Need Help Pricing Vintage Guitars for a Friend

[Platefire]

My old Guitar buddy I was raised up with playing guitars with since high school passed away several years ago. His wife recently contacted me about helping her price some of his guitars she has decided to sell. She said over the phone she wants to sell his 1965 Jazzmaster, 80's American Telecaster and late 70's Peavey t-60. I haven't examined the guitars in person yet but will be soon. So I need help to give her a good price based on the condition we determine on the axes. She did send me a picture she made herself of the Jazzmaster and the t-60 I will attempt to post. You vintage guitar experts, please share your knowledge. I will provided more information and better pictures along the way. If I heard her right, I think she had been offered  $4,500.00 for the Jazzmaster by a vintage dealer. The Serial Number for the Jazzmaster is L88594.Platefire


 

[acheld]

I'm not going to call myself an expert in pricing guitars, but I buy and sell pedals on Reverb very often, and find their pricing histories very helpful.  You can really tell what something will actually sell for if used correctly.

Typing in 1965 Jazzmaster in Reverb's search box, and you will see that these are expensive vintage guitars.  Judging your photo, it appears this guitar is in very good condition -- if you are planning to buy, don't haggle, just do it.

If you're wanting to help the widow, I'd suggest talking with a number of vintage guitar dealers, and not just local.  My family recently sold a vintage concert piano, and the differences in the estimates and offers was astonishing to me. 

I have dealt with Elderly Instruments in Lansing MI (over decades) -- the business is highly reputable, and I would trust them.  There are many other good dealers out there, I am sure.   

But $4,100 for a '65 JM is a low ball estimate IMO.

[sluckey]

I sold that JazzMaster for $150 in '74!    

[shooter]

in '74!

  when gas was 28 cents n a pack of smokes was 55 cents 

[sluckey]

Yep. And weed was $25/oz! I probably pissed away the $150 too.    JMs were not popular in the '70s. Besides, I had a Gibson 335 and a Fender Villager 12 string. Why would I want a JazzMaster that just lay under the bed?

I only paid $50 for the guitar and no case. Bought it from a questionable non musician guy that I hardly knew. Always wondered where he got it!

[shooter]

Always wondered where he got it!

most of my "customers" didn't have the $25 so I'd take "trades", stereos, guitars, speakers
I'd either sell them at school or trade them at the pawn-shop for tools so I could keep my POS cars running!

[Blueboozer]

I only paid $50 for the guitar and no case. Bought it from a questionable non musician guy that I hardly knew. Always wondered where he got it!

That’s how I bought my first Les Paul in ‘83. Silverburst Custom. $250 out of the trunk of some drifter with CA plates. He had 4 guitars in his trunk.

How I wish I still had that guitar.

[Platefire]

acheld


Thanks for the advice. I did touch base with Elderly and will be checking their site out more closely. I'm not interested in the Jazzmaster for myself, just to help her. At this point she just wants to talk to somebody she can trust to give her some good information. Platefire

[Platefire]

I checked out Reverb pretty closely. Didn't find any 65's but a lot of 66's. The 66 generally listed for $6,500.00 and up which most had block fret marker inlays and binding up the neck. The Jazz my friend has only dot markers and no binding on neck. So I'm thinking maybe $6000.00 might be a good price---or start off at $6.500.00 knowing they are going to try to talk you down. She is suppose to bring it by the house tomorrow so I'll get a good look and can take some pictures. I don't want to get into taking it apart and looking at the neck date and pot code dates. I know the serial numbers are not an accurate way to find the exact date but in my case, it will have to do. Platefire

[tubenit]

You are very kind to help a friend out and I hope she gets a good price for the jazzmaster.


Regarding the Peavey T-60.  I had a friend that had one that looked like that one.  It was an oak body!  That's when I found out that oak is one of the deadest most non-resonant tone woods I've ever run across for a guitar body.  The neck was OK, but the guitar had an incredible dull lifeless tone even with new strings on it.  It surprised me because I know ash (especially swamp ash) can be a great tone wood and very resonant.   I had always wondered why more electric guitars were not made from oak prior to playing that Peavey.


With respect, Tubenit

[mresistor]

I think all the '65s had pearloid dot markers and some had binding on the neck. I'd shoot for $6500 because of the condition it is in.

[Platefire]

Hi Tubenit
Believe it or not, I had a T-60 in perfect shape given to me back in the 80's. It was white with a black pick-guard. Try as I may, I never bonded with it. Now I may know why, Oak body?? As Paul Harvey use to say, now I know "The Rest of the Story". Also mresistor I had a 1966 Jazzmaster and as I recall, it had block inlays fret markers and the inlay going up the neck. Was the first good quality guitar I ever got. There was a Music store in Shreveport La going out of Business and had everything marked down. I got the Jazzmaster and hard case for $300 brand new. It played and sounded fine until one night playing with the band I was with one night while taking a break I laid it on top of one of the slender tall Peavey PA speaker columns and somebody walked by and tripped on the cord and it came tumbling down on a concrete floor. Wouldn't play in tune after that and for some reason I didn't take it to somebody to get worked on, just traded it off on a Les Paul and I recall. It probably could have been fixed pretty easily in the right hands.
  Regarding my diseased Musician Friends wife, she brought the guitars by the house last week she wanted tosell. I looked over the Jazzmaster first. It was like new clean. Hardly any dings in or signs of wear on it. Like new condition. I plugged it into a amp and the controls were very scratchy and had a hum but the pickups, tone and volume did work and sounded good. I switched over the roller rhythm controls above the pick-guard and couldn't get any sound at all through that. The biggest problem to play-ability was it was fretting out badly around the 6th fret on the 1st, 2nd and 3rd strings. I looked down the neck and it had a back bow. This is the neck with the adjustment at the back of the neck and has to be taken off I believe to be adjusted. I pointed this all out to her.
  She said that she had recently took it to Guitar Center to get an appraisal. She said they took it aside to inspect it and she latter went over where they had it and she was surprised because they had the neck off of it and the pick-guard off. I took it that they didn't even ask for permission to take it apart to inspect it??? She seemed to be happy that they put a new set of strings on it when they re-assembled it. I didn't say nothing to her about it but I would have been severely upset if they had took my vintage guitar apart without my permission. Now I don't know if they caused any electronic failure by what they did or caused the back bow that they didn't correct before giving it back to her?? because I was inspecting it after the fact. I know that these conditions will effect the price and needs to be corrected before selling it to get top price. They offered her $4000.00 for it. I let her know the on line price for one in as good physical condition, good playing condition, all original parts and electronics working is about $6,500.00.
  I think she wants somebody to fix, sell it for her on line and ship it for her. I'm in the middle of accomplishing some personal family business right now, so I didn't volunteer to do that for her. I did let her know that the on line prices with the instrument in good working condition brings the higher price. Platefire
 
   

[G._Hoffman]

Late to the party, I know, but Reverb's price guide and ebay's COMPLETED SALES are the go to online resources.  (Please note, completed sales.  NOT current listings, nor unsold listings.  Only actual sales.  People can list them for whatever they want, but if no one is willing to pay, they are just playing with themselves.)


Gabriel

[Platefire]

Thanks Gabriel
Yes I get you! They can ask their price all day long but if no one is willing to pay, it's a pretty useless and the selling price is what really counts.
I do have a question about the Jazzmaster. The guitar is in excellent physical condition and all original. Hooking it up to an amp, It works but I discovered it was fretting out on the e and b strings in about the 5th fret. Just sighting down the neck, I could see a bit of a back bow that was causing that. The pots were scratchy but worked. The rhythm controls on top of the guitar wouldn't work at all. I'm betting that contact cleaner and a neck adjustment would possibly correct all that.
My question is, would it be better to correct these issues before putting it up for sale or just leave everything as is and make the problems known to the buyer? Platefire

[acheld]

A.  You could adjust the truss rod yourself, or
B.  Have a tech do a basic setup - in my area this costs about $50, or
C.  Let the buyer know that it needs a setup.

B makes the most sense to me, and would be worth it in an ad to say that it had been recently set up by a local "renowned" guitar tech.

[G._Hoffman]

Thanks Gabriel
Yes I get you! They can ask their price all day long but if no one is willing to pay, it's a pretty useless and the selling price is what really counts.
I do have a question about the Jazzmaster. The guitar is in excellent physical condition and all original. Hooking it up to an amp, It works but I discovered it was fretting out on the e and b strings in about the 5th fret. Just sighting down the neck, I could see a bit of a back bow that was causing that. The pots were scratchy but worked. The rhythm controls on top of the guitar wouldn't work at all. I'm betting that contact cleaner and a neck adjustment would possibly correct all that.
My question is, would it be better to correct these issues before putting it up for sale or just leave everything as is and make the problems known to the buyer? Platefire

Most buyers would probably rather buy a working guitar.

[Latole]

I sold that JazzMaster for $150 in '74!    

$850 in 2021 money
 Late '60 or early '70 my brother bough a late '50 or early 60 a Fender Strat for $250. In '90 One of his friend lost it in house fire ...........