Outrageous Carter guitar

[Marty Holmes]

I seen a Carter double neck on FB marketplace for $6500.00 Carter didn't even charge that much for a d-10 what the hell is wrong with people?

[Dan Kelly]

Yes. I know what you mean. Beat up old Mavericks are getting listed for $2,000 every once in a while.

I bought a Red Baron by MSA for $250 about 10 years ago and sold it for that much about a year later. Now they are "Super Rare Classic Collectors Items," at least according to the ad. List price? $1,600!

[Jerry Overstreet]

Didn't see the ad, but Carter did produce a few special lacquer, or probably poly, finished wood bodies that were quite a step above the base models, yet still wouldn't go for that rate new.

These obscene prices will not ever go down on steel guitars until people stop paying those ridiculous prices for them. Thanks to the interest generated by the steel guitar forum, people think these prices are acceptable. It's a matter of demand and the supply inventory plus a touch of greed with sellers taking advantage of ignorance and acceptance. Cheerleaders here stirring the pot by posting about how great a price is, is not helping. Some of these early model guitars are at least 3 times overpriced.

Dan, I paid about $500 for a brand new Red Baron in the 70s because I just didn't know anything about pedal steels and their value. I sold it for $150 to a local picker a couple yrs. later.

I later bought a basketweave D10 Emmons for $500, played it for 10 yrs. and sold it for $1000 and if I'd known better, I could have sold it for at least twice that, but I still think that was a fair price.

While prices are this eleveated, I'm thinking about posting my old D10 Artist for around $2500 but I'm afraid if it sells, I'll never be able to afford another pedal steel in this market.

As the pot calling the kettle black, I'm getting ready to post some used Newman and BJ finger picks at some ridiculous prices too. As my old neighbor said, "The time to shave is while the water's hot" or my former retail hot shots "Shoot the ducks while they're flying"
I'm making some light of the situation, but I feel this obscene pricing is really an abomination.

[Bob Carlucci]

supply and demand... However the reason for demand is players themselves.. There are not that many new young players needing their first pedal steel, that there aren't enough to go around.. For decades there were always enough that a fair deal could be found.. Today however many steel guitar players feel the need for 5, 10, or even 20 pedal steels. Same with guitars.. A player would have 1, or if lucky, 2 good guitars to play regularly, and a good amp to play it through.. Nowadays many guitarists feel the need to own 50 or more high quality guitars and a corresponding number of good amps. Seems every musician these days is also a "collector". Its just the way things worked out.. bob

[Richard Sinkler]

By any chance, do you have a link to the listing?

[Bill McCloskey]

Asking is one thing. Getting is another. We have all seen guitars with outrageous prices just sit there, or get reduced to half of the initial asking price. That said, i expect prices to start going up as we lose manufacturers. Williams and GFI seem to be the only manufacturers left putting out new guitars on a regular basis. as supply dwindles, prices will go up for used guitars.

[Dennis Detweiler]

I couldn't believe the cost of used guitars the past few years. It makes it very tough for a potential young steel player to afford to get started. $3000.00 - $4000.00 for a used S-10 is nuts.

[Erv Niehaus]

And you can't blame it on tariffs!

[Jerry Overstreet]

The asking vs. getting argument doesn't hold water. If someone posts a guitar for say $6500 that you feel is worth and would pay maybe $3500 or push up to $4000 or even $4500, where do you begin negotiations? There's a $ 2, 3K gap there. How likely is that seller to make a deal you'd take? Best just to look elsewhere.

Another thing, somone pays an inflated price for a guitar without knowing any better and if that person decides to sell that guitar, he's gonna want to get near the same price he paid at least. In a lot of cases more, so it just becomes a runaway train.

[Dennis Detweiler]

It's probably best to just hang onto what you have and make a few upgrades on it. I bought a 4+4 1975 maple body 12 string MSA before the market went crazy for $1300.00. I had to add 3 more floor pedals, a vertical knee lever and a Telonics pickup. Plus, dismantle the changer and clean it. Changer fingers #11 and #12 were frozen with grease and dust. The body was excellent. Total investment in materials and guitar was $1800.00, but I did the work myself. It plays and looks like new. It's an alternative investment to buying a functional guitar if you can find a fixer-upper.

[Michael Lester]

In 2025, I think that purchasing a musical instrument for an outrageous price is a deserved result for failing to research.

!n the 1970's, there were VERY few retailers of pedal steels. There were no comparison web sites, eBay, Facebook pages, etc,. etc. One had to trust and believe that the guy you talked to on the phone actually was an ally and would make sure that what you bought was properly priced.

Today, 15 minutes on line can result in dozens, maybe hundreds, of listings and actual sales prices of pedal steels.

If you proceed to pay too much after reviewing all the data available, you're on your own.

I have a Carter D10 I bought from Johny King for a fair market price.

I hadn't planned to sell it, but $15,000 would change my mind.

[Don R Brown]

Michael put it very well. Do your homework, and decide a price that YOU feel is fair. Nobody forces a seller to sell, nobody forces a buyer to buy. What a given instrument "is worth" can only be determined when a sale is made, and that worth is only valid for that particular buyer and seller.

We see the same thing in the Corvette world. 1963 split window coupes are bringing well into 6 figures, with some "restomod" upgrades approaching a half million - for a car that originally was well under $5,000 when new. They are NOT worth it to me, but they DO sell. Just like a pedal steel, if someone decides to pay $XXX, to HIM it's worth it.

The market sets the price, not what any of us think something "should be" worth.

[Jerry Overstreet]

I don't see much difference in prices regardless of who or where they're being sold. They all seem to list prices very close to each other so shopping around isn't going to see a big difference.

Yes, do your research for sure for whatever help that can give you but beginners don't know what to look for just like I didn't unless they stumble on here and ask questions.

On rare occasions someone will list one at a fair and reasonable price, but for the most part they're all pricey.

I understand that values of steel guitars increase just like everything else, so I don't expect to see prices the same as 20 yrs. ago, maybe not even 10, but I still think that overall sellers are taking advantage of the demand. The only thing that can change that is themselves or people just stop paying high prices. JMO.