I BUY INSTRUMENTS !!!

Please Contact Me if Selling an Instrument...

Interested in selling a quality vintage or used mandolin, guitar, bass, or amplifier? I pay anywhere from $100 to $150,000 for instruments by Gibson, Fender, Martin, Gretsch, Epiphone, National, Dobro, Rickenbacker, D'Angelico, Stromberg, and DanElectro just to name a few. I am interested in any quality American built guitar, bass, or mandolin, acoustic or electric. If you see something on my web page and have a similar item for sale I'd probably be very interested! Please email me or call me and let me know what you have.

What I Pay for Instruments...

I appreciate the opportunity to buy your instrument. It is usually the responsibility of the seller to determine the price of their goods. It's always better if you've done your own research as to value. This way you don't have to "just trust me" as to what your item is worth.

Just remember, if you see an instrument just like yours listed for $1000, that doesn't necessarily mean it will actually sell for that amount. Most dealers will discount their prices. And, if you want $1000, there is no room left for me to make a few dollars.

My usual guideline is that I will pay 50-60% of what I think the instrument will sell for. As would anyone, I'll pay more for instruments I'm looking for or have a good market for, and less for things I'm not really interested in. I'll be straight with you as to the "real world selling prices" as opposed to the "dealer asking prices" you might see on other web sites.

"Make Me an Offer"...

A lot of people email me with guitars for sale and say, "make me an offer". I usually won't make offers in this situation. It's not because I'm trying to get your guitar cheap. It just leaves me open, and allows my offer to get used against me. For example, say I get an email that guitar X is for sale, and they request an offer. Say I offer $1000. Then this person goes to some other buyer (usually local to them) and says, "this internet guitar collector offered me $1000 for my guitar". Naturally the other prospective buyer will have to offer more. This puts me in a position where my offer is actually getting used against me.

But if the same person emails me and says they have guitar X for sale for $1000, I can either accept, refuse, or make a counter offer. To me this is much cleaner and straightforward. And besides, it puts some pressure on you to be educated as to the value of your instrument.

Insurance Appraisals...

Note that "insurance appraisals" have very little connection with real world selling prices. Most people want their appraisal to be on the high side, and many appraisers know this and will oblige. The owner gets an appraisal that will be good for several years and hopefully will give a high value when trading or selling the item. The appraiser protects their reputation by giving a high enough value that the customer can replace the guitar for the appraised amount, regardless of where the replacement instrument is purchased. The appraisal has to cover replacement costs in Manhattan as well as in Mississippi.

Some Email Notes...

You must have a valid return email address! I get a lot of messages bounced back from people that don't have their email set up properly. If you don't get a reply from me, that's probably the reason! (If in doubt, try emailing yourself and look at the return email address when you read the letter - is it correct?).

Please do not type your message in ALL CAPS. It's just a lot harder to read "all caps".

Emailing Pictures...

If you are emailing instrument pictures, please please please send them in .JPG (.JPEG) format only! This is a typical internet format that most browsers and programs handle well. Although I try to keep current and flexible, I cannot keep up on all the different file types. Many, such as .bmp, are just too large to download in a mail program. Thanks in advance.

How to Contact Me...

Email 1939d18@gmail.com

This is the preferred method of contact. I usually respond to most of my emails in less than 24 hours.

If you can't email me (or you're in a real hurry), you can call me at 804-937-4880 (but please email me instead of calling if possible). I'm on Eastern Standard Time, and this phone rings at my home. So don't call me at 1 am. Please be considerate and call before 10 pm E.S.T.!

THANKS!
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