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How much are MIJ Squier Basses really worth?

#41
Wisebass said:
Hi John :)



After collectors discovered 1970s Fenders (that you could buy for the price of a new Squier back in the 80s),

they started to collect cheap Japanese basses from the late 60s and 70s.

Not talking about Fender copies, but the real cheap crap (well, those who didn 't go to the landfills)

On most of them you could not even get the intonation right! :banghead:


Now they have discovered the 80s. They start to collect 80s Tokais and early Squiers (JV and SQ series)

which were low budget beginner models! Of course this influences the prices!


I am not a collector! I will pay the price they were worth back in the 80s, a low budget beginner price!


£1500? Never ever! Not saying they aren 't nice for what they are.

But they haven 't become better, just because someone decided to collect them!

£1500 gets you a pro level instrument (in top quality!)

may the bass be with you

Wise(b)ass
Click to expand...
^^^ straight to the point :thumbsup:
 
#42
There are huge differences within the JV series. The model numbers that reflect the prices being asked back then range from 30000 to 115000 Yen.

Examples for model numbers:
JV ST 57 115 (Japanese Vintage Strat '57, list price 115.000,- Yen)
JV ST 57 65 (Japanese Vintage Strat '57, list price 65.000,- Yen)
These are two domestic models. The 115 ones had a nitro finish, the 65 ones a thin poly finish, both were domestic models (d-stamp instead of an EX stemp in the neck pocket).

Examples for a Precision:
PB57-95 was the top-end version (costing 95,000 yen) which had vintage US pickups

PB57-75 'standard' (75,000 yen) etc.

Fender Japan catalogue, 1982:

Invalid Link Removed

The ones that were for export were mostly the 45000. Some of the domestic JVs from that era even have a Fender logo instead of a Squier one.
The more expensive ones had US made electronics and pickups (leftover from the CBS stock). The budget ones were mostly basswood, instead of Sen Ash or alder.
I only have a budget JV Precision from Oct. 1982.

The domestic ones might well be worth the high prices, esp. the 115 models.
All in general have a higher qc and workmanship standard than most US models. My two main basses are US Fenders, but I own some MIJ Fenders, too.
 
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#43
Super good, fabulous or not they certainly are not vintage Fender instruments, nor one can say in full honesty, in my opinion, that they are built and sound better than their contemporary USA counterparts ... then I understand the OP when he states that £1500 = 1.23*1500 = $1845 (!!!) is an outrageous price ... I personally would define it a ridiculous price and, honestly, I would laugh reading the ad with all due respect to the ‘80s, the quality of Japanese workmanship, Mr. Dressler etc. etc.
 
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#44
Head for the time machine some time...I saw used JV Squiers sitting in music stores for $100 (they were only about $300 brand new). They might not be "beginner" basses, but they were less expensive to combat the Fernandes, Tokai and ESP basses flooding the USA market.

So today they are considered worth $1000? Pricing of early 80s Fenders is crazy. People will pay more for a Squier or MIA Standard than for a MIA P Elite which was the top of the line at the time.

The vintage market has no rhyme or reason other than prices are what the market will bear.
 
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#47


In neoclassical economics, the value of an object or service is often seen as nothing but the price it would bring in an open and competitive market. This is determined primarily by the demand for the object relative to supply in a perfectly competitive market. Many neoclassical economic theories equate the value of a commodity with its price, whether the market is competitive or not. As such, everything is seen as a commodity and if there is no market to set a price then there is no economic value.

In classical economics, the value of an object or condition is the amount of discomfort/labor saved through the consumption or use of an object or condition (Labor Theory of Value). Though exchange value is recognized, economic value is not, in theory, dependent on the existence of a market and price and value are not seen as equal. This is complicated, however, by the efforts of classical economists to connect price and labor value. Karl Marx, for one, saw exchange value as the "form of appearance" [Erscheinungsform] of value, which implies that, although value is separate from exchange value, it is meaningless without the act of exchange, i.e., without a market.

The value of a thing in any given time and place is the largest amount of exertion that anyone will render in exchange for it. But as men always seek to gratify their desires with the least exertion this is the lowest amount for which a similar thing can otherwise be obtained.

:bookworm:
 
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#55
Tad said:
The list price for a JV ‘57 Precision was $369 without a case from 1982 - 1984. A Fender Standard Precision listed for $699 with a case.

This is one of the oldest JV Squiers. It is dated July 8, 1982. It has a four digit serial number, JV085XX. It is one of the very first Squier branded basses.

It is totally bone stock except for the strings, which are DR Black Beauties.

View attachment 3490871 View attachment 3490898

I bought it brand new in Aschaffenburg, Germany from Herr Otto Dressler at Musik Dressler down on the Rossmarkt. It was the first Squier bass that he ever had in his shop.

I’ll never have to worry about the value of this one. It’ll never be for sale as long as I am alive. This is a damned good bass.
Click to expand...

Same serial range as the one I had on loan. Looks identical.
 
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#58
giacomobass said:
Just saw a classified for a used 1982 Squier JV '57 P-Bass (ash body) up for sale here in Italy... With non original pickguard. Seller's asking price is € 2,000 -- That's over 2,200 USD. :roflmao:
Click to expand...

:roflmao: ... yes, true .. looking at Mercatino, the lowest price asked for instruments belongign to this line seems to be 1200Eur ... I personally would prefer to save a little bit of money more and buy a 2nd hand or B-stock Fender American Original bass (for example) ...
 
#59
Folks looking at buying a MIJ Squire really need to do their homework. They are all generally solid instruments, but they're quite varied in terms of features and such. Some sell for pretty good money and some might just fetch the cost of a new VM squire. Some are really great and some are just good.

It's been some years, but my MIJ 1983 Squire Bullet Bass and MIJ 1992 Silver Series P-bass each fetched around $300 when I sold them. The bullet bass would probably get a bit more these days based on it's age and novelty factor, but not the kind of silly money that some folks seem to be asking for certain models. I imagine the Silver would fetch about the same as it did a few years ago.

They were both good basses, but I don't recall the Silver being any better than MIM Fender models. I really did like the lightweight of the basswood body on the Silver. If I didn't already have a lightweight MIM P I might have kept it. The Bullet did have a more substantial "feel" but it's a tough comparison since it's been quite a few years and it's a bit of an oddity so a straight across comparison is tough to do.

I don't miss either instrument.
 
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#60
Ciao Gianni :)

Gianni "Orlandez" Orlati said:
:roflmao: ... yes, true .. looking at Mercatino, the lowest price asked for instruments belongign to this line seems to be 1200Eur ... I personally would prefer to save a little bit of money more and buy a 2nd hand or B-stock Fender American Original bass (for example) ...
Click to expand...

Guys who pay prices like that,

probably drive a "vintage" Fiat cinquecento for "only" 50. 000,- Euros! :roflmao:


greetings

Wise
 
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