Have you ever paid too much for a guitar?

[ThomasUV777]

So sometimes you strike a deal, sometimes you want want gear so bad you'll pay way too much for it (maybe even knowingly)...

Has this happened to any of you guys? I'm curious to hear how you much you paid for a guitar, amp, effect pedal that generally goes for a cheaper price. Discuss!

 

[WolleK]

Happened lot of times

Ibanez MTM1- Was the first one in germany, i got the one displayed at Musikmesse. Came without a the cool blood red case and paid 1600 Euro for it.
Esp EXP- Paid 1800 euro for it (prices varies from 900 to 1300 if you take the time)... but my mother has passed away and i wanted something to cheer me up.

 

[JohnIce]

I bought my Squier 7-string Strat for arguably too much, around €400 if I remember correctly, which is technically too much for a used Squier that's over 10 years old. But to me it's worth it, it's the only 7-string I know of with those specs and mint condition ones are getting more and more rare as people like to mod them.

And it's just one of those special songwriting guitars, it doesn't sound fantastic as far as woods and pickups go but it's got songs in it and that's kind of priceless, I think.

 

[Bloody_Inferno]

We in Australia do it all the time...

 

[mr coffee]

I don't really know if I've paid too much for a guitar, but I've sold plenty of stuff for too little, including stuff that I really should have kept.

-m

 

[Lorcan Ward]

I bought an acoustic 10+ years ago from a local shop that had been marked up about 50% but there was no way of knowing without the internet, it only cost a few hundred though. Thankfully there are regional prices now and shops can't rip customers off like that anymore.

 

[TedEH]

Canadian dollar right now makes it feel like I'm overpaying for pretty much everything unless I buy it used locally. Some stuff I got on ebay lately cost me almost double the asking price by the time it got to my door, but it was worth it to me not to lose out on the particular items. Biggest one right now is an Ampeg SVT-IIP that's costing an arm and a leg. Also probably payed way too much for my S7420, again because of the dollar, shipping, import duties and stuff, but it wasn't nearly as bad at the time.

Also, like Mr. Coffee, I've recently sold some stuff that I think I should have asked more for- and that I kinda miss now that it's gone. Sold a modded YCS50H recently that I liked, but needed to make some car payments, and I didn't use it often enough to justify keeping it.

 

[mr coffee]

That might even deserve it's own thread....

Hang on....STARTED!

-m

 

[Anant Naag]

When I bought my first guitar which was a ESP LTD Ax 50, I paid the equivalent of 320$

Later when I read online that people in the USA pay 120$ for it and get full warranty, I lost my .....

 

[ihunda]

Mostly in trades, that's why I rarely do trades, always been unhappy.

 

[ZXIIIT]

Paid around $400 for a Samick super strat copy at a pawn shop because the pawn shop owner noticed I knew nothing about gear.

 

[MythicSquirrel]

We in Australia do it all the time...

ditto for canada

 

[Soya]

Paid way too much for my strandberg os7, which is to say full price.

 

[StrmRidr]

ditto for canada

I remember the good ol' days of three years ago when gear was pretty much on par with the US price. I paid $890 for my EC-1000, brand new out of the box. They currently go for almost $1,200. Same for my Mark V. I couldn't believe it when I saw the price they currently ask for them.

 

[Rolanthas]

Well local stores usually stock up at twice the price of EU MSRP, and most of the time much more than that when it comes to higher end stuff. And you almost always need to pay half of it upfront in collateral if you want to try a US made guitar.

So yeah, my Ibanez Sz520qm was the last guitar I've bought from a local store, at its release year. Was around 600 euros, and I don't even wanna check what it was supposed to go for back then.

/salt

 

[brett8388]

Yes, all the time. The thing is, and I learned this long ago - you can earn more money. Work harder, sell some stuff, etc. You'll forget about the money eventually once you have it back.

But some guitars only come around once in a lifetime. You have to do what it takes to get them when they are available. My opinion.

 

[bloc]

Yep, and recently too. Paid a bit too much for a 2008 Ibanez SV Prestige. A great guitar for sure, but worth much less than what I paid. It plays great and obviously I put a lot of work into making it that way but yeah whatever.

 

[mikernaut]

far too often cuz I fall in love with really unique rare guitars, lol.

Also my ESP Custom shop was probably one of the most expensive purchases, the custom satin camo paint job didn't help out the pricetag.

 

[wilch]

Yep, although, at the time I thought it was a bargain...But I guess you get what you pay for...kind of. Bought an oiled and natural wood finished custom 7 from a local Luther. After one year (of it never leaving the house) the neck developed a twist, after 2 years the mahogany body started to separate, 3 years on, and the guitar is unplayable (the neck is that flimsy and bendable). The neck just flexes way too easily.

The luthier has offered to take a look at the guitar. But I've decided to cut my losses and move the hardware to another guitar. It's not worth the time or effort.

 

[7 Dying Trees]

The first Ibanez Universe I bought, I probably paid twice as much as I should have for someone to find one in the US and to import it for me, but I actually hadn't heard of ebay back then (and it was like 16 years ago) and even then you had to convince people on ebay to ship internationally...