REVERENDS: WANTED & FOR SALE

If you stumbled onto these pages because you have a Reverend USA Guitar, Bass, or Amp that you are interested in selling, (or trying to find the value) we might both be in luck. I am always interested in purchasing interesting USA Reverends, so, if you have found these pages helpful, the only payment I ask is that you give me first crack at buying if you are selling! Let me know via an e-mail

REVFAN's FOR SALE

If you want to buy, sell, or trade, you can post your Reverend Guitar, Bass, or Amp here at Revfan's Classified!. Just check out the "photographing your instrument" section and tips below for Revfan compatible photo standards and I'll have you Reverend up ASAP!

While not a "business" I do get guitars in from time to time, and I am currently selling some interesting pieces from my personal collection. Shipping to Europe is no problem so if you see something you like, let me know.

Reverend Rumblefish Bass For Sale: 00517 - Hunter Green

Reverend gave each of the first 100 4-string and 5-string basses a separate serial number, to go along with he regular Reverend Serial Number on the headstock. This bass is an early one, and one of those first 100 4-string basses. This is number "71" in that series and is a beautiful Hunter Green with the perloid guard.

These don't come up very often, so when I get the chance, I usually get em as fast as I can. This bass was in excellent condition, practically mint with nice white sides, no issues with body, frets neck, or pots. Sadly, it suffered some damage to the white rim in shipment to me. Though this didn't detract from its tone or playability, I sent it back to Michigan to be repaired. They did an excellent job, and the bass is as solid as ever.

If you are looking for a stunning early Reverend Bass... that is MADE in the USA, here is your chance!

Contact me via e-mail for more pics and details.

Reverend Hellhound Head and 4x10 Cabinet

This is a excellent Hellhound Head and 4x10 Cabinet, both in the Cowboy Tolex finish. Its an all tube amp with great tonal possiblilities. Reverend Amps and Cabs are certainly collectible, but they are also extremely playable. They are great for bedroom jam sessions, and are equally at home on the stage. Joe says their “secret weapon is the 3-position Schizo switch, which changes the pre-amp gain and EQ for three distinct voicings: US which is Fender-y, UK which can do a good Vox, Marshall or Hiwatt imitation, and LO-FI which is reminiscent of vintage Supro and Silvertone type amps.

You can tweak the controls and really nail a variety of vintage tones.

Contact me via e-mail for more pics and details.

I HAVE MORE REVEREND'S USAs FOR SALE, and stuff comes in all the time, so let me know what you are looking for!

Revfan's Listing Service

Reverend Slingshot Custom For Sale: 02276 - Lava Swirl

If you want a Lava Swirl with an Eastpointe Neck.... here is your chance. This guitar is on "consignment" meaning the seller has asked to list it here, so I have not held the guitar in my hands and am only going by what the seller has told me. The seller says it has a scratch to the finish on the back, but otherwise, a great playing instrument.

If interested, Contact me via e-mail - and I will get you in touch with the seller..

Tips on Selling Your Reverend

It may be obvious, but its probably a good idea to clean up your instrument before you try to sell it. This is potentially a win/win for you as sometimes, after taking it out, cleaning it and playing it a bit, you decide that you really don't want to sell it after all.

If you do all the work and still plan on going through with 'the sale," you have the potential to reap higher rewards due to a clean, nice looking instrument than one that looks like it has been a magnet for dust bunnies.

If you Google "guitar maintenance", you will get a bunch of tips about all the stuff you should have been doing over the last X years you have owned it. Now is not the time to be extreme and risk damaging your instrument, but if there is anything glaring that needs to be done (like tightening screws, cleaning off dust, or polishing/oiling fret board, do it now.

Since December of 2008, its been a buyers market. Overall prices have been down as much as 30-40% on some instruments and, like selling a house, you need a lot of curb appeal to attract buyers. Its hard to believe someone's ad when they say, "mint" if you can see dust and cobwebs, scratches, fingerprints, cat hair, etc in the pictures. Its amazing what a little Armor-All can do for the tolex cases and amps, and I recommend removing stickers and stuff that will be a visual distraction to the buyer. Every little bit helps. If you refuse to make it look nice, or are just lazy, drop your price.

Now that your guitar (or bass/amp) has been prepped, take some photographs. I know that the only camera you have may be attached to your cell phone, but poor lighting and resolution only make it seem like you are hiding flaws. If you don't have a decent camera, borrow one from a friend. A decent camera with a macro setting can be had these days for less than $100.

Photographing your Instrument

I suggest taking at least four different photos, but more photos never hurt. I recommend taking the photos on your camera's highest setting, then using image manipulation software to make a second set that are web friendly (less than 100Kbs or about 800px wide). For e-mailing, you don't need the latest and greatest Digital SLR, as huge mega pixel photos will just clog an e-mail box up anyway. Crop your photos to get rid of your bare feet & unclipped toenails or or the dirty socks you forgot to put in the laundry. A good size for web applications is 800 pix wide, 600 pix high. A steady hand and decent lighting should get the job done.

Keep the large photos though, this way, you can use the "smaller" sized files as the bait, and when you get inquiries, send the larger files to the potential buyer. It would be nice if there was some sort of standard... so if there is ever a Reverend USA Photo database, there would be some consistency. Here are the photo's that I suggest taking:

• Overall shot of Entire front of the guitar (from headstock to bottom of the body) IN THE CASE if its a Reverend Case. If there is no reverend case, shoot it on a neutral background (flower print sofa's detract from the guitar). I put a soft cloth under the body to prevent scratches or "accidents". Also, it is kind of cool to have the "Reverend" in the headstock logo oriented in a readable way. For reference, these photos are 720px wide.

• A shot of the back of the entire guitar. Metal finishes are susceptible to buckle rash, and you want to capture that so there will be no surprises on the buyers end. This shot also shows if its a fulcrum style tremolo. Hard to believe, but a lot of sellers leave the tremolo out of their description, a back shot of the guitar solves the problem nicely.
• A close-up of the back of the headstock so that the Serial Number and any initials can be read. Some sellers think there is some security issue relating to the release of the Serial Number. Collectors/Enthusiast are going to ask about the number so that the model can be verified. If you are selling a Reverend as a Slingshot, and the serial number matches a Workhorse Avenger TL, then there is a mistake somewhere. While it is possible that the mistake was made in the factory code records, more times than not it means a pick-guard swap was made at some point. When Reverend got out of the "made in USA" business, the sold off pick-guards, pickups, and pots relatively cheaply and folks went nuts.
  I know of a few stories where a buyer in a music store didn't like the pick up combo on an in-store guitar, so the store swapped the pick-guard with another that the store had. Reverends whose pick-guards don't match the archives are worth less to a collector than those that match.
• A close-up of ANY damage or areas with "issues" No sense trying to fool the buyer, Full Disclosure is important. Nobody likes surprises, and yes, damage affects the value of an instrument. Some damage can be repaired though, and a potential buyer wants to know what they are getting into before they are "in to" it. Wouldn't you? The re-skinning of a USA era Reverend usually cost around $150 (if they have the color you need) per side (as of 02-2013). So adjust your prices accordingly if there is significant damage.

The more info and pictures provided, the quicker you can make a sale. I've seen some folks trying to sell a guitar without pictures (or poorly taken pictures) and the briefest of descriptions.

If you list your guitar for sale Online, Craigslist (especially) and eBay as well, will "shrink" the size of the picture to save space. If your point is to sell, then I would think that the sooner you sold it the better. You can spend days sending e-mails back and forth - answering one question at a time or taking and sending pictures etc. It pays to have your game ready when a potential buyer comes a "knocking"

Again, be honest in your description. If you have replaced, swapped, or broke anything, photograph it and state it in the ad. Pictures and information about a guitar you want to buy is just like sex and money, you can never get enough.
Also, think about what you are willing, or not willing to do. When I find a Guitar on Craigslist, one of the first things I do (besides asking for pictures and better description) is ask if they A: Are willing to ship, and B: will they take PayPal

You can save a lot of time and effort for buyer and seller if you state these things up-front in the ad. What you are/are not willing to do is entirely up to you, but I will say that you limit your opportunities if you refuse to ship and/or take payPal Going to the post office is not a picnic, but if it means a sale, it might be worth your time and effort.

From recent experience, a $800 guitar with an OHSC shipped from Washington State to NY via USPS, insured for $1000 cost about $65. Getting a box might pose a problem, but if you go to your local music store to get the maintenance stuff, you could ask nicely for a shipping box and they will probably be happy to give you one!

Its not uncommon to see a local pickup cash price and a PayPal'd and shipped price in an ad. And I think its a great idea. PayPal is a wonderful tool to use as it allows sellers to, in effect, accept credit cards. If you are unfamiliar with payPal, its an every man's web credit card/banking service, or as I call it, "the secret underground husband economy!". I know it has its detractors, and they charge a fee (about 3%) but it allows for almost instant payment and provides some buyer/seller protection as well.

You can accept a payPal payment and have it transferred to your bank account and the process usually takes about 3 business days. IF you want to per-figure out what PayPal will charge you, go to the

PayPal Fee Calculator.

If you receive $700 for someone, they are going to charge you about $20 for the service. If that bothers you a lot, you could accept e-checks. It would only cost about $5 for the $700, but it would take about a week to clear.

WHERE TO SELL?

First, contact me!
No, really!
I haven't put all this blood, sweat, and tears into this website for nothing! If you've gotten this far, and found the information helpful, you can reward me by letting me know you are thinking of selling your guitar, bass or amp. I keep a list of buyers and sellers, so if I can't buy it myself, I'll try to find you someone who can.

If you really want to let the market set the price of you guitar (which can be a double edged sword, especially in this bad economy), eBay is an option. I don't know of a Reverend Collector out there that doesn't check eBay at least once a day. The same things I've already said about cleaning up, taking good pictures, and having a good description hold true for eBay too.

It takes nerves of steel, but auctions that start with a $1 bid usually sell for more than those that are priced closer to its value as a starting bid. There is a lot of psychology involved, but everyone is interested in a bargain, and we all dream about winning ANY reverend for a low price. Once a bid gets placed though, the potential buyer has created a mental attachment to your item, and psychological studies show that once that bond is made, the buyer is more likely to spend more than its value to "win" it.

eBay's services do not come without a price either. There is an interesting eBay calculator that will help you figure out what "the piper" gets.

eBay Fee Calculator

As an example, a guitar that is listed with standard listing fees and a starting bid of $500 that eventually sells for $700 cost the seller about $26. Accepting payPal adds another $21, for a total of about $52 (seller walks away with $647 on a $700 guitar).

Craigslist

I search Craigslist as often as anyone. Most of the time, folks choose to sell on CL because they want a face to face or cash transaction. The main problem with this is that Reverend is a fairly unknown brand, so you are limiting your exposure when you only sell locally.
Chances are, as soon as you list it, you will be inundated with e-mails from the Reverend Faithful (like myself) all over the country asking if you will ship and if you'd take payPal You certainly will avoid eBay fees going this route, but in general, Craigslist sales go for about 20% cheaper than an eBay sale. Most people who will be buying locally will want to come to your house to try out/see your Reverend. And in this day and age, I can't really recommend that to anyone.

Music Store Consignment or Sale

NO! Don't Do it!

I'll be honest with you, most Music Stores are unfamiliar with the Reverend Brand... especially the out of production USA stuff. Guitar Center sold a Wolfman not long ago for something $299... which means they probably gave the previous owner $150 trade in.

They will probably just go to a the blue book of guitar values and give you 40% of that. Same thing with pawn shops. Its absolutely the worst way to go about getting value for your instrument. I can almost guarantee that I will give you more for you instrument then they will. I was in a New England pawn shop last summer and watched a guy get $200 for a 1967 Gibson Humming Bird.... still makes me ill thinking about it.

REVFAN's SOLD

Here are a few that have come and gone.....

SOLD Reverend USA Guitar for Sale -SOLD: SPY - 02240 - Ridged Aluminum w/ Trem

SOLD Reverend USA Guitar for Sale:SOLD Slingshot - 04111 - Lava Swirl/Maple w Bigsby!

SOLD Slingshot Custom- 3729 -SOLD Smoked Chrome w Bigsby

SOLD Reverend USA Guitar for Sale:SOLD Slingshot - 1352 SOLD- Ridged Aluminum

SOLD Reverend USA Guitar for Sale:SOLD Avenger TL- 2836 - #`1 Space Race Silver w/Trem!

SOLD Reverend USA Guitar for Sale: Advanced Wolfman SOLD- 04238 Sky Blue/Maple & Bigsby

SOLD Reverend USA Guitar for Sale: Wolfman - 03762 SOLD -Safety Orange with Bigsby!

SOLD Reverend USA Guitar for Sale: Hitman - 1569 SOLD- Aged White w Maple Neck

SOLD Reverend Bass For Sale: Rumblefish - 1788 SOLD - Ridged Aluminum

SOLD Reverend Bass For Sale: Rumblefish XL- 3312 SOLD - Coalmine Black Rockhide

SOLD Reverend Bass For Sale: Rumblefish XL- 3050 SOLD- Space Race Silver/Black

SOLD Reverend USA Guitar Avenger TL - 04012 SOLD - Smoked Chrome with Hot Rod Flames

SOLD Reverend Rocco - 03230 SOLD- Jet Black Gloss Tone

SOLD Reverend Avenger 00313 SOLD - Fire Engine Red/White

SOLD Reverend USA Avenger - 4939 SOLD- 69 Lime Green !

SOLD Reverend Avenger 01404 SOLD - Sky Blue/Silver Mist

SOLD Reverend Black Cat- 00088 SOLD- Jet Black/White

SOLD Reverend Commando - 00774 SOLD - Aged White/Gold

SOLD Reverend Commando GT- 01872 SOLD - Fire Engine Red/Silver Mist (TRM)

SOLD Reverend Commando GT- 03764 SOLD- Jet Black/White

SOLD Reverend Rumblefish - 03528 SOLD- Flamed Maple/Black

SOLD Reverend Rumblefish - 00990:SOLD Hunter Green/Gold Guard

SOLD - Reverend Advanced Wolfman For Sale:SOLD 04293 - Sky Blue w Bigsby

My personal favorite Reverend USA set up is the Wolfman... using two Reverend House-Brand "Revtron" pickups. Reverend says, "these clean sounding humbuckers are designed for thick twang and upper-mid growl reminiscent of 1950's rockabilly era guitars. However, RevTrons are wound about 5% hotter than the originals for more versatility." and that is pretty much right on the money. This is the "Advanced" Wolfman, with the Reverend USA neck and the Bass Contour Control. The Bigsby rounds the whole thing out for a very nice example. Sides are still white, no issues with frets, neck, body, or Controls.

SOLD - Reverend Advanced Wolfman For Sale:SOLD 04345 - Red Mahogany Hardtail

Another neat Advanced Wolfman... This one is in the faux wood Red Mahogany. About 80% of the Wolfmen were shipped out of the factory with the Bigsby, so this is one of the few Hardtail Wolfmen around. It has all the advantages of Reverend's "Advanced" series (Reverend USA neck and the Bass Contour Control).

SOLD Reverend Slingshot Custom For Sale:SOLD 02341 - Navy w Tremolo

This one has all the goodies! Late version Eastpointe neck, Factory Graph Tech Saddles, Fulcrum Trem, and Slingshot Custom pickup combo! One of three Slingshot Customs in Navy Blue, this guitar will be at home on stage and/or in your collection. If you need to scratch that itch for some P90 goodness, you need to seriously consider a Slingshot Custom. Reverend says, "Fat and bluesy but with just the right amount of bite and twang to cut through. An amazing guitar for both clean and distorted tones." which sums it up well. No issues, trem stays in tune, frets, neck, body, controls are all as they should be!

SOLD Reverend Spy For Sale:SOLD 02261 - Pale Yellow w Tremolo

There were only 61 Guitars ordered in Pale Yellow, the bulk of them between 2000-2001. Only 3 Spys got this color treatment, and this is the only one with a Tremolo.

SOLD Reverend USA Guitar for Sale:SOLD SPY - 01918 - Lava Swirl

This Lava Swirl Spy, is the first Lava Swirl Spy. It was in the personal collection of Reverend Founder, Joe Naylor, who said it was his "couch guitar". It is signed/initialed on the headstock by the crew at Reverend and is marked #1 Lava Swirl". Coming from Mr. Naylor, it is set up as well as a Reverend can be. Plays wonderfully and is a collectible piece you can hold on to or play out with. If you have been looking for "a" Spy, here is an opportunity to have "THE" Spy, and a part of Reverend history ta boot!

SOLD Reverend Slingshot For Sale:SOLD 02681 - Blood Red w/ Tremolo

The Blood Red and Gold is a classic Reverend color combo and this one come in outstanding shape with a tremolo and the Reverend USA Neck (my personal favorite Reverend neck. See "Guitars" page for more info). The Reverend P90s scream and the Slingshot is described as, "Fat and bluesy but with just the right amount of bite and twang to cut through". .

 

Reverend Rocco For Sale: Rocco- 2328 - Navy w Tremolo

Great example of a Rocco in a fairly rare color. This one has the late Eastpointe Neck (without the skunk stripe) and coil taps for the Black-n-White Humbuckers. The fret board on this one is a dark ebony black rosewood which really makes the guitar pop. Sperzel Tuners and Fulcrum Tremolo complete the package.

 

SOLD Reverend Avenger For Sale: 02676 - Jet Black w/ Tremolo

I haven't come across many Trem'd Avengers, but here is one in Jet Black! Its the has nice upgrades (Trem and Factory Graph Techs) to make this one really shine! The Sides are white, frets are great, and no issues with the electronics. This one is ready to Rock!