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i've got a Fender Mustang '65 RI that i'm thinking of selling. no luck on Craigslist so far, so i was looking at prices on eBay to see what they've been going for. it almost looks like i'd be better off selling the neck, body, and other parts separately than to try and list it as it is. i guess it might be easier to ship that way, now that i think about it. honestly though, it almost doesn't feel right "breaking it up" like that.

any thoughts on parting out a perfectly good guitar like this? it seems like people do it all the time, based on what's listed, but i'm assuming they're in business to do this sort of thing.

thanks.

-justin.

i wouldn't feel bad parting it out, personally. somebody will probably say the opposite right after me though. you choose.

The only time it pisses most folk off is when people part out vintage and rare guitars. Mind you, it is annoying is when a new model comes out (in this case the Marauder) and you have sellers parting them out brand new. Its just wrong.

don't know where you are, but these guitars sell quite good around here. No need to sell multiple items instead of one. If you can't sell locally offer shipping, should work out if your price is not unreasonable.

ahh, thanks. i actually just got an email via Craigslist on it, we'll see what happens with that.

it's funny though. looking through completed auctions on eBay, they seem to sell for just ~$500 or so. then you see necks alone (sometimes without tuners) selling for ~$2-300. a trem mech sold for ~$80 or so, and i think i saw a loaded pick guard go for like $200.

i'd hate to list it and have to sell it for $500, and then get hit with fees on top of that. i'm asking $600 for it, which i don't think is out of line, but i'm wondering if i could get even more than that if i parted it out. i'm just afraid of taking it apart, listing it in chunks, and then have some parts not sell because there's a bunch of others for sale (and it looks like a lot of parts get listed over and over without selling).

anyway, thanks for the advice. i honestly don't know enough about guitar market to know which way to go, i'll have to think it over some more. i'll do some more research on completed listings to see if it'd be worthwhile.

I love these guitars but they're not worth a dime over $500 for me.

jbuonacc wrote:ahh, thanks. i actually just got an email via Craigslist on it, we'll see what happens with that.

it's funny though. looking through completed auctions on eBay, they seem to sell for just ~$500 or so. then you see necks alone (sometimes without tuners) selling for ~$2-300. a trem mech sold for ~$80 or so, and i think i saw a loaded pick guard go for like $200.

i'd hate to list it and have to sell it for $500, and then get hit with fees on top of that. i'm asking $600 for it, which i don't think is out of line, but i'm wondering if i could get even more than that if i parted it out. i'm just afraid of taking it apart, listing it in chunks, and then have some parts not sell because there's a bunch of others for sale (and it looks like a lot of parts get listed over and over without selling).

anyway, thanks for the advice. i honestly don't know enough about guitar market to know which way to go, i'll have to think it over some more. i'll do some more research on completed listings to see if it'd be worthwhile.

With the new Squier models coming out this summer I'd consider selling sooner rather than later. Will be a big buzz about them soon.

I think you should also factor in the extra effort, logistics and expense associated with the selling of your guitar in parts.
Managing multiple listings and communication channels, providing individual packaging, making multiple trips to the post office, bla, bla, bla.

Without the resources and time allocation associated to a business, It doesn't really make sense to me to part out guitars.
Surely, extra money earned in doing so would be counterbalanced by all the extra shit you'd have to do to make the sale.

Fran wrote:Mind you, it is annoying is when a new model comes out (in this case the Marauder) and you have sellers parting them out brand new. Its just wrong.

I don't think it's wrong. Often it's near impossible to find a certain part otherwise. Suppose you love a new Squier neck but don't like anything else about the guitar, having the opportunity to buy just the neck is a good thing.

James wrote:

Fran wrote:Mind you, it is annoying is when a new model comes out (in this case the Marauder) and you have sellers parting them out brand new. Its just wrong.

I don't think it's wrong. Often it's near impossible to find a certain part otherwise. Suppose you love a new Squier neck but don't like anything else about the guitar, having the opportunity to buy just the neck is a good thing.

I agree with that but new guitars have a rrp set by Fender or whoever so if a power seller buys a new guitar just to part it out at a profit it just seems wrong to me. Especially when its blatant like with the Marauder, no sooner had it hit the stores THESE were breaking them down for parts.
You cant tell me they buy them second hand? They were being parted out within days of release.

Fran wrote:

James wrote:

Fran wrote:Mind you, it is annoying is when a new model comes out (in this case the Marauder) and you have sellers parting them out brand new. Its just wrong.

I don't think it's wrong. Often it's near impossible to find a certain part otherwise. Suppose you love a new Squier neck but don't like anything else about the guitar, having the opportunity to buy just the neck is a good thing.

I agree with that but new guitars have a rrp set by Fender or whoever so if a power seller buys a new guitar just to part it out at a profit it just seems wrong to me. Especially when its blatant like with the Marauder, no sooner had it hit the stores THESE were breaking them down for parts.
You cant tell me they buy them second hand? They were being parted out within days of release.

What's the difference in them being new or not?

I don't have a general position about this. I just can't imagine that someone pays 200 $ for a used, loaded Mustang Reissue pickguard. Or 80 for a trem. That's maybe vintage parts?

James wrote:

Fran wrote:

James wrote: I don't think it's wrong. Often it's near impossible to find a certain part otherwise. Suppose you love a new Squier neck but don't like anything else about the guitar, having the opportunity to buy just the neck is a good thing.

I agree with that but new guitars have a rrp set by Fender or whoever so if a power seller buys a new guitar just to part it out at a profit it just seems wrong to me. Especially when its blatant like with the Marauder, no sooner had it hit the stores THESE were breaking them down for parts.
You cant tell me they buy them second hand? They were being parted out within days of release.

What's the difference in them being new or not?

Seems wrong to me that they can buy perfectly good new guitars just to take to bits and sell them as parts for profit.
Maybe its just my ethic as a guitar player but as far as business goes its a great idea. Money for nothing really.

I wouldn't go as far as to say it's 'wrong' but the sentimental old git in me says it's a bit of a shame if it's in decent playable condition. I'm not sure about whether a completed instrument is worth more or less than the sum of its parts where you are, but sentiment aside I think the clincher is whether you can be bothered to manage the multiple listings if you were to sell the parts separately. There will always be people who need the various bits and pieces, although in this case 65 RI parts are already relatively easy to find from the POV of someone doing a repair job or home build.

I'd say it would be more worth the hassle to break it up if it's a rare or odd model made of unusual or hard-to-find components, or if it's suffered damage that makes it unrepair-able.

I dont think there is anything wrong with this guy breaking his Mustang up. My gripe is with folk that run a business on the basis of dismantling perfectly good guitars.
Perhaps they are 'seconds' or something, i really dont know and i could be jumping the gun here but surely people can understand my point?

Fran wrote:I dont think there is anything wrong with this guy breaking his Mustang up. My gripe is with folk that run a business on the basis of dismantling perfectly good guitars.
Perhaps they are 'seconds' or something, i really dont know and i could be jumping the gun here but surely people can understand my point?

I definitely understand what you're getting at. There's a few ebayers that are notorious for parting out vintage guitars down to the last screw. It's really a shame, but like you said it's a good
financial plan.