I don't think your potential buyer is trying to take you for a ride; it just makes sense for him to make a conservative offer given he hasn't actually inspected the guitar. The final price will likely be determined by the extent he agrees with your condition assessment, how it sounds and feels to him as a player and how badly you want to sell the guitar.
Keep in mind that just because the BB suggests a value range for an instrument, it doesn't mean there is a line of people with cash in their pocket to give you that price. It also might be that your guitar is worth more than what the BB suggests. Given the value of your instrument, it might be worth sending $50 and some pictures to Gruhn's Guitars for an assessment of current value.
I checked Gruhn's current inventory to see if they were selling any instruments similar to yours.
1943 D-18 (refinished and repaired cracks) $10,000
1956 D-18 (refinished and reset neck by Martin) $5,000
1961 D-18 (repaired cracks) $2,500
1965 D-18 (Excellent) $4,200
What all of this says to me is a 1958 D-18 in the condition you describe is not common. In a collectible guitar like this condition is everything so I think you should expect to get a premium price for your instrument. However, if you are selling to a dealer, you can't expect him to pay a premium retail price since he's got to make money on resale. I think a good rule of thumb is the dealer should be expected to pay about 65% of retail. This is where how badly you want to sell the guitar comes into play.
I wouldn't send the guitar to Martin, especially if the biggest issue is a scratch on the back.
Let us know how the deal turns out.Statistics: Posted by VintAxe — Mon Dec 22, 2008 10:47 am
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