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| the gentleman who asked about his ovation thunderhead was my dad "WOBBLE" we are inquiring on the price of it not to sell but i guess for bragging rights..its a very rare semi hollow 1967 ovation thunderhead.. with all original parts.. its alittle damaged over the years but it's still in excellent playable condition... he bought it 35 yrs ago for 500 dollars.. i personnally took it to dealers and they say its worth 75-275. but its one of the very first ovations.. i wanna know the real value of it ... not what some crummy dealer would give me.. thank you |
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Location: Phoenix AZ | Hello Will (and Wobble),
I own 8 Thunderheads of various vintage. One I bought new for $375. All of the others I bought used from anywhere from $225 to $1000. The interesting thing is that the oldest one (hand written serial number 602 in red ink) is also the one in the best condition and is the one that I only paid $225 for. Go figure. My guess would be that your guitar is worth just about what you paid for it, assuming you want to sell it. It's probably worth a lot more to you than it is to someone else.
Dave |
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Location: The Great Pacific Northwest | Glad you re-opened this thread... Define "value". It is a topic discussed a lot. For insurance purposes it's probably worth a lot more, as it can't really be replaced. If you want "bragging" rights I suggest you just say "priceless 67 Thunderhead" and leave it at that. As has been said MANY times... You can name MOST items that are no longer worth what was paid 35 years ago. It's nice to own a fine instrument that has held it's value over 35 years. |
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| we just wanna know its market value..we can't get a honest answer from anyone.. seriously.. how can it be worth 75 dollars lol |
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Location: SoCal | Will:
You are getting honest answers here. The dealer you talked with is just guessing and doesn't seem to be too knowledgable about Thunderheads. Not surprising as most people aren't. When you are talking Thunderheads, the market is so small, that it's tough to put a number on it. And Ovations have never attained the "collectible" status that other guitars have (except maybe for slot head Adamii).
I've seen them go on ebay for $475 and up. I'm spending over $700 for one that's on it's way to me right now. It's been described as a 9.5 out of 10 in condition. Something is worth whatever somebody else will pay for it.
Watch ebay. Ovations trade there all the time. If you really want to know the market value of your guitar, place it for sale on ebay. Put up good pictures and a good description. Put the reserve at $1500. I guarantee you it won't sell for that, but you'll know what people are will to pay.
That must be the fifth time I've given that advise, and for all of you that are tired of it, it's the last.
Will, I personally think that your guitar is worth more than $75. In fact, I'll give you $80 right now for it, sight unseen. |
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Location: Scotland | My Tornado cost me less than $200 (OK, a little more with shiping & duty) It's the cheapest of my 18 Ovations but the one that draws the most audience comments on both it's sound & rareity. I wouldn't sell it unless I was offered crazy money. I was offered £500 ($800ish) a while ago, but bear in mind that they are VERY rare in the UK. The Storms generally are not yet considered "collectable" except to us Ovation perverts. If you put the guitar an ebay it might reach $400-$500 if you're lucky, so keep it and enjoy it, it's a fine guitar.
[ December 13, 2002: Message edited by: Paul Templeman ] |
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Location: Phoenix AZ | Will,
You say the guitar is beat up a little, so I take that me mean that it has some dings or finish cracks. Here is as honest as I can be, how much the guitar would be worth to ME as a buyer.
Any Thunderhead in any condition = $50
Original case is decent shape add $25
Long neck version add $50
No pitting or tarnish of the gold hardware add $100
Deluxe model written on headstock add $50
Vibrato add $50
Nutmeg or Green color add $100
No dings in neck or headstock add $50
No fret wear or fretboard wear add $100
Neck binding intact and non yellowed add $50
No dings in body and no clearcoat cracks add $100
Body binding intact and non yellowed add $50
No pick marks on pickguard add $25
So, based on my purchasing scale your guitar would be worth (to ME) anywhere from $50 to $800.
Hope this gives you some honest idea what your guitar would be worth, at least to this buyer. By the way, please do email me if you want to sell it.
Dave |
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Location: Las Cruces, NM | Guitars are to play, paintings are to collect and wait for the painter to die, wealth comes from the stock market, buying low and selling high. Plug that mother in and play it while those painters live forever, the stock market collapses and Fender and Gibson are plagued with imitations. Guitars aren't like baseball cards.
Bailey :D |
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Location: NJ | Unfortunately Bailey guitars are like baseball cards. although I find dave's answer a little extreme it is accurate for how he evaluated a guitar for purchase. We all have some criteria we use. Does it always make sense? well no but if we can use it to justify a purchase than great.
I cannot begin to tell you how many "how much is this worth" or "can you identify this guitar " e mails I get every week. I don't have the time to answer them all. People may think it rude but I have a business to run and a home to take care along with other major responsibilities. So crummy dealers have lives too.
the major problem with the what is it worth question is two fold. What is it worth? I want an apprasal for insurance purposes or What is it worth? I want to sell it. When it is what is it worth I want to sell it. expect to get a low price since you are telling the person your item is for sale and he/she/it may purchase it for resale. If you want a retail price then you need to do research by looking at the blue book of guitars (not always accurate) websites, guitar magazine ads, e bay(a good baraometer but unpredictable) website like ours and others. Once you do that you can determine your retail selling price and place the item on market. |
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Location: Phoenix AZ | Al,
Well said. Remember the old saying "One man's ceiling is another man's floor". I actually did pick up one of my shiny bowl guitars because its uninformed owner didn't like the way it slid off his knee and wanted one of those new "shallow ones that will stay put". I complemented him up and down on his wise decision and took the old "slider" of his hands for next to nothing.
I would say that every guitar I own is probably woth more to me than to anyone else. But that being said, it is a transient scale. I may have something that would never, ever part with. That is, until the day that something else becomes available that I want more. Suddenly what was once priceless becomes expendable. So it goes.
Yes, my pricing example was extreme and a little bit tongue-in-cheek. By I wanted to demonstrate that yes, one can develop an analytical value scale. Mine is just one example and everyone has their own. Maybe not written down in a formula, but at least in their head. Another interesting point, I would also say that the value of items I desire seems to increase when I have more money in my pocket. What I mean is, that $500 guitar is nice but "way over priced" if I only have $100 in my pocket. So I walk away from it. But If I've got $450 in my wallet somehow the same $500 guitar seems like a good deal and I try to figure out how to come up with the other $50.
Best advice I have is that unless you make your living buying and selling used instruments, just sit down and play the damn thing and enjoy it for what ever it's worth to you.
Dave |
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Location: Las Cruces, NM | Al and Dave
Both of you are making your usual good sense, the thing that I was trying to point out and convey to readers of these kind of posts is that the chance is slim of a guitar being that thing that the Antique Show on TV reveals to a swooning owner as worth, "now see here is cwk's signature on the label, and the wood is rare West Virginia pine from an extinct forest, the dent on the head identifies it as played on Hee Haw, this instrument is worth (prolonged pause) twice the equity in your house $10,000, and to think it was a wall hanging over your imitation fireplace for 6 years because your grandmother liked the sparkly finish".
If you can't enjoy playing it for the sound then put it on the market and the market will determine the value.
Bailey :cool:
[ December 15, 2002: Message edited by: Bailey ] |
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the 1967 ovation thunderhead
