the Fly Clone Project

Quick ... there's a deal on Reverb!
https://reverb.com/item/63036182-parker ... dition-koa

Ooofff—I don’t think the $27k gets as much of a reaction out of me as “2008” the most questionable year of quality control The seller suggests that it’s been unplayed all this time, however, so hopefully the dreaded fret/fretboard lifting (and other) issues are not in play on this.

I wonder why/how the seller arrived at “27” grand and not “24” or “32” or any other number—maybe there’s some inflation factor they’re considering relative to what they paid in 2008…

Regardless, short of one of those zeroes disappearing or a decade disappearing from the serial, I don’t think this is the guitar for me. Good luck to the seller!

vjmanzo wrote: ↑Wed Nov 09, 2022 10:16 am Ooofff—I don’t think the $27k gets as much of a reaction out of me as “2008” the most questionable year of quality control The seller suggests that it’s been unplayed all this time, however, so hopefully the dreaded fret/fretboard lifting (and other) issues are not in play on this.

I wonder why/how the seller arrived at “27” grand and not “24” or “32” or any other number—maybe there’s some inflation factor they’re considering relative to what they paid in 2008…

Regardless, short of one of those zeroes disappearing or a decade disappearing from the serial, I don’t think this is the guitar for me. Good luck to the seller!

Can't believe you're going to pass on this!

There are three high-end Fly's that appeared on Reverb recently. The ask prices on two of them are unbelievable!

And no, they are not my listings..

https://reverb.com/item/63097246-2008-c ... asons-fall

https://reverb.com/item/63036182-parker ... dition-koa

https://reverb.com/item/59337412-1999-p ... e-basswood

Price aside, they are all beautiful guitars.

Thanks, @FlyFan—we had some light mention of it in the "What's This Worth?" thread...

I'm not sure that these are any more "high-end" relative to other Flys as much as they are "high-priced" relative to other Flys. To me, the Fly Artist made during the Ken-era seems the most appealing of the three—one of them is just a Mojo with a veneer. The koa Fly is novel—not many Flys out there with that body wood; not sure it commands that asking price, but best of luck to the seller and may the buyer be ever-content!

Reverb's relegated itself to being free billboard space, at this point - It no longer serves to establish market value; because more and more storefronts (such as the ironically named "Best Price Music Gear") are listing inventory at intentionally outrageous prices for the sake of enticing offsite negotiations which circumvent Reverb wetting its beak with ever-increasing commissions/fees/taxes.

Unfortunately, the internet presence of the broader Parker Guitars community includes a few dishonest people who want to get rid of their guitars; and they're collectively willing to pretend that the price gouging prevalent on one website for ulterior reasons signifies that their personal guitars are massively appreciating in value.

It's been the same with Steinberger, Aristides, Vigier, and other brands for which the pretense of market scarcity can be invoked. Until Reverb affects and enforces a policy change in which this trend of what is essentially fraudulent listing practice is addressed with seller suspensions or other deterrence, these bubbles of perceived brand value produced through cynical market manipulation are going to continue to inflate beyond the budgets of their intended consumer base (which is why larger amounts of redundant listings of wildly varying price currently litter Reverb).

I echo VJ's sentiments, and will likely merge this thread with the existing discussion in the Classifieds where I've been petulantly whining about these trends for years. I haven't reported on it as much, lately; due to the fact that this quality of Reverb listing is becoming the norm. Meanwhile, cheaper Fly listings (such as those linked below) seem to sit as a consequence of the actual market for these guitars reaching its saturation point.

https://reverb.com/item/62850253-parker ... k-basswood

https://www.ebay.com/itm/225245594346?h ... R97o1Y2NYQ

https://reverb.com/item/47982845-1994-p ... y-hardtail

https://reverb.com/item/62823321-parker ... majik-blue

vjmanzo wrote: ↑Wed Nov 09, 2022 10:16 am I wonder why/how the seller arrived at “27” grand and not “24” or “32” or any other number—maybe there’s some inflation factor they’re considering relative to what they paid in 2008…

So, I realized, today, that we had the advertisement for this USM Koa Select Fly advertisement linked in the catalogs section—looks like it sold new for $10k. Inflation from 2008 to today would put it at about $13k - $14k, which, of course, is about half of what the seller is asking. I suppose the fact that this article appeared in the Robb Report is indicative of USM/Parker Guitars’ target customer for a “collectible” Fly like this.

Excerpt from the writeup:

The Fly Select Koa ($10,000) will be limited to 25 numbered units, each comes with a signed certificate of authenticity from master luthier Ken Parker

FWIW @Ken Parker did make a few koa Flys during that first decade of Parker Guitars, but, by 2008, he had already been gone from Parker Guitars for about 5 years—so, what is this signed "certificate of authenticity" that USM included?! Ken had no involvement in making these guitars.

#WoodTypes

Those prices are eye wateringly obscene!
Especially when I look at the Canadian exchange!

The least expensive of the three is no longer available. Not sure if it sold, or got what price

FlyFan wrote: ↑Sun Nov 13, 2022 11:37 am The least expensive of the three is no longer available. Not sure if it sold, or got what price

i noticed that... yea the artist sold. if they really paid that, wow. i'm pretty sure i saw one of those go for half that price in the past few years.

ubik55 wrote: ↑Mon Nov 14, 2022 1:15 pm the artist sold. if they really paid that, wow. i'm pretty sure i saw one of those go for half that price in the past few years.

As I recall, several offers were made on that listing over the months. Even with hype dissipating between June and now, I wouldn’t be surprised if someone convinced themselves that they might never see another Fly Artist for sale in their lifetime, and that $5,000+ USD were suddenly burning a hole in their pocket.

I think it was as recent as 2020 that I passed up some scratched/dinged Artists listed on Reverb for $1,500 and $,1900, respectively (at the time, there was an abundance of cheaper Deluxes, Classics, and Mojos listed in much better condition).

For now, I’m hoping that Pat bought the guitar with the windfall he inherited from a Nigerian prince.

mmmguitar wrote: ↑Mon Nov 14, 2022 3:13 pm

ubik55 wrote: ↑Mon Nov 14, 2022 1:15 pm the artist sold. if they really paid that, wow. i'm pretty sure i saw one of those go for half that price in the past few years.

For now, I’m hoping that Pat bought the guitar with the windfall he inherited from a Nigerian prince.

No such luck. His email somehow got lost in the Spam folder and I missed my window of opportunity to receive 34 million dollars by only opening a measly account with $1500 in it for him! I could kick myself.

Nah - the guitar is still listed on the guitarsny.com website along with a Bronze which is suspiciously similar to a recent CL listing for $2600.00 - now selling for $5500.00. Someone could verify with the wayback machine. I dont have access to that here.

https://www.guitarsny.com/used-guitars-for-sale

The butterscotch Fly Artist is beautiful and the one I always wanted. It's such a clean look that flatters the lines of the guitar, and I don't think $5k is too out of line for a rare instrument of that quality if everything checks out. The other listings are laugh tracks.

The lower-priced “Great Condition” Fly does seem to still happen from time to time:

Found a nice one here:

https://nashville.craigslist.org/msg/d/ ... 42090.html

'97 looks to be in great shape. Good price IMO.

This white '96 Deluxe with a few paint chips (and what appears to be Ken's signature) was listed for $2,450+tax, raised to $2,650 once the seller decided they could probably get more, then seems to have sold for the increased price with zero offers.

I highlighted the listing because Pearl White Flys (from any era) are increasingly uncommon to see in the secondhand market.

Another pricey 2008

https://reverb.com/item/64192808-parker ... t=64192808

Well, that one went fast:
https://reverb.com/item/64428874-parker ... tterscotch

Patzag wrote: ↑Fri Dec 30, 2022 6:13 pm Well, that one went fast:
https://reverb.com/item/64428874-parker ... tterscotch

It’s quite nuts that some have that kind of dough laying around for cool, yet overpriced goods.

All those YouTubers that keep acquiring expensive gear…do they still live in their parent’s basement and/or live off things by turning a profit through resale?

Voice Of Reason wrote: ↑Sun Jan 01, 2023 3:20 pm All those YouTubers that keep acquiring expensive gear…do they still live in their parent’s basement and/or live off things by turning a profit through resale?

In many cases, it's both - But the latter is so common as to constitute the norm (minor rant ahead):

For any industry with brands established enough to have a web marketing department for tangible product*, the Influencer™ business model is to solicit free, resalable product from these brands. The first insidious aspect of that business is that, rather than leave room for scandal by having a paper trail in which positive "reviews" (commercial advertisement) is guaranteed prior to the product being received or evaluated, there's a common understanding that the reviewer receiving the product is going to promote positive interest in it for the sake of their own interests in reselling it quickly.

Even pre-Youtube or Reverb, guitar magazines were doing this on eBay twenty years ago. To this day, guitar messageboard moderators and administrators continue to be compromised by brands offering resalable gear or discounts in exchange for back-end censorship of negative word of mouth concerning quality of their product or after-sale service (I suspect VJ of resting comfortably in the deep, deep pockets of Big Cantaloupe).

Every Youtube guitarist has a Reverb account they conspicuously omit from their social media plugs - even when their angle to distinguish themselves as a Content Creator™ is the pretense of transparency.

(e.g., "My latest thumbnail to crack a thousand views includes the words Unbiased Review, and also a red circle with an arrow pointing to my quizzical facial expression which, more often than not, serves to communicate intestinal distress.").

You can make a game out of following these shills and seeing how quickly their "favorite" gear makes it to the chopping block once the review's published (or even before, in cases of pushing the auto-publishing date back in order to give a competing brand priority in the schedule).

Even ignoring how many Youtube guitar videos exist strictly to appease the algorithm rather than the viewer, I try to never believe anything claimed in one - Even if it's incidentally what I wanted to hear. The bigger the smile, the bigger the lie.

*the video game Influencer™ - in lieu of resalable, tangible, product - begs for early access codes from a member of the game distributor's marketing dept, then typically broadcasts themselves streaming their realtime reactions to the game on Twitch the moment the review embargo is lifted.