1966 Rickenbacker 4001

[Burns-bass]

I attended an auction today (Dore and Rees) and picked up a few bargains. I was interested in a 1966 Rickenbacker until the price went above £10,000. I think the hammer fell at £11,000, with auctioneers commission of 33%.
 

That’s the best part of £14,000.

 

Are they that rare?

 

It was a bit of a magical moment in the sale room (I was online, but even so). 

Edited September 21, 2022 by Burns-bass

[Doctor J]

No. It's just that some people are mental.

[Burns-bass]

7 minutes ago, Doctor J said:

No. It's just that some people are mental.

I did think part of it was auction fever. I’ve seen old Fenders being sold for that, but not Ricks.

[Godber]

There were a couple of serious collectors (one U.K. one USA) head-to-head for that one.

 

Pretty rare bass though.

[Burns-bass]

35 minutes ago, Godber said:

There were a couple of serious collectors (one U.K. one USA) head-to-head for that one.

 

Pretty rare bass though.

Ahh were you there as well? I’ve bought a few bits from those guys and they’re really lovely. 

[Godber]

Just watching…out of my league

[msb]

At that time they were not making a lot of basses , and the specs were frequently changing so it’s fairly simple to spot each period. And they are beautiful things.

The later 4001 basses don’t have “the features” but they are more affordable. They’ve been creeping up in value though. It always seems that yesterday was the best time to buy one.

[bartelby]

Here's the bass https://auctions.doreandrees.com/catalogue/lot/79cb2775e334296da9e8af1d4acf0429/ad74375b82a358e6eef0ce537def266d/curious-and-collectable-lot-539/ :

[Burns-bass]

28 minutes ago, Godber said:

Just watching…out of my league

 

Haha, I wasn't bidding on this one. I bought the 12 string Taylor guitar. That's a great deal for a £900 guitar!

[msb]

The horseshoe has been replaced , that’s a rare one though.

[Misdee]

  £14 grand?

 

That's a beautiful bass, for sure. But if you are after a nice vintage Rickenbacker I'm sure you could do a better deal.

[NikNik]

£14K for a 4001 with its horsie missing? Pff....

Probably became de-gaussed and lobbed away.

[Burns-bass]

4 hours ago, NikNik said:

£14K for a 4001 with its horsie missing? Pff....

Probably became de-gaussed and lobbed away.

That’s before the 33% commission. So total sale price is a £18,620.

[msb]

Ouch. 

[Rick's Fine '52]

This is market rate for these.
A ‘60 4001S recently sold for £23k!

Still cheaper than a ‘61 Jazz! 😬

[Burns-bass]

22 minutes ago, Rick's Fine '52 said:

This is market rate for these.
A ‘60 4001S recently sold for £23k!

Still cheaper than a ‘61 Jazz! 😬

Fair enough. Seems utterly preposterous  to me, but it seems even at that price there’s some margin in it. Action was high and the old girl had seen better days.

 

What makes me smile is the thought of the owner (or more likely the owners’ family) getting a call explaining how the bass sold for 10 times the estimate. 

[Woodinblack]

42 minutes ago, Burns-bass said:

That’s before the 33% commission. So total sale price is a £18,620.

 

 

The OP said it was after commission, 11k before commission.

 

People pay crazy money for old things. they don't have to be at all good, just old.

[Burns-bass]

5 minutes ago, Woodinblack said:

 

 

The OP said it was after commission, 11k before commission.

 

People pay crazy money for old things. they don't have to be at all good, just old.

I was the OP! Just checked out the sale record and it was £14k before fees.

 

My memory is awful.

[Woodinblack]

4 minutes ago, Burns-bass said:

I was the OP! Just checked out the sale record and it was £14k before fees.

 

haha - sorry, I could have checked.

 

It was crazy money at both prices. But then auctions are like that if you get two people who aren't prepared to back down, things can go crazy.

[Burns-bass]

1 minute ago, Woodinblack said:

 

haha - sorry, I could have checked.

 

It was crazy money at both prices. But then auctions are like that if you get two people who aren't prepared to back down, things can go crazy.

So should I!

 

I’ve always been too scared to bid too much. I set a limit and that’s it, but I can see how it’s easy to get sucked into the whole thing. 
 

If they money has been legitimately obtained then fair play to whoever bought it. If it makes them happy, can’t be that bad (Sheryl Crow)

[Woodinblack]

1 minute ago, Burns-bass said:

I’ve always been too scared to bid too much. I set a limit and that’s it, but I can see how it’s easy to get sucked into the whole thing. 

 

I had a problem with a few auctions on eBay right at the start, let alone real ones, so you have to be pretty rigid and say 'this is my limit and no more' - there is no point thinking, 'well it only went a few quid higher than I bid so I should have bid more', as you never know if you had bid more, it might have gone up more, and it is always just a little bit higher, and before you know it, you have bought a kay for £200! (caveat, I have not ever done that!)

[Burns-bass]

2 minutes ago, Woodinblack said:

 

I had a problem with a few auctions on eBay right at the start, let alone real ones, so you have to be pretty rigid and say 'this is my limit and no more' - there is no point thinking, 'well it only went a few quid higher than I bid so I should have bid more', as you never know if you had bid more, it might have gone up more, and it is always just a little bit higher, and before you know it, you have bought a kay for £200! (caveat, I have not ever done that!)

My brother (record dealer) once put a cheeky bid on 10,000 I sorted 7” singles. 
 

Two days later a pallet turned up and unloaded 10,000 unsorted 7” records.

 

Ever since then I’ve avoided a cheeky bid on anything!

[Woodinblack]

I do a whole series of 'no way this will work' bids on ebay of which 95% never come to anything, but sometimes, there is a bargain to be had. But no, I wouldn't want to sort through 10,000 singles!

[Maude]

I made the cheeky bid mistake. Well it was more of a placeholder actually. 

There was an amp I was after on ebay. It was an auction but had a buy it now as well. I put the starting bid in to get rid of the buy it now option, I could then decide if it was feasible to arrange collection or a courier. No bother if I decided I didn't want it as it would obviously sell for way more than the starting bid. 

It didn't! 

Courier was too pricey as it was a head unit and a pair of cabs, so I ended up driving from Cornwall up to Belper in Derbyshire between Christmas and New year in the snow. 

Due to weather/road conditions and a toilet break each way it was over a thirteen hour round trip. 😂

[Len_derby]

1 hour ago, Maude said:

I made the cheeky bid mistake. Well it was more of a placeholder actually. 

There was an amp I was after on ebay. It was an auction but had a buy it now as well. I put the starting bid in to get rid of the buy it now option, I could then decide if it was feasible to arrange collection or a courier. No bother if I decided I didn't want it as it would obviously sell for way more than the starting bid. 

It didn't! 

Courier was too pricey as it was a head unit and a pair of cabs, so I ended up driving from Cornwall up to Belper in Derbyshire between Christmas and New year in the snow. 

Due to weather/road conditions and a toilet break each way it was over a thirteen hour round trip. 😂

There’s something about this area that makes you spend money 😉😆