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Post by Tony Ravenscroft on Oct 7, 2023 10:07:02 GMT -6
It's early October 2023. Anyone with access to a Costco can walk in the door, pay the membership fee (if not already signed up), and walk out with a shiny-new Washburn EA-15 acoustic-electric in Tobacco Sunburst, for just $229.99 + tax. Or, they can go to Reverb.com and buy one for $269-$389 new.  (I once signed up for a year just to score ONE ITEM online AND have it mailed. The Costco prices really are sometimes that much better!) |
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Post by Rex on Oct 7, 2023 15:31:59 GMT -6
‘Tain’t stupidity. It’s ignorance of the alternatives. When I’m looking for a guitar, “Let’s go to Costco” isn’t the first thought that enters my mind.
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Post by Tony Ravenscroft on Oct 21, 2023 18:15:20 GMT -6
Well... fair enough, I guess. Except that the Costco nearest to me is 96 miles away, and I found out about this price because I have a degree in DuckDuckGo.  I haven't set foot in a Costo or Sam's since maybe 2005. But I do keep an eye on them, and that's how (a dozen years back) I wound up with four Badwater Strats for $129.99 each (and would have happily bought a few more but they sold out the lot). |
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Post by Rex on Oct 22, 2023 5:28:17 GMT -6
I’m not familiar with Badwater Strats, but we did have a different AXL come through the shop a couple of months ago. It was a good guitar.
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Post by Tony Ravenscroft on Mar 5, 2024 3:11:23 GMT -6
Another example. A Goodwill auction, selling off a blue Strat, 2006, MIM. Four days to go, and up to $751 - plus shipping. Let's see how ridiculous this gets.The item was listed at the very moment I was dithering over a 2006 MIM Strat from one of the larger East Coast guitar shops... for $400 + s/h. Similar are listing in the $450-$500 from other Reverb sellers, so not unreasonable. It has a couple of features I like, which when I narrow my search appropriately pushes comparables to the ~$600 range. Let me put it this way:  $751 ? ? ? ? |
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Post by Rex on Mar 5, 2024 15:30:33 GMT -6
This sort of thing happens on Goodwill auctions all the time these days. In the past, you could luck out on some good stuff for cheap. But these days, most anything with a name brand gets bid up to outrageous prices.
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