How to value/sell my custom guitars??

rompo420 · 07-20-2010, 12:04 PM

Hi all, have an interesting (and quite debatable) question.

I have started building/ customizing guitars, have had a few customers pay me to work on their stuff, etc.

My question is this:

How can I put a value on and possibly even begin selling my custom guitars?

Is this a dumb idea all together??

Here are a few pics of one of them that I'd like to maybe part with:

rompo420 · 07-20-2010, 12:07 PM

Let me add some pics of the other one.

Any help from you all would be greatly appreciated!

Stratatattat · 07-20-2010, 12:38 PM

the first thing i do is consider how much $$$ i have in the guitar. before i worry about profit, i worry about breaking even. sometimes it's difficult to even get that far.

then consider your customer...do they really know what they want? if it's a novice, they might be very harsh on your work b/c they lack experience in even how to play a guitar...i once had a guy try to rip me a new one b/c the guitar "buzzed"...in my hands, it did no such thing, so i attributed his complaints to his own pick attack.

it's not easy to price your own work...but those are things to consider.

grumpy old git · 07-20-2010, 01:25 PM

As above, I'd work out what it owes you then see what could be had for the same money. Could be interesting, and a legitimate excuse to buy new stuff

As long as you come out on the good side I'd say go for it.

softwarejanitor · 07-20-2010, 01:42 PM

You've got to figure in what all the parts and materials cost you then add to that what you need to make on that as far as markup goes to cover your other overhead. Then you've got to figure out how much time it takes to build one and what your time is worth. When you do that, you'll probably find that you have to charge more than you'd think at first just to break even. Don't forget to figure in tools, cost of developing tooling, jigs, etc. And in order to make any kind of reasonable living at it you'll probably find that you've got to charge more probably than most people are going to be willing to pay. There is a reason that most of the custom guitar builders out there make the Fender Custom Shop look cheap... because the F CS is doing far more volume than most of them...

This is not to say that you couldn't make a successful business out of this... but do research carefully before you jump into it.

rompo420 · 07-20-2010, 02:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by softwarejanitor

You've got to figure in what all the parts and materials cost you then add to that what you need to make on that as far as markup goes to cover your other overhead. Then you've got to figure out how much time it takes to build one and what your time is worth. When you do that, you'll probably find that you have to charge more than you'd think at first just to break even. Don't forget to figure in tools, cost of developing tooling, jigs, etc. And in order to make any kind of reasonable living at it you'll probably find that you've got to charge more probably than most people are going to be willing to pay. There is a reason that most of the custom guitar builders out there make the Fender Custom Shop look cheap... because the F CS is doing far more volume than most of them...

This is not to say that you couldn't make a successful business out of this... but do research carefully before you jump into it.

Hell, I just want to fund my hobby. Not go into business. Is EBAY the best way to go???

Squier-Talk · 07-20-2010, 02:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rompo420

Hell, I just want to fund my hobby. Not go into business. Is EBAY the best way to go???

Ah, get real. Anytime anyone builds something for sale they are "in business." That's how it works. It doesn't matter if you have a day job, make little or no money, or even make any sales.

If you buy materials, put them together, finish them and then sell them BINGO you are in business to make that product.

rompo420 · 07-20-2010, 03:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Squier-Talk

Ah, get real. Anytime anyone builds something for sale they are "in business." That's how it works. It doesn't matter if you have a day job, make little or no money, or even make any sales.

If you buy materials, put them together, finish them and then sell them BINGO you are in business to make that product.

well, lol i guess.

more than anything i just want to get them off my hands because i never play them.

i built them, and i love them, but i never play them.

softwarejanitor · 07-20-2010, 03:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rompo420

well, lol i guess.

more than anything i just want to get them off my hands because i never play them.

i built them, and i love them, but i never play them.

The question is, can you afford to keep building them if you can only sell them at a loss. If you can at least break even on parts/materials/overhead and you don't mind working for free, then that is a different matter...

rompo420 · 07-20-2010, 04:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by softwarejanitor

The question is, can you afford to keep building them if you can only sell them at a loss. If you can at least break even on parts/materials/overhead and you don't mind working for free, then that is a different matter...

yes. i just want to continue to build them and learn stuff.

i want to do neat schemes, i have a lot of ideas.

i just mainly want to keep going in order to keep going. make sense?

squierjosh · 07-20-2010, 04:57 PM

Yes, that makes sense. It's just a hobby, not a business. People spend money building model airplanes and would never get their money back from them. At least you have potential for a return if you want it.

Quote:

Originally Posted by rompo420

yes. i just want to continue to build them and learn stuff.

i want to do neat schemes, i have a lot of ideas.

i just mainly want to keep going in order to keep going. make sense?

YeahDoIt · 07-30-2010, 07:33 AM

Every business I had required experimentation, I had to try to sell different things to see what works. I imagine if you try to sell your guitars on craigslist.org you can judge their price.

You might email musicians, offer your custom services, include pictures of your guitars. Maybe start at $ 10 / hour + (2 x parts cost) and observe if any people contact you.

You might contact music stores in your area, they might need guitar tech service sometimes.

I suspect there might be a market for travel guitars. You might consider your own travel guitar designs. Make a few prototypes, test performance. Advertise on craigslist and ebay, observe how easily and quickly they sell.

You might get some business cards from Vistaprint, costs about $ 5. I find the act of designing a business card, meeting people, handing out cards has a "focusing" effect on me, defines my efforts and establishes a sense of professionalism.

Do you have your own website to market your services, post pics of your guitars?

I think it helps to have something different. Competing directly with Chinese manufacturers of Stratocaster type guitars might be tough. Making a guitar body out of car parts might be unique enough to sell at a profit. Put a piezo pickup in there in addition to a regular wound pickup. Unique idea, unique sound. Will it sell? I won't know until I actually build one and sell it. I test and experiment.