price discussion?

[steamfurnace]

Maybe I missed it, but I can't find anything in the rules here about price discussion not being allowed, so I have a question. I saw a JF30-12 on eBay that looks interesting. The price has been bid up to slightly less than $600.
What is a decent price on a Corona built JF30-12?

 

[drive-south]

My guess is that anything under $1k is reasonable. I paid $1200 for my Westerly-built JF30-12.

 

[jazzmang]

Maybe I missed it, but I can't find anything in the rules here about price discussion not being allowed, so I have a question. I saw a JF30-12 on eBay that looks interesting. The price has been bid up to slightly less than $600.
What is a decent price on a Corona built JF30-12?

Welcome! Price discussions are allowed.

JF30-12s from Corona? I would think $800 for one in very good condition (aka no add'l work needed) would be OK. Westerly? A little bit higher... around $1k

 

[chazmo]

Yeah, as "sheriff" let me concur with that. Price discussions *are* allowed (to my knowledge) on LTG as long as they stay civil and unoffensive. I know that AGF, for example, prohibits it, but there is a MUCH bigger and diverse community there and it's almost impossible in that audience to avoid conflict between sellers/buyers/manufacturers/luthiers, etc...

It's probably better to hold a price discussion in the Members Only section if it's likely to get contentious. That said, I think we've had awesome, fair, level-headed collaboration over the years on both sides of the buy/sell equation among our members in all forums, including this one (acoustic/AE)...

Keep it coming. We all benefit from open discussion of pricing until someone loses their head.

 

[Taylor Martin Guild]

I have never owned a Corona built Guild but I don't understand the whole magical immage that hangs over Westerly built Guilds.
It's like Westerly was the only place that made a real Guild guitar.

I beg to differ.
There are well build and not so well built Guilds from every place that they have been made.
Some of the most disappointing Guilds that I have played have come from Westerly, but so have some of the best.
To me, this is just a way to try and get a lower price for a Guild that was made outside of Westerly.
I guess that if it works, go for it.

Part of my rant here is because I own a Tacome built Guild and I get tired of having to justify where it was made. :x

I'm also sorry for the veer. :wink:

 

[jazzmang]

Well heck I'd think that most of us would agree that Tacoma made some great guitars as well! No justification required.

 

[Ian]

It's like Westerly was the only place that made a real Guild guitar.

Nah that was Hoboken !! :lol:

I wonder if there were the same arguments when they shifted factories from New York to Hoboken and then to Westerly ?

 

[Ridgemont]

I wonder if there were the same arguments when they shifted factories from New York to Hoboken and then to Westerly ?

Probably, but relics that old must have been etched in stone with chisels. :wink:

 

[dreadnut]

It's unfortunate that Guild got moved around so much, but if it isn't a "factory 2nd" it should be a good guitar regardless of where it was made.

They generated a fair number of factory 2nds both from Corona and Tacoma, generally having a "2" stamped into the headstock under the serial number, and/or noted on the inside label, or no serial # at all. There are 2 of these 2nd's at a store in my town right now, and they are priced accordingly - one is a D-40, the other an F-412, both from Tacoma. Great guitars, very minor cosmetic flaws.

A JF-30 is a beautiful thing. Being a 12er, I would be more concerned about the shape its in and the ease of playability. Watch for the bridge lifting or the top bellying up below the bridge. I concur that one in good shape would be a good buy for something under $1K, and a factory 2nd would be maybe $600.

Good luck!

 

[Dennis M]

About those "factory Seconds". Guild issued a lot of them in the mid '80s. I went on a tour of the Martin factory during that period, and brought up the issue of such. I asked if Martin let out any factory seconds. The tour guide was quick to point out that under no cirucumstances do they release any instrument that is not up to their high standards.

What do you do with guitars with a non-fatal blemish, like a mark or scratch that doesn't affect the playing, etc. I asked.

"We cut them in half, " he said.

also, it is amazing that Guild made anything of quality in that old factory in Westerly. It was old, antiquated, and in need of a state of the art fix up. I believe that was one of the reasons for Fender to move the manufacturing out to Corona when they did.

 

[jazzmang]

also, it is amazing that Guild made anything of quality in that old factory in Westerly. It was old, antiquated, and in need of a state of the art fix up. I believe that was one of the reasons for Fender to move the manufacturing out to Corona when they did.

Thats part of the allure. They did a phenomenal job because they had skilled, dedicated craftsmen working there. State of the art facility (read: Corona) or not, they built the company up to great heights on skill, talent, and passion - Something that was sorely lacking in Corona, which was also reverberated at LMG earlier this year.

Just my 2 cents.

 

[adorshki]

Part of my rant here is because I own a Tacome built Guild and I get tired of having to justify where it was made. :x
I'm also sorry for the veer. :wink:

I thought we put this question to rest last month. The best factory was unquestionably the one(s) that built the guitar(s) you love the most.
PS: They actually made JF3012's in Corona? :shock:

 

[capnjuan]

... They generated a fair number of factory 2nds both from Corona and Tacoma, generally having a "2" stamped into the headstock under the serial number, and/or noted on the inside label, or no serial # at all. There are 2 of these 2nd's at a store in my town right now, and they are priced accordingly - one is a D-40, the other an F-412, both from Tacoma.

Hi Dread; Tacoma models with a '2' stamped on the headstock or label are probably early Tacoma 2nds ... all the later ones were stamped 'used' as discussed (beaten to death?) here. A number of people who bought 'used' models have posted into that thread and reported (except for Scratch and Jeff ) that they are pretty happy with their Tacoma 2nds ... 'useds' .... whatever they are.

 

[jazzmang]

PS: They actually made JF3012's in Corona? :shock:

I believe so!

 

[killdeer43]

My Dad's rationale for material things might apply here, as well.
He always considered whichever car he was driving at the time to be "the best." So my brother and I would chuckle when our Pontiac was "the best" until the day he came home in a brand-new Chevy! :lol:

He always appreciated what he had. Sometimes I miss the old man, :wink:
Joe

*What's the song....Love the one you're with?

 

[West R Lee]

It's like Westerly was the only place that made a real Guild guitar.

Nah that was Hoboken !! :lol:

I wonder if there were the same arguments when they shifted factories from New York to Hoboken and then to Westerly ?

I doubt it. The moves from New York to Hoboken to Westerly were the result of sound (no pun intented) business logic. I come by that bit of information right out of the best book ever written on the history of Guild guitars. You know, you build good guitars, more people want to buy them, you need more room to build more, you build more great guitars and so on. Not to mention that folks didn't have the immediate means of communication like we do today in the home computer.

I think based on conversations I've had with folks that worked at Westerly, the motives for the move to Corona are unclear.....oh yea, they said the equipment at Westerly was old, but why not buy new equipment, especially when you have the craftsmen available to you in Westerly that they had at the time? From that point on, in my view, all of the moving is very contraversial and a lot of people lost their jobs, both in Westerly and in Tacoma.....thus the inspiration for all of the discussion of subsequent moves. Fender has seemed to float Guild around like a sailboat with no wind. Water under the bridge now, I guess it really doesn't much matter anymore.

I seriously doubt the moves from New York to Hoboken to Westerly stimulated quite the discussion that has brought Fender from Westerly to New Hartford.

JF30 Corona built in great shape.....about $600 would be my limit.

West

 

[adorshki]

*What's the song....Love the one you're with?

Arnt'cha glad you didn't invite me along on that camping trip wit' you an' the missus? When Jun Lin was in Taiwan ?

 

[hojo199]

I paid 825.00 for my '94 JF30-12 and 525.00 for my '89 D30 -- both this year.