SOLD! El Degas Rickenbacker 4001 Copy

[apstrong]

Hi everyone. Been thinking about selling my El Degas Rickenbacker (Fireglo). It was a stand-in until I got my hands on a real Rickenbacker which are rare are hen's teeth in my area. The new Ricky arrived and I'm not really into collecting (not basses anyway!), so it's time for it to go. I was trying to find out some pricing information before I put it on Kijiji/Craigslist, and I came across your forum, so I thought I'd post here first. It's in good shape, I think the hardware is all original including little adjustable felt mutes in the bridge and dual outputs for El Degas' version of "Rick-o-sound". 3 position switch, bass tone and volume, treble tone and volume knobs. Here are some pics (apparently I'm not the greatest photographer, sorry they're a bit dark):

http://i984.photobucket.com/albums/ae32 ... nt-all.jpg

http://i984.photobucket.com/albums/ae32 ... loseup.jpg

http://i984.photobucket.com/albums/ae32 ... loseup.jpg

http://i984.photobucket.com/albums/ae32 ... loseup.jpg

There's a scratch in the upper right side on the back, not through the finish though, you can see it just barely in the photo. A little bit of oxidation on the metal in the bridge, and a bit of string grooving in the fretboard under the low E string, lowest two frets. Other than that, it's in very good condition. I have what I think is the original case too - if it's not original, it's made of swanky brown vinyl with a luxurious brown funfur interior lol, so it's definitely from the same era.

I'm not sure if I want to get involved in long-distance shipping or international shipping (I'm in Canada), so mostly I'm wondering about market value these days (in These Difficult Economic TimesTM) for when I post it locally. I'm not in a hurry to sell, but it is just taking up space. What do you gentlemen think? Current value? Should I hold on until the economy picks up? What's been going on with the market for these basses?

[charles]

Here are the images in-line, if that helps.









There is a lot of interest in these Ric copies - in fact a couple of people have posted on this forum looking for them - I'll be PMing them and letting them know to take a look at yours. Value is a tough one - as you said these are tough times right now so the used market seems to be a little low everywhere. Hard to say for sure.

Be sure to stay away from eBay - Ric copy auctions are shut down almost immediately. Local classifieds on Kijiji & Craigslist are a good bet, though.

[apstrong]

Oooo, fancy inline images, thanks Charles! Rickenbacker's notorious legal team is pretty good at what they do when it comes to Ebay, I guess. I'll try to stay on their good side.

[charles]

I hear it helps to stay away from saying the R-word.

Lovely bass - if I didn't already have one just like it I would jump all over it.

[nokidz]

where in canada are you? Im interested.........i am in ontario..southern area.

[apstrong]

I'm in Edmonton, but I'm not really taking offers yet, since I wouldn't know what a reasonable offer looks like. I'm just trying ballpark the value. Anybody have any theories on what they've been selling for lately? Or is this just going to be a case of "it's worth whatever someone will pay for it"?

[charles]

There are too many variables for me to name a value.
- lack of recorded sales to draw precedence from
- scarcity of that particular model
- I got mine for a song back in 1999/2000 so the value then is likely not indicative of today's value (things have changed, such as the almost total lack of Ric copies in the current used marketplace)
- I have not checked what a real Ric goes for right now (from the 70's era or new ones today, which are a bit different than the older models) to draw some sort of benchmark to work back from (the El Degas will be nowhere near the value of a vintage or new Ric, but it at least gives you a starting point to work from)
- the El Degas name is virtually unknown in the guitar world outside of a minority of avid folks like us who know the good ones from bad, and others who declare them a garbage beginner brand from the 70s.

[nokidz]

There are a few of this ric style in my area, non el degas, that are running in the $250 to $300 range. They include cases. I bought the one I had stolen back in the early 80's, new, for $200.

[apstrong]

Thanks for the info guys. I think I'll test the waters in the local market to save myself the hassle of shipping and see what gets offered, but if these are still in that $300 - $400 range, I'll probably hang on to it as a backup. It's a good instrument, certainly worth that much to me, so no point selling for less.

Thanks again!

[acdc126]

at 300$ i want it! but I live in Quebec, the shipping would be so expensive a im not sure if the shipping could be safe for an instrument...nd

[charles]

There was a time you could get one of these for $300 or less - personally, I think that time has passed. You don't find many (at least cosmetically) accurate replicas/copies of Rics nowadays.

[McHaven]

Sent you a PM with an offer. Hope to hear back from you

[McHaven]

Well this is mine now! Hehe

[charles]

CONGRATS!!!

I know I love the hell out of mine.

[apstrong]

Signed, sealed and delivered. It was slow shipping across the border, but I think it was worth the wait? McHaven will have to answer that one. Enjoy the new bass McHaven, and thanks again to everyone for your help.

If I run across any more of these, I'll be back to let y'all know.