Gibson mandolin question

[Ddd]

Would it be wise to purchase at vintage Gibson mandolin as an investment?

[George R. Lane]

I know I wouldn't but, that's me. I would buy one to play and enjoy.

[Nick Triesch]

I don't see why not if you have the money. And if you play you can have fun with your investment. No different than buying a classic Porsche. Have great fun on many road trips then sell after 5 years if market is good. Many folks have done this on Loar era mandolins.

[mrmando]

Depends on what it is and what price you obtain it for.

[almeriastrings]

It comes down to whether you buy at a low price and can sell high.

If you buy low enough, it can make sense. Not if you pay top dollar at the outset.

[Ddd]

Thanks for the input! I know that I'll have to do my research before investing. Now the questions where do I start my research.

[JeffD]

I wouldn't. I think you would have to be incredibly lucky to make significantly more money than investing in regular investment things, securities and real estate and all. And then owning a fine Gibson and not being able to take it out to jams and play would drive me crazy.

[JeffD]

I wouldn't. I think you would have to be incredibly lucky to make significantly more money than investing in regular investment things, securities and real estate and all. And then owning a fine Gibson and not being able to take it out to jams and play would drive me crazy.

Its real easy to look back and say well if I had bought that back in the day, but the real question is what are you going to buy today that will be worth a whole lot more years from now?

And by a whole lot I mean more than a money market account or something.

[nickster60]

I think there are better places to invest your money. The classic car thing has been on fire for years. But you really have to know what you are doing or you can burnt.As for mandolins, the market is down. If you found the right instrument at the right price. And you held on to it long enough you may make a few bucks. They say collect what you enjoy, I think that is pretty good advice.

[Timbofood]

I think it would be iffy at best, you need to be very well informed and willing to wait maybe until your grandchildren are fully grown to actually realize any significant profit. People used to ask me about buying diamonds as investments, I was in a retail operation, they would have needed to buy something really incredible or so many carats it was lunacy. They wanted the quarter carat in grandmas ring to be worth thousands and they were most often worth only hundreds. Not a terribly good example but, start learning and don't jump until you are ready, you might lose initially so, be ready for the long haul.

[f5loar]

Simple. Find what a well known vintage dealer is asking now. Then buy a similar model for half that price and you will do fine. Most owners do pick them out of house vault. I see no reason to have one if you can't enjoy it.

[pefjr]

Seems like Snakeheads have doubled in the last 3 yrs. IMO, F5 Loars are overpriced, whereas the F4 in excellent condition may have increased in value. Like everything else, it's supply and demand, and condition, condition, condition....and sound....don't forget the tone and sound. If you are a good carver, and you could whittle the paddlehead into a snakehead, you can make a fortune until you reversed the supply and demand issue. You could also prove one of my theories: that is a paddlehead is NOT inferior to a snakehead in sound.

[jaycat]

It depends. I was lucky enough to find a 1915 A for $600. I see them going for as much as $1,500. So, yeah, if I wanted to sell it, I could make a big profit. Which I don't. I just like to play it.

[Timbofood]

Boy, Tom cuts to the chase once again! Bravo!!

[Capt. E]

Let's just say that it is highly unlikely you will ever loose money on a vintage Gibson if you are careful and do some good research before you buy. Whether you will Make money is another question entirely. As with all collectables, fine art, jewelery etc, the market goes up and down.

[pfox14]

The fact is guitars and related stringed instruments have appreciated in value at a higher rate than real estate and the stock market over the last 4-5 decades. However, these days just everyone knows this, which makes it very difficult to buy instruments as an investment, because the prices are so high. Unless you are one of the lucky ones that finds a rare mandolin at a very good price, I wouldn't do it.

[fatt-dad]

to be properly schooled in mandolin investment, you need to pay the tuition. After you've paid the class tuition, you may profit from your education.

f-d

[Amanda Gregg]

I have not done the calculations, but I think that the assertion that you will make more money with traditional investments (mutual funds, etc), especially at this point when prices seem pretty high, is probably true. So, if your goal is to make money, maybe look elsewhere.

However, I have been thinking about this question another way recently. If your goal is have a fantastic mandolin in 20 years, you might want to consider mandolins that may be extremely rare but sought after down the line. I've been thinking about, for example, Gilchrists and Nuggets or whatever is your favorite mandolin being made currently. 20 - 25K may seem like a lot now, but maybe 20 years down the line (ASSUMING you still like playing music and ASSUMING demand for mandolins is at least as high as it is now, and ASSUMING....), you'd be the coolest guy/girl on the block.

Schemes, schemes....

[allenhopkins]

1. Remember, a mandolin's value is very largely dependent on condition. If you buy one and play it, chances are you'll put some wear on it, which will mitigate any return you get from market appreciation.

2. Related to the above, if you're not an expert, you may overpay for an instrument that has problems not readily apparent to the non-expert purchaser. For example, I'm not able to quickly spot a refinish, which is one of the main variables that affects vintage instrument prices, sometimes by nearly 100%.

3. The market for vintage instruments is a collectors' market, by and large, which overlaps with, but differs from, the musicians' market. In the collectors' market, appearance and original condition weigh much more than with musicians, who prize sound and playability. Provenance can be important in either market.

4. Expertise: if you invest in stocks, you often seek the advice of a financial planner or broker. But, of course, you have to be aware that your adviser may also be trying to sell you a product for which he/she gets a commission. If you invest in vintage instruments, you may seek the advice of a dealer in the field, who presumably can "pick winners" and also recognize condition issues. But you also have to be aware that the dealer wants to sell you a mandolin, which he/she can convince you is a "good investment."

I've been lucky in picking up some instruments 30-35 years ago, that have appreciated in value as the market generally rose -- despite the wear I put on by playing them. Would I have done better financially, if I'd put the same money into real estate or securities? Possibly, but I wouldn't have had the enjoyment of playing them. As a pure investment, a vintage Gibson -- or any other instrument -- could be more risky, but as an investment and hobby/avocation/career (?), a helluva lot more fun.

[Astro]

No. Relatively speaking, instruments are not wise investments.

Lets say you bought the best Gibson mandolin investment possible. Actually one of the best stringed instrument investments possible in the whole history of the world. You bought a Gibson Loyd Loar mandolin back in 1920's and lived to sell it for several hundred thousand dollars today. Now remember incredibly few Gibson mandolins since then have appreciated enough to break even with inflation but you bought that one of 250 that did out of hundreds of thousands that didn't. And it was blind luck as there was no way of making an educated guess that his mandos would become famous and collectable because of an unlikely character named Monroe.

Now lets compare that to a very good stock purchase. Not the best, just very good. Coca-Cola. Lets say you took the 4o bucks you were going to spend on Loars mando and instead spent 40 bucks on the purchase of Coke stock (40 bucks back then is roughly 500 bucks in todays money).

For the same 40 bucks your Coca Cola stock (if all dividends were automatically reinvested) would today be worth ...

over 9 million dollars !

Bottom line: Instruments are way better for playing than investment and investments are way better for making money than playing. Fun is better than making money until you don't have enough money and then its no fun.

Plan accordingly. Your fun to investment ratios may vary and past performance is no indicator of future yearnings to earnings.

http://www.dailyfinance.com/2012/08/14/coca-cola-stock-share-worth-millions/

[Gary Hedrick]

Well buying a Dudenbostel for $5.5k or a '21 F4 for $4.3k or a Loar 25 years ago for $7.8k could be viewed as good investments not counting all the fun one would have playing them...

Just depends upon how hard you look and how well you do your homework......my Kimbles haven't gone up in value but I sure have enjoyed playing them........oh and the Grand Artist I bought for $2.5k and sold for $7k did ok too a number of years ago...again got to find the deal and then know that it is a deal....and have the $'s to put into it....

ps I am a piker when compared to some of the folks on this forum......there have been some real money made in buying and trading up with mandolins over the years....

[Gary Hedrick]

But all that said my retirement money isn't in mandolins it is in the stock market...

[FLATROCK HILL]

I guess my way of looking at it is probably kind of bass-ackwards, but it keeps me happy, if not wealthy.

I'm hooked on having a mandolin at hand that I can pick up any time the spirit moves me. So much so that should I find myself stranded, away from home for anything longer than a couple of days, I've actually called local music stores to see if they have anything I might rent for a couple of days.

When I consider the 'rent money' I'd be willing to shuck out to feed my habit, I have to figure that pretty much any mandolin I own is a good investment.

[wsugai]

Depends on what instruments, depends on what stocks, depends on where.


The fact is guitars and related stringed instruments have appreciated in value at a higher rate than real estate and the stock market over the last 4-5 decades.

[mandroid]

Ddd, IMO, Flipping houses is probably Better .. if you do your Own Work..