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Gibson SG Goddess Value?


jgomez

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Hi guys, my wife has just purchased her "dream" guitar on ebay. A Gibson SG Goddess in Violet Burst, it looks like this:

goddess.jpg

Well, needless to say, the dream did indeed turn into a nightmare when she opened the case. The listing stated the guitar was in "beautiful condition" and she asked directly whether there were any marks, dents or scratches - to which she was assured there were none and that the guitar had "hardly been played".

The first things we saw on opening the case are two very obvious small dents on the front of the body (around 3mm diameter) . On closer inspection, there is a large rash on the lower left side of the body obviously from your typical wear and tear while playing, and also there is quite a large amount of belt-buckle rash on the back of the guitar. So all in all the guitar whilst still beatiful, I would describe it as good gigged condition, but obviously gigging guitars lower a guitar's value due to your typical wear and tear and inevitable marks etc.

It only arrived this morning and we only managed to open for a quick look before heading to work, so we've not actually played it yet, but it feels and looks like it could be really nice to play and doesn't have anything other than some cosmetic damage.

My wife loves her guitars, and keeps them in absolute pristine condition (she doesn't gig), so is completely gutted by this as she thought it'd arrive in the condition she keeps her guitars as this is what the guy described.

She is opening up a dispute in ebay as I write this, so, what I really need to know is, how much is this guitar worth in the condition described above? As this guitar is discontinued and a rare find, I think she'd prefer to keep it, but would need some compensation to ease the sting.

So, what do you think guys? Any help would be most appreciated! I'll get some pics up of the guitar and the dents etc. when i'm back home tonight.

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I would expect a rebate of anywhere between 1/4 - 1/3 of the price payed. Which should in theory cover the repairs, although i'm no expert on the costs involved in repairing lacquer etc..

Bonny Guitar too, nice find!

Thanks for the quick reply, aye, it's a gorgeous guitar, we're both really upset, especially seeing as it really is alot of money to us, and the decision to buy it in the first place wasn't an easy one for her.

She's going to give R&B a call at lunch time to see how much it'd be worth and see if they know how much they retailed for when new as I'd imagine if in as new condition they'd hold their value due to the fact they're rare as hen's teeth! We think they were around the same price retail as the SG Standards, but not totally sure...

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Ooh, tough. I dunno. I guess it depends how much you want to keep it. If you're not bothered about the possibility that you mind actually have to end up sending it back to them then I guess it would be worth contacting the seller, stating that it is not in the condition that it was advertised and as such you either want some money back to reflect the condition or a full refund.

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Thanks for the quick reply, aye, it's a gorgeous guitar, we're both really upset, especially seeing as it really is alot of money to us, and the decision to buy it in the first place wasn't an easy one for her.

She's going to give R&B a call at lunch time to see how much it'd be worth and see if they know how much they retailed for when new as I'd imagine if in as new condition they'd hold their value due to the fact they're rare as hen's teeth! We think they were around the same price retail as the SG Standards, but not totally sure...

I did a quick search on completed items, assuming yours is the one that went for 700 personally I think that's a bit pricey. Yes, they are rare, but partly because they were unpopular and didn't sell well. I can't really see them being a hugely collectable item in the future, but you never know.

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I did a quick search on completed items, assuming yours is the one that went for 700 personally I think that's a bit pricey. Yes, they are rare, but partly because they were unpopular and didn't sell well. I can't really see them being a hugely collectable item in the future, but you never know.

Yeah, that's the one - 700 + del. From what the guy told her, the guitar was in great condition, obviously this isn't the case, but I think these guitars went for around 800 new, so we thought it was a decent deal. But yeah, 700 is indeed alot of dough for us especially as our other guitars are in the 200-300 range.

The email's been sent out to the guy and a dispute will be started shortly, so we'll see what happens I guess...

The wife spoke to R&B who said it was probably worth 450-500 - christ, that seems awfully cheap for such a guitar?

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The wife spoke to R&B who said it was probably worth 450-500 - christ, that seems awfully cheap for such a guitar?

You see, my initial gut reaction before I looked up any info was around the 500 mark too. That's based on seeing what other "basic" SGs go for.

Ultimately it's only worth what somebody is willing to pay for it. It seems it's more or less impossible to get another, so to you it's worth 700, or at least it would be in good condition. For me, the so-called special features aren't actually all that special, "light weight" etc, well pretty much all SGs are light weight, but presumably you were willing to pay a premium for the colour etc. Other people (ie me) wouldn't necessarily be willing to do so. This could make it difficult to sell, should you ever choose to do so. Unless you are sure you want to keep it for a long time, I might think about sending it back.

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You see, my initial gut reaction before I looked up any info was around the 500 mark too. That's based on seeing what other "basic" SGs go for.

Ultimately it's only worth what somebody is willing to pay for it. It seems it's more or less impossible to get another, so to you it's worth 700, or at least it would be in good condition. For me, the so-called special features aren't actually all that special, "light weight" etc, well pretty much all SGs are light weight, but presumably you were willing to pay a premium for the colour etc. Other people (ie me) wouldn't necessarily be willing to do so. This could make it difficult to sell, should you ever choose to do so. Unless you are sure you want to keep it for a long time, I might think about sending it back.

Basic SGs go for the 500 mark, really? Having just had a look, it looks like the specials are selling for roughly the 550-600 mark on ebay, with some being over-inflated. I have to admit to being a little naive about their 2nd hand value as I've always just presumed that they're priced out of my range until we had a look recently.

It was definitely the aesthetics and generally the total package of the guitar that made it her dream one, and honestly as it's that part of the guitar that's damaged, it's worth alot less to her than it would be if it was in perfect condition. I think it might be an idea to ask for at least 150 off due to the wear and tear, leaving a little room for haggling - 550 -600 would probably make it feel a little better at least. Either that or send it back. We'll see if the guy replies or not, but I doubt he wants his 100% feedback ruined.

Thanks for the replies and honesty though, putting things in perspective is really what we need.

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As I can't seem to edit the OP, here are pictures of the actual guitar:

P1050796.JPG

P1050808.JPG

P1050828.JPG

DSC02533.JPG

DSC02543.JPG

The full album: Picasa Web Albums - Sarah - Gibson SG God...

Now, would you guys describe that guitar as in "beautiful condition or"hardly played"? Or if this is accurate; when asked "Are there any dents or scratches on the guitar", the reply was "No, the SG's in really good condition as it's hardly been used". He offered 50 off, she replied asking for 100 straight up, he replied 50 or he'd rather take the guitar back. 50 just doesn't seem enough to me personally...

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sorry but this is the risks you take buying a second hand guitar blind, you can't trust what anyone says about the product they are selling, my idea of good condition and someone elses may be completely different, I feel sorry for your wife because it isnt what she expected but why didn't you/her go and find out the value of the guitar before purchasing?

you wouldnt buy a car from someone without seeing it first would you, why would a guitar be different?

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I agree to an extent. I would want to see the guitar if it wasn't brand new, to inspect the condition and playability. However, the original poster quoted the ebay seller as saying it was in "beautiful condition", which would insist it is near perfect. That ding is quite a blemish, and should have been flagged up on the sale, without a doubt.

It would be almost impossible to repair considering the finish of the guitar, and it would cost almost its value to get it completely reworked. I guess it just depends on how much something like that bothers you. A little ding wouldn't really affect me, but if you want it to be in pristine condition, like the sale suggested, then obviously there's going to be some disappointment.

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sorry but this is the risks you take buying a second hand guitar blind, you can't trust what anyone says about the product they are selling, my idea of good condition and someone elses may be completely different, I feel sorry for your wife because it isnt what she expected but why didn't you/her go and find out the value of the guitar before purchasing?

you wouldnt buy a car from someone without seeing it first would you, why would a guitar be different?

Merry Christmas to you too mate. To be fair, it's just about impossible to put a value on it as there's hardly any about. As I said ultimatley it's only worth what somebody will pay for it, but 700 notes wasn't outrageous for a mint condition Gibson SG. The issue is the fact that the seller wasn't honest about the condition.

I guess it depends whether your wife wants it enough to live with it. I've got some dings in some of my guitars and it's annoying when you make them but you learn to live with them. Personally, in a case like this, every time I looked at the guitar I'd be thinking "That cunt ripped me off." Your wife may be more philisophical.

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I've looked at the pics now, the buckle rash on the back wouldn't bother me, but the rest would. Are there actual dings in the neck? That's just about the most annoying place to have them, one thing having to look at them, but feeling them when you're playing is a real pain in the arse. Send it back, and make sure you don't get stung with the shipping costs. Although I suspect there's a decent chance he'll come in with a higher offer of compensation once you start that process.

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sorry but this is the risks you take buying a second hand guitar blind, you can't trust what anyone says about the product they are selling, my idea of good condition and someone elses may be completely different, I feel sorry for your wife because it isnt what she expected but why didn't you/her go and find out the value of the guitar before purchasing?

you wouldnt buy a car from someone without seeing it first would you, why would a guitar be different?

To be fair, she asked all the right questions, and the guy flat out lied, the only thing we could have done was ask for hi-res pictures, which in hindsight she really should have done. But hindsight's a bitch.

We knew the rough value of the guitar 2nd hand in the US, having seen a few relatively recent auctions, the going price was around $1000-1200 with varying condition, this guitar I'd say would fit around the level of the ones we saw for $1100 (again, going by pictures). As Bigsby said though, on a guitar this hard to come by, it's hard to value and is really down to how much it's worth to someone. She still loves this guitar and wants to keep it, but is looking to get some compensation to ease the dissapointment...

You are right though, there are pitfalls with buying "blind" like that... but living this far north, for rare guitars it's impossible to avoid.

I've looked at the pics now, the buckle rash on the back wouldn't bother me, but the rest would. Are there actual dings in the neck? That's just about the most annoying place to have them, one thing having to look at them, but feeling them when you're playing is a real pain in the arse. Send it back, and make sure you don't get stung with the shipping costs. Although I suspect there's a decent chance he'll come in with a higher offer of compensation once you start that process.

There are mild scratches/scuffs on the back of the neck from use, but tbh, you can't really feel them when playing so that isn't so much of a sticking point. I guess the buckle rash is really more of a sign of a gigged guitar, but being on the back it isn't as much of an issue as the ding on the front and also the wear where the arm rests aesthetically.

Hopefully the guy will come to his senses and realise that the whole process will cost him as much as if not more than she's asking him to compensate and cause him a whole load of bother in the process...

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To be fair, she asked all the right questions, and the guy flat out lied, the only thing we could have done was ask for hi-res pictures, which in hindsight she really should have done. But hindsight's a bitch.

We knew the rough value of the guitar 2nd hand in the US, having seen a few relatively recent auctions, the going price was around $1000-1200 with varying condition, this guitar I'd say would fit around the level of the ones we saw for $1100 (again, going by pictures).

You are right though, there are pitfalls with buying "blind" like that... but living this far north, for rare guitars it's impossible to avoid.

learn from this experience, im not saying you deserved it in a nasty way, but yeah there are some dishonest people who will do anything to get extra for their item

when I've posted stuff im selling on here i get random reply from people down south asking me to send it to them and once they get the item they will send me the cash blah blah blah

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I guess the buckle rash is really more of a sign of a gigged guitar, but being on the back it isn't as much of an issue as the ding on the front and also the wear where the arm rests aesthetically.

I always think it's funny how people make a big deal out of whether or not a piece of gear was "gigged". If it wasn't gigged, well why not? Is it not a good enough guitar or are you not a good enough musician? Both should start the alarm bells ringing to an extent. I gig all my favourite guitars, no point keeping them locked up at home. Buckle rash is an inevitablity (assuming you wear a belt) and really not a problem for me, if it's not there when I buy the guitar it soon will be afterwards. But as I say, the biggest issue for me would be dings in the neck.

Anyhoo, good luck, and let us know how it all works out. :)

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Hi guys, my wife has just purchased her "dream" guitar on ebay. A Gibson SG Goddess in Violet Burst, it looks like this:

goddess.jpg

Well, needless to say, the dream did indeed turn into a nightmare when she opened the case. The listing stated the guitar was in "beautiful condition" and she asked directly whether there were any marks, dents or scratches - to which she was assured there were none and that the guitar had "hardly been played".

The first things we saw on opening the case are two very obvious small dents on the front of the body (around 3mm diameter) . On closer inspection, there is a large rash on the lower left side of the body obviously from your typical wear and tear while playing, and also there is quite a large amount of belt-buckle rash on the back of the guitar. So all in all the guitar whilst still beatiful, I would describe it as good gigged condition, but obviously gigging guitars lower a guitar's value due to your typical wear and tear and inevitable marks etc.

It only arrived this morning and we only managed to open for a quick look before heading to work, so we've not actually played it yet, but it feels and looks like it could be really nice to play and doesn't have anything other than some cosmetic damage.

My wife loves her guitars, and keeps them in absolute pristine condition (she doesn't gig), so is completely gutted by this as she thought it'd arrive in the condition she keeps her guitars as this is what the guy described.

She is opening up a dispute in ebay as I write this, so, what I really need to know is, how much is this guitar worth in the condition described above? As this guitar is discontinued and a rare find, I think she'd prefer to keep it, but would need some compensation to ease the sting.

So, what do you think guys? Any help would be most appreciated! I'll get some pics up of the guitar and the dents etc. when i'm back home tonight.

Oh min! Where do you go from here? Personally I don't think it's a big deal to have a few dings and scrapes on my guitars, in fact I am usually the cause of most of them. If it plays and sounds ok, them you're most of the way there, but if your wife wants to own pristine guitars, then this guitar does not fit the bill. I'm not fully sure how ebay works, but if I was her I would try to get the person to take it back altogether. If she says she wants some money to 'ease the sting' then basically what she is saying is that she is happy to own the guitar, but just because it's not perfect she wants cheaper etc. Try to put it back, and keep on with the search for a nice one if possible.

Cheers

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Thanks to everyone for the advice and support, she's managed to settle with the guy, she got 75 off the guitar, so her dream guitar for 625. It might not be in as great condition as she hoped, but it's in good enough condition that she doesn't feel it's a bad price, and she's much happier now that it's been settled amicably.

To silver coat it all, I said to her at least as it's in the condition it is, she won't be quite as afraid to take it out of it's case, as I was worried it'd just turn into an ornament! The guitar is one that needs love and attention, and I feel now that this guitar will get the attention she deserves!

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