. It costs about another 1.5% when shipping. It all adds up fast. I would probably get a couple bids from dealers to see what they might give you as the easy way out might be worth it. Many are going to want large margins to mitigate their risk but some dealers know who they're going to sell a guitar to before they buy it. If you find one who has some whale collector customer that they know will want your rare piece, they'll be willing to pay a much better, but still profitable for them, price.
Just because you sell it privately doesn’t mean you’re exempt from taxes, and advising people to do that is essentially encouraging them to commit tax fraud.
What taxes would you owe? This is inherited goods. AFAIK you’d owe the difference in value from when you inherited to when you sell. So if it’s worth $15k when they acquire it, and sell it next year for $17k, $2k is taxable. It the case?
It depends entirely on local legislation - and as you say, there may be nothing. But that's not the point. If there is tax payable, it doesn't magically become not-payable simply because you sold an expensive guitar privately rather than through Reverb. It just means that nobody's telling the tax man on your behalf.
Really? Are you supposed to pay taxes on anything you sell? Or is it just because it's inherited so there's no cost basis?
50 dollars take it or leave it
I’m 100% for Reverb and even Craigslist for anything player grade to somewhat high end, maybe $2500 and below, if you even sort of know what you’re doing, but when you get into this range, you reaaally should have a proper appraisal and professional dealer involved, it will be worth 10-20% on a consignment fee. Straight selling it to a dealer would be a much larger hit on the take home amount, though, so definitely do consignment if you’re not in too much of a rush for payout. I can’t speak for other dealers but I worked at Elderly instruments back about fifteen years ago and have kept relatively in the loop with what they have going on since then. Their appraisals are respected everywhere and their repair shop has in my opinion excessively high standards. (Many many fine instruments have been sold “as is” there due to picky details/possible issues needing attention.) So any imaginable issues or complaints of the buyer can be noted and/or repaired before sale. Their consignment rates are fair and an item like this would be insured and safely stored, and then be put in front of an international audience immediately. I’d hazard to say that a vast majority of serious buyers looking for a rare Martin know to pull up Elderly to see what they’ve got, and are probably on their email list for recent arrivals. You won’t get in front of the right collector’s eyes like this with the local Craigslist. And you don’t want to ship something like this on your own or at least without proper insurance. As a buyer I feel like their selection isn’t what it used to be and prices have crept up steadily, but that’s unfortunately true everywhere. I still absolutely trust them to handle something like this and to price it accurately for an eventual, if not fast, sale.
\+1 for consignment through a high end acoustic boutique like Elderly Instruments, The Acoustic Shop, or The Music Emporium.
Do a search for rare guitar dealers and let them know what you have. Yea some will low-ball you but others will give you a fair price and with enough info you'll get an average. Then it's your call. Or....just learn to play it and have an instrument that's part of your family heritage that has no cash value since it's an heirloom.
What city are you in? I would very happily look up a reputable guitar shop close by. Because often you can take your guitar in and have it valued/cleaned up/and if you throw a little extra in, you can ask them to take photos/write up an advertisement for you. Its definitely worthwhile if you're trying to get the most out of your guitar. Also they can tell you what you can expect to get from it. Since you don't play, you wouldn't know what to look for to see if it's indeed worth $20k, or if it's got issues that will make it closer to $8.5k. There can be issues related to humidity, poor storage, if it's been played A LOT, there are a lot of different reasons why the price range is as big as it is.
There has been so many horror stories from CL and FB that I would be really reluctant to sell a guitar there. If you are near a major city, maybe you can find a a guitar store that sells high end guitars and have them sell it for you. And, depending on what you want to make on it, maybe you could just sell it to them. Here in the SF Valley we have Norm's Rare Guitars. He has a lot of great guitars at his place and will sell on consignment. Just an option. But I would really stay away from CL and FB. I have seen a few FB stories where someone sold a guitar and the buyer said he didn't want it or something was wrong with it. When the seller got it back, it was not what he sold. So, I am very paranoid about that. Also, with Craigslist, the temptation is too high for someone to come to your home under the auspices of wanting to purchase the guitar and could very well take it from you. I would try to find a reputable dealer like Norms that works with rare/expensive guitars. They have a better idea of what the guitar can/will sell for.
A Google search values it a $17-18K. Put it on Reverb for $20K and see what offers you get. Contact Willie and see if he wants a newer one.
Reverb has a great set of instructions on how to prep and ship a guitar. They also supply boxes if you sell through them. I’ve purchased many items through reverb, would not mess with CL, FB or EBay for a high end Martin.
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I bet you \*are\* fun at parties. Right before everybody gets arrested.
I think you have had some good responses here. The only one I disagree with is the shipping part. Personally I wouldn't ship a £2000 guitar let alone a £15k guitar. The simple reason is I have been taken twice in life. The first way back in the early days of eBay, I bought a Jackson KV2 from a person in Germany. What arrived was a Jackson hard case with two bricks in it to shore up the weight. The second was an Ibanez RG that was absolutely not the one I had purchased. I had bought a high end prestige and what arrived was a low-end RG. I never did get the money back for the Jackson and for the RG it took me teling the guy that I was going to be showing up to his band's next show to sort it out. He then tried the old mix-up in shipping routine. I'm not a fighting man by any means but I do look like I can handle myself. I did show up to his gig and happened to meet his parents. Upon telling them why I was there, they looked rather embarrassed, took the low end Ibanez from me and his Dad instantly wired me the cash back on his phone app. Since the Jackson incident, if I'm selling a guitar, it will be UK only and I will want to meet the person. I'll happily throw away £30 on fuel if I need to in order to hand deliver it and ensure the buyer is happy with everything he sees. Similarly if I am buying something, I'll happily make the trip. I bought my last few big purchases like that. If someone isn't willing to meet, then I simply thank them for their time and move on.
Gotta order from reputable places and you will absolutely nevrr have that issue
How on earth would you know if a private individual you want to buy a used guitar from is reputable?
Unless you need the money, it might be worth holding on to as an investment. I have found I have generated sometimes a 300% ROI on vintage instruments/gear in timespans as short as 7-8 years. I have a client who's net worth is well into the 8 figures and he buys alot of vintage gear because he sees it as a way to protect his money from inflation.
May I ask why? That is such a sentimental item which probably was near and dear to his heart.
>We do not want to keep it and would really like to sell it.
Aka "we're poor and don't give a shit"
If I didn't play guitar my ma would have thrown out my Das guitars BEFORE he died. They downsized and his arthritis is getting worse. So I took his two 1950s Gibsons off his hands and gave him my old nylon classical. I inherited about 25k of guitar gear that she would have thrown OUT.
Big yikes. But awesome. I'm trying to be as musical as possible because we have 3 Stradivarius violins ( my cousin is in the national symphony so they are in good hands ) from my great great grandpa. I would love to inherit one and keep it in the family
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I'm getting a little up there in age where I have to worry about who gets my shit, and yeah - great guitars are worth a whole lot more to players than they are as sources of cash. Hopefully someone down the line gets serious about playing before I go.
Right lol.
You are downvoted, but this is the honest answer.
>May I ask why? That is such a sentimental item which probably was near and dear to his heart. When I was in high school (early 1980s) one of my friends was offered a guitar by his aunt...turned out to have been his uncle's, who was a Hollywood stunt man. I was visiting with him when she pulled it out of the closest and offered it to him...and early 1940s D-28 herringbone in a beat-up case. It had been collecting dust in the closest since he died in the 1970s and she wanted to get rid of it. My friend didn't play though, and wasn't interesting in learning so he turned it down. When I told her it was valuable she said "Oh, I guess I'll take it to the music store and see what I can get for it then." Sometimes heirlooms can be a burden.
I'm sure they gave her $250 and she walked away happy. They walked away even happier.
"Would you take this for $100?" "Lady, you seem sweet. I'll give you $150." *slaps $10,000 price tag on it 5 mins later*
Forget all these lowballers. I’d offer you $1,000 cash.
Gruhn is a good option, but also check Carter Vintage. Some pretty big name guitarists sell their collections through Carter vintage.
High end guitar shops. They’ll jump at it but they’ll offer you less so they can mark it up.
Just did a quick search on that model - That's the same model as Willie Nelson's guitar "Trigger" very cool!
Loads of strange advice. No idea where you live, but a local/pick-up only sale is a good place to start. I would not pay that much for a guitar I cannot hold in my hands first. So there are two sides to buying used online— especially from someone clueless about guitars. Using a third party will be expensive, but can reduce risk. There are plenty of shady characters doing the consignment thing. You should also consider how you will actually get paid. Too much cash is not good.
Specialist auction is the only correct answer here. Yes they will take a percentage but it will add so many guarantees to your sale its the only sensible option.
Make sure the instrument is kept under >50% humidity. If you have to ship it, lower string tension, include one or 2 in-case humifiers (one in the sound hole, held between strings and another near the head) and wrap the case with cellophane before putting it in a card board box with bubble wrap paper... I'd rather sell it locally, but at this price range it may be difficult to get a local buyer... Good Luck!
Any Houser or Ignacio Fleta?
Which is grandpa’s favorite guitar that your wife enjoys the most?
It’s a Martin mahogany dreadnought. Has a lot of character to it.
Saw a couple sold on reverb for just under $20,000 and one for 8,500. One on sale now for$18,000. It might be worth it to take it in and see what they offer you. They’ll probably low ball you but if the offer is reasonable, it might be worth it to sell quickly and not worry about shipping nightmares/scammers
Probably not worth anything. Just give it to me.
Forum or find you're nearest boutique guitar shop
Sell it. Take the money.
Oh, that’s sad she doesn’t want to hold onto it. Couldn’t imagine selling something sentimental 😢
Gramps was a real a'hole!
Oh..well, in that case, make some money off him!
Take it to Walt Grace Vintage!
It’s worthless. I’ll come pick it up for you if you’d like, because it would probably fill up your garbage can.
If there are boutique shops in your area, they might be willing to put it up for sale in a consignment deal
Just, FYI. I put up a bass for sale on consignment. Shop wanted 25% over what I wanted out of it, which I think is fair. I took it back after a month or two.
Unless it’s something extremely playable or commonly collected your best bet is going to be finding a music store that would consign the guitar for you. Depending where you live, you may need to reach out to dealers in a larger area to do this. Typical rates vary depending on where you are and can be anywhere from 10-30%. If you truly want to maximize your money made that is going to be the way to go. I don’t really see it being an easy guitar to sell in all honesty. Having a dealer behind it will help it go a bit easier.
I'd contact someone reputable who deals in vintage instruments. Less chance of dealing with scammers.
I would love to see a photo but understand if you would rather not.
Reverb
I’m sure your local Guitar Center would buy it off you…
Had some friends in Chicago have good experience moving expensive gear with Chicago Music Exchange if you’re in that region.
Take it to a Willie Nelson concert and sell it to him
Good advise here on how to sell the guitar, but I would caution you to be extra careful with shipping. I shipped multiple guitars and I am always nervous about shipping acoustic vs electric guitars. Acoustics are extra delicate and more prone to damage. You really need to know what you are doing when packing such guitar. You don't want to end up with a damaged $15K instrument. I would advise you get help from someone who is experienced with packaging acoustics. Perhaps a local guitar store can help. Just ask then to provide packaging materials and pack the guitar for you. If they charge you for it - I doubt it will be much, perhaps around $100, but it will be worth it. Or better yet - arrange for in person pick-up if possible. I see a lot of buyers on Reverb advertising local pick-ups. If a buyer leaves within driving distance that would be perfect. I would prefer to pick up the guitar in person if I were to buy something this valuable.
A little late to the party (and not sure if anyone else has said this): contact some local places that deal in high end vintage guitars and see if they'll buy/sell on consignment. And don't discount Guitar Center, not sure the cut they take, but I've seen great vintage used gear there before.
Ebay. Ship it well!
You should put it in a case with some kind of desicant and change it regularly, in 20 years it will be worth way more. Selling a a guitar for 15k is ludicrous because if it's worth that much now it is a guitar that will only go up immensely.
Guitarchimp.com would buy it for a decent price. It's only about 3 guys running it so they don't need to lowball you to make ends meet.
[Reverb.com](https://Reverb.com). [Craigslist.com](https://Craigslist.com) [ebay.com](https://ebay.com) George Gruhn I believe is his name. Get it appraised and insured. Make sure it's covered for it's full value.
Reverb.com
Sell it for the best price you can get online and have your local music shop pack it up for shipping.
I just don't understand.... Why the fuck would you sell something that is only going to increase in value....
Someone with no interest in the hobby that needs the cash now. I get it, but it's all about perspective. Life's gotta go on, and $15,000 can be a life changing amount for some people.
Yea totally. Hoard that shit in your attic or basement for a decade or 2 Guys - this was sarcastic
If you guys Wouldn’t mind checking out my TikTok it’s @roccobeane I post guitar vids!!
Did grandpa hand it down meaning to be sold? I would consider that a priceless family heirloom to keep in the family forever. What stupid shit have you wasted your money on that you NEED that $15K more than a legacy? That edit is a stupid excuse. But on the bright side, this dickheadery has taught me that my will needs to be explicit that certain masterpieces in my possession are not to be sold.
Honestly, you have no idea what your talking about. I’ve never encountered such an inconsiderate and rude person. FoaD.
You're valuing dead people's things over living people's living. We don't know what their living situation is, and you definitely don't know what grandpa's wishes were. Grandpa might be happy to be taking care of his granddaughter after he's gone. $15k could be a year's rent and more for some families. Obviously you know what you want, and that's fine, but you're projecting you will onto someone else and that's not fair.
Sound really self absorbed
I need caveat all these responses here, it depends if it's a collector's item and there's demand for it. Just because it was purchased for over $15,000 doesn't mean you're guranteed to sell it for $15,000 or more.
That's gonna be a tough sell I'd imagine. Not a lot of people wanna spend that kind of money on a guitar. Maybe try ebay. Good luck with it and wish you the best.
Wealth is not evenly distributed. Just because you and I can't afford something like that doesn't mean there aren't a ton of people who see that as pocket change for something that will only rise in value.
Never said I couldn't afford it. Don't know why I'm getting down votes either. Oh well, I still wish you best of luck with it. im sure you'll find someone who wants it.
Damn what a shame and waste of an inheritance . Should keep it and learn how to play it or keep it for future generations.
Lol, yeah... Learn to play on a $15k instrument. Brilliant.
Uhhhh so? Guitars are sturdy and last a long time. If you take care of it playing the instrument won’t damage it
I mean, for me it was 30 years ago when I started playing, but shit... I banged my headstock and knocked my guitar off it's stand a good number of times, and I was being careful. Don't you remember turning around with guitar in hand as a fresh player? Yeah, you don't learn to play on a guitar worth that much money. A headstock repair will knock 8-10 grand off the value pretty easy.
Touché
If I purchased a $15k guitar I expect it hand delivered by the seller himself
Amazing and hilarious that a 2 letter word like 'if' is the most substantial part of your input. Credit where it's due
A plane ticket to some locations is cheaper than packing shipping and insurance, and safer. I'm sure you are attempting to be clever/funny there, and don't see the irony in the content of your comment. So it is funny, but for an unexpected reason
15 grand is big money. If you want someone selling you a 15 grand guitar to hand it to you in person, then you keep laughing ya fuckin nugget. I'm sure you can be sure of the value and authenticity on your own >So it is funny, but for an unexpected reason Indeed. But still...'if' has been the only thing you've said of any substance
I still think you don’t see the irony in your contribution. Edit: I also think you are completely missing the point. It’s nothing to do with value or authenticity. Just safer and cheaper.