Hamer, Prices>Comment
- Thread starter DeVai
- Start date
What the market will bear, it bears. Boomers are retiring and dumping their guitars. The market will be glutted in the next few years, so there may be a correction in used Hamers. However, that may not happen as to the relatively small numbers actually manufactured.
B.C. Rich, Charvel, Deans, et al, will continue to appreciate, as buyers are actually aware of those brands.
B.C. Rich, Charvel, Deans, et al, will continue to appreciate, as buyers are actually aware of those brands.
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hamerican gigolo
Well-known member
The days of cheap USA Hamers perhaps are over. They ain't makin anymore of them & folks may finally be hip to how great instruments they truly are. That very fact may tick off a few on this board who feel that cheap Hamers are somewhat of a birthright. 
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Right now there is a HUGE demand for guitars, and a lot of other things, combined with shortages of new guitars. People can't get new ones, so they go after used ones. Supply and demand. It is now a seller's market, and will be until the massive international ocean freight shortage stops.
That is also pushing up the prices of everything, as well as making sure that new guitars are delayed.
That is also pushing up the prices of everything, as well as making sure that new guitars are delayed.
The opportunity to buy a nearly 20 year old unused Hamer has come up, and the price is quite high compared to what has been considered normal. I am willing to pay it. However, I have bought a couple of amps this year that have blown any budget for gear. There are a lot of small expenses for things necessary around the house. Some business expenses are coming up.
If the Hamer dangled in front of me is still available in a few more weeks I might be guilty of pushing used Hamer prices up.
As more of us reach a point of downsizing there will be a buyers' market. Do I want to wait so I can tell one of my peers to be grateful for my $350 offer? Do I want to grab a great guitar now?
If the Hamer dangled in front of me is still available in a few more weeks I might be guilty of pushing used Hamer prices up.
As more of us reach a point of downsizing there will be a buyers' market. Do I want to wait so I can tell one of my peers to be grateful for my $350 offer? Do I want to grab a great guitar now?
I fully admit I am stuck in the “bargain price Hamer mentality.”
I also routinely lament the fact that 7 years ago my truck stickered for $50k+ when you could get a nicely appointed F150 for $17k in the 90’s. And the 90’s were only 10 years ago….
Anyway, I digress. There are 3 Hamers on my list that I really want. One of which is a Mirage maple top. Doesn’t seem like those are going for less than $1,200 now. And I foolishly sold the one I had with a sick maple top which I got for $800 in 2010 in excellent condition.
I also routinely lament the fact that 7 years ago my truck stickered for $50k+ when you could get a nicely appointed F150 for $17k in the 90’s. And the 90’s were only 10 years ago….
Anyway, I digress. There are 3 Hamers on my list that I really want. One of which is a Mirage maple top. Doesn’t seem like those are going for less than $1,200 now. And I foolishly sold the one I had with a sick maple top which I got for $800 in 2010 in excellent condition.
ARM OF HAMER
Well-known member
I believe used USA Hamer guitars are some of the best guitars ever made ,love the real early ones. I bought both my 79 Hamer SUNBURSTS for $1,200.00 and $1,600 respectively....................don't think we will see those numbers again. Still there are some great Hamer guitars to be had but sadly very few at bargain prices....................people have finally caught on as to what fine guitars they are.
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prototype-fan
New member
I recently bought a Prototype on Reverb that was about $300-400 more than I would have considered a few years ago, but it had all of the features I wanted when I first started lusting after that model in high school (i.e., all original chrome hardware, black body, and white humbucker/black single coil in the "motherbucker" pickup ring) and it was in very good condition. Living the dream!
Actually, the '90s were more like 20 to 30 years ago. Hard for me to wrap my head around that as well.And the 90’s were only 10 years ago….
Yep. Made $300 on that Mexican Jazzmaster I just sold, and I bought it in either late April or early May. I know I played a gig with it in early May.
Supply issues are slowly resolving. Lumber, for instance, peaked in May and has been drifting down. I'm not sure what's now and what's forever, but I sure as hell wouldn't buy anything on the high side of the market for a few more months personally. I think the chances on, for instance, a Jackson Soloist having been a steal at $2k+ is much less likely than their falling back below that by next spring.
Just my two cents from here (Germany). I am watching the (pretty small) market here on a daily basis, and the prices went up contiually over the years. I never saw the 350 era (thank god, there are still things I am actually TOO YOUNG to remember), but in my hay days of buying I got Specials for 650 or so, the cheapest Hamer I remember was a Prototype for 400. Monacos went for around 1.000 (always talking Euros).
The prices went up quite a bit over the years, for the „good“ stuff (late 70ies, early 80ties), but even a SS is offered for 1.500, which seems pretty steep to me. But the market seems to be good with that, we do not have Hamers waiting for a buyer for years. Than again, you never now what the final price really was.
In the end you have to be lucky, as always. The NOS Studio Custom for 1.000 from Italy was sheer luck, the prices there (and in France) went up, too…
I do not expect the prices to go down again. As @ARM OF HAMERstated: Even the dumb Europeans start to realize, what a Hamer is. Happy who bought early…
The prices went up quite a bit over the years, for the „good“ stuff (late 70ies, early 80ties), but even a SS is offered for 1.500, which seems pretty steep to me. But the market seems to be good with that, we do not have Hamers waiting for a buyer for years. Than again, you never now what the final price really was.
In the end you have to be lucky, as always. The NOS Studio Custom for 1.000 from Italy was sheer luck, the prices there (and in France) went up, too…
I do not expect the prices to go down again. As @ARM OF HAMERstated: Even the dumb Europeans start to realize, what a Hamer is. Happy who bought early…
Biz Prof
Well-known member
And this is why I only buy used pickups from elderly gentlemen who are downsizing. They're typically well maintained and I avoid the massive markup of new/retail. Of course, I don't use mine as a daily work vehicle, either.
After reading an article in WSJ in the early aughts regarding the obscene profit margins automakers earned on big SUVs and pickups, I asked a friend who works at GM corporate why/how the hell manufacturers could make, say, $10k per unit on a loaded pickup versus a few bucks on a sedan. He just laughed and said, "Because we can."
And this concludes today's Econ 101 lesson.
Amen, brother. I will personally never buy a truck brand new. Got my 2015 F150 in early 2017. I just can’t stomach that instant depreciation when you drive off the lot…
Omega Racer Scott
New member
crunchee
Well-known member
I'd heard that before about trucks for years, and apparently it's still true. I saw a segment of a news broadcast on either CNN or CBS last week, that said the same thing is still going on with truck sales right now, trucks sell at a premium and a high profit margin, and fly off the lot; where sedans tend to sit awhile...or used to. They also said that there's a supposed shortage of vehicles for sale new and used right now, partly because the vehicle factories slowed production when The Pandemic hit and they're just now catching up or trying to, partly also due to a shortage of computer chips needed for new vehicles as well as new computers/laptops for the same reason...which reminds me, recent local news broadcasts in my area have also mentioned a shortage of school supplies in the stores within the last week too, due to...you guessed it. <_<