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It's A Crazy Ebay World!


Paul Read

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Wheatstone needing TLC, brass reeds, 4 folds.....................................................GBP800!!!

 

There's a very happy seller somewhere: http://offer.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vie...item=7394062963

 

 

And the successful, wealthy buyer is in Ireland.

 

Stephen, have you changed your eBay identity? :D

 

Or did Dick really win big on that horse? :ph34r:

 

MC

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I don't understand this auction, and not only the amount paid for the instrument.

 

Look at the bid history. The highest 3 bids are all from this charlie chap, who bid at 350, 375 and 800. It was my understanding that Ebay will only increase one's bid incrementally so that one is the winner at the lowest possible cost. If the highest other bidder was only willing to go to 300, how did the final price go to 800? I reserve might have done it, but there's no indication of "reserve met" in the listing.

 

Am I missing something, or should we all be wary of Ebay's "automated" bidding system from now on?

 

Awaiting enlightenment,

 

Tim

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As I understan the bidding history we may assume that the final bid was the winner's maximum and the intermediate bids resulted when eBay automatically bid to top competing bids by someone else. They only show those other bidders when their bids became the new high.

 

I'm also not convinced that the price bid is outrageous, depending on the condition-- I own a similar box which I'm quite fond of and have no intention of selling.

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As I understan the bidding history we may assume that the final bid was the winner's maximum and the intermediate bids resulted when eBay automatically bid to top competing bids by someone else. They only show those other bidders when their bids became the new high.

 

I'm also not convinced that the price bid is outrageous, depending on the condition-- I own a similar box which I'm quite fond of and have no intention of selling.

 

It's my guess that there was a reserve of $800 on the concertina and he decided he really wanted it and put a large bid on it.

 

As to the value, with these old instruments it's worth what someone will pay. The thing is though, he could have got a better model restored, in concert pitch or old tuning, steel or brass reeds, for less money. I believe this model was the bottom of the range or close to it.

Edited by Paul Read
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He might be a collector looking for an early Wheatstone rather than a player looking for an instrument that plays well.

 

Daniel

 

As I understan the bidding history we may assume that the final bid was the winner's maximum and the intermediate bids resulted when eBay automatically bid to top competing bids by someone else. They only show those other bidders when their bids became the new high.

 

I'm also not convinced that the price bid is outrageous, depending on the condition-- I own a similar box which I'm quite fond of and have no intention of selling.

 

It's my guess that there was a reserve of $800 on the concertina and he decided he really wanted it and put a large bid on it.

 

As to the value, with these old instruments it's worth what someone will pay. The thing is though, he could have got a better model restored, in concert pitch or old tuning, steel or brass reeds, for less money. I believe this model was the bottom of the range or close to it.

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It's my guess that there was a reserve of $800 on the concertina and he decided he really wanted it and put a large bid on it.

 

As to the value, with these old instruments it's worth what someone will pay. The thing is though, he could have got a better model restored, in concert pitch or old tuning, steel or brass reeds, for less money. I believe this model was the bottom of the range or close to it.

 

I would say to that there was a reserve on that concertina, has it is usually with item of value.

 

I don't know where you are shopping for your concertina, but a better model restored in concert pitch with steel reeds ... for less money... it just sound difficult to me. I'm just looking to buy a fare english concertina and the prices are higher then that.

 

David

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It's my guess that there was a reserve of $800 on the concertina and he decided he really wanted it and put a large bid on it.

 

As to the value, with these old instruments it's worth what someone will pay. The thing is though, he could have got a better model restored, in concert pitch or old tuning, steel or brass reeds, for less money. I believe this model was the bottom of the range or close to it.

 

I would say to that there was a reserve on that concertina, has it is usually with item of value.

 

I don't know where you are shopping for your concertina, but a better model restored in concert pitch with steel reeds ... for less money... it just sound difficult to me. I'm just looking to buy a fare english concertina and the prices are higher then that.

 

David

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It's my guess that there was a reserve of $800 on the concertina and he decided he really wanted it and put a large bid on it.

 

As to the value, with these old instruments it's worth what someone will pay. The thing is though, he could have got a better model restored, in concert pitch or old tuning, steel or brass reeds, for less money. I believe this model was the bottom of the range or close to it.

 

I would say to that there was a reserve on that concertina, has it is usually with item of value.

 

I don't know where you are shopping for your concertina, but a better model restored in concert pitch with steel reeds ... for less money... it just sound difficult to me. I'm just looking to buy a fare english concertina and the prices are higher then that.

 

David

 

David, I would ask you the same question - where are you looking? Have you talked to Barleycorn concertinas?

 

It is easy to get an idea of prices and remember things incorrectly so to check my statement, I did a quick review of Victorian instruments sold on Ebay, advertised as restored and of a similar quality to this one. Wheatstones sold in the 450 - 500 pounds range, Lachenals were pretty consistently in 350 pound region. A couple of Jones instruments went for GBP273 and 460 and a George Case for GBP220.

 

I sold a (very nice)restored old Wheatstone with steel reeds on Ebay for about GBP600 about 10 months ago. If you go to some of the folk music stores in the UK, I'd agree that, when I've looked, they are asking some high prices for pretty ordinary instruments (I don't include Barleycorn here).

 

It may be correct that this buyer wanted a really old instrument but he's paid a premium for it, in my opinion. I also noticed that none of the seasoned buyers (Chris Algar, Neil Wayne etc) thought it was worth a bid.

Edited by Paul Read
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Hello Paul,

In fact, I have just check the Barleycom shop and he seems to sold concertina at a fair price.

 

You are absolutely right about the selling price on ebay, you seem like a fine expert, which I am not.

 

Has you asked me about my shopping of concertina, I had check with the Button Box (for something else than a Stagi, for example the beautifull Lachenal Edeophone at 2 765 GBP), the Concertina Connection (an old beauty of Wheatstone Aeola restored for 2 900 GBP) and the Hobgoblin concertina (which have concertinas in different conditions, if I’m not mistaken, it seems that if you want a fair concertina in good condition you better pay more than less, for example a Lachenal new model 1 895 GBP).

 

I know that these exemples are cadillac concertina, their quality are surely not comparable to the Wheatstone on ebay but their prices are higher than what I expected. I am surprised !

 

David

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I know that these exemples are cadillac concertina, their quality are surely not comparable to the Wheatstone on ebay but their prices are higher than what I expected. I am surprised !

 

David

 

Hi David,

 

Just to confirm the issue, look at this Wheatstone. It needs a lot of work but for less than GBP800, after restoration this would be a very nice little instrument (of similar quality).

 

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewI...AMEWA%3AIT&rd=1

Edited by Paul Read
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There is a significant difference-- the one that sold for 800 pounds was playable (it was the case that was noted as needing TLC, not the instrument). The one that sold for 122 pounds clearly was not. It needed thumb straps, a button, and major repair to the bellows. The needed renovations would require considerable skills, a few hundred in parts, and some considerable waiting time if the buyer was not able to do the work.

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There is a significant difference-- the one that sold for 800 pounds was playable (it was the case that was noted as needing TLC, not the instrument). The one that sold for 122 pounds clearly was not. It needed thumb straps, a button, and major repair to the bellows. The needed renovations would require considerable skills, a few hundred in parts, and some considerable waiting time if the buyer was not able to do the work.

 

I'd agree on the waiting time (to some extent) but the point is that with this latest one you would have a fully restored instrument for significantly less than GBP800. On the original one, the listing said it was playable (assuming the seller knew what that means - I've bought 'playable' instruments before that needed major work - this seller deals in doll's house furniture and vinyl albums), it was likely out of tune with itself (brass reeds) and also not in concert pitch (which would only matter if the buyer wanted to play with others). The odds are that the amount needed to be spent on the two instruments would not be a long way apart. So the first cost GBP800 but there was more to be spent.

Edited by Paul Read
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There is a significant difference-- the one that sold for 800 pounds was playable (it was the case that was noted as needing TLC, not the instrument). The one that sold for 122 pounds clearly was not. It needed thumb straps, a button, and major repair to the bellows. The needed renovations would require considerable skills, a few hundred in parts, and some considerable waiting time if the buyer was not able to do the work.

 

I'd agree on the waiting time (to some extent) but the point is that with this latest one you would have a fully restored instrument for significantly less than GBP800. On the original one, the listing said it was playable (assuming the seller knew what that means - I've bought 'playable' instruments before that needed major work - this seller deals in doll's house furniture and vinyl albums), it was likely out of tune with itself (brass reeds) and also not in concert pitch (which would only matter if the buyer wanted to play with others). The odds are that the amount needed to be spent on the two instruments would not be a long way apart. So the first cost GBP800 but there was more to be spent.

 

It will be interesting to see what this restored one does:

 

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/English-Concertina_W...1QQcmdZViewItem

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I've been fairly satisfied with the instruments I've bought on eBay and through other online sources of used instruments...but I do a lot of research on the market for the type of instrument before bidding, ask the sellers lots of questions and keep my bids (and my expectations) low enough to allow for problems with condition, especially when buying from sellers who aren't music people.

 

Daniel

 

Bidding on ebay is a bit like gambling in a casino for me. The bad thing is that you never know exactly what your going to end with, you have only an idea of it. I had a bad experience with ebay and I have promised myself that I would never use it again.

 

David

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I've been fairly satisfied with the instruments I've bought on eBay and through other online sources of used instruments...but I do a lot of research on the market for the type of instrument before bidding, ask the sellers lots of questions and keep my bids (and my expectations) low enough to allow for problems with condition, especially when buying from sellers who aren't music people.

 

Daniel

 

Bidding on ebay is a bit like gambling in a casino for me. The bad thing is that you never know exactly what your going to end with, you have only an idea of it. I had a bad experience with ebay and I have promised myself that I would never use it again.

 

David

 

Daniel,

 

I think you're right. You've got to do your homework. It's OK if you're used to ebay and know your instrument. If you don't know who the good sellers are and you're new to concertinas it is easy to get burned. I think of all the instruments I've bought on ebay about 5% were playable. I expect this and bid accordingly. If you're looking for a playable instrument you should buy one that has clearly been restored, preferably by someone reputable; and those do come up. Anything sold by an antiques dealer or someone's grandad is likely to need money spent on it.

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