So it looks like you are wrong about Bolts.I’ve been using Microsoft Office for quite some time. That's 61.1% of the original price, or 38.9% depreciation. New price: $768.00, as best I can price it. I chose this because it's a pretty average looking bolt. List the selling price, the new price and the % of depreciation (that's selling price divided by new price minus 1, in case you need the formula.)Ĭarvin Bolt - I searched for 'CARVIN BOLT', and 11 completed auctions came up. Pick something we can get a new price on, so we can get as close to apples vs apples as possible. Search for 'CARVIN' 'GIBSON' and 'FENDER'. Go try it, let's see what you come back with. No, I chose the first ones to come up on search that either sold or had more than 10 bids but didn't hit reserve. If you are interested in buying a Carvin and maintaining its value, you're probably best not loading it up with options that cost you a lot, but have no value to the next buyer.Īs to the anecdotal examples, Rock's guitar sold for $750, not $847, but you can find plenty of examples to make your case either way.Īnd yes, you probably picked the right examples to 'prove' your point. The more you personalize it, the more you're likely to lose.

You lose that selling point when you sell used. The other thing is that one of Carvin's big selling points is you can customize the guitar the way you want. Carvin's seriously raising their prices lately too, which will bring up prices in the used market. Because the internet gives better brand recognition and a much wider market, they're much easier to sell than they used to be. On the other hand, I paid about $900 for my DC127 and sold it for $650 about a year later on ebay in the first try. It took me 4 months of hanging my DC145 in the local store on consignment to get back half what I paid. Before the internet, Carvin wasn't that well known so you were running up against trying to sell an unknown brand into your smaller local market. So no, Carvin's resale isn't that different than other major manufacturers unless you build something stupid that no one but you will ever want.Ĭouple of things about the resale. 7.6% more depreciation than a MIA Fender Strat (based on an assumption of $900, which could be high or low).

The guitar took a depreciation hit of 38.7%. His final bid was for $847.89, which is 61.3% of the original price. Oddly enough, the bidding went higher in his reserve auction than he sold it for with a BIN, but it shows what someone was willing to pay.īased on his listed options, that guitar would cost $1,383.00. Now, let's take the Carvin that Rock Lobster just sold. That's 68.9% of the original price, which means it took a 31.1% depreciation hit. The ones I found had about the same % of decrease as the Carvin DC127 that had ended recently.Ģ005 Fender Strat - Sold for $620 and was probably about $900 new. Go compare a Gibson Les Paul Studio and an Ibanez RG1570. Maybe I picked an exceptional Carvin and horrible examples of Gibson and Ibanez, but the prices seemed about average. I did one recent with Carvin, Gibson and Ibanez, and the Carvin actually had the better resale of the 3. If it sucks, yer out return shipping, and you can come here and bash them as the trash that they are.Īnd re: resale prices, I'd invite anyone to go hit ebay and do some % comparissons. If you like it, but what your own custom, send it back and build your own. And, if you REALLY have to try one, just buy one of the in-stock guitars and give it the 10 day trial. A local mom and pop near me has a used one hanging on the wall right now. Oh, and it's not always impossible to try them before you buy them. Accept the guitar for what it is and you can really come to love a Carvin. Carvins are an aquired taste, and are unlike other guitars just like Fenders, Gibsons and Jacksons are all unlike other guitars. The neck is completely different, cuz it's wider and flatter, but the thickness feels about the same to me. I didn't notice it being overly bright, but I can say that the feel was nothing like a Fender. I haven't played a Bolt, but I've played the Contour 66, which is like their premium bolt on.

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