bass and guitar as savings accounts?

[James_B]

So I'm saving for a car. Make money it goes in the bank and makes little interest if any, thats boring. So I'm thinking of buying used insturments then when I need to buy my car, sell them. The only thing I can see wrong with this plan is fire or theft.


Thoughts, suggestions

James_B

[dan.ablett]

casino

[fenderhutz]

Originally Posted by dan.ablett

casino

+1

Head to the pawnshop now and hock everything. Casino is the way to go.

[tplyons]

I did that when I was younger... and right now I have one bass, a twenty year old car, and a motorcycle. I had to sell a bunch of basses for a loss due to the declining economic conditions when I decided to unload. People just weren't willing to pay what I wanted, so I opted to take a little bit of a loss on each rather than have no cash.

[fenderhutz]

Honestly though,

If you say have 4000 dollars in basses. Unless they are highly collectable you may lose value. If you sell those basses and invest the money properly, that 4000 in 20 years can grow into whatever sum of money with proper investment.

[James_B]

Say I have 4000. Buy a used fender for 1500 and say a used gibson guitar for another 1500 and like a used G&L L-2000 for 1000. In two years sell those three and get my 4 grand back. So instead of my assets being in the bank, they are in my hand.

[tplyons]

Originally Posted by James_B

Say I have 4000. Buy a used fender for 1500 and say a used gibson guitar for another 1500 and like a used G&L L-2000 for 1000. In two years sell those three and get my 4 grand back. So instead of my assets being in the bank, they are in my hand.

And at the mercy of market conditions, new products/developments, and of course damage and/or theft.

While in most cases it's true that values only go up and up on vintage instruments, there is the possibility of decline. You may also buy in a booming market, and try to sell with no avail in a market like the current where there is little spare cash to buy instruments, especially higher valued instruments like you're talking about.

If I had known now what I did when I was in your shoes, I would've put my money in a high yield savings account or CD.

[James_B]

Ok fine I'll put my money in a savings account.


But I'm buying an acoustic guitar and thats final

[Asa Samuel]

Originally Posted by James_B

Ok fine I'll put my money in a savings account.


But I'm buying an acoustic guitar and thats final

dont forget new strings, then its final.



and an acoustic bass, then its final.

and a new pedal, final.


new leads.... final...

new cab... final....

[xshawnxearthx]

go to the bank and find out what the % interest is for a savings account.

also check out high interest short term cd's.

trust me, your money will def grow in a good savings account, it wont always gross and could whither away with a guitar investment.

[tplyons]

Originally Posted by James_B

Ok fine I'll put my money in a savings account.


But I'm buying an acoustic guitar and thats final

As long as it's not a flying V acoustic, then I'm not stopping you.

[IanStephenson]

Years back I saw a purple quilted maple EVH musicman with a hard tailstock in a shopwindow for £1000. I so wanted it, but it was just at the limit of what I could afford, and I wasn't actually shopping for a guitar at the time. It would now be worth about 4 times that.

On the other hand I recently picked up a Kubicki identical to my first one, for £150 less than I paid 15 years ago.

One would have been a good financial investment. The other wasn't.

Thing is I bought the Kubicki to PLAY. 15 years later, I've no intention of selling it, and even if I did I've had a good £150 use out of it!!!

If I had bought the EVH I couldn't sell it now - they're way to expensive, and I'd never be able to replace it!!!

If you want the instrument TO PLAY, have the cash available, and can afford to take a loss when you resell (or choose not to resell at all), then you can get yourself a good bass, and break even in a couple of years (but then you would need to replace it with another good bass, so you won't win!), and maybe even save yourself from buying more basses in the mean time (buying my kubicki saved me a fortune on cheap impluse buys!). On the other hand as a strict financial investment, it's not necessarily sound.

Ian

[Vandelay]

Lots of very rich people -- doctors, CEOs, retirees, etc. who in many cases don't even play -- are buying rare and vintage instruments for their investment value. Because it's more "fun" for them than buying stocks. But you REALLY have to be smart and knowledgeable about which instruments to buy and how much to spend on them. Many instruments won't hold their value well, so you could easily make bad choices and lose a bunch of money. And most of these guys are holding onto their stuff for many years, because it takes that long for them to significantly appreciate in value.

It sounds like you'll be looking to sell in just a few years, in which case the BEST you could probably do is get your original investment back. But the odds are much higher that you'd lose money on the deal. Seems like you'd be much better off with a more traditional investment.

[Barkless Dog]

Right now it's a buyer's market, but you should never put all your eggs in one basket. If you see a nice vintage bass you like at a good price buy it.

Buy a vintage

Ric
USA Fender
Gibson
BC Rich
Guild
Wal

you should not take a loss on any of these if you buy at a decent price.

I doubt anyone would loose money on a Wal & sell in four years

[James_B]

Yeah cheap impluse buys are killing me inside. I walked into a store today and almost walked out with an old Les Paul copy. For 300 bucks it isn't a bad deal but I can't go around buying random things. Learning to deal with money is tough.