There are two main reasons for buying a used guitar: preference and price. Guitar collectors, vintage guitar enthusiasts, and musicians who like a particular type of older guitar buy used guitars because they prefer them. Beginners and musicians on a budget buy used guitars to save money. Valuing a vintage used guitar (as well as a cheap used guitar) is a complex mix of subjective and objective factors. Technical knowledge and passionate enthusiasm both play their part.

For a beginner purchasing a used guitar for sale for use as an introductory instrument, deciding which guitar to buy requires answering some basic questions. The first is whether you want an acoustic or an electric guitar. Most beginners choose an acoustic guitar because they don't need to purchase an amplifier or find a power source when they want to practice. The sound of an acoustic guitar varies according to the construction of the top.

A solid top (made from two single-ply pieces of wood) is usually considered to be acoustically superior because it provides greater resonance. Solid top acoustic guitars are also more expensive and less durable than laminate top guitars. For these reasons, laminate top acoustic guitars (made from several thin plies of wood) are often purchased by those just starting out. In contrast, the archtop style of acoustic guitar offers clear and warm acoustic sound combined with a pickup system that lets you incorporate amplifiers and electric effects. Visually, archtop guitars are usually identified by f-holes as opposed to a round hole. Particularly popular with jazz musicians, archtop guitars offer near-flawless sound.

Electric guitars produce sound via the action of strings over a magnetic pickup. Single coil pickups typically produce a more trebly sound, but are vulnerable to hum. Humbucking pickups are less trebly, but they counteract hum and increase sustain. Some find that electric guitars are easier to play because it takes less strength than holding down the steel strings of an acoustic guitar; however, this is strictly a personal choice. Guitarists often switch back and forth between acoustic and electric, vintage and contemporary, as venues and songs require.