Amigo Guitar Show

[Mike P]

Hello,
I am looking to sell most of my guitars. I am not playing guitar very much. In fact, you could say I stopped.
The days of plugging in with friends has been replaced by the old acoustic on the sofa, once in a while.
I also used to build guitars and I find I am wanting to dust those off and part with the rest.
Where to sell my guitars is something I'm not familiar with but a friend suggested the Amigo Guitar Show in Costa Mesa, Ca.coming in September.
I was wondering if anyone here has had luck selling Rickenbackers at the Amigo Guitar Shows around the country.
A local shop is willing to buy them but the price is not too exciting.
Another shop will sell them but with a 20% consignment fee.
Any advise would be appreciated.
Thanks,
Mike

[maxwell]

I don't have a clue about that show, but it sounds like a good possibility to unload guitars. Should be fun, meeting others and talking, making some sales. (I have not done any show; none around me.)

You must be averse to shipping guitars, like I am (sales via ebay or Reverb). It's just too much of a PITA to do and then having to deal with (some) buyers who try to screw you over in some way.

If the show does not require you providing sales receipts (and I don't know why they would; just wildly surmising here) then go for it. Beginning this year, intermediaries like ebay and Reverb are required to document your sales, and if over a certain cumulative/total threshold (maybe $800 or so... not sure) they are required to send you some sort of income/income tax statement that the IRS will also receive. This would likely force you to itemize your tax return; no fun paying tax on a sale that was less than your purchase price, or that you could not account for/deduct the cost basis if selling above a purchase price. Who has all their purchasing receipts? Not me. You can estimate / "recall" what you paid but just hope you can convince an auditor if you happen to get audited.

There is no shop near me that consigns guitars, and I wish there were. 20% is not bad; I think most would ask for 25%. Set a minimum sale price in addition to setting a wishful price that will allow the dealer some wiggle room to make the sale if a particular guitar is not getting much interest at your wishful asking price. Ask if he will be tracking your sales for the IRS....

I'd go the consignment route in a heartbeat if I could. I've concluded that I'll have to go the Craigslist route. I've been dragging my feet for about a year and a half; my guitars may end up in my Estate....

I'll be interested in reading other replies here....

[doctorwho]

I have attended a couple of them at the OC Fairgrounds but never sold anything to a dealer at the show. Prices seemed a bit high, so maybe you'd get a good price there.

[Mike P]

I didn't think about the tax.
I paid a sales tax when I bought it, I sure don't want to pay another tax when selling it.
Might have to go the Craigslist route.

[maxwell]

Well, I only know what I’ve read another web site; I have not done any personal research. Maybe you should check it out. But rather than wade through IRS mumjo jumbo, ask an AI about it, with follow up questions regarding not having original purchase receipts, how to manage that in case of an audit, etc. (how to establish / prove the cost basis in order to calculate capital gain or loss on the sale of a guitar); each reply will include a couple of reference links, so you will likely be able to go directly to the IRS link. I’ve recently been using Microsoft’s Edge AI (Chat… something) and it is pretty neat. Select the “Think deeper” option for an answer (vs. Quick answer). What’s also cool about it is that after providing the answer it asks if you would like more information about this and that, etc. I copy & paste the answers into a word processor. (I drag my cursor to highlight everything vs. the “Copy Message” button which copies only a particular conversation; I want to be sure to save the entire dialogue. Well, I’m getting off track here, but it is a great time saver.)

[doctorwho]

... questions regarding not having original purchase receipts ...

Not needed. The two Guitar Centers and 2-3 pawn shops that bought my stolen instruments from the thieves required only a photo ID.

... (I drag my cursor to highlight everything vs. the “Copy Message” button ...

FWIW, you can position the cursor on the page you want to copy and use the shortcut Control-A to Select All, then Control-C to Copy, then Control-V to Paste. [Note: some webpages deactivate these commands ... ]

[collin]

Hi Mike, another local here.

I've been going to both annual Amigo shows in SoCal for nearly 25 years and it's changed a lot in that time.

These days, it's great for selling rare vintage guitars. Dealers will often give you 75-80% of retail prices, depending on what it is.

But for modern/reissue guitars, expect offers that are barely above what Guitar Center would offer you. Think 60% of used retail and you're probably in the right ballpark.

For gear like that, I would simply list it for sale here on the RRF, on Facebook Marketplace and on Reverb. Should be easy to sell if you price it accordingly.

If you want the ultimate in convenience, you should really reconsider the shop consignment. A reputable shop can ask (and get) prices that are considerably higher than you or I could get selling our own gear. In some cases, that 20% commission easily pays for itself. Just make sure the shop is marketing the guitars correctly and actively trying to sell them versus sticking them in a retail showroom and waiting for a buyer like it's still the 1990s.