White 157

[squawken]

Does anyone know if Heritage offers new guitars in white?  I keep looking at a white one (157) and the seller tells me it is so unique because Heritage doesn't offer white anymore.  It this true?

[Gitfiddler]

To avoid further smoke being blown at you by the 157 seller, check out SOME of the available finishes according to the Heritage website:

 

http://www.heritageguitar.com/products/finishes.htm

 

[squawken]

I did.  However, if you click on white it doesn't go to a certain guitar, like all the finishes do.  That's what led to question this.

[golferwave]

  Any model of guitar offered by Heritage is available in any color on their chart!  If you like the guitar go ahead and pull the trigger!

[JohnCovach]

Is this the guitar you mean?

 

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewI...A:IT&ih=007

[squawken]

Yes it is.  I watched it last time on e-bay and it wasn't bid on.  I have had several e-mail conversations with the seller.  He seems OK, but I don't want to pay $1,500.  I have to treat it as a used instrument, so therefore I think the MOST I should pay is $1,350.  He is stuck on it being a unique guitar because of the color.  And he still maintains that it is new.  I figure I can either low ball him, or wait till bidding is done and then contact him.  I have always wanted a white and black guitar, as I am a huge fan of Michael Schenker (his signature guitar was a black and white flying v).

[chico]

Well, you guys are what, 150 bucks apart?  IMO, the seller is not THAT motivated.  And, he's calling it "NEW" but its over 10 years old..how can that be new?  Looking at his not so great pictures, I see it has schaller tailstop and bridge, and looks like Schaller PU's too.  For me, I'd want the tunomatic style hardware and Duncan '59s or HRWs on it.  Then  there is the "issue" at the neck--whatever that is.

 

Id say keep looking, maybe order up something new from the boys in Kzoo to YOUR specs.  That is the cool thing about Heritage.  Or just keep looking on Ebay, I see white often, frankly I don't think the seller has a clue as to what is or isn't available at Heritage as to color, etc.

 

BTW, here's an ad for a "G" custom shop guitar in white I saw today on craigslist here in madcity...

http://madison.craigslist.org/msg/486077355.html

sellerr asking 3 grand.  New custom ordered from Heritage?  Less than 3 grand fersure.

 

Happy turkey day  ,

Chico

madison

H150

Millenium DC

Stat

HFT 445 acoustic

Strats..

[JohnCovach]

I think your strategy is a good one.  This shop has had a few Heritages on ebay for weeks now and they are all overpriced and have not drawn a single bid.  I suppose somebody with cash to burn could sweep in and grab it, but my bet would be that--at $1500--that guitar will again close without a single bid.

[squawken]

Thanks guys

 

You know sometimes when you see something you really want you tend to overlook the flaws or inconsistencies.  But I think I am keeping level head so far.  I would LOVE to get a new one from Heritage but I can only imagine how long the wait would be.  And by the way-Happy Thanksgiving!!

[Thundersteel]

Personally, I wouldn't bid on it because:

 

1. "There is a small veneer, finish crack at the base of the heel on the back side." Did Heritage use veneer back then? I don't think so! Plus, the picture is kind of fuzzy.

 

2. "This guitar has been checked over by a professional musician/repairman and is in excellent playing condition." What credentials does this person have? Heck, it could be anybody!

 

3. On one line, the ad says,"Instrument can be returned within 3-days of receiving it." But then a few lines further down, it says, "All sales are final." Well, which one is it?

 

4. It's 13 years old, and it still hasn't sold? Sounds to me like there's something wrong with it, or it's not really brand new.

 

5. As JohnCovach has stated, it is overpriced. You can buy a NEW one for that price!

[squawken]

I am now leaning towards getting a new one.  Can you really get a new one for $1,500?!

[Thundersteel]

It's not a white one, but I know where you can get a new H150CM LW in Blueburst for $1299.

[squawken]

What is Blueburst?

[Kazwell]

I am sure over the years, I have read through literally thousands of E-Bay ads and this is one of the stranger ads.  How can it be "brand new" if it is 13 years old? Quote from ad "Color: White..."Les Paul"-style...Mint Condition ...Original, form fitting, deluxe wood case".

 

What is "mint condition" the guitar or the case? Well, it can't be the guitar because later in the ad they state "There is a small veneer, finish crack at the base of the heel on the back side."

 

And of course, as earlier mentioned, the "3 day return/all sales final " policy.  Although, if you click on "View seller's other items". I notice that the H-157 ad is pretty much part of a cookie cutter ad for all the other items. It appears that the 3 day policy is only added in to the guitars, there are two other Heritages BTW they have for sale.

 

A 1989 H-162 here:

http://cgi.ebay.com/Heritage-H-162-Electri...1QQcmdZViewItem

 

and a 1992  H-576 here:

 

http://cgi.ebay.com/Heritage-H-576-Arch-To...1QQcmdZViewItem

 

These too are "collectables" and being sold as new. Hmmmm I wonder if I can sell my old POS 92 Mexicaster as Brand New Old Stock? Hell, might as well call it a collectible too.

 

And I have always been skeptical about ads that don't specify the city where the product is being shipped from. And since this IS supposed to be a store, why wouldn't they want to advertise it in HOPES someone would call in and they could possibly sell other items to the perspective buyer.

 

They DO give a zip code whiich is Oil City. PA which IS in NW PA as stated.

 

If you notice, there is a lot of junky stuff on the "sellers other items" page. Trumpet bags, dulcimers, off brand guitar tuning gears. All of which state BRAND NEW, old stock.  Earmarks of a total ma and pa operation. Probably made ends meet giving lessons to neighborhood school kids, renting them instruments and if they were lucky. they might have gotten an instument sale here and there.

 

Not sure how they ended up with Heritage guitars, thats the most perplexing part of the scenario.

 

After the sale ends, I would E-mail them with some low ball offers-800-no more than 1K. They may just cave in to  the pressure of getting some cash back on their investment and take it.

[Kazwell]

On picture 5 of the H-576 ad here:

 

http://cgi.ebay.com/Heritage-H-576-Arch-To...1QQcmdZViewItem

 

You can see part of the inside of the shop. Lots of old music books and sheet music and old newspaper clippings on the wall. Not the kind of shop where you see people looking to lay down 1500 dollars.

9deb_12[1].jpg

9deb_12[1].jpg_thumb

[Thundersteel]

What is Blueburst?

 

Here you go:

BB150LW.jpg

BB150LW.jpg_thumb

[JohnCovach]

I'm not so skeptical about the truth of the ad.  This seems to me to be a business in a small town that had some old stuff sitting in the back room, or even under the owner's bed or in a closet, and now there's a move on to clear this merchandise out.  They seem to be pretty naive about ebay, and are probably offering these items on somebody's advice.  The starting prices are way too high, though I did notice that the 162 has a bid now.  If they were inclined to take much less than the opening bid, you'd expect that they would have started the auction out low and used a reserve.  The high prices seem reasonable if you compare them to the MSRP, and it seems unlikely you'll get them to part with the 157 for $1000, since they view these guitars as new.

 

It never hurts to make an offer though.  Maybe the thing to do is to tell them that if they could imagine taking less, they should contact you.  Maybe you'll hear back in a couple of weeks, after the dust from the "non-sale" settles.

[Kazwell]

JohnCovach -I respect your level-headedness about all this, however, their naivity should somehow be corrected. The MSRP may very well be correct, however, the small veneer crack (who knows what other scratches etc may be undetected by their aging eyes) cancels out any promises of "mint condition" or "brand new" and they even mention "vintage" in there as well which is also FALSE ADVERTISING.

 

Yes, judging by there desperate scramble to unload all the other merchandise which is a music store equivalent of a garage sale-wth the exception of the guitars, I can see how it could bring to surface a sympathetic response.

 

But if they need money they are going about it the wrong way. If they have a serious buyer who wants to give them their much needed retirement money or whatever, they need to be enlightened so that they CAN get sale. Something tells me this thing was paid off a long time ago, so whatever they get will be pure profit anyway.

[JohnCovach]

Yep, you're probably right about all of that.  Anytime you suspect that a seller is not being honest, the best thing to do is to walk away from the deal.  What good is it to get something cheaper if you feel you might be unpleasantly surprised when it arrives?  If you were close enough geographically, the best thing to do would probably be to drive over to the shop and have a look at these guitars.  At least then you'd know what you were getting.  But if I didn't trust the seller, I wouldn't buy the guitar.

[Kazwell]

Agreed JohnCovach-BTW impressive website and even more impressive music you are creating-highly suggest others take a look if they haven't already.

 

Keeping somewhat on topic here rather than creating a new post : Got a hot tip for all you folks reading this who are in a market for a new Heritage, eddiesguitars.com-they are wheelin and dealin as of late. I am not affiliated with these folks but they DID turn me on to Heritage is a great alternative to the G word folks.I ended up buying my H-150CM for 1300 from a shop in Vegas plus 40 s and h. I told Eddies I paid 1200 (OK so I told a tiny fib, like salespeople don't do that all the time!!!) and he said he could have beat it. I was a little miffed because they quoted much higher prices over the phone, BUT it is rare that retailers are willing to match or even beat E-Bay prices.  Granted, this WAS after the fact so sure it was easy for them to say they could have matched it, but I am saying that it may be worth the LD charge to run by a deal you see on the net and see what they can do.

[Thundersteel]

Got a hot tip for all you folks reading this who are in a market for a new Heritage, eddiesguitars.com-they are wheelin and dealin as of late.

 

GuitarAdoptions.com has some nice prices as well--that's where the BlueBurst is located. It's the only Heritage listed, but they had more until recently.

[squawken]

First-thanks Thundersteel about the Blueburst.  I have seen guitaradoptions before.  I used their prices to negotiate on my first (and only so far) Heritage.

Second-this guy did send me some better pictures, and it does look in pretty good shape (from what you can tell from pictures).  However, his close-up picture of the crack didn't come out well-of course. 

Anyone have any idea how long a wait it would be for a new guitar from Heritage?

[Thundersteel]

I used their prices to negotiate on my first (and only so far) Heritage.

 

I wished I would have known about that site before I purchased my Heritages. I'll admit I have some nice ones, but I think I could have gotten better deals had I known about it. Heck, an H150 w/P90s just sold on Ebay for about $950 less than what I paid for mine! :-[

[squawken]

I wished I would have known about that site before I purchased my Heritages. I'll admit I have some nice ones, but I think I could have gotten better deals had I known about it. Heck, an H150 w/P90s just sold on Ebay for about $950 less than what I paid for mine! :-[

 

Thundersteel-I don't think there should ever be regret about buying a Heritage!  You most likely still paid less than if bought the G name.  In Heritage you are buying quality.  My only regret is I didn't find out about the earlier, and that I don't have more.  I know a lot of people here like PRS too.  PRS is a very nice guitar, maybe someday I will own one when I am done buying Heritages, but dollar for dollar Heritage still stands taller, in my own humble opinion.

[skydog]

I sent them an offer of $750 for the 157. Haven't heard back yet. If you wait until the auction ends and offer them $950 you should be able to get it. If not, they don't want to sell that bad. Good Luck