I haven't read the whole thread. I know they cost a lot, but I think 1950's and 1960's fenders are at the low end right now for sure. If you think of what these were bringing when the economy was good, wow. And the economy isn't gonna stay this low forever. You may could double your money in a few years.
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Basses that Hold Value
- Thread starter aparker82
- Start date
Lefthanded Vintage (pre-1980's) Ricks, Fenders, & Gibsons (some others).
Back then Lefties had to be custom ordered and represented less than 3% of the guitars made.
Left handed people are increasingly more apt to 'play lefty' today than back then.
Therefore, more and more lefties in coming years who want vintage,...will have to pay a premium.
I have 3 1970's lefties (Rick, Fender, & Hofner)...I can sell them now - from 4x to 8x what I paid for them.
Back then Lefties had to be custom ordered and represented less than 3% of the guitars made.
Left handed people are increasingly more apt to 'play lefty' today than back then.
Therefore, more and more lefties in coming years who want vintage,...will have to pay a premium.
I have 3 1970's lefties (Rick, Fender, & Hofner)...I can sell them now - from 4x to 8x what I paid for them.
I have basses that hold little value, for instance look at the lack of attention this bass received (http://www.talkbass.com/forum/f126/fs-01-epiphone-eb-35-dc-md-va-962672/). Thing is, this bass sounds and plays well. I enjoy playing it.
My father-in-law has the Martin steel-string that is universally despised (C-9 or something) again, it's a player and once someone actually plays it they make very attractive offers on it. My point is, sometimes there's luck involved.
You can spend hours and hours at garage sales and barn auctions until you find a used USA Fender with matching body and neck. If you get lucky, you'll get a very expensive bass for very little. Unfortunately, there are hundreds of people who wasted countless hours of practice time for every one person that actually succeeds in finding that elusive instrument.
My father-in-law has the Martin steel-string that is universally despised (C-9 or something) again, it's a player and once someone actually plays it they make very attractive offers on it. My point is, sometimes there's luck involved.
You can spend hours and hours at garage sales and barn auctions until you find a used USA Fender with matching body and neck. If you get lucky, you'll get a very expensive bass for very little. Unfortunately, there are hundreds of people who wasted countless hours of practice time for every one person that actually succeeds in finding that elusive instrument.
Alembics depreciate greatly...unless you are talking about vintage series 1 stuff...but that is like saying Les Paul's have great resale if you base it on if I only bought a 59 brand new and kept it mint.
I agree with most's opinion buy used, let someone else pay for the depreciation. Any custom bass will lose value, as well as a new build with quailty parts.
It seems Ricks hold their value since they retail so few every year and the price fix at retail.
I have a question for our European friends...does VAT Tax help you on used items? I figure if the US ever adopts a VAT tax system it intermediately makes all used goods more appealing.
I knew, and bought a few. If you're okay with keeping things around a few years, you really can't go wrong buying an older, desirable instrument. Don't look for resale value in anything that sells new at GC.
Here's a short list of good buys right now. Remember, don't pay gbase prices. Search craigslist, look for a bad ebay posting, make someone an offer who has one of these basses laying around. They will appreciate.
Late 70's Musicman Sabre, around $1200.
Late 70's Rickenbacker 4001, around $1200.
82-94 Fender basses, any of them: USA, Japan, reissue, etc. You can get these dirt cheap. I just scanned craigslist near me and saw a few. You'll know if it's a good one when you play it.
If you just need a cheap, decent bass that will stay the same $100 value; buy an SX, USA Peavey Fury, etc. There are plenty of cheap, very good basses around used. I visit GC regularly for strings, sticks, etc. I scan the bass racks, and there's not much good there. The new Fender basses are better than they've been in years; but they'll loose 30% of their value as you're swiping your card.
I found a lot of used alembic basses for cheap and then again any 70th Fender and 80th CV Squier are 800 minimum here in Germany (appr. $ 1000) most way, way more. This trend seems pretty stabile, although there might come a change in the general taste and what is hip... Maybe there will be a time when a used Alembic or Pedulla will be sought after? As far as I recall it in the early 90th there was a market for e.g. used Jazz Basses and people who liked them, but it was not near the hype of the last 10-15 years. I guess any quality instrument will resell for a good price, but the kind you make a profit with may change over time?
- Oct 7, 2000
- 18,619
- 38,939
- Disclosures
- Endorsing artist: Musicman basses
I'm sure I'm going to be repeating a lot of what's already been said:
If buying new - Fender, Musicman, Gibson and Rickenbacker I believe hold their value the best. Someone mentioned Dan Electro, and while they're never all that expensive, they absolutely hold their value. I've noticed they also come out with new models every other year or so, and the old ones go on blowout sales. I've bought lots of Danos for $99 to $200 that I wound up selling after a year or so for more than $100 profit.
Warwicks, for reasons I never understood, have the worst resale value. You can drop over $3000 on a new Warwick, and the next week not be able to sell it for $1200. I know cuz I've been there, done that. A somewhat rare vintage Warwick can only get a little more than 1/2 it's ORIGINAL price. I believe flashbacks cost around $1400 when they came out. It's tough selling one now for $700. I picked up an awesome Fortress One on Ebay for under $500. If I remember correctly those too originally went for a few hundred over the 1K mark.
Also agree with another poster who said I won't buy unless I know I can resell, and get back at least what I paid. That's not too hard to do actually, even if buying new. And I'll add, especially with Rics. I'm pretty certain I could buy a brand new Ric today, and resell it at $100 profit tomorrow. So could anyone else. And it wouldn't involve doing anything unethical.
If buying new - Fender, Musicman, Gibson and Rickenbacker I believe hold their value the best. Someone mentioned Dan Electro, and while they're never all that expensive, they absolutely hold their value. I've noticed they also come out with new models every other year or so, and the old ones go on blowout sales. I've bought lots of Danos for $99 to $200 that I wound up selling after a year or so for more than $100 profit.
Warwicks, for reasons I never understood, have the worst resale value. You can drop over $3000 on a new Warwick, and the next week not be able to sell it for $1200. I know cuz I've been there, done that. A somewhat rare vintage Warwick can only get a little more than 1/2 it's ORIGINAL price. I believe flashbacks cost around $1400 when they came out. It's tough selling one now for $700. I picked up an awesome Fortress One on Ebay for under $500. If I remember correctly those too originally went for a few hundred over the 1K mark.
Also agree with another poster who said I won't buy unless I know I can resell, and get back at least what I paid. That's not too hard to do actually, even if buying new. And I'll add, especially with Rics. I'm pretty certain I could buy a brand new Ric today, and resell it at $100 profit tomorrow. So could anyone else. And it wouldn't involve doing anything unethical.
Agree on Carvin - they're hardly worth firewood as soon as you run the CC and open the case. Part of that is because they're so inexpensive to start with, but even at that you end up with a boutique-level quality bass that's worth like $400.
Mine are unlined FLs which makes them virtually unsellable. Does deter thieves, but it does also just about wipe out your investment if you buy new. The delta is even worse if you add appearance items like fancy tops and finishes, you lose almost all of that at resale.
But in general, any customized or customizable bass is not going to hold its value very well - why buy a used one when you can just go order a new one made exactly the way you want it for a little more? That's just being smart, so that's the reality.
Rickenbackers and MIA Fenders seem to be the best at holding their value right now. My 4003 has actually appreciated a little bit since I bought it in 2000. Not much because it's a factory "blem" with small chips in the finish, but still worth a little more than I paid for it.
But if resale is paramount, MIA Fender and the Rick 4003 are probably the best ways to go buying new.
LS
There is a time element to this as well as impact of the company's approach to price increases.
When I ordered my custom in 1999, received it in 2000, the Quote Generator had it priced at somewhere around $11,900 retail. Using the "Special of the Month" and the normal retailer discount, my final price for the bass was around $6,500.
If I had tried to sell it within 5 years of purchase I would've taken a bath.
13 yrs and several price increases later, reconstructing my bass through the Quote Generator shows a retail price of $23,500. I've seen basses of lesser content than my bass SELL for just over $8,000. Since 8,000 > 6,500, I'd say that it's held its value. Sure, someone could do the "2000 dollars vs 2013 dollars" analysis, but then you'd have to do that for every instrument. On a raw numbers to numbers basis, my bass has held its value.
The bass I'm speaking of is the one on the left. I bought the one on the right used for $5,000 in 2000. I'm sure it would sell for a lot more than that if I were willing to sell it (I am not). They both arrived the same week in June 2000. One of the best weeks ever.
That's what I meant in my earlier post about Alembic's price increase practices. Their prices have increased so much since I received my bass that people who WON'T pay new prices are willing to pay serious coin for a nice used one. So when Alembic increases prices on new, the value of used goes about in parallel. And the price increases don't seem to be hurting their demand a whole lot. They still have long wait times.
Also note, the Quote Generator prices are retail. Nobody pays retail. Take 25-30% off and you are closer to actual.
I can't think immediate of a bass that appreciates in value.
Of course, if you have a 50 yr old bass in great shape, it will sell for more that the original price. That is a different ball game. Vintage for collectors.
A used Carvin in the "best bang for the buck". Good quality control, fit, finish and function.
Bought one new and one used. My favorites.
Inexpensive.
I have a Hamer Cruise with a 2TEK bridge that I think is still
holding up on value. They came and went. A great J bass but a little on the heavy side.
Of course, if you have a 50 yr old bass in great shape, it will sell for more that the original price. That is a different ball game. Vintage for collectors.
A used Carvin in the "best bang for the buck". Good quality control, fit, finish and function.
Bought one new and one used. My favorites.
Inexpensive.
I have a Hamer Cruise with a 2TEK bridge that I think is still
holding up on value. They came and went. A great J bass but a little on the heavy side.
I'm not sure how different it is to your sales tax... In the UK, VAT (no need to say VAT tax - that's like PIN number!) is charged at 20% and prices to non-business customers are always quoted including VAT. A VAT-registered business basically has to give the government 20% of their takings, less 20% of their purchases. It's a tax on the end consumer, administered by the companies along the supply chain.
As for buying used, no different to buying new if you buy from a shop - VAT is still applied. Not so with trades between individuals.
Hope that helps!
Haven't read the entire thread, but from looking at all classifieds a lot the last year or so I really don't think any bass holds its value. Seems that at resale they're generally all priced from 30 to 50 percent off of new prices.
Of course there are exceptions (as I'm sure it's been pointed out) but it seems to me that the only way for a bass to hold onto its "value" is if you buy it used at a good price. Then when you sell it, you won't lose much.
Anything new, though, I really don't think so.
Of course there are exceptions (as I'm sure it's been pointed out) but it seems to me that the only way for a bass to hold onto its "value" is if you buy it used at a good price. Then when you sell it, you won't lose much.
Anything new, though, I really don't think so.
Many Limited Edition Fenders and Musicman basses come close to recapturing their new sale price after about 5-10 years. If, however, you can buy from the original owner, usually a casual collector, a year or two after the model run ends and they are gassing for something else, you can get some very good deals on nice, clean basses that will appreciate over the next several years.
The only real way an instrument pays you back monetarily is when you earn money with it. Expecting to profit or break even on the sale an instrument you don't generate income with is not a realistic way to view the economics of instrument ownership —unless you are a merchant or retailer, in which case you don't own instruments to play them and also you benefit from economies of scale.
I suggest that you buy an instrument you really enjoy playing and the sound of, then play the shiggity out of it. As others have suggested, if you can hold onto it for 25+ years, there is a better chance it'll be worth more as merchandise when you are ready to sell.
The money is in the use of an instrument, not in the buying and selling.
I suggest that you buy an instrument you really enjoy playing and the sound of, then play the shiggity out of it. As others have suggested, if you can hold onto it for 25+ years, there is a better chance it'll be worth more as merchandise when you are ready to sell.
The money is in the use of an instrument, not in the buying and selling.
- Oct 18, 2012
- 6,683
- 5,538
- Disclosures
- Endorsing Artist: Fender, Spector, Ampeg, Curt Mangan, Nordstrand Pickups, Korg , Conquest Sound
You can usually find a used Pedulla for just over a grand. Look at used Alembics.
The key is to get bass you enjoy playing. No matter how much it holds it value if you don't play it you aren't getting the real value out of it.
The key is to get bass you enjoy playing. No matter how much it holds it value if you don't play it you aren't getting the real value out of it.
