Vintage magazine or blue book

[Terry007]

Hello today i learnt a valuable lesson in order ,to jump on a good deal when one sees one , I need to know the value of a guitar
So which publication is best

Th Vintage Guitar Price Guide
Or
The blue book of acoustic guitar ?

Thank you

 

[kitniyatran]

I'm not an expert, but I think dealers use the blue book

 

[Darryl Hattenhauer]

Maybe get each and use them to establish a price range--blue book is usually higher. It's also easier to use imho.

 

[Bill Ashton]

I don't think the "Blue Book" that dealers and stores use is the same thing that you get at Barnes & Noble...hard cover, maybe subscription?

VG is probably a good guide, the "consumer" Blue Book is just not the same since the original editors nephew or son-in-law or whatever took it over...

My opinion only.

 

[fronobulax]

When I was collecting Civil War books, the price guide I saw many dealers pull off of their shelf was exactly the same price guide I could buy directly from the publisher. In fact I tols several dealers that there was a newer edition available and showed them my copy

My experience has been that the price guide publishers are interested in selling price guides and not in participating in some secret society that only allows dealers access to their information.

All that said, my guess is that low volume sellers are buying the same guides we can buy in stores. The higher volume dealers probably pay for some kind of subscription service that is not easily available to the great unwashed.

Bottom line, though is that they are price guides.

 

[tjmangum]

Many price guides are going away because the info is dated by the time it is published and the ability to find actual sales on-line continues to grow. For some collectibles the "price guide" is ebay's listing of recently sold items.
Judging by the range of prices put up on Gbase and other dealer sites it appears no one can agree on a price!
IMHO VG prices are closer to the real world than the Blue Book.
T