Are you "worried" that you didn't ge...

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Author Message Brutus1999 Username: Brutus1999 Registered: 03-2006 Posted on Saturday, April 15, 2006 - 11:31 am:    I originally wrote this as a response to someone who was concerned that he did not get a good deal on the AS-80 he bought. Then I thought that maybe this was more suitable for its own discussion, rather than just as a response to that one person. So here goes: =============================================== Well, I got an AM-50 (Korean, set neck) for $260 but the careful shipping from Australia added another $100 to it and I began to have doubts as to whether I got the best deal. Then I realized that I could probably sell it for about what I paid for it, and certainly could sell it for $30-$40 less. So what was I worried about? That I didn't get "the best possible deal?" Was I looking for a good guitar that suits my needs or was I mainly concerned about my pride in "getting the best possible deal?" In other words, at worst, I was worrying about $30 or $40 (and I probably could actually sell it for what I paid for it.) So if I keep it for some years and (worst case) end up having the joy of using it for years and only paying $30-$40, what the heck am I so concerned about?? There's this mindset that some of us get into when buying stuff, especially on ebay, that somehow, we are "afraid" that we might have been taken advantage of. When you spend $10 or $20 for a meal or for a movie and a snack, do you worry that you won't be able to get your money back? $400 is a reasonable "in the ball park" price for that AS-80 guitar, especially if it is very good condition. If folks on ebay (you can check this out under "completed items") were willing to pay for a similar item ten or twenty dollars of what you paid for it, then you know that there are other folks out there who are willing to pay approximately what you paid for it. You might not make a "BIG PROFIT" from having bought it, but you weren't cheated. So enjoy your axe! Tg4080 Username: Tg4080 Registered: 01-2006 Posted on Saturday, April 15, 2006 - 11:52 am:    Bottom line...A guitar's worth is in how much you like it(the way it sounds, feels, looks)and how much you are willing to pay to have the luxury of owning and playing it. With these older Ibanez guitars, the trend is upward anyway, so it is not like buying a new guitar and losing quite a bit as you play it. I think if you are happy with your guitar and you didn't break the bank, you did well. Garyelcrrt Username: Garyelcrrt Registered: 03-2006 Posted on Saturday, April 15, 2006 - 9:52 pm:    I think you have to start with the reason you buy it in the first place. If you bought it because you wanted to play it, its worth whatever you are willing to pay. That has absolutely no relation to what someone else will be willing to pay for it at some unknown future date when you no longer want it. Should the future resale value of your cast-off be the deciding factor? Not if it will cost more now to buy something else that you will get rid of anyway! If you are buying for collector value, totally different rules come into play, but you STILL can't let today's resale value be the only decider because, one thing we can all be sure of, the market will change before that "collector value" rises appreciably - and no one can predict what that market will be in 20 years. There are entirely too many people caught up in some kind of macho "I can buy it for half what you pay, and sell it for twice as much, ha ha" crap. You buy guitars to PLAY. So pay what you have to, and get off the dime. Besides, nobody ever said you HAVE to tell the truth about prices, anyway. Regg Username: Regg Registered: 09-2005 Posted on Sunday, April 16, 2006 - 12:45 pm:    The fact is that the internet has saved me quite a bit of money, even though I know I've been ripped off a few times on Ebay, which is just a sellers market anyway. The trade-off is that you don't get to 'try before you buy', and often your only frame of reference is Harmony Central or the various dicussion boards with differing points of view. Whenever I shop for guitars in person, I'm almost invariably drawn to the most expensive ones--not because I'm looking to spend more money, but because they feel and sound better to me. They say you get what you pay for, but it's also obvious that you're paying for a name sometimes. There are deals to be found out there, but sometimes I wonder if my money would've been better spent on lessons.

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