Best place to get a fair deal on a vintage Strat?

[davidos]

How do you guys find 'em? What are the go to dealers/sellers?
Thanks!

[serviviente7]

here! The story will buy a guitar and ad their profit margin. Also if a guitar is a consignment they will also ad that to the guitar price. In here you deal directly with the seller and you can get a win/win situation.

[AmplifiedParts]

Originally Posted by davidos

How do you guys find 'em? What are the go to dealers/sellers?
Thanks!

I would go to craigslist personally. It's risky and filled with fakes and shady people, but at the same time, a lot of people sell stuff on craigslist when they a desperate for cash so you can find a bargain/ talk people down. Ebay is another option, but almost everyone in the world monitors the vintage guitar ebay auctions so you're competing with all sorts of collectors which makes things less likely to fall under the radar. Stuff is almost always overpriced(or at the very least not bargain priced) at guitar shows, but sometimes you can get a deal if you wait until the very end of the show if they haven't made back their money or had a poor showing. Sometimes when I'm looking for amps or guitars at a guitar show, I will ask about a piece of gear and say I will think about it. A few times the dealer would actually chase me down later and say "hey are you still interested? I'll give it to you for XX price." I don't have experience buying high end vintage guitars, but this is my advice for buying used gear in general..and I think it would apply.

[gillman royce]

Actually I'd just place an ad here or if you subscribe to Vintage Guitar Mag you're entitled to two free ads or something like that.

[clothwiring]

My 1966 is under the bed at home.

[davidos]

Originally Posted by clothwiring

My 1966 is under the bed at home.

Any interest in selling ? I am in NY

[treeofpain]

What do you consider "vintage"? What are you looking for?

[ATL Strat]

Check the Emporium. Also, post a WTB ad there. You will get some offers. I bought a '63 through TGP and couldn't be happier. Just be careful and check and double check all the facts. I had the seller tell me all about it and take very specifically requested pictures with it. I figure that the scammers wouldn't actually own the guitar to do that and probably wouldn't know enough to answer detailed questions competently (they just swipe pictures off of eBay). Good luck - it's a tough economy, so there are deals to be had.

[sixty2strat]

With the threat of fakes or issues, Don't go cheap. Educate yourself and deal with a guy with a stellar rep like Grhun or Southworth. might cost more but get a guy who'll stand behind it.

[musicofanatic5]

Here: www.brooklynbridgeretailers.com

Sorry, your question seemed a little naive, or at least the manner in which you posed the question. A "fair" deal? Will you recognize a "fair" deal when you see it? How do you determine what is an "unfair" deal? What's "vintage" to you? (there was recently a post on TGP where the word "vintage" and "79 Les Paul" were used in the same sentence!) Are you aware of retailers such as Gruhn, Elderly, Mike's, et cetera? Do you consider them "fair"? Seems an odd system to go about purchasing an expensive gtr...?