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Seriously considering selling every Hamer I own


mirrorimij

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I never thought I would be in this spot......

i just turned 50 and accepted a new position with a company based out of Clearwater, FL.  I will be covering the state of Connecticut working out of my home (which I intend to keep) in the Northwest corner.  I’ve worked with these guys before and it’s a good fit.  I am considering purchasing a 2nd home near the office.  I really like the Safety Harbor area and a place I like is available.  I was down there last week getting oriented to the new position.  I was talking guitars over dinner and a very wealthy man offered to buy my whole Hamer collection.  I have a few special guitars and all have sentimental value but I honestly don’t play them.  I play a very good Fender Strat about 90% of the time.   I’m considering selling them to 90% fund the purchase of what would be a decent vacation spot/retirement home.  It’s almost a no brainer!   

Im torn because I had a hand in building them.  Most have unique factory documentation and/or other little bits of swag.  I gave 10+ years to that place and there is a lot of sentimental value attached to these instruments.  I have one daughter who likes music but most likely wouldn’t want to be the recipient of guitars after I pass.  

I think I’ve made the decision to sell but I’m almost in shock over it.  The guy is flying up this week to check them out.  I would still have plenty of other brands of guitars to play.

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Bob - I’m sure that’s a tough decision to make, but I totally understand, as family and career come first.

I’ll definitely connect if you end up heading to Clearwater - there are some HFC’ers in the Tampa/St.Pete area, and both Steve and I have in-laws in Naples.   Siobhan and I get down there a couple times a year.  

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Clearly your priorities are changing. It sounds like you'll have little regret. Aside from 4 digit few models have significantly increased their value. It seems like you have a substantial offer, like you said no brainer. There will always be Hamers out there you had a hand in building. If it were me I would do it!

arniez

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Mirrorimij,

Man that is a tough post.  I wish the very best for you and your family. 

Your guitars are different than most, you worked for the company, you had a hand in building them,  participating in building the brand we love. 

I wish you the best all the luck as you make the decision.   

Hamerica

 

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23 minutes ago, Studio Custom said:

Florida:

11% of pop are felons

Hot & humid

Florida man stories

Alligators

Rising seas

Hurricanes

Hard pass  

That's "Joe" for "I wish you all the best."

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You’ve made your decision. You’ll be happy with it. If it were me I’d have to keep just one if I had a hand in building them....but I am a slushy sentimental dork that way.

glwts

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WIth all the talk about the coming boomer sell-off and the fear of falling values, this sounds like an incredible offer.  You can always pick up another Hamer or 10 after you make a go of your new gig.  And you will always have the experience of building every guitar you ever built.  Wishing you all the best!

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Tough decision, Bob. But they wouldn't be going to a random stranger, right? So there's some comfort in that.

If all my crap - guitars, house, wife and kids - would buy a retirement place I'd sell tomorrow, but reality says it's closer to a down payment on an ArrrVeee.

Good luck with it and enjoy, whatever you choose.

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Keep the Hamer that has the most sentimental value to you. Have a professional photographer take pictures of all the rest and hang the pictures in your studio. You’d see them more frequently that way since they’re cased most of the time. Then enjoy your new nearly paid for second home in a warm climate when it get’s fugly up here in the North country!! 

Just my 10 cents worth (adjusted for inflation)  

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6 minutes ago, Dutchman said:

Have a professional photographer take pictures of all the rest and hang the pictures in your studio. 

And post the pics here...

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If you can sell all of your Hamers at once for a price you can live with, it will not be as bad as you think.  I sold a lifetime collection piecemeal, then the rest all at once.  It felt worse watching it go a piece at a time than it did to sell everything that was left. 

There is a bit of you in every Hamer made while you were in the shop.  This place will give you plenty of opportunities to stay connected. 

Go for that house. 

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^^^^Love the "coming boomer selloff" phraseology, and I might be an early example.

 My perspective RE what to do with a decent-sized-and-admirable collection has been posted on at least one other thread, so excuse any redundancy. 

My reasons for selling almost all of my collection almost four years ago were retirement-based (plus frustration due to hearing loss, also noted previously); after settling into monthly SS deposits, other senior/retirement income, and Medicare, I sold the bulk of my instruments and set up a simple-to-access bank account for my family. That'll be easier for them to work with when I breathe my last, instead of them having to lug around guitar cases about which they know very little.  All I've kept are some token examples of American instruments that I use with speeches/lectures (a Stella, a Kay-made house brand, etc.), some custom-made instruments (including several made to my specs) and Gittler #78. Some of those will probably also be on the sales block once I step back from giving talks.

But many of us have had the experience of having to sell instruments for more-crucial/current  financial reasons, including using such funds to invest elsewhere, like mirroimij is talking about doing.  There's also selling because of a financial hardship, including the ancillary facet of selling some to contribute your fair share to household income. I had  that experience in the late '90s and early Aughts when I was unemployed (happened twice before I began a job in a completely different career field), and there are times when I'm still bitter, because they've appreciated in value dramatically since I sold 'em. If I'd been able to hang on to them a couple of decades, my nest egg would have been considerably larger.

Even Rick Nielsen has talked about how his collection is (part of) his retirement portfolio.

Bottom line for me at this point (I'll be 70 next year and am no longer an active player) is whatever works smoothest for my heirs. IMO family should be the first factor in such decisions.

 

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I'd say pick one to keep for that sentimental value, and give the buyer first crack at it if you decide later to sell it.  Otherwise sounds like the convenience and price are frankly too good to pass up.  

ETA:  I'll counter offer $350 for the lot.  😆

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Bob,  

Like many have said above - life changes.  Sometimes a new phase in life is A WHOLE LOT different.

If you can sell the bulk of your guitar collection to a true collector  (with money) who appreciates them THAT much and get it all done in ONE transaction -  its a no-brainer.  It may feel weird watching your stuff leave the house all in one day, but it will feel a whole lot less weird once you deposit that big ass check into the bank.   

Plus you wont have to mess with the "joys" of individual guitar sales like:  fees, tire kickers, tonal details, neck measurements, price beatdowns, packing, shipping, pissed-off wife or not as described returns or the f*cking weight.         

NONE.  OF.  THAT.  SH!T.       You're done in one day.

Being such a strong part of Hamer's history is part of you and your family's legacy that no one can change.  You certainly  should be proud of that forever.

So yeah, take several really good photographs of them and call the guy to scratch out a big fat check.  Then head to the beach or whatever.

The best to you and your family whatever you decide to do.

 

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3 hours ago, Studio Custom said:

Florida:

11% of pop are felons

Hot & humid

Florida man stories

Alligators

Rising seas

Hurricanes

 

Hard pass  

 

 

 

Good. We're full. 🤩

 

mirrormij, from what you described, it sounds like the correct move for you. As much as it sometimes sucks to acknowledge, nothing is forever.

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Boomerang-Junkie kinda beat me to it, but like he said...take photos and compile notes on all the Hamers you're selling, including all the documentation and swag that goes with them, and document your personal connection with each guitar.  Your family may not be into guitars, but they'll always be into family history, especially since photos are much easier to access than a closet full of heavy guitar cases.  And has also been said above, keep a Hamer for yourself if you can.  Plus, it's not like your interest in playing is over, you still have other guitars, too!  Good luck on your new adventure, and keep us posted!

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1 hour ago, DBraz said:

I totally get it.  The more I play my guitars the more I realise that I gravitate to a few of them and the rest are luxuries.

Playing them’s the most important part.

I think that's why I've finally gravitated to good 'ol three-saddle Tele-style guitars, because they fit my playing style: basic and primitive.  B) :lol:

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One nice thing about selling an entire collection is that you know it's all going to someone who will likely appreciate or care for those instruments until they pass into other hands. Whereas, when you sell to one person at a time, you never know if that buyer kicks off, his kid will get the guitar snd sell for drug-money, it'll get thrashed it around, and then pawned off where it'll collect dust and never be appreciated. Of course, there's no guarantee that a well-cared for collection won't be inherited by a dweeb and sold off piecemeal and eventually deteriorate as well, but there are more millionaires today than in the past, so this boomer sell-off that everyone speculates about may not be the bargain blast that everyone thinks may happen. It may just be that all of the new, young wealth buys up those old collections, thus keeping it in money hands.

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