New Old Guitars ?

[andyenobs]

I have noticed several new Rickenbacker guitars being sold by dealers in the UK as brand new are actually several years old although new. As it happens in the UK Rickenbackers are in short supply and some dealers are charging above the norm for them because of the shortage. They never seem to put the date of manufacture on their website and when you ask it is quite a surprise to find a guitar being sold in 2020 was made in 2014 and is going for top money. A lot of American manufacturers' guitars over here are quite often up to two years old because of shipping and orders from home but are discounted f any older so does it seem a little dishonest that when buying a new guitar it can be 6 years old. Most dealers would offer a discount worked out with the manufacturer because it's new old. Is this because Rickenbacker are that far behind in their supply or is it the importers being cute and releasing them late. What do others think I would be interested to know.

[espidog]

Purely my personal opinion here, but as far as I can see, so long as an instrument has not suffered any wear and tear while in the hands of the dealer - is not, say, an "ex demonstration model" that's been tried out by dozens of customers - I can't see how a few years of being in storage should make it worth any less than one fresh off the production line. It would still be a brand new instrument.

A dealer should always be truthful about the year of manufacture, though. Let's say a customer was looking to buy a factory-fresh instrument because the new production models had construction improvements or new features. Assuming the dealer was aware of this, it would be wrong of the dealer not to be honest about the age of the items they're stocking. Otherwise, though, I can't see it being a problem.

[cjj]

The only real difference would be the warranty. I don't know how it works with distributors in countries other than the U.S., but in the U.S., warranty is based on the date of manufacture, not the date of sale (at least it used to be).

So, an older instrument, even though unsold, might be out of warranty and so, should probably reflect that in the price.

Of course, if there's not a warranty issue with it, it really doesn't matter...

[andyenobs]

I can only speak for the UK but the Rickenbacker Warranty is not worth a light here but the dealer would cover it for at least 12 months. I take the point regarding if it's new it's new but if and when you sell the guitar on you would definitely take a hit on the price you would get for it. On a better note I have just bought a new 2015 360/6 W on Reverb from Italy for £1600 plus £64 carriage. On the web in the UK dealers that have got them are charging £2700 !!! The guitar was perfect and unused as stated. And up untii now I have not been charged Import Duty or VAT at 20% so I can only think it is exempt because it has come from within Europe. Well pleased.

[drumbob]

I found a '68 Rick 365 (I think), hanging in an old mom & pop music/sporting goods store in Easton, PA in 1985. It had been hanging there unsold for seventeen years! A new owner had taken the place over and I wound up getting the guitar for a steal of a price. I should have kept that one. Another of many regrets regarding guitars I should not have sold. I did make a tidy profit on it though.