Difference in value for neck joint crack

[bigcupholder Tone Member Find all posts View Profile Close bigcupholder]

I bought a used guitar body+neck on eBay from a seller that parts out Gibsons. Today I got it and discovered it has a previously repaired crack on the bass side of the neck joint that wasn't mentioned or photographed in the listing. The repair looks solid enough but it's also really noticeable and would definitely make the guitar harder to sell if I decide to flip it at some point. The seller offered me a very small partial refund but I want to do some research before returning the guitar.

In your opinion, what's a typical hit to the value of the guitar with this sort of damage? The guitar is a 1965 Gibson melody maker. I've attached a picture of the crack. It goes into the face of the guitar a bit, but isn't visible on the treble side, so it was some sort of twisting damage I guess.


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[ICTGoober Mojo's Minions Find all posts View Profile Close ICTGoober]

Re: Difference in value for neck joint crack

Couple hundred bucks.
If competently repaired, it will be fine.

[ItsaBass Mojo's Minions Find all posts View Profile Close ItsaBass]

Re: Difference in value for neck joint crack

It's a relatively low value guitar to begin with, and appears beat, so it's not as huge a deal as you might think.

I would say it dings the value 30 to 50 percent on an otherwise nice and original example...but if the whole guitar is beat, pieced together, and not original anyhow, and you didn't pay much for it, then it would ding it much less. How much did you buy it for, and how much did he offer back? I myself wouldn't pay more than $500 for a '65 Melody Maker in that condition with that damage, and that's assuming it had all the original parts (hardware, pickups, etc.).

The bigger concern here is that the seller is the type of person who would specifically avoid mentioning a major flaw such as that. That would make me suspect of any dealings with him or her, including partial refund offers.

As far as whether it negatively affects the guitar's potential as a musical instrument, that's big no. But again, it should make it cheap. Like I said, if it has all the original parts, $500 max. If it's just a shell, $200, and what you do is simply throw away all its "vintage" value, and refinish it and outfit it with modern pickups and hardware to have a nice player, or skip the refin, get new parts, and just make it a beater.

[Mr. B Ultimate Tone Slacker Find all posts View Profile Close Mr. B]

Re: Difference in value for neck joint crack

I would immediately send that back. I know some people are OK with major neck repairs. I'm not.

[The Dali MeltedClockologist Find all posts View Profile Close The Dali]

Re: Difference in value for neck joint crack

Yeah, depends on what you paid and what they are offering as a discount. If you were interested in a vintage looking instrument anyway it might not be that big of a deal.

[jeremy LoveMachineologist Find all posts View Profile Close jeremy]

Re: Difference in value for neck joint crack

id be fine with it, at a discounted price. pretty shady that it wasnt mentioned presale

[bigcupholder Tone Member Find all posts View Profile Close bigcupholder]

Re: Difference in value for neck joint crack

Yeah, I'm going to return it. The seller claimed that the crack was mentioned in the listing but that eBay must have screwed up and removed that sentence... Clearly that's not someone worth dealing with. Thanks everyone.

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[ItsaBass Mojo's Minions Find all posts View Profile Close ItsaBass]

Re: Difference in value for neck joint crack

Yeah, I'm going to return it. The seller claimed that the crack was mentioned in the listing but that eBay must have screwed up and removed that sentence... Clearly that's not someone worth dealing with. Thanks everyone.

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That claim is laughable.

Who is the seller (I'd like to make sure I avoid that seller in the future), and how much did you pay? Did it have any of the original hardware or electronics?

[Mincer Administrator Find all posts View Profile Close Mincer]

Re: Difference in value for neck joint crack

Hopefully the return will go well.

[larryguitar Ultimate Tone Member Find all posts View Profile Close larryguitar]

Re: Difference in value for neck joint crack

The issue with a crack like that isn't just the hit to the value when you manage to sell it, but the greatly reduced potential market of people who would consider it.

Based on that crack, and how it looks like it was repaired, I wouldn't consider it at any price, FWIW.

Larry

[AlexR Mojo's Minions Find all posts View Profile Close AlexR]

Re: Difference in value for neck joint crack

The seller claimed that the crack was mentioned in the listing but that eBay must have screwed up and removed that sentence...

I can't believe that some people are so dumb to think a story like that gets swallowed......ever.

[ICTGoober Mojo's Minions Find all posts View Profile Close ICTGoober]

Re: Difference in value for neck joint crack

To those who don't trust repaired guitars.... Who do you take your stuff to when you break it? Or do you just toss it on Squeebay and kiss it goodbye?

[Masta' C Mojo's Minions Find all posts View Profile Close Masta' C]

Re: Difference in value for neck joint crack

To those who don't trust repaired guitars.... Who do you take your stuff to when you break it? Or do you just toss it on Squeebay and kiss it goodbye?

The point is...that's not how it was described and photographed, so the price should have reflected the diminished value. Besides, if you didn't do the repair yourself, how could you know it was "competent"?

[ICTGoober Mojo's Minions Find all posts View Profile Close ICTGoober]

Re: Difference in value for neck joint crack

Besides, if you didn't do the repair yourself, how could you know it was "competent"?

SERIOUSLY? Have you never heard of craftsmen? So Frank Ford, Don Teeter, Dan Erlewine are all incompetent boobs despite decades of experience with repairs in the field being used by satisfied clients? Way to insult an entire field of professionals.

[ehdwuld A Ficus Find all posts View Profile Close ehdwuld]

Re: Difference in value for neck joint crack

SERIOUSLY? Have you never heard of craftsmen? So Frank Ford, Don Teeter, Dan Erlewine are all incompetent boobs despite decades of experience with repairs in the field being used by satisfied clients? Way to insult an entire field of professionals.

Dan Erlewine did not do that repair

nor did anyone you listed

that looks like an epoxy and clamp
DIY repair

you know it does

no one says you can't
no one says competent repairs can't be done

just that don't look like one of the competent ones

cause it doesn't

calm down