Something to think about (unfortunately)..

There is an interesting thread that is getting a lot of attention about the cost of brand name guitars. There was one comment made in it about one's passing away and the wife and kids deciding to sell everything.
 
Myself, I have created a listing of my guitars and other musical items that I feel have value, and included an approximated dollar value for each to use as a guideline.  Granted, these are just estimations and the market at the time would reflect the actually or not. The real point here is that my wife knows nothing about the value of some of my gear. I expressed to her that I did not want her selling this stuff at garage sale prices. Yes, she would be making some musician especially happy walking away with a Fender Strat for $50.00. But I don't want that to happen. She could use the money and is justified in receiving it. My instructions also included working with a relative who does know musical gear values and he could get a commission or something.
 
Just thought I would mention this. Granted, this it is not something we want to think about, but I would hate the thought of your family giving away potential 'gold'. 
 
...Ken

You can't sell stuff without a buyer.
 
The buyer usually tells you how much it is worth to them.
 
I think it is a waste of time making extensive preparations to prove something has value, although I think a simple note with a ball park guess would be a kind gesture.
 
If you think it's worth more than what it's worth... sell the darn thing now and avoid belaboring your survivors with the responsibility to get top dollar.
 
best regards,
mike

I think the point was more about not letting something that's worth a couple grand go for a few hundred. It can be very difficult to tell for even people somewhat familiar with guitars. For example... an old 70s special edition strat in mint condition gets mistaken for a more recent standard model. That can be a serious price difference. Also certain instruments can occasionally become valuable in a given year for whatever fickle reasons. Knowledge is power and the family member can make an informed decision as to whether they want to unload it quickly for a reduced price or don't mind hanging on to it for a while waiting for the right buyer. Lots of unscrupulous dudes out there who would take advantage of guitarist's widow and I would certainly not want one of those jerks getting away with it... especially if she needed the money.
 
Just sayin'.

I thought about having an affair once, but I thought it safer not to..

In a perfect world our children would all be musicians and we could bequeth our gear to them. Not sure where my DNA went wrong but that situation doesn't exist for me...not even cowbell soloist among them :(
 
I'm bequething all my vintage gear to the College of Music at the local University.
 
Regards,

mike_mccue
You can't sell stuff without a buyer.
 
The buyer usually tells you how much it is worth to them.
 
I think it is a waste of time making extensive preparations to prove something has value, although I think a simple note with a ball park guess would be a kind gesture.
 
If you think it's worth more than what it's worth... sell the darn thing now and avoid belaboring your survivors with the responsibility to get top dollar.
 
best regards,
mike

Sure, the buyer is going to tell my wife that the Strat is worth a lot more than the $50.00 she tags it for, since to her it might just be a nice looking guitar. Sorry, I cannot trust human nature to do the right thing when a deal of the lifetime is staring you in the face. Facts are, we as family members may not always be aware of the value of family member's property.
 
And it does not require extensive preparations. It is a simple accounting of the equipment. Year, brand, model number, Serial #, etc., as a basis to not just give the stuff away.
 
And no, I am not going to sell the guitar now to get what I thinks it worth.
 
Man, where are you coming from? 

Trollin'... like a BOSS.

That's how it seems to work.
 
I think moving on is a good priority.
 
best regards,
mike

I avoid thinking about this too much.
 
The reality is it's the 21st century and if you care about getting return you look at how much similar stuff sold for recently on ebay.
 
But the difficulty for me is, "what about the parts guitars and instruments I modded?". Do I have to explain that a parts guitar is likely worth more if disassembled, and then explain how to disassemble and describe things? Do I have to find the original PU's that were in something and clearly identify them to be included with the guitar they came from, so that someone who knows very little if anything about such things can understand what I'm talking about?
 
Seems like it may be increasing the burden more than the money is worth. YMMV.

drewfx1
I avoid thinking about this too much.
 
The reality is it's the 21st century and if you care about getting return you look at how much similar stuff sold for recently on ebay.
 
But the difficulty for me is, "what about the parts guitars and instruments I modded?". Do I have to explain that a parts guitar is likely worth more if disassembled, and then explain how to disassemble and describe things? Do I have to find the original PU's that were in something and clearly identify them to be included with the guitar they came from, so that someone who knows very little if anything about such things can understand what I'm talking about?
 
Seems like it may be increasing the burden more than the money is worth. YMMV.

 
There are two particular mid 60's guitars on ebay right now that I had a small interest in that have clearly just been parted out by their owners. You can see an unusual body and slowly realize all of it's unusual parts are also for sale.
 
My first thought; "what an easy way to hide a twisted neck... yank all the parts out and sell it pieces parts". The person who gets the body/neck will spend a year or more getting all the parts together before it's strung up and the issue becomes apparent.
 
I suspect the seller is just trying to get what he thinks the stuff is worth.
 
best regards,
mike

 
"I would not want some unscrupulous vulture benefiting"
 
May I remind you that you actually invited an unscrupulous vulture into your nest.
 
Why not give the gift that lasts? Teach your heirs to have more common sense than that.
 
best regards,
mike

Beepster
I know for a fact that if I kicked it today and my next of kin got ripped off selling my stuff that would upset them more than having to put a little thought into getting the right price.

I suspect you might have a bit less gear than I do.
 
In my case, I've accumulated stuff over the decades and it's not just a little thought on my part but rather it would be pages and pages of (necessarily) very specific instructions on what's what, what's been swapped out, what goes with what. It's not just a matter of, "these might be worth this much". 
 
And having all the receipts doesn't matter as value doesn't always correspond to what I paid for it either - a 15 year old digital synth or digital FX box may be worth a tiny fraction of what I paid for it while a 30 year old analog delay may be worth more quite a bit more than I paid for it.

drewfx1

Beepster
I know for a fact that if I kicked it today and my next of kin got ripped off selling my stuff that would upset them more than having to put a little thought into getting the right price.

I suspect you might have a bit less gear than I do.
 
In my case, I've accumulated stuff over the decades and it's not just a little thought on my part but rather it would be pages and pages of (necessarily) very specific instructions on what's what, what's been swapped out, what goes with what. It's not just a matter of, "these might be worth this much". 
 
And having all the receipts doesn't matter as value doesn't always correspond to what I paid for it either - a 15 year old digital synth or digital FX box may be worth a tiny fraction of what I paid for it while a 30 year old analog delay may be worth more quite a bit more than I paid for it.

You are right and I agree completely. If I were in your situation I would still likely have an elaborate list and instructions to approach a trusted local music shop or someone to take a look. Really I would let said family member decide what they wanted to do. If they just wanted to unload it quickly, cool. But with a list and the right knowledge about what was there they could make an informed decision as opposed to guessing and finding out after the fact they could have gotten a lot more.
 
Another alternative that I guess we've overlooked is estate auctioneers. A good one should be able to figure out what's what and get rid of it relatively quickly. They'd still get kind of hosed but not nearly as bad as garage sale shenanigans.

Wow, Ken's got a wife and valuable guitars?  I'm impressed!