Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

+1 on the CT

Interesting though... first thing I would do with a mint item would be to open and use it.

The 1,000 pound gorilla here is this:

Unopened, it's potentially worth a substantial premium over any of the same model that can be seen.

The premium is exactly because it's unopened.

Once it's opened, regardless of condition, it loses most (if not all) the premium value.

Now what?

Conundrum time!

The temptation to open it would be unbearable. It's Pandora's Box!

...And then you find out that somehow, it wasn't stored correctly and the finish/wood has been completely destroyed losing whatever value may have been left after the loss by opening the box...

Unlikely that, if the box is in good condition, the guitar inside would be anything but mint. Moisture and heat are both very hard on corrugated Kraft board (anyone living in a high-temp, high-humidity area can vouch for this).

The screened guard would be the only possible issue--the rubber grommets supporting it may have leached some of their coloring into the guard's white back paint, leaving brownish "halos" around the three upper guard screws. You can see this happening on other Limited Editions over a decade or more.

jingle_jangle wrote:The 1,000 pound gorilla here is this:

Unopened, it's potentially worth a substantial premium over any of the same model that can be seen.

The premium is exactly because it's unopened.

Once it's opened, regardless of condition, it loses most (if not all) the premium value.

Now what?

Conundrum time!

Perhaps some large holes could be cut through the box and the case, thus enabling the instrument to be played, yet still retaining it's "un-opened" premium value?

jingle_jangle wrote:The 1,000 pound gorilla here is this:

Unopened, it's potentially worth a substantial premium over any of the same model that can be seen.

The premium is exactly because it's unopened.

Once it's opened, regardless of condition, it loses most (if not all) the premium value.

Now what?

Conundrum time!

Re-seal the box. None of us would say anything, right?

Maybe Shrodinger's cat is inside.

But is it alive or dead?

Let's hope there's no flask of hydrocyanic acid in there...

You say it's worth more than any other guitar of the same type precisely due to the fact it's never been opened. O.K, I get that, but thats only provided that you can actaully sell the item. Resale value only matters if you want to, you know, sell it, and unless you're filthy rich with alot of money to easily throw around, I don't see too many people buying a box with the contents inside having never been verified.

I can see why Chris wouldn't open it but....how about the buyer? Would he just put out the cash and not look inside? It would be like he just bought a very expensive....box. And when could he look at it? Only after he buys it? Like Paul said, "conundrum".

Maybe you could take it through one of those new airport scanners that supposedly shows everything...

I think you people underestimate the value of this guitar to Beatles fans. How did this guitar come around? Did a devoted Beatles fan die and had an ignorant inheritor?

There will be a buyer for this. People are big enough fans out there and some people have money to spend.

Why, on reading this thread, am I reminded of Toy Story 2 & Stinky Pete living in his box for eternity?
This guitar needs to discover "the true meaning of playtime"

Must admit, I wish we had somewhere like POTR over in the UK, sounds a great place to visit