The most-often ask question is, “How much is my guitar worth?”  Well, the worth of something is rather subjective, isn’t it?  After all, a guitar might have a certain sentimental or aesthetic value that makes it worth far more to you than anyone else. To muddy the waters further, you may have seen it listed on eBay at a very high price.  So, how do we figure out what we can pay for a guitar?

Most people do a little research on their own before visiting us by searching eBay.  We use several different sources for pricing information and eBay is one of them.  The problem is that anyone can list anything on eBay for any price.  I could create a listing right now on an Epiphone Les Paul Standard Plus Top Pro and set the price at $5,000.  That is an extreme example, but I’m sure you understand the point:  The asking price really doesn’t mean much.

Let’s use that Epi as an example: Looking at the initial search results, you might think that they are going for $475, but here are two things you can do to make the results more realistic.  Look at the filters on the left side of the screen:

1. Under “Condition”, check “Used.” No matter how minty clean your guitar is, it is still used and cannot be sold as new.
2. Scroll down a little further and “Show Only”, check “Sold.” This will limit the results to listings that have actually sold at this price.  In some cases, the price is crossed out, which means it sold for less than that amount.  We don’t know how much less, but I would guess 10-20%.

Now, what is the Epi worth?  It appears that used models are actually selling for about $375, which is what we could expect to get for it in our store.  Obviously, we need to pay less than that.  How much less?  Well, it depends.

At Replay Guitar Exchange, we want customers for life.  I have no interest in ripping people off for a quick buck when I can pay a fair price and have them return to my store again and again.  If you absolutely need to squeeze every last dollar out of your used guitar, you are probably better off selling it yourself on eBay or Craigslist.  However, if you’d like to spare yourself that hassle, bring your guitar in to us for a quick evaluation.  I promise that we will deal honestly with you and give you the best price we can.  Turn that guitar into cash today!

And that, Dear Reader, is how we figure out how much we can pay for your guitar.  Until next time, I'll leave you with these words from Paul Simon:

"I'm not in it for the money. I like music. I love to write music. I can't imagine myself not playing or singing or writing. It would just drive me crazy if I didn't."