Have we all gone nuts!!!!!

relayer4u · Post by **relayer4u** » Mon May 07, 2007 4:37 pm

I would imagine that playing through your own history is a lot better than sticking to someone else's!

johnallg · Post by **johnallg** » Mon May 07, 2007 6:40 pm

Ray, haven't you got that new 4004 cleaned up yet?!

heinpete · Post by **heinpete** » Mon May 07, 2007 9:52 pm

That development is what I suspected for a long time. The restricted access to the sales and wanted threads could not prevent it (maybe the "senior" member definition is too loose for further restriction). On the contrary, some forumites even supported this development with efforts on "vintage price list" (Peter Mc Cormack warned already, but no one listened).

So this development is reflected in the latest ebay auctions. Sorry, but I find this “collector’s attitude” which is now spreading from the ebay even among forumites, annoying (or did it infect the other way round?). Of course for some of you now it is not bad, as you can achieve higher prices. Now even RIC went on Ebay themselves (I assume they will not sell any instrument there) with the outlet shop, guess why? But there also seem to be more and more forumites, who just collect Ricks for investment and return of investment. Collecting itself is nothing bad, but I guess we do not need two hands full of private Rickenbacker Museums, one with public access would do!

The DCM auctions now hopefully show some peak of this development. In my opinion, that is NOT what Ricks are meant to be for! However, initially this board was about exchange of information on Ricks and help on the tricky and nifty issues of these instruments. Currently I see, that many topics turn into business talk. Maybe it is time to concentrate back to the initial idea of this forum?
After all: HEY GUYS, YOU CAN ONLY PLAY ONE BASS AT A TIME!?

Just my ideas. No funny auction, no Monday!

jaymi · Post by **jaymi** » Tue May 08, 2007 3:37 am

Check most other brands on ebay and they are fetching outlandish prices....(more so than say, 2 yrs ago)...there is an upswing of the mindset that I "gotta have it now at whatever cost"...not long ago there was a person who paid a ridiculous amount of money for a 4001s and then tried to sell it to get his money back and found out that he had to take a loss. His impulse cost him hard earned money. I have said it here before, the average dude cannot get a really nice guitar anymore because he/she can no longer afford to.

I agree with Pete....I find this annoying as a trend as well. Let's face it, there are artificially inflated demands for many products and those are designed to drive up prices for something-even if it was doing well before.

In economics, demand ALWAYS causes the price to rise and that drives people to want something even more when they think that it is soon going to be out of their reach. The economic system is a bubble that will only get so big before it pops and everything comes crashing down. I believe that is inevitable and then what will ANYTHING be worth?
I am not a doomsayer just looking at facts...anybody fill their gastank lately? Companies are not making profits, they are laying people off to show profits. When you give up jobs to show a profit for a scant few, the whole suffers. The more people are laid off, the more difficult it is to feed families. For the rich, this means very little. For the average person this has a HUGE effect on their stability.

Keep watching, this is going to get worse..

s4001 · Post by **s4001** » Tue May 08, 2007 5:26 am

With the advent of machining, the average person can afford a decent instrument - and amplification. The average Ibanez RD or Essex is a better instrument than the low end stuff of ten years ago. Even an American made Fender, Peavey or Ernie Ball is affordable.

A $400 Yorkville sounds better than an amp that cost $1100 ten years ago.

The collector items increase in value, but the run of the mill production items are still quite affordable.

cheyenne · Post by **cheyenne** » Tue May 08, 2007 7:09 am

I've always played bars and clubs where "middle of the road" equipment was the norm. (Carvin comes to mind), reliable and very good sounding, IMHO.

All my Fender style basses are hybrids that I've assembled out of parts. I have a Dean Edge one worth about $150.00 that I bought off of my saxaphone player that is one of the best sounding and best playing basses that I own.

My Rickenbacker basses are where I tend to spend some money though.

cheyenne · Post by **cheyenne** » Tue May 08, 2007 7:12 am

Thats why I think its crucial to be able to do your own setups and work on your own basses / guitars. If you know a few tricks of the trade, you can make an inexpensive instrument an awsome player.

jwr2 · Post by **jwr2** » Tue May 08, 2007 7:51 am

Rics from the 70s and 80s have fretware and belt buckle rash ... but every single Ric that I have owned or worked on or played that is 1990 and newer looks like it has very little playing time on it ...

About 2000 instruments became collectable and now the don't seem to get used as much ...

zoomduck · Post by **zoomduck** » Tue May 08, 2007 8:12 am

Thats right Scott....I actually enjoy making an inexpensive instrument sound good but it usually involves installing RIC pickups.

jingle_jangle · Post by **jingle_jangle** » Tue May 08, 2007 8:32 am

I believe that the increasing influence of collectors on the marketplace is (as we would expect) a double-edged sword.

There's no question that the collectibility of certain instruments has given the entire market a shot in the arm and increased cash flow in a most capitalistically beneficial manner.

It has also offered an opportunity for the typical charlatans to operate within a higher-order framework. As prices rise, more sophisticated cons surface, and the top end of many schemes are dominated by sociopathic personality types who waste our time and sow heartache upon the more naive sector of our hobby.

If things were going in the opposite direction, we'd be complaining, too...and a level/no growth graph is abnormal.

s4001 · Post by **s4001** » Tue May 08, 2007 8:43 am

The one fortunate thing about old Rics is that, to the best of my knowledge, they have not been counterfeited like Fenders and Gibsons have. If you buy an old Ric it's most likely the real thing.

shamustwin · Post by **shamustwin** » Tue May 08, 2007 9:43 am

Old F's and G' have been in the stratosphere for a while now...the rising prices of older Ricks is a market correction!

86kubicki · Post by **86kubicki** » Tue May 08, 2007 10:23 am

I agree Jerry. There will always be "vintage-priced" guitars, but we've been fortunate up until recently as Rickenbackers have for the most part been flying under the radar. I think many folks are discovering (or re-discovering) Rickenbackers and the prices have been rising accordingly.

ilan · Post by **ilan** » Tue May 08, 2007 11:01 am

"The one fortunate thing about old Rics is that, to the best of my knowledge, they have not been counterfeited like Fenders and Gibsons have. If you buy an old Ric it's most likely the real thing."

Good point, Scott.

wints · Post by **wints** » Tue May 08, 2007 11:10 am

"The one fortunate thing about old Rics is that, to the best of my knowledge, they have not been counterfeited like Fenders and Gibsons have. If you buy an old Ric it's most likely the real thing."

Mostly true. But, if prices continue to rise, expect that to change...