the Fly Clone Project

There are more Flys in “beater” condition out there than anything else. While this one sold for an amount that seems to signify asking prices returning to earth from the heights reached within the bubble cultivated by the Parker Guitars community’s two or three dedicated flippers, I’m posting it in case we see it relisted for twice the price in the near future:

Ruby Red '95 Deluxe (104085BP), listed for $1,635 but having sold for an undisclosed offer.

Though not about Parker guitars specifically, a gent some may know by the handle DarthPhineas recently documented his perceptions and sentiments toward current resale trends (and the actors dictating them) in the following diatribe. The line about flippers pretending that the changing of hands is what causes appreciation hits the nail on the head.

http://darthphineas.com/2021/11/sellers-market/

Hey Everyone,

What’s a good condition single cut Fly Mahogany Mojo worth nowadays, is it at all comparable to a regular Fly Mojo? I would assume it would be in the $2300-$2800 region in good condition but any feedback would be great!

Hi @Dachillies—I’ve seen the SC Mojos go for about half of that ($1300 - 1800) as of late. They are comparable to the Fly Mojo in terms of the production and almost all of the electronics, but are quite different in terms of the bridge and, of course, the weight and body shape.

@vjmanzo Understood! I also forgot to put the CAD after my post (although I know $2300 CAD is still high for it). It also had a Parker HSC although I’m sure all Fly Mojos came with one originally. I appreciate the insight on its value!

Happy to help, @Dachillies; was/is this an instrument you bought or were considering buying?

@vjmanzo I’m looking at selling it actually. I own a few different Parker’s but I’ve been really wanting a regular Fly Mojo for a while so I’m looking to sell a guitar or two to help fund it!

gotcha, @Dachillies! Cool!

I’ve always wanted to try an SC Mojo, so if you do decide to sell it, please let us know! You’re welcome to post a new topic here in the Classifieds ; just consider a number you’d be comfortable with.

@vjmanzo Will do! I plan to post it just before or just after Christmas. The most two recent listings I can find on Reverb were mid and early 2020 and they went for around $1600 and $2000 USD. I’m sure I’ll list somewhere in the middle there around $1800 HSC and all. I’m sure you’ll see it then. Thanks!

A Deluxe Gold in very decent condition sold on Ebay yesterday with a single bid for $1950.00.
I think we may be seeing the first sign of the prices coming back to a "normal" level.

I watched it stay at the same starting bid for the last week. The FB marketplace listings for the red Mojo with GK3 ($1600) and emerald green deluxe ($1800) seem to suggest a sub-$2k trend, as well.

For the past year or so, you could consistently find cheaper Fly listings on this site, eBay, GC, and FB marketplace; with Reverb being the island the flippers based out of the FB groups were using to try to control the perceived market value of the Flys they were offloading two or three at a time, per seller. It seems their overestimation of demand and underestimation of how quickly they’d saturate this tiny sliver of the resale market has led to competing sellers undercutting their listings with ones of comparable claimed condition, for around half the price - with the cheaper listings still sitting. If this continues for another month, the abundance of black deluxes and red classics (combined with the dearth of replacement springs and Fishman saddles) may finally result in NiteFly prices eclipsing Flys.

mmmguitar wrote: ↑Wed Dec 15, 2021 11:59 am …may finally result in NiteFly prices eclipsing Flys.

I, too, would like to congratulate the NiteFly on going from $700-ish asking prices to $2,000+ asking prices in just a few months!

Bumping just to post a PSA in response to some minor shenanigans I’m seeing in the broader community:

Any time a seller is trying to sell their product with the tactic of presenting the thing as an investment which is “only going to increase in value”, they are scamming you. The sentiment should be a red flag to buyers: If they were telling the truth, then they would be acting in accordance with their own advice; rather than trying to offload the “investment” onto you.

This phenomenon is seemingly hand-in-hand with the ambitions of two or more fellows with Reverb and Facebook accounts who apparently can’t afford to jump on the NFT bandwagon; and are using these guitars to play out some goofy financial guru fantasy. The most disturbing trend I'm seeing reported is these flippers messaging sellers to urge/advise them to increase their asking prices; so as not to risk potentially devaluing their gear. If only these silly people were content to play their guitars, rather than try to play games with them.

One such goofball was reported banned from a Facebook group following repeated insults toward members who were alleged to have “ruined the value” of their personal Flys by modifying or replacing factory components,\ in the course of repair and/or personal preference.

For better and worse, we generally don’t get enough Classifieds traffic here to attract either these bad actors or honest sellers looking to forego those hefty Reverb fees. But if anyone participating in the site Classifieds should happen to receive messages along the lines of the shady behavior described above, I err on the side of “better safe than sorry” in encouraging members to report such messages for staff review. This site isn’t responsible for what happens after you’ve decided to send your guitar or money to someone - But the community can surely help up to the point of making that commitment.

…so, people think guitars are investments? Oh wait—if I’m reading this right: guitars are currency?! I’m out of my league!

Thanks for helping to keep an eye out mmmguitar and for the PSA for others to do the same. We’re fortunate to have you as a moderator here!

mmmguitar wrote: ↑Tue Jan 11, 2022 8:19 am flippers are messaging sellers to urge/advise them to increase their asking prices; so as not to risk potentially devaluing their gear.

Fixed pricing!

FYI—I’ve seen a few Flys go on the cheap as of late; my brother bought a pre-refined for $1100 (photos forthcoming) from Reverb—nothing structurally wrong with it, but needs new internal guts (working on it and I’ll start a new thread once we iron out our replacement Flex PCBs to put in it!). I saw a refined Fly yesterday in “excellent” condition sell on Reverb for $1300 w/case.

I’ve been watching those sub $2k Deluxes and Mojos come and go. Though I’m not seeing any NGD posts by the buyers, I suspect some of the cheaper Flys we’re seeing offloaded as “lemons” are a sad consequence of local guitar techs refusing to fix frets, troubleshoot Fishman components, or even take on the liability of touching the thing. Considering how often I see it asked in the Facebook groups, I definitely need to dig through some posts and make a stickied thread with an up-to-date list of stores and individuals willing to work on Flys that members can give feedback on.

I’m still waiting to spot and report how much the next Artist listing will end up being (anywhere from $1,900 to $6,000, it seems). Listings for that SKU have been so rare in the past year, that I’m tempted to relegate it to the same status as the Bronze, Nylon, MaxxFly 7, or Vernon Reid (“If you see one, buy it”).

mmmguitar wrote: ↑Tue Jan 11, 2022 9:22 am I’m still waiting to spot and report how much the next Artist listing will end up being (anywhere from $1,900 to $6,000, it seems).

BTW—a few weeks ago, Guitar Center had a used pre-refined Fly Artist for sale for $1700—only lasted a hot second before it was gone.

Guitar Center resale prices are dictated by someone throwing a pair of nineteen-sided dice while playing a kazoo (I wish I had caught one of the mythical Belews GC blew out the door for pennies on the dollar). Hopefully it was in decent condition.

mmmguitar wrote: ↑Tue Jan 11, 2022 6:38 pmI wish I had caught one of the mythical Belews GC blew out the door for pennies on the dollar.

…and then of course there’s this Fly Deluxe listing in Peru for $1,330 and free shipping; anyone ever order an instrument from Peru to the States? First-time seller with no feedback, but look at that listing price!

Looks like it’s as the seller describes in “super excellent condition”

vjmanzo wrote: ↑Tue Jan 11, 2022 9:41 am

mmmguitar wrote: ↑Tue Jan 11, 2022 9:22 am I’m still waiting to spot and report how much the next Artist listing will end up being (anywhere from $1,900 to $6,000, it seems).

BTW—a few weeks ago, Guitar Center had a used pre-refined Fly Artist for sale for $1700—only lasted a hot second before it was gone.

It’s crazy how you just find these in the minutes before they’re gone

DLQ wrote: ↑Fri Jan 14, 2022 10:59 am It’s crazy how you just find these in the minutes before they’re gone

I have few other skills in life, but spotting good prices on Flys before they sell seems to be my calling!