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Topic: what are my old steels worth? |
Mark Jacques
From:
Massachusetts, USA
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Posted 8 Jul 2014 3:49 pm |
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I have 6 lap steels and I'm thinking of selling off a few. I'll post pictures later but all are in great shape. Here's a list of what I have.
1948 National Dynamic.
1950's Kay (black/white), has threads for legs.
1960 Gibson Skylark (Korina wood)
1960's Alamo
1950/60's Magnatone
1950/60's Airline
All are completely original and have original cases. Looking for ballpark value, especially as trade bait.
I play mostly electric and acoustic guitar but also slide on a National Style o and a Dobro DM33. |
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David Mason
From:
Cambridge, MD, USA
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Posted 8 Jul 2014 5:37 pm
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| You can search around the internet, and "completed listings" on Ebay to see what they actually sold for, but if you can pick up a copy of "Vintage Guitar" magazine there are a lot of dealers who take a full page ad and list their stuff in tiny little print. There's always a few lap steels. They also publish a full price guide for around $30 - that would probably pay for itself. The next more formal route, of taking detailed pictures then paying $30 - $50 each for an appraisal from George Gruhn or other specialists isn't likely to be worth it, unless one of them is some sort of rare money magnet. |
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Brad Bechtel
From:
San Francisco, CA
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Posted 9 Jul 2014 6:24 am
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Ballpark values are impossible to guess without photos of the instruments in question.
There are two tips I can give you:
1) Search eBay for completed auctions of similar lap steels to get a more realistic view of how much these have sold for recently.
2) Use http://gbase.com to get an idea of what vintage guitar dealers are offering for the same instruments. Be aware that as a private party you probably won't get the same amount for your instruments - usually 80% or so.
_________________
Brad’s Page of Steel
A web site devoted to acoustic & electric lap steel guitars |
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Chris Walke
From:
St Charles, IL
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Posted 9 Jul 2014 11:41 am Re: what are my old steels worth?
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| Mark Jacques wrote: |
I have 6 lap steels and I'm thinking of selling off a few. I'll post pictures later but all are in great shape. Here's a list of what I have.
1948 National Dynamic.
1950's Kay (black/white), has threads for legs.
1960 Gibson Skylark (Korina wood)
1960's Alamo
1950/60's Magnatone
1950/60's Airline
All are completely original and have original cases. Looking for ballpark value, especially as trade bait.
I play mostly electric and acoustic guitar but also slide on a National Style o and a Dobro DM33. |
Tell you what - that National Dynamic is probably only worth about 30 bucks...but I'm feeling generous, I'll give ya 50!!
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