WHY do Fender Stratocaster guitars incur a charge of nearly 10% for me to sell on ebay?????

[rodvwcc]

please let me know your thoughts, this is like a gst tax on second hand items, and I think Gumtree looks fantastic from my experience.

[kopenhagen5]

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cq, not quite the reaction I had in mind, but that would be a nice guitar to own.

There is one in the US for 14,000 and another for 35,000. That's US dollars.

[cq_tech]

I'm not the least bit surprised, Kopes. The strat wasn't invented until 1954 but they're rarer than rocking horse excrement. 1954 model with serial #0352 sold recently in the US for $35,000 and it wasn't even in very good condition. See http://www.eddievegas.com/store/details/1954-ORIG-FENDER-STRATOCASTER-SER-_NUM_-0352.php

[i-love-my-sheep]

Sounds like the OP's buyer might have got a bargain then! Admittedly his was a '69 model, but still.....

[cq_tech]

The funny thing about Fenders is that the older they are, the more they tend to be worth (as long as their condition remains good). They seem to depreciate slowly for the first 15-20 years, then they slowly start to increase in value again, until you reach a point where a 30yo strat costs more than a brand new one (some special releases excluded). Go figure!

I paid $550 for mine around 8 years ago, then carefully modified it into an almost identical copy of David Gilmour's black strat, and if I were to sell it right now, I'd probably double my money. As long-term investments, earlier model (say pre-1990) Fender strats are 100x better than money in the bank.