Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

Hello all. I'm new to the forum; I came here mainly to try to find a new Rick to buy, but I'm really loving the whole vibe of the forum. And it seems so well run!

I'm posting this just as a kind of reflection. Forgive the directness.

In my search for a Rick, I keep running into so MANY sad, sad stories. I've been on the market for guitars many times in the past, but never have I encountered so many situations where people are reporting the need to sell their guitars due to financial hardship. Never. I recently received a note from an Ebayer down on his luck who was parting with a beautiful Mapleglo 360 which he was clearly still in love with, and the price was so low. I have to admit, I almost feel guilty bidding on these. It hurts the heart to witness people losing their lives as they know them. The idea that "his loss is my gain" just doesn't float for me personally, though I understand that reasonable sentiment. They are, after all, just guitars. On the other hand, would this forum even exist if Ricks were "just guitars?" I'm a man still haunted by losing his weird bolt-on-neck Rickenbacker 480 almost two decades ago. Now I MUST have a Rick again, after years of dallying with Fenders. Ordinary electric gitters don't do this to a person!

I know it may sound naive, but for some reason running into these people losing their Ricks has really brought the recession all home for me. I know plenty of people out of work, mind you -- including my own brother -- but somehow the fact that these people are all strangers to me makes their situations seem even more tough.

I guess if there is a silver lining, it's that it takes courage to sell a Rick when, for example, you need to help your own family. OK, maybe courage isn't quite the right word, but it can't be easy to say goodbye to an old friend. Another silver lining is that, thank God, these people invested in instruments that DO hold their values. I know that, one day, they'll be able to get their Ricks back. I myself originally sold mine to help fund graduate school, and it changed my life. In a funny way, a Rick made me who I am today.

(an epilogue of sorts: I just bought a new midnight blue 620 for $1,200 in NYC )

Well, kind of true, Bill, but certainly not limited to Ricks, or even guitars, for that matter. A friend who is a collectible car dealer says that now is the time to buy; who's to argue when you look at prices?

However, it is true that Ricks in general hold their value and increase in value at different rates, too, depending on the usual supply and demand. It's simply because RIC fills only a small fraction of the demand every year, even working at max efficiency and capacity in their small factory.

We are passing through the worst financial crisis in 80+ years. Many, if not most, guitar manufacturers, including the "big names", are suffering. They've cut production, laid off personnel, reduced overhead and output. RIC chugs along, filling orders and gradually cutting down on their backlog. An enviable position in these economic times.

As the economy recovers, values of Rickenbackers, which have taken somewhat of a hit, will ease back up to pre-2008 levels again, and then begin to increase, in keeping with rarity and desirability.

Bill------do NOT feel bad buying someone's guitar during a recession.

In fact, you're doing them the biggest favor you can buy purchasing it (if they really do need the money).

People buying is what is going to keep things floating, so now is the time to buy (and consequently pick up some deals too).

jingle_jangle wrote:Well, kind of true, Bill, but certainly not limited to Ricks, or even guitars, for that matter. A friend who is a collectible car dealer says that now is the time to buy; who's to argue when you look at prices?

Good point. It's everywhere.

collin wrote:Bill------do NOT feel bad buying someone's guitar during a recession.

In fact, you're doing them the biggest favor you can buy purchasing it (if they really do need the money).

People buying is what is going to keep things floating, so now is the time to buy (and consequently pick up some deals too).

That's a good way of looking at it. (In the end, ironically, my purchase was from a very-much-employed investment banker, btw.)

Bill you obviously have a good heart and in return you have received some very sage advice from two of our most respected forum members. I am glad that you have found this forum to your liking. It is the people that make this place and you and others like you help create its pleasant atmosphere.

winston wrote: I am glad that you have found this forum to your liking. It is the people that make this place and you and others like you help create its pleasant atmosphere.

Yup, stick around! And......the longer you stay, the worse the "fever" gets. You can't stop at one!

collin wrote:

winston wrote: I am glad that you have found this forum to your liking. It is the people that make this place and you and others like you help create its pleasant atmosphere.

Yup, stick around! And......the longer you stay, the worse the "fever" gets. You can't stop at one!

Alas, what will my poor Fender tele think of all this?

DOUBLEUman wrote:

collin wrote:

winston wrote: I am glad that you have found this forum to your liking. It is the people that make this place and you and others like you help create its pleasant atmosphere.

Yup, stick around! And......the longer you stay, the worse the "fever" gets. You can't stop at one!

Alas, what will my poor Fender tele think of all this?

Your Fender will likely think you're upgrading

Glad you like the forum, Bill.
I agree with Colin and Paul. You are doing the person a favor as lousy at it might seem. Seems like you have a good heart. Just sincerely wish the seller well and that they will once again be financially comfortable and have their dream guitar(s) again in the near future when you make your purchase. That's about all you can do.

DOUBLEUman wrote:

collin wrote:

winston wrote: I am glad that you have found this forum to your liking. It is the people that make this place and you and others like you help create its pleasant atmosphere.

Yup, stick around! And......the longer you stay, the worse the "fever" gets. You can't stop at one!

Alas, what will my poor Fender tele think of all this?

"Oh S#%T"

Unfortunatly some of us ordered Ricks while the economy was still good, and now that things have gotten really tuff, these guitars are starting to be shipped, I had the money for my ordered Rick sitting in a seperate account for 2 years, I finally had to tap into it to cover living expences and sure enough my guitar shipped, I have sold off some other non Rick gear to pay it off, but its just plain getting really hard out there right now, actually there was a price increase after my order and I got my guitar 500 bucks under the current market price, 700 under msrp so I still did okay, and i love my guitar and it is one of the things that actually helps me to escape from the bleak situation we are looking at, I just thank god i don't have kids and a mortgage any more.

sodbuster wrote:I just thank god i don't have kids ......... any more.

What did you do with them?

jps wrote:

sodbuster wrote:I just thank god i don't have kids ......... any more.

What did you do with them?

Sent em to China to find jobs???? Let me change that, Thank god i don't have kids. Or a mortgage anymore..

Scastles wrote:

DOUBLEUman wrote:Alas, what will my poor Fender tele think of all this?

Your Fender will likely think you're upgrading