Trade #26: 2018 Warwick GPS Bass for 1976 Guild X500

I had this beautiful bass for a really long time. Probably too long. I got it in a trade back in September. I kept getting offers but because it was so valuable I was getting a lot of combination offers — two or three items that roughly summed to the value of the bass. This was tempting sometimes, but one of my rules is to try really hard not to split items into multiple trade lines if I can help it. There’s wiggle room if it’s a really good deal, but I really do want to prioritize 1-for-1 trades.

Back in early December I first heard from Steve (not his real name). An older gentleman, he’s a guitarist-turned-bassist, and was really interested in the Warwick. He made several different offers, some that he said would require cash on either side. The Guild, though, he said he would trade straight across. Some quick research on Reverb showed these guitars sell for between $2,500 and $6,000+.

We went back and forth and he wasn’t quite sure. He was considering gifting the guitar to his son. We said goodbye and I kept re-posting the bass every now and then.

Cut to late March. Steve gets back in touch. He still had the Guild (“He can get his own guitar.”) and remained interested. We met up in a Walnut Creek parking lot and talked. He bought the guitar in the mid-1970s, second owner, and his brother played it here and there as a jazz guitarist. Steve would play a bit but it mostly sat. In the late 1970s he switched to bass (hence his interest in the Warwick), and the Guild sat in its original case for almost 45 years. It’s in ✨pristine✨ condition.

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Given the condition, age, and scarcity of this guitar, I’d say it’s worth somewhere between $3,600 and $4,000. Listing it at $3,800. Jeez. I’ve had vehicles worth less than this in this project.

Onward!