# pricing second hand guitars



## opentuner (Nov 28, 2009)

I am in the market for a high-end Taylor acoustic with an electric pickup. If I manage to find a second hand guitar for sale, in good condition, how much less than the list price should I expect to pay? Like 30% off the retail price, or is the depreciation more or less than that?


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## zeebee (Nov 2, 2008)

Used would be 50% of MSRP (not necessarily tag price) for Martins. Slightly less for Taylor and Larrivee. More for boutique such as Collings and Santa Cruz. These are guidelines only.
New should be 60-70% of MSRP (Martin/Taylor/Larrivee) given the Canadian $ recent strength. In generall I find Canadian stores demand a bit of a premium over the above. They tend to expect MAP (minimum advertized price) as allowed under various dealer agreements. Dealers agreements with Collings and Santa Cruz can be as tight as 90% of MSRP.


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## Ship of fools (Nov 17, 2007)

While I agree mostly with Zeebee, I have also seen some very amazing prices for guitars lately. The market place can move with in a few days so much up or down that I have seen some unbelievable deals out there in both the acoustic and the electric market.
I really seems to depend on how bad someone wants to move their guitars because everybodies guitars being listed start way beyond what they might be worth to someone and it just seems that ewveryone things that there guitar is in the vintage age and thus
should demand more money then the market will bear, so all I will suggest is to negotiate your best price for what you find and keep looking if they won't there are enough of all makes out there for you to find the right one for you.Ship


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## JohnEsmokes (Sep 9, 2009)

Here's my advice: if you've settled on a particular model scour the internet for posts and ebay auctions regarding the model. Make a list of sale prices from high to lower, divide the list in half and set that as your maximum. You can find good deals out there (ebay for sure) but you -absolutely- must do your homework before. Forget about suggested retail pricing MSRP -that's bullshit because nobody sells at that. Look at what they're selling for now and... depending on the year/shape, you can expect to save anywhere from 20-50% on second hand whilst saving more off taxes. Second hand guitars can be excellent buys - I've got a few that you would be very hard pressed to guess they aren't new. 
Hope that helps.


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