Fender has partnered with online gear retailer Reverb to offer officially certified second-hand acoustic and electric guitars through the platform.
Instruments sold under the Fender Certified Pre-Owned program undergo professional inspections to ensure quality—no subpar instruments here—and are available at a lower cost than brand-new models. Many of these guitars represent exceptional value, even by second-hand standards.
Fender CEO Andy Mooney highlights the “fantastic value” of these guitars, emphasizing that they offer more players the chance to own a Fender instrument at an affordable price.
“We’re excited to offer for the first time ever Fender Certified Pre-Owned guitars directly on Reverb,” Mooney said. “Pre-owned guitars have long been popular among players, particularly new players and collectors. Fender Certified Pre-Owned gives players of all levels the opportunity to own a quality instrument at an affordable price.”
Reverb CEO David Mandelbrot echoed these sentiments, noting the importance of making quality instruments accessible to a broader range of musicians. “Fender Certified Pre-Owned on Reverb will help many players get their hands on great-sounding guitars that fit within their budget,” Mandelbrot said.
Alongside electric and acoustic guitars, Fender is also offering bass guitars through the program, all of which come with a one-year limited warranty.
This partnership with Reverb is part of a broader sustainability effort, with Fender’s sustainability partner, Music Instrument Reclamation Company (MIRC), responsible for sourcing, inspecting, and restoring the guitars when needed.
MIRC, the world’s largest wholesaler of secondhand instruments, collaborates with 30 brands globally. Founded in 1993 in Nashville, Tennessee, the company quickly expanded, building a network of 100 dealers within three years. MIRC specializes in refurbishing overstocked, discontinued, B-stock, and occasionally damaged instruments to make them market-ready.
Mooney describes the Fender Certified Pre-Owned program as an “opportunity to support a more sustainable guitar industry, giving the instruments a second, third, or fourth life and participating in the circular economy.”
Every initiative needs a champion, and in this case, Chic guitarist Nile Rodgers serves as a testament to the value of second-hand guitars. Rodgers’ purchase of his iconic Hitmaker Fender Stratocaster from a pawn shop in 1973 has become one of the greatest investments in popular music history.
“Over the years, many of my very best creative tools were bought from other musicians and the secondary market,” Rodgers shared. “In fact, The Hitmaker was from a pawn shop in 1973. These guitars come with stories and history that just make them special. The fact that you can now buy pre-owned guitars from Fender means that you get the character and the affordability of pre-owned gear, plus Fender’s seal of approval.”
