Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

Recent times in the UK have no doubt been reflected over the world with bass prices. Bargains to had if you have the spare cash.

The prices over here of 4001's have dropped a lot - now you can pick up a 30+ year old vintage far cheaper than a new 4003! A lot cheaper...

Few years back, it was the old stuff commanding the premium....I've even seen V63's and C64's struggling to get much above £1300....couple of years ago, these were going well over £2000 used!

I assume this is the case worldwide?

Just wonder if the market will pick up in a few years time....no doubt this has happened before - ride the Ric recession!

Haven't noticed any big price drops in Canada . Seem to be going for the usual amounts ... and selling .

I have seen a modest price drop across the board in the past couple of years. The UK market must be really different--it's hard to score a nice vintage Ric for close to the same price as a new 4003 in the US. Beaters, sure, but not the highly desirable ones in good condition.

I only keep an eye on 6 and 12 string guitars. I'd say there is no clear sign of UK values softening over the last couple of years for the rarer stuff. A very recent example would be the '64 Rose Morris 1997 which just sold for nearly £5,000 at auction (and it was not in especially good condition). That guitar was discussed in depth here:

viewtopic.php?f=104&t=406220

For modern era used "bread and butter" models like the 330 and 360, I would agree that values have come off a little recently. But the rarer vintage reissues (e.g. the V64 series) seem to be holding up and to sell in reasonable time...I'd say they are still in line with the UK market of the past 2 or 3 years.

I have seen a bit of a drop as well.. I saw a awesome looking 90's 4003/5 in midnight for for $2700 which is lower then what I had been seeing.. and I got my 1980 Azureglo 4003 for $1400 last month so.. personally I am hoping this will be more of a trend for a bit as I would like to pick up a fretless in a year of so..

Down in sunny ostrayla, new Rics are very rare. In Perth there are a couple for $2950.
Most second hand Rics for sale are around the $2800 mark.
This is why I buy from USA.
My recent 4004 purchase was $1950 + $275 shipping.

Any Rickenbacker's a good investment IMO.

Like in any recession, a good time to pick up some bargains if you have the cash, certainly

New 4003 prices over here seems to currently around £1600-£1800 ($2467-$2775)

Couple of recent late 70's 4001 on E-bay have gone in the region of £1250 ($1927)....not a bad saving, with used 4003's sometimes even cheaper.

On the other side, 4004's - when you see them - seem to start at around £2249 new for a Laredo ($3468)

i stay near glasgow in the uk, i had a great deal with a guitar store in glasgow, i could have purchased a brand new 4003 for £1400, i tried 8 of them but none of them had a decent sounding E string , i dont know what the problem is with these new basses, but it is a problem, i managed to pick up a used mint 4003 2006 jetglo for £1200, the E string sounded as it should like a piano

Fuzzy Thoughts wrote:I have seen a bit of a drop as well.. I saw a awesome looking 90's 4003/5 in midnight for for $2700 which is lower then what I had been seeing.. and I got my 1980 Azureglo 4003 for $1400 last month so.. personally I am hoping this will be more of a trend for a bit as I would like to pick up a fretless in a year of so..

I couldn't wait... I know I am a terrible horrible person who's GAS gets the best of them.. still a 74 4001FL for $1450

As for us lefties we are hit the hardest due to the old "supply and demand" story.

I had to pay £ 2200 for my 1978 4001 here in the UK!