Is $180,000 for a Les Paul fair???

Before anyone else leaves me bad rep, I am not really planning on buying this... it was sarcasm in the original post....

Seriously though, I have seen 1958/9 Les Pauls sell in the $250,000 park....
 
I took a quick look on the Les Paul forum of which I'm a member...and apparently it's legit.

Not sure if you can view the thread if you're not a member but:

Les Paul Forum Thread

As to the price...well...that's what they're going for. I mean, there are many reasons why they're that expensive. If I had the money...
 
im only 17, ive been playing guitar for 3 years, but will somebody please explain to me why its that expensive? theres NO way its thatmuch better than a regular les paul for it to be a 100 times more expensive? thats ridicuous.
 
tom18222 said:
thats ridiculous...dont. its not worth that much money, its not even in good conditions
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Ummm.....yes they are. These are going to be the stradivarius' of the past century. Extemely rare and highly sought. Give it a hundred years and that will worth a few million dollars in our money, but of course theirs will include infation.

But those giutars sold in the late 70's for about 50-60k. Now people are REFUSING offers of over 300k for them because they know it worth more than that....maybe not the guitar in question specifically...but a good example of one is.
 
"im only 17, ive been playing guitar for 3 years, but will somebody please explain to me why its that expensive? theres NO way its thatmuch better than a regular les paul for it to be a 100 times more expensive? thats ridicuous."- Tom18222

Yo, Tom, consider this.- Why is a model T Ford in mint condition worth more than $100.000? Because it goes real fast? Is it that comfortable? Could it be it's good on gas? It's rare, and every day there are fewer of them. Some people buy it for $100,000, because they believe somebody in the future will buy it for $200,000. Guitar playing and guitar collecting are 2 different ball games. It is quite likely the next owner will play it once- when he buys it, to make sure it's OK.
 
The good news about many people who buy classic cars purely because they think they will make money on them is that they get burnt. The markets for this sort of thing are about the most volatile there are - 2 years from now that $180k guitar could be worth $50k or $500k. A quick study of classic Ferrari prices will demonstrate this.
 
Garry Sharp said:
The good news about many people who buy classic cars purely because they think they will make money on them is that they get burnt. The markets for this sort of thing are about the most volatile there are - 2 years from now that $180k guitar could be worth $50k or $500k. A quick study of classic Ferrari prices will demonstrate this.
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hhmm... for some people, that adds to the fun/excitement... the risk of it not being worth anything in a few years time. but maybe, if you can spend $180,000 on a guitar, you could also set Fire to $180,000 and not really notice or care :rolleyes: some people are Stinking rich.

and i'm saving pennies for my new trombone and next guitar - which i will actually play :p

Andy
 
i know a guy that actually has a 59. it's not in great condition, i think he payed like 20 grand for it in the 70's. he used to own a music store and him and gibson did a special run of lespauls with copies of the neck from his 59.

just a semi-interesting story.
 
Good points, andydeedpoll.

John Maynard Keynes, the economist, explained how this all works, when he compared people buying shares to those looking to win a prize by guessing the winner of a beauty contest. The point is, you don't pick the girl you think is the prettiest, you pick the one that you believe others will think is the prettiest. (this is a simple two sentence explanation of every stock market boom and bust.)

So you spend $180k on a guitar because you think in a few years' time others will put a value of twice that or more on it. Seems an alien way of thinking to me.
 
Garry Sharp said:
So you spend $180k on a guitar because you think in a few years' time others will put a value of twice that or more on it.
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This is known as "the greater fool theory." That's when you justify some "investment" by saying to yourself, "Well, sure, I might be paying 10 times what this thing is actually worth in any rational sense. But, I'm sure that somebody else will come along, who's an even bigger fool than me and offer 15 or 20 times what it's worth." This is, indeed, how people rationalize their purchases in every market bubble. And I personally do believe that this is exactly what the current market for collectible musical instruments has become - a market bubble. Often, when these bubbles burst, the value of the items involved decrease by 90% or more.


edit for typo - BB
 
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