5 reasons you should buy used music instruments (even if you are not a musician)

As you may know, i have been buying used guitars lately thanks to steemit (yeah /m/ ), not only because i am a musician, but also because i have learned over the years the value and advantage of used gear, so here i bring to you a list of reasons to buy used instruments instead of new if you are a musician, and also some reasons for none musical related people:

1 Used instruments retain value over time: When you buy a brand new guitar in the store, right in the moment to take it out of the shop it becomes used and it losses 40% of it value. If you want to sell your guitar one week later or one month later, no one is going to give you the same amount of money you paid in the store, they can easily go to the shop themselves and pick a new one, so if you where in the need of selling your brand new guitar, you probably end up losing some serious bucks.

Lets put for a example a Fender Strat, it can cost you 900$ new in the guitar shop, but you can find one used in very good condition for around 500$ (or less if you get lucky or search enough). You can later sell the same used guitar for the same 500$ or even more if you are a good dealer, also the guitar could become a classic and sell for thousands, you never know!...

2 You are helping a fellow musician in need: Yes, it is also about community, musicians can sometimes have a very hard time economically, and many times they need to sell their stuff just to pay rent or buy food, or simply paying the studio time to record their next hit!, in any case, when you buy a used instrument, you are helping and supporting a fellow musician!

3 Used instruments are a very good money investment: Even if you are not a musician, and you are looking for something to invest your money instead of having it in the bank, a good used instrument is a very good way to invest and protect your money, for reason number 1 above, and also its not like buying a tv, or a computer that it will get outdated in the next few years, music instruments pretty much never get outdated, actually some people pay more money for an instrument that looks used, this is knows as "relic".

4 Used instruments are cheaper: This is obvious, but not less important, you can find very good deals (i mean very very good deals) in used instruments, that would cost you a lot new. I have some real life examples, recently i bought a Schecter Damien 6 guitar for just 50$, this new cost around 350$ if you find a good offer. Musicians use to need several instruments (not just because they like it), for many reasons, if you are a guitar player, you need a guitar, an amplifier, pedals, cables, strings, different types of guitars for different situations etc, being a musician can be a very expensive profession, getting all the needed gear new may be very hard sometimes, so finding good deals is the way to go and help you grow as a musician.

5 Getting an used instrument is an opportunity to discover a gem: Once i bought this really cheap Fender Squier made in Korea, soon i found out it was special because it was from the first series made there in 1987, this raised its praise and it value considerably , previous owner did not know this, unfortunately i had to sell it later because i needed the money, but i do earned a good amount out of it (i sold it x2 the price i bought it), so you never know when you are come across with some gem in the used market!, many people just don't know what they have... A friend of mine once bought a Fender strat worth of 20k$ for only 300$, the owner just thought it was an outdated old fashioned guitar his grandfather use to play.

So, you ever bought an used instrument? i would love to hear your history :D

All image from https://pixabay.com (the ones that are not mine of course)

Best regards!
Rafael!