Sometimes I wonder why I even bother (Bit of a rant)

[Blazer]

Well, the conclusion of a month of very hard work and over three hundred bucks in expenses would have been today. When I bought my 1976 Ibanez Les Paul Copy it was in terrible shape.


And I subsequently applied everything I learned from working at Knooren Guitars for eleven years and counting in the restoration of this guitar.


So I figured that when it was time to sell it on, I would get an honest price for the effort and Money and the hours I put in this guitar, it's a Lawsuit Ibanez, a collector's item and it plays better and sounds better than ever before.

So when I went to the shop where I bought the guitar they were all "Look at that, is that REALLY the same guitar?", "That must have taken a lot of work.", "Well done!"

But when I placed my cards on the table and let my intentions known about wanting to sell the guitar, their facial expressions suddenly turned into strained facial expressions. The manager told me "This guitar is unsellable."

So I went "What?"

"Yes, this is a vintage Ibanez from the desirable period, yes, you did a killer job restoring it but the guitar is NOT in original condition, NOBODY wants a completely overhauled guitar, it's just not what people want. " He then gave me an estimate of what the guitar would be worth and it wasn't even enough to pay back the money I put in.

I can't remember feeling so grief stricken before as I felt after he told me that. "So you're basically telling me that I did all of this: the stripping, the filling of the hole, the re-routing of the pickup holes, the hours of sanding, the hiring of somebody who would paint it in a professional way, the buffing by hand so it would shine like a mirror for nothing? WAS ALL MY WORK A WASTE OF TIME?"

I guess they saw that they stepped on my soul here, they became aware that they severely rubbed me the wrong way. So they began to say say something among the lines of "No, you had fun doing this didn't you?" and "You can always hang it on the wall and show it to people." but that's not the point here. "I restored this guitar so it could be played, the way it is now means that somebody can use it as their main instrument for years and years to come. I SIMPLY DO NOT RESTORE GUITARS JUST TO HANG THEM ON THE WALL AS SOME KIND OF TROPHY!"

I left that store a broken man: I love working with wood, I love building guitars, I enjoyed every minute of restoring this Ibanez but it doesn't pay. NOBODY wants to buy my self build guitars and now it has been pushed in my face that even after such a successful restoration, it didn't earn me a dime.

Sometimes I wonder why I even bother...

[chromium]

That "golden era" Japanese stuff is really taking a huge beating right now.  I've been using that as an excuse to indulge my Roland GR fetishes    (...all Fujigen Gakki stuff.  Got the neck-thru G-88 bass for US $275 shipped - in other words, peanuts)




If I played guitar better, I'd be going after the Ibanez AS-80/100 and AR-300 that I've always drooled-over:

http://cgi.ebay.com/IBANEZ-ARTIST-1980-W-CASE-NICE_W0QQitemZ110389740592QQcmdZViewItemQQptZGuitar?hash=item19b3bdc430&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=66%3A2%7C65%3A13%7C39%3A1%7C240%3A1318%7C301%3A0%7C293%3A1%7C294%3A50



Four hundred bucks for that!    ...and that's not the only example.


You did a nice job restoring that LP.  Not a waste of time if you enjoy doing it!  If you're gonna sell it, though, I'd sit on it a while and wait till things pick back up again with this stuff.

[Dave W]

You did a very nice job on that LP.

I don't know how things are over there, but here I've never heard of any Japanese copies bringing higher prices in unrestored condition, even the most sought after ones.

I do know that music stores everywhere will tell you whatever they can to get you to accept a lowball offer from them. Don't let it get you down.

[uwe]

As a consolation: If this was a Gibson bass you had brought back from the dead this lovingly and I was missing that particular model in my collection, I would have no issue buying it.

[SKATE RAT]

if you were in the US,i would buy it. looks great!

[Freuds_Cat]

Blazer, your work is good, the instrument is relevant and will continue to become collectable as we get further and further away from the Lawsuit era. The current climate as Chromium says is bad for these kinds of instruments. Your timing was a bit out but it doesn't mean that you wasted your time unless you specifically purchased it to make  money from it. Even then, being patient over the next 2 or so years could reward you modestly.

[godofthunder]

 I face the same thing sort of in reverse with furniture. I do antique restoration, I get the person who found the chair by the road and their eyes pop when I tell them how much it will cost to strip (by hand) re-glue, finish and re-cain the seat of their find. You did a fantastic job on that guitar, keep it treasure it. I learned a long time ago there is more  $ in reselling something than restoring it and selling.

[Rhythm N. Bliss]

That "golden era" Japanese stuff is really taking a huge beating right now.  I've been using that as an excuse to indulge my Roland GR fetishes    (...all Fujigen Gakki stuff.  Got the neck-thru G-88 bass for US $275 shipped - in other words, peanuts)




If I played guitar better, I'd be going after the Ibanez AS-80/100 and AR-300 that I've always drooled-over:

http://cgi.ebay.com/IBANEZ-ARTIST-1980-W-CASE-NICE_W0QQitemZ110389740592QQcmdZViewItemQQptZGuitar?hash=item19b3bdc430&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=66%3A2%7C65%3A13%7C39%3A1%7C240%3A1318%7C301%3A0%7C293%3A1%7C294%3A50



Four hundred bucks for that!    ...and that's not the only example.


You did a nice job restoring that LP.  Not a waste of time if you enjoy doing it!  If you're gonna sell it, though, I'd sit on it a while and wait till things pick back up again with this stuff.

That's an amazing deal for that flametop sunburst Artist! Someone SCORED!
I just sold one exactly like it on craigslist only '83 & lefty for $875, no case & no shipping.

[Rhythm N. Bliss]

Blazer~ Some things in life we do just because WE CAN!
You put your skills to good use & rose to the challenge!
Try selling it for the price you want & you just might get it.
Someone is bound to appreciate it enuf to make it worthwhile.
That is a beautiful ax!!!

[Pilgrim]

Blazer, I think the guy in the music store needs a course in communication.  Sounds to me like his response to you could have been much more positive and diplomatic - instead, he shot his mouth off and killed a relationship.

Here's what I suspect is going on:

- First, realize that a music store can only buy an instrument from you at wholesale.  They have to sell at retail, so they must buy at wholesale, which is normally half of retail or less. So for a $1000 instrument (which they might sell at $900), they'd buy it at $500 or less.  That's a fact of life.
- Because of the current market, he probably felt that he didn't have a decent prospect of re-selling it in any reasonable time.  That's not an insult to your work, it's just business - but he was an absolute jerk in the way he expressed it.
- The way to get a return on any instrument like this is to sell it yourself. Then YOU make the difference between wholesale and retail - in this case, you get $900 for it instead of $500.

Aside from the fact that this guy was stupid and thoughtless in the way he expressed himself, I suspect the business-oriented message he was delivering was valid.

My suggestion:  keep the instrument for a while, enjoy the results of your SUPERB work (I'm envious), and when the time is right, sell it yourself.  You will get more money for it and get the benefit of your work.

[Highlander]

Wouter... When you do something, anything, if it is "work", that is all it is...

Be patient and get to the end...

When my present band got "back together" in 2001 to meet (no playing involved) a rather strange German based ex-pat. doing a book on 80's Surrey, UK. based pub-rock acts (yes, that obscure - do not look for it on at any book store near you... I have a copy which he gifted to us all) I created a CD of our few studio recordings and produced a very limited run with a profesional finish cover/insert/label (5) - one for each of the band and one for the writer, which we all signed (a kinda joke) ...

Anyway, on the sleeve-notes I pointed out that, "It was fun but was always going to cost more than it would return..."

That is what life should be... F... U... N...

You, with some pro assistance, have breathed life back into the dead...

What more could you ask for... now chill...

[Freuds_Cat]

Blazer, I think the guy in the music store needs a course in communication.  Sounds to me like his response to you could have been much more positive and diplomatic - instead, he shot his mouth off and killed a relationship.

Here's what I suspect is going on:

- First, realize that a music store can only buy an instrument from you at wholesale.  They have to sell at retail, so they must buy at wholesale, which is normally half of retail or less. So for a $1000 instrument (which they might sell at $900), they'd buy it at $500 or less.  That's a fact of life.
- Because of the current market, he probably felt that he didn't have a decent prospect of re-selling it in any reasonable time.  That's not an insult to your work, it's just business - but he was an absolute jerk in the way he expressed it.
- The way to get a return on any instrument like this is to sell it yourself. Then YOU make the difference between wholesale and retail - in this case, you get $900 for it instead of $500.

Aside from the fact that this guy was stupid and thoughtless in the way he expressed himself, I suspect the business-oriented message he was delivering was valid.

My suggestion:  keep the instrument for a while, enjoy the results of your SUPERB work (I'm envious), and when the time is right, sell it yourself.  You will get more money for it and get the benefit of your work.

Very well put Al