Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

So, I went to the Music Go Round in Greenfield, WI yesterday. (My wife had to run some errands up there and I figured I'd kill some time at the music store). There was a '73 4001 JG hanging on the wall behind the counter. I asked to have a look at it. The machine heads had been replaced with Schaller M4s, the pickguard had been replaced with one that looked off-brand (it definitely didn't look like an official RIC pickguard) and, it showed signs of cracking and repair around the nut. They had this thing priced at $2000. The sales guy said it came from an estate and was a bit too candid with me saying, "we didn't rip the seller off or anything. We gave them $800 for it." WTF? Despite the things I mentioned above, the bass was still in decent condition - definitely worth restoration. I think any one of us would have paid the seller $800 for that bass and rehabbed it ourselves. What is the matter with people? I realize some people don't realize what they have, but that's no excuse when research can be done to discover the true value of an instrument (or any other vintage item, for that matter). I also blame MGR for, what I consider, shady business practices. I know they're just "doing their jobs," but when you pay $800 for a vintage instrument and put it out with a $2000 price tag, something's not right.

A lot of estate sales are auctions. Maybe they were the high bidder?

No, I think what the sales guy meant was that the heirs brought the guitar to MGR and they offered $800, which the sellers accepted.