After what seemed like mere minutes following the announcement of Gibson’s two-pronged Back to the Future ES-345 launch, both the USA Custom and accessible Epiphone versions had completely sold out.
That really comes as no surprise. The Gibson ES-345 that Marty McFly – aka Michael J. Fox – played in the film’s school dance scene is a pillar in popular music culture. The original may be missing to this day, but it was responsible for inspiring a whole new generation of players.
That’s why whispers of an Epiphone recreation were met with such fanfare, and why the eventual ultra-limited edition run of only 1,985 units sold out within the blink of an eye.
One example of the $999 guitar – which received considerable attention from Back to the Future fans who had no chance of owning the $20k Custom version – has been listed on Reverb for a staggering $4,179.
One particular punter has two Epiphones listed on the second-hand gear site, both of which go even further. Earlier this week, one guitar was up for $7,302, the other for $7,230. Now, they’ve been reduced to $4,999 and $4,950. A third Epi model from another seller has been slapped with a $5,570 price tag.
In fact, that goes for both the Gibson Custom and Epiphone Back to the Future guitars. One Custom Shop model from the limited run – which was already at a rather pricey $20,000 mark – has been listed for $145,873. Another had been reduced from $122,584 to $97,493.
It is, as Reverb tells Guitar World, a symptom of a larger trend that seems to be dominating the gear landscape at the moment. Gear nostalgia is all the rage right now. That much is true for the Epiphone ES-345 – it’s Reverb’s most in-demand guitar at the moment.
"As a big fan of Back to the Future, there have been two items I’ve always wanted to own: a hoverboard and Marty McFly’s red ES-345 from the Enchantment Under the Sea performance,” says Cyril Nigg, Reverb’s Senior Director of Analytics and resident guitar expert.
“The original batch of guitars immediately sold out on Gibson’s site, leaving many unable to get the coveted guitar,” he continues. “Naturally, a lot of folks turned to Reverb to see if they could snag one on the secondary market.
“Less than an hour after the first Back to the Future guitars went up on Reverb, 10 had sold – and it hasn’t stopped there. Over the past week, "Back to the Future" has been the number one trending search on Reverb.
“What we're seeing is part of a larger, nostalgia-fueled trend, as moments from the past continue to drive demand. In fact, the Epiphone edition is the top selling semi-hollow body guitar on all of Reverb at the moment, as buyer demand continues to outpace supply.”
Like Nigg, Guitar World’s own Tuition Editor Jason Sidwell was one of those unlucky Back to the Future fans who failed to pick one up at the first time of asking, and who has had to contend with the scalpers.
“Maybe some people that bought them can't play at all, they only bought to flip it fast online,” he reasons. “The first eBay auction happened over the weekend. Seemingly not even played once, this guitar sold yesterday for £2,705.99. Someone made around £1,700 profit within just a few days. Great Scott!”
It’s an unfortunate side-effect of the gear market and one that, sadly, doesn’t come as much of a surprise. Of course, being listed for a certain price and being sold for a certain price are two very different things, but the fact $999 guitars have been priced at nearly $8,000 speaks volumes.
Head over to Reverb to check out the listings currently up for the Back to the Future guitars.
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