I think part of it is getting established and building a known reputation for quality and sound (tone). I recall back in 1997 or so, the Collings D2H was going for around $2,200 new and I bought a used one in excellent condition for $1,300. Quite a contrast between then and now. I held on to that D2H for a few years, sold it for $2,300 and I never looked back.
Regards,
Rich

A significant element of the resale problem with H&Ds is their pricing policy. Last I heard they were holding dealers to a strict 10% off list pricing control. The problem is that in the factory guitar world, 50% of list has become the accepted "magic number" for a used guitar. When you buy it at 60% or 65% of list, as you normally can with the Martins/Taylors/etc., that's not too bad of a hit. When you bought it at 90% of list, OUCH!

I chalk that up to the general buying public not really knowing much about H&Ds and not understanding that element of their pricing.

Andrew

Collings also enforces the same 10% dealer discount as H&D, so don't think that is a main factor. I think the main factor is that Collings not only just making gtrs but great ones abt 10year earlier than H&D, naturally more people know more abt this brand. Even in small gtr market in my country, players know of or at least heard of Collings somewhere even if they hv not played one. Almost no one know abt H&D, really.

i think it's mainly a matter of market education. scgc has the same problem (and i AM in love with them, but the market isn't, yet). i have to remember how long i was devoted to martin (30 years), putting up with their on-again-off-again devotion to quality, consistency and sound. when i found collings, i started really paying attention to sound (because the workmanship and materials problem was solved). i believe that h&d and everybody else is still 2nd fiddle to martin with the largely uneducated (unfamiliar is a better word) guitar-buying public. i mean, people are still willing to pay a sometimes 15k markup for pedestrian (to be polite) martin brazilian, when the upcharge for collings' and everybody else's aaa is between 4.5 and 8k. granted the aaa designation is somewhat liberally applied sometimes..maybe it's really only aa, but it's still phenonmenal when compared to....

anyway, there's still quite a ways to go before the h&d or scgc name, say, and attendant quality are more universally recognized. i think collings is the closest to secondary-market leadership.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: ptoverly,

I have never seen an H&D in the flesh, but I recently saw a year old MJC with a cedar top for $2900. When I looked at the H&D website, I saw that was a $4075 guitar with another $175 for the cedar top option. That's a bigger hit than I'd want to take on a one-year old box.