Please correct my perspective on price

Boudoir Guitar said:
On the one hand, I totally get that those MIJ guitars are solid. But...so too are modern Eastmans at 1800 pounds new. Not to mention Epiphones at much less if you need something that comes closer to looking like a Gibson.
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Never looked at Eastman before yknow. Yeah... they tickle my pickle:
www.maksguitars.co.uk

Eastman SB59L-GB Left-handed Goldburst #6984

Buy the Eastman SB59L-GB Left-handed Goldburst #6984 from London's Premier Specialist Guitar Store - Mak's Guitars. For the best selection of Eastman guitars under one roof, visit our London showroom. Free UK Shipping on all orders!
www.maksguitars.co.uk www.maksguitars.co.uk

This is really nice.

The Epiphone 'Inspired By Gibson' collection certainly do look cool too. Not sure how they'd compare to my ObG though.
 
Orvillain said:
Never looked at Eastman before yknow. Yeah... they tickle my pickle:
www.maksguitars.co.uk

Eastman SB59L-GB Left-handed Goldburst #6984

Buy the Eastman SB59L-GB Left-handed Goldburst #6984 from London's Premier Specialist Guitar Store - Mak's Guitars. For the best selection of Eastman guitars under one roof, visit our London showroom. Free UK Shipping on all orders!
www.maksguitars.co.uk www.maksguitars.co.uk

This is really nice.

The Epiphone 'Inspired By Gibson' collection certainly do look cool too. Not sure how they'd compare to my ObG though.
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The Eastmans are...really great guitars. The finish is legit, the wood selection is legit. They are great. They have their own look which is a slight tweak on Gibson, so if that's not your thing, then maybe it doesn't matter. I'd be surprised if your Orville is as good, honestly (coming from a guy that has a handmade series Bacchus HSS Strat and knows the MIJ thing).

The Epiphones are quite well made. The finishes are...Epiphone. The wood selection CAN be pretty good, but can also be a miss. Probably not as good as an old school MIJ.
 
spawnofthesith said:
Jesus, just checked only Orville local to me is $2300 :cry:

cosprings.craigslist.org

1989 Orville By Gibson Custom Alpine White Les Paul RARE!!!!! - musical instruments - by owner - sale - craigslist

1989 Orville By Gibson Alpine White Les Paul RARE!!!!! Made in Japan in 1998. These were only made in Japan and were not available for export. Weighs 9.4lbs Made by the Terada factory in 1989, these...
cosprings.craigslist.org
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Dude, it says rare! R.A.R.E.!
Could possibly ask for 3 times the money.
 
Sascha Franck said:
Dude, it says rare! R.A.R.E.!
Could possibly ask for 3 times the money.
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This is actually a PERFECT example of what I addressed in my previous post.

In the context of Orville’s, this IS a rare one. On the surface it’s just another MIJ Orville LPC, but for people who know about Orvilles, they know this particular factory put out a particular higher quality than the rest of them. Dude’s still smokin’ more than I do if he thinks that’s a legit price, but this would be a model you’d generally see for $1700-$2000 instead of $800-$1300, which is the average.
 
DrewJD82 said:
This is actually a PERFECT example of what I addressed in my previous post.

In the context of Orville’s, this IS a rare one. On the surface it’s just another MIJ Orville LPC, but for people who know about Orvilles, they know this particular factory put out a particular higher quality than the rest of them. Dude’s still smokin’ more than I do if he thinks that’s a legit price, but this would be a model you’d generally see for $1700-$2000 instead of $800-$1300, which is the average.
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Yeah I was thinking £1200 tops, which would be about $1500 in fake money.
 
@Boudoir Guitar
1702326660048.png


This is nice too. Very similar in "spec" to my ObG and the one from the OP. I'm guessing they've cut corners on wood selection, probably some of the hardware bits won't be amazeballs, pots will be cack, pickups will be so-so stock pickups. But I suspect it would be solid with a pickup change and a good setup. £799.
 
Orvillain said:
@Boudoir Guitar
View attachment 15611

This is nice too. Very similar in "spec" to my ObG and the one from the OP. I'm guessing they've cut corners on wood selection, probably some of the hardware bits won't be amazeballs, pots will be cack, pickups will be so-so stock pickups. But I suspect it would be solid with a pickup change and a good setup. £799.
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I find the more expensive Epis to be example-dependent. Not something I'd just order from GC, but have played plenty that I'd be okay spending okay-ish money on.
 
I'm gassing for a tokai or similar Mij goldtop at the minute and it's looking like ordering new from Japan is working out about the same price as a battered second hand one in the UK. That incudes delivery and taxes etc.

Mij stuff has gone up a lot in the UK in the last few years.
 
SillyOctpuss said:
I'm gassing for a tokai or similar Mij goldtop at the minute and it's looking like ordering new from Japan is working out about the same price as a battered second hand one in the UK. That incudes delivery and taxes etc.

Mij stuff has gone up a lot in the UK in the last few years.
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That’s a bummer, man! I think it was $130 to have mine shipped and go through customs from Japan to Florida.
 
DrewJD82 said:
That’s a bummer, man! I think it was $130 to have mine shipped and go through customs from Japan to Florida.
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Shipping from Japan to UK at the minute is about £120 then you need to add 20-25% to the purchase price and shipping for customs and vat. Even after paying that I'll still save over £400 vs buying a new one in the UK and spend about the same as a used one.

I'm probably going to order one of these. I know someone who has bought a few guitars from these guys in the last two years, they've all been flawless and the average shipping time is 4 days from ordering to his front door.

reverb.com

Tokai LS140 2023 - Gold Top ［Now Accepting Reservations］［Made In Japan］［Yk012］ | Reverb UK

This picture is sold LS140 Gold Top. This page's guitar is now makeing on Tokai Factory. Our arrival will on October 2023. Now we are accepting reservations.---------------------------------To customers in Russian Federation,Due to COVID-19 outbreak, shipping service temporarily terminated from J...
reverb.com reverb.com
 
What are the used prices for Gibson USA models in the UK?

Every time I go down the MiJ route, I return to “meh, the market for them in the US is pretty volatile and a bit hit-miss in terms of finding a buyer where Gibson market is totally solid and even where I live in the sticks flipping one at market price is trivially easy. I think I’ll just buy a used Gibson instead”

And then I remember I don’t really like Les Paul’s anyway and buy nothing :rofl
 
Ref OP, secondhand prices seem to be bonkers, right up until the time I come to try and sell anything.

Let's face it, you've also recently posted that link to a £4k leftie silverburst ...

Looking around the place it seems more and more people are getting turned on to MIJ and "alternative" brands, whether it's Orville, Greco, Tokai etc. So they get discussed more, forums push up the mythic status, and that pushes up the asking prices. Whether it pushes up the selling prices, I don't know, but compare a Tokai LP from 2008 with one today, and it will be eyewatering.

Offer the bloke £800 and some offensive memes, see what happens.
 
Boudoir Guitar said:
What are the used prices for Gibson USA models in the UK?

Every time I go down the MiJ route, I return to “meh, the market for them in the US is pretty volatile and a bit hit-miss in terms of finding a buyer where Gibson market is totally solid and even where I live in the sticks flipping one at market price is trivially easy. I think I’ll just buy a used Gibson instead”

And then I remember I don’t really like Les Paul’s anyway and buy nothing :rofl
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A decent spec used mij Tokai is about £800-£1000 and a Gibson Les Paul standard is probably £1300-£1600, roughly.
 
DrewJD82 said:
That’s a bummer, man! I think it was $130 to have mine shipped and go through customs from Japan to Florida.
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Mine was $162 in February of 2023. No additional fees.

I feel like for just over $1k the guitar is going to end up being
one of the better purchases of my life going forward. It's so
f'ing legit! :banana
 
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