Why, oh why?

I had a conversation with a friend not too long ago, he was whining about the domestic after-market; how he put up a guitar for sale but attracted no offers at all. It's compounded by the fact that the guitar in question is a 'rare' commodity & souped up with 'upgraded' appointments in terms of hardware & electronics. But my understanding of the situation is this:

1. Discontinued = rare? I blame Gibson & Fender, mostly. They started this trend but it is a deserving phenomenon- the Fenders & Gibsons of yesterday are indeed tone treasures, worthy of their exorbitant price tags. But people out there have the understanding applied to other brand names which is sadly not that applicable. A discontinued 5-year old Ibanez is worth lesser than a Fender/ Gibson of the same age, fundamentally. It's the power of brand name goodwill (which Gibson is currently extending to other non-guitar products). Yes, discontinued stuff are rare in the current context but it doesn't automatically appreciate in value, this we have to understand. It's all down to demand & supply. Yes, you have a very precious 10-year old Ibanez (no offence, I'm a big Ibanez fan) but are there people out there who wants one (demand) & are you the only dweeb who own it (supply)?
2. Upgraded features = value appreciation? This is perhaps the one manifesting the most misconception- putting in after-market replacements, especially the branded, big name stuff, won't yield a higher value for your instrument. You can try this with your Gibson/ Fender- 'upgrade' the hardware & see if it attracts buyers- you know what I'm driving at. You'd argue that some appointments really improve the instrument's overall performance (eg: locking tuners for Les Pauls) but this remains subjective as the subsequent owner may/ may not agree with your 'upgrade'. So the moral of the story is, things are best left as they are when you want to sell them off. Putting in 'upgrades' in them is a hit-miss affair in this aspect because you are not the final authority in this price determination, it's a mutual agreement between buyers & sellers.
3. No deal = blame the market? When it comes to business, everything plays a part. Just because you put up an ad doesn't mean you get offers automatically. Also, there might not be fans of what you are selling here. This brings to mind my encounter with the Gibson nighthawk which is a hit in Europe but not in this part of the world. Selling a Nighthawk here is a great hurdle, never mind if it has that 'Gibson' label there.

Last but not least- it's about the price. Some of us won't budge with our pricing when we know we won't move our products unless we swallow some pride & revise our prices downward. We believe our Fenders & Gibsons should be priced according to our valuation but that's not always the case, yes? Fenders & Gibsons are indeed the benchmark in value retention- this is the reason why they command a good 70% of their original price tag in the after-market & not an immediate appreciation unless it's a special case. 

Upgrade?

I overheard this conversation at a guitar store a few days ago:

Salesman: Do you want to take a look at our Seymour Duncan pickups?
Customer: No, I'm upgrading to Bare Knuckle.
Salesman: Oh, really? Those are good stuff.
Customer: Ya... I really like them.

I'm not here to champion any brand names- they don't give me stuff for free if I do so (no disrespect to Seymour Duncan/ Bare Knuckle- I own both pickups). I was just wondering if we can really understand this move as an 'upgrade'. So if we switch from one brand name product to another in an 'upgrade' move, it would mean that there is a superiority factor in consideration. What makes a product a class above another? Is it the brand name per se? Price factor? Country of origin maybe? If an individual started off with Bare Knuckle for instance & wish to swap them out for Seymour Duncans- will this be a 'downgrade' or an 'upgrade'?

Upgrade: Guitar vs Amp

Would you buy a spanking new guitar...

...or a new amp, should you have a sizeable amount of cash & would like to 'upgrade'?

• I've talked to some people lately who are facing this dilemma; they could acquire either item but not both. In this case, I'd urge you to consider your situation & assess your needs. You need to look at what you have; how pathetic are your amp & guitar, which is the greater culprit?

• If you think you need a revision in tone, you should invest in a new amp. Simply put, a $50K guitar sounds pathetic through a fundamental practice unit, but a $500 guitar would have you smiling if you plug it into the right amp (my right, isn't your right, do keep this in mind). I believe, before one buys a guitar, if it's within your financial means, get the one that you really like, the one you'd keep on playing regardless of the countless pedal addition or the number of amps you plug it into. This way, future upgrading plans would mean your guitar is the least likely factor of your unhappiness.

• From a personal stance, this is perhaps why the number of amps I own are limited as oppossed to the number of guitars; I'm very happy with what I hear from my Marshall & Sound Drive amps. The different guitars I plug into these amps provide a differentiated enjoyment of the same, likeable, tone. That's how it is thusfar.