[flyingheelhook]

Hey now, oh knowledgeable gurus of all things Garcia... let's say I stumbled upon a possible opportunity to buy one: what do you think would be a fair price for a 2-3 year-old Scarlet Fire Wolf 2.1 in excellent condition w/OHSC? (gotta start squirreling away some damn coinage!)

[Seriesnuns]

Ahh, buying used high end guitars. A favorite pastime of mine.


I would say 50-60% of original price is great deal for buyer. 60-75% is good for both parties. 75%-100% for guitars that aren't made anymore or are very rare.

If I was selling a guitar that was rare and couldn't be duplicated very fast I would wait for the right buyer and seek at least 85% of my funds back.

[HeadSpace]

Ordinarily I'd agree with the above analysis. However, in this case, there's the added complication that the price paid for a new one 3 years ago is likely substantially less than the price one would pay today. And then there's the wait. How much is immediate delivery worth when the wait for a new one might be a year or more? I'd say a used one in perfect shape for immediate delivery is probably worth pretty close to what you'd pay if you were to order one tomorrow. Arguably, to the right buyer, it could be worth more. Hard to say, but I don't think the "percentage of price paid" model applies here.

[tatittle]

To repeat the cliche...its worth whatever you are willing to pay for it. It doesnt have any inherent/standard value like Gold and is thus completely related to the marketplace (which shifts month to month fairly widely). To some it is worth an equivelant amount of firewood, to others with different circumstances it could be worth 10k or even be priceless.

Id try to guage the sellers circumstances but not try to lowball ridiculously. If you end up loving it an extra $300. will quickly be forgotten. Im jealous I wanted to order one 2-3 years ago but just couldnt save the money and as prices rise the likelihood of me enjoying one diminishes lol. Id make sure its in great condition (most are well nurtured) and then offer 70%+ if he makes you name the 1st number.

[flyingheelhook]

Thanks. I guess I need to do some homework and find out how much they were going for back then. That or try to guesstimate on how much they cost now.

[Searing75]

Don't go back to Rockville!

[MattMan]

Thanks. I guess I need to do some homework and find out how much they were going for back then. That or try to guesstimate on how much they cost now.

Just ask Leo. He's very approachable, and if you do the buy it, you might want him to give it a tune up: http://www.scarletfireguitarsllc.com/

[Poor Peter]

Not entirely related to the topic but Ive wondered about this before. I realize that business is business but as we continue to support this little community so to speak are we doing a disservice to these builders by reselling their work at 60, 70% or whatever it costs to build one new. Not so much to the general public, but on forums such as this? Im well aware of the wait and all the other considerations, and Im sure Leo isn't hurting for customers. But for example, I bought a Troy Post Bolt several years back. In the meantime my brother started building guitars and as a result that's what I play now. I haven't touched the Post guitar in two years. I wouldn't mind selling it. However I feel that I would be doing Troy a disservice by selling this guitar for 2/3rds or whatever the cost of a new one on this site. At the same time this site is probably going to give me the best opportunity to sell it. But, part of me feels that its just wrong. So I pose the question, am I off base in this way of thinking?

[strumminsix]

This is general about custom builds not about SF guitars... I'd ask about the playability, setup, wiring, etc. I've personally seen a few custom builds done by exquisite wood workers who do the most amazing thing I can imagine but are not masters in the setup and electronics. Some need an hour from a tech to fix up and some need some major work.

As they say, condition is everything...

[tcsned]

Thanks. I guess I need to do some homework and find out how much they were going for back then. That or try to guesstimate on how much they cost now.

Mine is about that age - $2700-3k. Not selling mine though

[TI4-1009]

It doesnt have any inherent/standard value like Gold and is thus completely related to the marketplace (which shifts month to month fairly widely).

Gold fluctuates with the gold marketplace.

[strumminsix]

It doesnt have any inherent/standard value like Gold and is thus completely related to the marketplace (which shifts month to month fairly widely).

Gold fluctuates with the gold marketplace.

Actually, the value of fiat currency changes. An ounce of gold today buys about what what an ounce would buy historically.

gotta run, tin foil hat and bunker are coming under attack

[Arafel]

Or you could just blow all your money and buy the real deal

https://www.jambase.com/article/iconic- ... ff-charity

[Jon S.]

As the owner of the guitar under discussion, it’s been fascinating being a “fly on the wall” for this discussion.

The OP and I were jamming recently when he expressed his admiration for my Wolf. I also recently received an unsolicited offer to buy, through The Gear Page, from someone who’s long admired it.

I currently own 3 Jerry-style axes. The others are a Philtone Tiger and a Philtone-modded Reverend Avenger. The Wolf is a beautiful and fine sounding guitar but, for various reasons, both of the others receive more playing time. So I thought, why not at least consider possibly selling the Wolf to someone who will play it more frequently.

I ordered mine c. June 2014 and received it July 2015. Including the case and shipping, I paid a little over $3K. Upon receipt, I put another $400 or so into it to address certain issues (I posted on that at the time in detail with pictures).

The last time I saw a price listed on the Scarlet Fire website for a fully tricked out Wolf, IIRC, it was a little over $6K. Then all prices disappeared from the site. According to the builder, "Due to demand and availability of materials (principally cocobolo and Gabon ebony), please call for current pricing."

My Wolf took 13 months from when I ordered it to arrive. Others have speculated it’s still about the same today. That assumption seems reasonable.

This Scarlet Fire Wolf was listed recently on reverb.com for $4,495 + $100 shipping. Its owner modded it in a number of ways, including removing the OBEL and changing the bridge. https://reverb.com/item/1578516-jerry-g ... arlet-fire

This thread’s now gotten nearly 400 views and replies that include microeconomic analysis and analogies to gold, but in the end, interestingly, no one's suggested a ballpark actual price for it. Were we instead discussing the original Ric frying pan guitar and folks were asked to guess its current market value, I’m guessing the responses would be more specific!

If I needed the cash immediately for an organ transplant I might take less, but based on what I know about my specific guitar, what a new one costs now (more or less), how long it takes to get one, and other relevant stuff, I’ll guess a cash sale value around what the one on reverb was listed for wouldn’t be unreasonable.

Too many of my Dead musician friends and acquaintances know I have this guitar and have dropped hints about it. I’m not sure I'm quite ready to sell it just yet. But should that occur in the future, I’d be looking to agree with the buyer on a price that’s fair both ways. If anyone wishes to explain why you believe the the number in the reverb.com ad I shared is too high or too, from my perspective, it's fine to do so.

[jalevinemd]

I had a Scarlet Fire Tiger which I sold a little over a year ago. I agree with everything that you have said. I thought it was the Tiger guitar that was over $6000, but I could be wrong. If the Wolf's have gone up that much, I don't think the $4000-4500 range is at all unreasonable, assuming it's in pretty much the same condition as the day it left Leo's workbench. It doesn't matter that you only paid $3000 when you bought it. I got exactly what I paid for my Tiger when I sold it because the price had gone up so much. I probably could've gotten more, but I believe in Karma.

One of the most important things to remember when considering the value of a used Scarlet Fire guitar, for example, is that we're not talking off the rack instruments here. An interested buyer could not purchase a new tomorrow at any price. There's a wait time of well over a year. At least for me, not having to endure that wait adds quite a bit to the standard used price.

Just my opinion.