The 10 Fastest-Selling Used Guitar Brands on Reverb

[guitar george]

I woke up this morning with an email from Reverb titled, "The 10 Fastest-Selling Used Guitar Brands on Reverb"

Here they are:
10) Ormsby
9) Electrical Guitar Company
8) Whitfill
7) Hallmark
6) Chapman
5) Republic
4) Sho-bud
3) Danocaster
2) Strandberg
1) Carter

Where are the Gibsons, Guilds, Martins, Taylors, Yamahas and the like? Who'se ever heard of these guitars? What planet are they on?

[stephenT]

Do a search for "Carter Guitars" on Reverb.com, I can't find any. Maybe it's a dealer?

Here's a Strandberg,.. I question Reverb's "The 10 Fastest-Selling Used Guitar Brands on Reverb", I doubt that's outselling teles or LPs.

[Rosewood99]

It said 'fastest' not the 'most'.

[Ed-in-Ohio]

Originally Posted by stephenT

Do a search for "Carter Guitars" on Reverb.com, I can't find any. Maybe it's a dealer?...snip...

Carter made pedal steel guitars. They went out of business a few years ago.

Here's Reverb's write-up from the article referenced:

1. Carter
Carter pedalsteel guitars were made up until 2010 when president and co-founder John Fabian passed away. Much like Sho-Bud above, the popularity of this lines comes from offering instruments with price tags that a novice steel player can justify spending. There are, for instance, Carter guitars that have sold on Reverb for less than $700, which is about as affordable of a pedalsteel as you could hope to find.

According to a tribute on steelguitar.com, Fabian understood this market need and combined it with an early understanding of the power of online marketing. While there are higher-end Carter models that sell in similar ranges to the classic steel companies, it's the entry-level steels that tend to move right away when they come to market.

[stephenT]

Originally Posted by paulzoom

It said 'fastest' not the 'most'.

yes, I got that. None the less, I question their advertising proposition.

[Montesdad]

I wouldn't click on any of the links in that email - - -

[seesound]

Sounded like fake news😂🤣

[Side Man]

Originally Posted by Montesdad

I wouldn't click on any of the links in that email - - -

A voice of reason...

[Ed-in-Ohio]

Originally Posted by guitar george

I woke up this morning with an email from Reverb titled, "The 10 Fastest-Selling Used Guitar Brands on Reverb"
...snip...
Where are the Gibsons, Guilds, Martins, Taylors, Yamahas and the like? Who'se ever heard of these guitars? What planet are they on?

I don't think it's at all surprising that the big named brand acoustics do not sell quickly, for multiple reasons:

• There are so many listed. Right now on Reverb there are 181 used Martin D-18 guitars listed.
• Many (most?) used Gibsons, Martins, and Taylors are listed initially at a price much too high for the market. Looking quickly I see about 10 used recent D-18 Standards listed for more than one can buy a new one at the "super secret new price".
• Many popular Yamaha models are so reasonably priced new, that buyers see no reason to "rush" into buying (either new or used).
• That inevitable "soon to come price drop" - Many, many (almost certainly most) used guitars are eventually sold for a price below the initial listed price. This back and forth negotiating takes time.

[jdinco]

Shobud is a pedal steel guitar too....are we sure they all aren't? Weird.

[rogthefrog]

Originally Posted by stephenT

yes, I got that. None the less, I question their advertising proposition.

Many of these brands are rare and sought after. People have email alerts set to let them know when one comes up for sale. They then buy it quickly. I.e. time between listing and sale is short.

Fenders, Gibsons, Taylors, Martins are exceedingly common (Martin and Taylor make over 100k guitars a year each) and you usually have several options of a given model any day of the week. Time between listing and sale can be long because of that.

I don't see what's so surprising or hard to believe about this.

[s2y]

Originally Posted by stephenT

Do a search for "Carter Guitars" on Reverb.com, I can't find any. Maybe it's a dealer?

Here's a Strandberg,.. I question Reverb's "The 10 Fastest-Selling Used Guitar Brands on Reverb", I doubt that's outselling teles or LPs.

Strandberg seems to have issues making enough guitars for the target audience. I investigated the brand a few years back. Every single time, they were sold out.

[rogthefrog]

Originally Posted by stephenT

Here's a Strandberg,.. I question Reverb's "The 10 Fastest-Selling Used Guitar Brands on Reverb", I doubt that's outselling teles or LPs.

Nobody's claiming they're outselling Teles or Les Pauls, just that they're selling faster (number of days between listing and selling).

[jeanray1113]

Hallmark guitars? "When you care enough to play the very best"?

[Stevien]

Reverb is also now using the "bait & switch" tactic. When you're searching for "brand X" guitar, they show you a list & say "Starting as low as $XXX." Then it will show you a perfect pic of that model with the low price. But if you click on it, the guitar doesn't exist, it just takes you to a list of that model that "really is" available. Sad, they're catering more to dealers now than the individual.
Steve