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I think Joe V's home and business might have succumbed to a tragic fire last week, unfortunately. I've not seen anything about this. Only heard it through the grapevine.
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12-30-2025 11:01 AM
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Wow, I hope everything's OK. Nice guy and priceless unreplaceable treasures that no insurance company can ever make up for.
There's a lesson here: If you see it, buy it yourself and keep it safe.
All thoughts to you Joe
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I found this piece of information very interesting and mentions guitars. My guess is that is probably the place but cannot be sure. I would agree that they would not want to go public with information since I believe he works out of his home. It would be a tragedy for sure to lose the house and the guitars but everyone was safe.
Seattle couple cleaning up after massive fire destroys Leschi home
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Very sad, if that is the owner of Archtop.com. I hope that they have personal and business insurance to indemnify them for their losses.
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I think that's the place. (there are ways of checking, but I will respect his privacy)
Originally Posted by deacon Mark
Another article, citing cause. We've had some hellacious windstorms around here. Hopefully he has some inventory off site. My dealings with him were very good, and I still have a couple I bought from him. I hope they can recover.
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It was Joe's house that burned. I hope none of you cats had any guitars consigned with Joe and if you did, that you had them insured.
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I would suspect as a business he had insurance coverage but that will not always help you out. Seems fires in homes happen around Christmas but maybe it is just the news. Much more going on with electricity in some house and that can be a problem. It will take a lot to get back at it if ever, I never have done any buying from him but he has been around long time. My understanding is he is quite a proficient guitarist too. Originally Posted by Stringswinger
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That's his house. 518. It's the address I have on file for him. Dang. For the New Year.
As this thread grows, this is what GoFundMe 's were made for. As word comes in, and somebody sets one up, please post information here.
I, for one will add my contribution immediately.
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for what it’s worth I just looked at the current inventory on his website. Nothing priceless. More importantly, no lives lost.
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I just heard from Joe. He and his wife are safe, warm and with family. To my offer to help in any way, he assured me his inventory was well insured and true to a very gracious holiday spirit, he encouraged me and all to give to a homeless shelter or other such cause where there is an urgent need.
Holiday spirits flowing to all of you.
Be grateful for what we have, what we give and a rich and truly generous new year ahead.
Happy 2026.
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First of all, I'm glad to hear nobody was injured. That's far and away the most important thing.
Secondly, I wonder if any guitars escaped damage or if it was a total loss.
And finally, in the "how can I make this about me?" category, he had a guitar that I had my eye on for a while now, but I had sworn off new guitar purchases for the rest of the year. I was planning on giving him a call January 2nd to make him an offer.
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I was in touch with him last week and he mentioned the fire, and that his inventory of the particular item I was looking for had been destroyed.
By the way, I was looking for a jack/cable connector for a vintage DeArmond RC 1000. Anybody know where I can find one?
AKA
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I have been trying to hunt down this EXACT item! It's more scarce than hen's teeth. Good luck. I did have one on an old vintage D'Armond pickup. It was stolen from me. Yeah, I do wish they made replicas for the reissues. Originally Posted by AKA
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Looks like the archtop.com website’s home page now has a message saying that they’ve temporarily suspended operations due to a fire. I was wondering if there would be an “official” announcement.
I reached out to him about a week ago to inquire about a particular guitar and I have yet to hear back.
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Wow, that’s very sad. I dealt with an insurance claim from a house fire, total nightmare I wouldn’t wish on anyone.
Joe sold an instrument for me on consignment and it was a flawless experience. Best wishes to him and his family.
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By reports, he only managed a guitar or few before the flames consumed everything. The house burned to the ground. If it was an inventory guitar you were hoping to purchase, I'd keep my hopes and expectations low. Guitars don't do well in fires. I do know the 7 string D'Angelico NYL-7 is gone. I'd been in touch with him regarding that gem right before the fire. So he and his wife are safe. Any future of the business will be in the hands of Joe and what he decides to do after the air ...and the insurance company settles. Originally Posted by andrew
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You all are refering to "inventory". Most of the guitars for sale at archtop.com are on consignment.
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They are on consignment but everything he has on consignment resides with him in inventory until it is sold. Operating otherwise would be pretty cumbersome and result in really long, unpredictable delivery times. Originally Posted by jhbpa
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I tried to buy 2 guitars from him about a year ago. I left him a message 2 times about both guitars. No return call. I thought he was out of business a long time ago and wrote him off. I'm surprised to hear this. I hope he is ok and all is well.
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A few years ago, I purchased a couple of the correct switchcraft female screw-on connectors and made up some cables for my vintage De’Armond pickups. It worked out just fine. There is a good article on what part you need to order and how to make it up here… All about that DeArmond Rhythm Chief pickup screw-on connector – Panique Jazz Originally Posted by AKA
Keith
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That has nothing to do with point of my comment, which was that Joe is not on the hook for potential losses on the guitars, which could very well be substantial. The policy that insures his home from fire will likely enable him to replace it in a somewhat reasonable amount of time. The policy(s) that insures the "consignment inventory" will stall and fight tooth and nail over the values of the consigned guitars, the adequacy of documentation, how the fire occurred, etc. Maybe sometime in 2027 they'll see some modest return, if they're lucky. Originally Posted by John Owen
I just had a client in the guitar repair and restoration business go through a very similar situation. Needless to say, he has lost a lot of his customers. It's quite similar to dealing with flood and/or wind storm insurors after a hurricane. The difference is that the amount of losses from windstorm and flood damage can justify the retention of a lawyer. The values of most, if not all, of the guitars in Joe's "consignment inventory" aren't enough to justify the cost of one. The insurers certainly know this.
This is an example (likely the most extreme one) of the many reasons not to consign a guitar you want to sell. Regardless of all the complaining about Reverb here on this forum, I'll take it any day over consigning.
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Wow, I'm sorry to hear this happened, it's a big loss for all concerned.
I have a guitar I'd been planning on consigning with them. I was about to get in touch to make arrangements, so it would have been tone-deaf if I hadn't gotten the news here.
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