My trade experiment: Results

I tried for several months to use this web site to "trade up" in order to get the Taylor guitar I want.

Results:  Although the prospects looked fantastic at first, I conclude that even with 3,000 to 9,000 visitors per day on this blog, my trades  just were not going anywhere. I traded up to a $800 keyboard which no one made an offer on for a long time. I set a deadline and, true to my word to take the best offer, I traded that for a $40 guitar amplifier. I set a week deadline with no minimum bid on the amp and had not a single offer. So, I'm letting the experiment end.

Rather than hog the top of the blog with my spam-like attempt to get a $3,000 guitar, I've decided to seek my perfect guitar in the usual way: sell some of my own equipment on Craigslist, play some gigs to make some cash, and save up the rest.
Meanwhile, I found a Takamine TAN16C with a built in tuner and tube pre-amp, and I was  impressed by the sound and the intonation.  The TAN16C is about 1/2 the price of the Taylor I wanted and it might fit the bill better given the crummy PAs I sometimes have to play through.  I've been playing Takamine 12-strings for over 10 years. I will, however, find a way to compare the two guitars side by side before I buy either one.

It would be less of a problem to have a $1500 lost, damaged or stolen, so that figures into it, ... as long as every note plays in tune within my specs.