Consign with Carter Vintage
Carter Vintage sells more guitars on consignment than any other vintage dealer in the world
Let us help you get the most value for your instruments. When you consign with Carter, you get access to our dedicated sales team, leading authentication professionals, and world-class repair shop. Each instrument is authenticated, setup, given professional photography, specs, and descriptions, and featured in our Nashville showroom and on our website, where we sell to collectors and players across the world.
Why Consign with Carter Vintage?
We make selling your instrument simple!
- Hassle free – we do all the work for you
- More money in your pocket
- Dedicated sales team 24 hours a day world-wide
- Fast sales time - majority of consignments sell in less than 2 months
- Over 250 consignment guitars sold every month
What does it cost to consign with Carter Vintage?
We offer the industry's lowest consignment rates:
- Below $3k = 20%
- $3k to $50k = 15%
- $50k to $100k = 12.5%
- $100k and above = 10%
We charge a authentication/listing fee of $75 per instrument to cover authentication, setup, fresh strings, photos, and thorough specs/description. No upfront costs, all fees are taken after the sale of the instrument.
How do I get my guitar to Carter Vintage?
If you need help shipping your guitar to Carter Vintage, we are proud to offer Carter Care materials and coverage to ensure your guitar can be easily and safely shipped to us:
Carter Care Shipping:
- Use our Carter Care Packaging for hassle-free, fully insured shipping
- We ship the shipping materials and UPS label directly to you
- Shipping box + FREE PUMP for inflatable packaging
- Covered by shipping insurance for up to $500,000 instrument value
- No upfront fee - we take from the sale of your instrument
Carter Care shipping and materials are $275 per instrument.
In-Store Drop-off:
- Whether one guitar or 20 – drive to our FREE parking garage
- Dedicated Consignment / Authentication specialist will meet you to bring in your instruments
- Wait in the store or leave with us – if dropped off, we'll provide you pricing and a contract within 48 hours
Carter Vintage Guitars Collection Service:
- We have been collecting large instruments collections around the country for over 10 years
- Whether 10 guitars or 200+, we can come to you and take all the hassle out of selling your collection
- Authenticator(s) will fly to your location
- All instruments reviewed and tentatively priced on arrival
- Travel contract provided with pricing estimates and entire collection is fully insured for travel back to Nashville
- Our authenticator(s) will pack up and drive the collection back to our Nashville showroom
- Reduced fees available for large collections
Why should I use Carter Care Shipping?
Carter Care Shipping
We send you the box, packing materials, and shipping label ready to print and attach
Each instrument covered up to $500,000 maximum
If fixable damage occurs, one of our experts will repair your instrument and you will be paid out of the difference if the value of the instrument is affected
In case of irreparable damage, full pay out of instrument value is made up to coverage maximum
One flat fee of $275
Shipping On Your Own
Must secure your own box and packaging materials
Individual shipping rates can cost as much as $200 depending on location
Standard liability in case of damage is only $100 payout
Shipping carrier insurance rates are as much as $150 for a $10,000 instrument
Many carriers have low maximum insurance payouts
Seller is responsible for claims process, which requires thorough documentation and may take months to process
What if my instrument needs repairs?
The Carter Vintage authentication and repair team is the best in the industry
- We thoroughly inspect every instrument and provide our recommendations and options for ensuring your instrument is in the best condition and can earn you the most money from the market
- Reasonable repair fees only undertaken with approval from seller
- No upfront costs, all repair fees are taken after the sale of the instrument
Let us know about your instrument(s)!
Interested in selling your instrument with us? Tell us a little bit about what you have, and a Carter team member will reach out to you personally!
Prefer to sell or trade your instrument? Let us know and we'll make you an offer!
Carter Vintage will buy your instrument outright or give you trade value towards another purchase.
When we buy an instrument, we can give you 2/3 the retail value. You will get more through consigning your instrument, but you will not be paid until your consignment sells. For trades, the trade value will offset the taxable amount, so you only owe tax on the remaining balance of the new instrument.