lachenal 26keys fs

[nevis]

I bought it 895 pounds three years ago from Barleycorn, number 189292, it has rosewood ends and still plays nice, with original case. I'm just selling it because my Suttner A-3 is ready...

[nevis]

I don't know how much to ask for it, but I would be happy with 900 euros...

 

Vincent Brusel.

[PaddyLosty]

Where are you located?

[nevis]

I live in France, north of France. I will have a trip to Germany in a few weeks, through Belgium and if I must Netherlands...I also plan to go to Ireland in the next months...

[PaddyLosty]

That should help potential buyers. If you were nearby I'd consider it, but I'd have to play such an instrument before committing. You should have no trouble selling it in Ireland, be sure to go to Custy's in Ennis.

[nevis]

I try to add a few pictures...I read a few things these days about bellows patching, including pages on this website... I think that the bellows of my concertinas are in good ondition, although they will need some day to be patched in a few corners. But still I can play daily on it, and it works...

I am not a seller at all, so this forum is the only place where I try to sell my concertina, so I will do the donation to the website if I sell it.

 

Thanks for looking,

Vincent Brusel.

PS..does anyone know if I priced it well?

[richard]

Hello

 

I am not an expert so take this with a grain of salt.

 

If I saw an instrument like yours and it was in reasonably good shape, sounded well and played well I wouldn't be shocked if the seller was asking between 1800.00 and 2200.00 US.

 

I think 900 euros would a fabulous deal for the buyer.

 

Richard

[nevis]

If somebody wants, I can send MP3 recording to show that my concertina has the warm tone that you expect from a good Lachenal, and also that you can play at a reasonable tempo, and also articulate ornaments when its not too fast. Like I said in another post, the only thing is that there are only 5 folds to the bellows, and like Chris Algar told me "these things come the way they are...", so assuming that it's a 5-fold bellows concertina, I would say that it is in good shape and good working order. Like I said, I paid it 895 pounds, wich meant 1250 euros including bank and post costs.

I suppose that it would cost a little more now..........

[nevis]

My Lachenal concertina is still for sale...900 euros, good condition..

[matti]

My Lachenal concertina is still for sale...900 euros, good condition..

Is it still for sale?

matti

[Freiherr von Harris]

For whatever it's worth, I believe anglo-concertinas have been massively over-priced in the last couple decades, and that a 'price-correction' is occurring and will continue to occur over the coming years. Articles on this website, documents on concertina history, and testimony from both concertina makers and players informs my (completely non-professional and non-expert) opinion. Prices used to be par with English concertinas in the 80's, and then spiraled higher and higher as the Irish economy went into overdrive with the Celtic Tiger boom.

 

With all due respect, the excesses of the Celtic Tiger economy are now finally coming to light. One of those excesses has been pricing of anglo-concertinas. I believe it may be in the best interest of concertina players to both allow and encourage prices normalizing. The prices that we've been accepting over the last year may have been about as ridiculous as the proverbial Emperor's New Clothes. I may be a fool to speak up, but I may be the fool child in the story pointing at the obvious which has been otherwise ignored.

 

Bravo to any sellers here willing to accept 'lower' prices.

[richard]

Hello

 

I am no economist but this is how I see our Anglo price situation.

 

The current market value is what someone will pay for something.

 

I thought there were more Anglo player in the recent history and more people desiring one so more competition in "bidding" on them, and less Anglos available because more folks want one. Perhaps that is why there are all these new makers of concertinas in the last 10 years or so.

 

Also perhaps because of the economic downturn sellers are willing to accept less because buyers are less willing to pay more and the sellers need to sell so they take what is the best offer.

 

It all is a cycle.

 

Anyway, I think the Emperor's new clothes analogy applies when the object is nonexistent or valueless, which is not the case at all with concertinas.

If you want a concertina when the prices are higher or lower and you can afford one, it seems like a good thing to have.

 

I am not supporting higher prices, I just don't think a higher price is, self evidently,crazy because a concertina transcends its monetary value.

 

Richard

[RP3]

There is some value to what you both are saying. Yes, there are more people making concertinas -- but if you look just at the output of one maker, you'll see that there is no flood of instruments coming. Wally Carroll produces less than 30 concertinas a year, and I expect that Dana Johnson makes fewer than that, and Jeff Thomas an even smaller number. Dipper or Suttner? Who knows? So one shouldn't make too much about the number of new instruments coming into the market. And yes, many of the Dippers, Suttner and Carrolls are going to existing players rather than new ones.

 

As to market prices, I can see value to the argument that the market is overinflated and due for a correction. I've been told that Chris Algar has an accumulation of nice concertinas and that his sales are down. It may be true, but equally true is the fact that he frequently is the high bidder on eBay when a decent concertina shows up on the market. Is he trying to keep prices up, or does he see a bargain -- or is he completely out of touch with the condition of the market? One would certainly doubt the latter given his experience. He could be trying to keep market prices up, but that is usually a fool's errand -- one doesn't have enough money to corner the market. Ask the Hunt brothers about their attempts to corner the silver market and they had very deep pockets -- at one time. And, as people sometimes remember to quote, the fair market price is the price that some buyer is actually willing to pay! There is no doubt that the Irish market is probably much softer, but the demand may still be there. Families may instead spring for a second-hand Carroll instead of a higher-priced Linota. This might mean a few more vintage instruments go elsewhere but if prices are affected at all, I think it will be in a longer plateau before they start rising again -- rather than a fall, much as I would appreciate the latter too! The number of Jeffries, fine Wheatstones, and such will never grow! That always, for better or worse, makes for a sellers' market.

 

I didn't mention the lower-priced makers before because I think they are filling a different market niche: one for people who want to take up the instrument but are either unwilling or unable to pay the higher prices commanded for vintage instruments or by some of the better makers. And just because someone is willing to buy one of the lower-priced concertinas doesn't mean he or she will ultimately acquire a Dipper or Jeffries down the road. Some may be quite happy with one of the hybrids and not see a need to move up. Job uncertainty may put paid to others' hope for a better concertina.

 

So I think that, as always has been the case, the concertina market continues to serve two distinct groups of buyers: those seeking the highest quality (for whatever reason) and those seeking the greatest economy. The names of the makers change and hopefully the quality of instruments improves as certain older ones just fall apart. The combined market (demand) may be larger but so is the overall supply -- if only minimally. And, aside from the impact of the current world economic malaise on all consumer purchases (which may or may not be permanent), I don't see any reason to hope for a downturn in concertina prices. One can put one's money aside and hope for that downturn to materialize, but during that time, good playing time has slipped by and lost forever. Everyone has to decide for him or herself how much value to place on having a nice concertina. For the reasons I've just outlined, I, for one, just don't see that there is any real opportunity to be gained by sitting back waiting for a hoped for drop in concertina prices.

 

Ross Schlabach

Edited July 12, 2011 by RP3

[richard]

Hello

 

 

 

Just to be clear...I said there are more makers of concertinas in the recent years to show that there are more folks looking for a concertina, not to say there are more instruments so they might be less expensive. I was trying to say that there is more demand.

 

Richard

Edited July 14, 2011 by richard