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Wilfra Anglo Concertina For Sale: 40 Button C/g


David Levine

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Note-- The concertina sold through EBay. I will leave the description for people who have an interest in Willie Van Wyk's work. Thanks for the interest.

 

I'm selling a C/G Wifra concertina with 40 buttons. It is as new and plays beautifully. It is very similar to a vintage Wheatstone. It has real concertina reeds in traditional brass frames. The sound is very strong and bright. It is made in South Africa and it's a gem. The concertina comes with a very high quality hard case.

The person I bought it from had this to say about it:

 

“The workmanship on the concertina is top quality. The Wifra's sound is 'sweet' like a Wheatstone - not sharp like a Jeffries' sound. The reeds are steel reeds placed in brass frames. The reedpan is made of Perspex - it will not warp with age and the reeds are very accessible. The Perspex provides a solid timbre sound. The Wilfra is … on the same par as the best 1950's Wheatstones. Willie Van Wyk has been restoring and refurbishing Wheatstone Anglo's for 30 years and made modifications and improvements in his own design based on his experience with Wheatstones. . (The Wifra concertina is very, very similar to the Wheatstone Anglo 40 button concertinas in sound but the difference is in the 'badge' or label name.”

 

(Edited to delete pictures)

Edited by cocusflute
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Cnet Quote:

"If I don’t sell it here I will post it on EBay, where I expect it will fetch well in excess of $3,000. Postage and insurance will be extra."

 

Ebay Quote:

 

"I will be happy to ship internationally and I will accept any form of payment mutually acceptable. Please note that I have listed the concertina on other venues so it might be wise to contact me expressing your interest so that I do not accept another offer while the auction is going on.And please also note also that I have set a reserve on the auction."

 

Doubts?

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I can personally vouch for cocusflute who is one of the nicest and straightest people I have met for a long time.He has a house near mine in Clare and I play music with him regularly.He is a fine musician on flute,fiddle and concertina.He will be back in Ireland shortly having returned to his "native heath"for the second part of the winter.I am also a Wilfra owner and confirm that these concertinas are superbly constructed and play very well.

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I can personally vouch for cocusflute who is one of the nicest and straightest people I have met for a long time.He has a house near mine in Clare and I play music with him regularly.He is a fine musician on flute,fiddle and concertina.He will be back in Ireland shortly having returned to his "native heath"for the second part of the winter.I am also a Wilfra owner and confirm that these concertinas are superbly constructed and play very well.

Hello Mark,

 

Good to hear from you. I remeber you had that concertina at the Willie Week a few years ago.

My problem with the ad on Ebay is that there is no reserve shown and the seller chose to include a reserve (known only to himself) in the middle of the auction.

As one who has bought and sold on eBay, I realize that by not putting a reserve on an item that there is a danger of it selling too cheaply and to include a reserve incurs extra charges from Ebay. I would feel uncomfortable changing the rules in the middle of the game as the seller has done. My view for what its worth is "you make your choice and you takes your cjances".

To further confuse the issue it is stated that he has it listed elsewhere and he may withdraw it.

Talk about hedging bets!.

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I can personally vouch for cocusflute who is one of the nicest and straightest people I have met for a long time.He has a house near mine in Clare and I play music with him regularly.He is a fine musician on flute,fiddle and concertina.He will be back in Ireland shortly having returned to his "native heath"for the second part of the winter.I am also a Wilfra owner and confirm that these concertinas are superbly constructed and play very well.

Hello Mark,

 

Good to hear from you. I remeber [sic] you had that concertina at the Willie Week a few years ago.

My problem with the ad on Ebay is that there is no reserve shown and the seller chose to include a reserve (known only to himself) in the middle of the auction.

 

 

Mark has never seen this concertina so you are wrong there.

I clearly posted the reserve in the original listing: "I am selling it with a reserve price of $3,100..."

-----------

 

Thanks to Mark Davies for the kind words. See you soon.

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I can personally vouch for cocusflute who is one of the nicest and straightest people I have met for a long time.He has a house near mine in Clare and I play music with him regularly.He is a fine musician on flute,fiddle and concertina.He will be back in Ireland shortly having returned to his "native heath"for the second part of the winter.I am also a Wilfra owner and confirm that these concertinas are superbly constructed and play very well.

Hello Mark,

 

Good to hear from you. I remeber [sic] you had that concertina at the Willie Week a few years ago.

My problem with the ad on Ebay is that there is no reserve shown and the seller chose to include a reserve (known only to himself) in the middle of the auction.

 

 

Mark has never seen this concertina so you are wrong there.

I clearly posted the reserve in the original listing: "I am selling it with a reserve price of $3,100..."

-----------

 

Thanks to Mark Davies for the kind words. See you soon.

 

I wasn't referring to your concertina but that Wifra that Mark brought to Milltown some years back.

My apologies re. the reserve mentioned in the Ebay ad. description, I see that now. However, the listing doesn't show a reserve as would be the case when

a reserve is included on the eBay conditions.

Whatever one thinks of eBay, it does have its rules and conditions and if one choses to use it as a vehicle for buying or selling, then I suggest that users should abide by those.

This would preclude people 'pulling' an item before the auction ends for whatever reasons, not selling because the item didn't meet an imaginary high figure etc.

In this case it would appear that you wish to have it every way. You are stating that there is a reserve, but because EBay doesn't specify it, then the discretion to sell it rests with you. Similarly, you state that it is listed elsewhere, which implies that if you don't like the price or you get a better offer then you'll let it off outside of EBay.

 

Call me old fashioned, but I think that people who see EBay as an auction site with clearly defined conditions of use are entitled to fair play.

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Call me old fashioned, but I think that people who see EBay as an auction site with clearly defined conditions of use are entitled to fair play.

 

I don't know about old-fashioned. A bit of a prig* perhaps, and a self-styled EBay policeman.

Remind me if we ever meet to buy you a pint and we can perhaps discuss an individual's interactions with a billion dollar corporation.

But no harm has been done- the concertina has been sold and I will pay the EBay fees.

 

From Wiki: A prig (IPA: /ˈprɪg/) is someone who shows an inordinately zealous approach to matters of form and propriety;

especially where the prig has the ability to show his/her superior knowledge to those who don't know the protocol.

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Call me old fashioned, but I think that people who see EBay as an auction site with clearly defined conditions of use are entitled to fair play.

 

I don't know about old-fashioned. A bit of a prig* perhaps, and a self-styled EBay policeman.

Remind me if we ever meet to buy you a pint and we can perhaps discuss an individual's interactions with a billion dollar corporation.

But no harm has been done- the concertina has been sold and I will pay the EBay fees.

 

From Wiki: A prig (IPA: /ˈprɪg/) is someone who shows an inordinately zealous approach to matters of form and propriety;

especially where the prig has the ability to show his/her superior knowledge to those who don't know the protocol.

 

I'm glad you got your money for your concertina.

It was not my intention to do harm but as one who would be among those interested in the concertina, I do take exception to those who make up their own sales rules. And again, no matter what your thoughts on eBay are, YOU chose to use it as the vehicle for the sale of your instrument. For my part, I have no vested interest in EBay or their fortunes, however, if you were to put this instrument into a regular estate or musical instrument auction, you would be bound by their rules. Why treat Ebay users any differently?

 

I'm not trying to show 'superior knowledge' , and as your eBay record is much greater than mine I wouldn't presume to know more on the subject.

 

As for 'Zealous', I'm reminded of a quote from Gene Burns (Your near neighbour in NH will know of him). A zealot is an indivdual who redoubles his efforts having forgotten his original goal'. My only goal was to highlight what I consider to be a questionable practice at best.

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Call me old fashioned, but I think that people who see EBay as an auction site with clearly defined conditions of use are entitled to fair play.

 

I don't know about old-fashioned. A bit of a prig* perhaps, and a self-styled EBay policeman.

Remind me if we ever meet to buy you a pint and we can perhaps discuss an individual's interactions with a billion dollar corporation.

But no harm has been done- the concertina has been sold and I will pay the EBay fees.

 

From Wiki: A prig (IPA: /ˈprɪg/) is someone who shows an inordinately zealous approach to matters of form and propriety;

especially where the prig has the ability to show his/her superior knowledge to those who don't know the protocol.

 

I'm glad you got your money for your concertina.

It was not my intention to do harm but as one who would be among those interested in the concertina, I do take exception to those who make up their own sales rules. And again, no matter what your thoughts on eBay are, YOU chose to use it as the vehicle for the sale of your instrument. For my part, I have no vested interest in EBay or their fortunes, however, if you were to put this instrument into a regular estate or musical instrument auction, you would be bound by their rules. Why treat Ebay users any differently?

 

I'm not trying to show 'superior knowledge' , and as your eBay record is much greater than mine I wouldn't presume to know more on the subject.

 

 

 

By the way, it is likely that I'll bump into you at some point in Co Clare and I would be delighted to discuss these matters over a pint.

 

As for 'Zealous', I'm reminded of a quote from Gene Burns (Your near neighbour in NH will know of him). A zealot is an indivdual who redoubles his efforts having forgotten his original goal'. My only goal was to highlight what I consider to be a questionable practice at best.

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You're totally in the right, Des, and you are certainly not a prig for expecting fair play.

 

Your mistake was failing to remove the item from your watch list and then forgetting it as soon and as completely as possible once you saw the 'clever' bits. Just walk away and let others bid if they are willing.

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You're totally in the right, Des, and you are certainly not a prig for expecting fair play.

 

Your mistake was failing to remove the item from your watch list and then forgetting it as soon and as completely as possible once you saw the 'clever' bits. Just walk away and let others bid if they are willing.

 

 

Not to belabor the point, but I don't see what was unfair or not fair play. I offered the instrument on this board before the auction for a thousand dollars less than it sold for, even on a wholesale basis. I put it on EBay expecting that somebody here might still have wanted to buy it at the lower price, after the auction started. In which case I'd have taken it out of auction, sent money to this site, and a board member would have gotten a great deal on a good instrument. That is why I didn't post a reserve with EBay. I'd have had to pay up front fees for a reserve I might not have used. I did say within the text that I had a reserve, one which matched the selling price on this forum. What was devious about that?

I also said upfront on EBay that I was offering the instrument on another venue -- this one -- and that I reserved the right to remove the concertina from auction in the event that one of us might have wanted it after the auction started. I knew, as I had been advised by other players and sometime dealers, that the instrument would sell on the open market for more than my asking price on this forum.

Tell me please, what was unfair about what I did? How was my bet hedged? What was not clear, or what was underhanded?

Edited by cocusflute
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As it turned out the concertina fetched more than your "informal reserve" price, so there's no issue at this point. I'm curious, though: what would you have done if the high eBay bid had been below your reserve and no buyer had surfaced here?

 

Tell me please, what was unfair about what I did? How was my bet hedged? What was not clear, or what was underhanded?

IMO, nothing.
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As it turned out the concertina fetched more than your "informal reserve" price, so there's no issue at this point. I'm curious, though: what would you have done if the high eBay bid had been below your reserve and no buyer had surfaced here?

 

Tell me please, what was unfair about what I did? How was my bet hedged? What was not clear, or what was underhanded?

IMO, nothing.

 

In which case I'd have pointed out that there was in fact my own reserve on the instrument and I'd not have sold it for less that the price mentioned. I hope that a bidder would have respected that. I'd still have had to pay the EBay fees.

 

The Ebay sale cost me $152 in Paypal fees and another $80 to Ebay.

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You're totally in the right, Des, and you are certainly not a prig for expecting fair play.

 

Your mistake was failing to remove the item from your watch list and then forgetting it as soon and as completely as possible once you saw the 'clever' bits. Just walk away and let others bid if they are willing.

 

 

Not to belabor the point, but I don't see what was unfair or not fair play. I offered the instrument on this board before the auction for a thousand dollars less than it sold for, even on a wholesale basis. I put it on EBay expecting that somebody here might still have wanted to buy it at the lower price, after the auction

started. In which case I'd have taken it out of auction, sent money to this site, and a board member would have gotten a great deal on a good instrument. That is why I didn't post a reserve with EBay. I'd have had to pay up front fees for a reserve I might not have used. I did say within the text that I had a reserve, one which matched the selling price on this forum. What was devious about that?

I also said upfront on EBay that I was offering the instrument on another venue -- this one -- and that I reserved the right to remove the concertina from auction in the event that one of us might have wanted it after the auction started. I knew, as I had been advised by other players and sometime dealers, that the instrument would sell on the open market for more than my asking price on this forum.

Tell me please, what was unfair about what I did? How was my bet hedged? What was not clear, or what was underhanded?

 

 

I think that the point has been belabored.

 

I think that eBay is tricky enough to deal with (it's wild out there in eBay land...quote from you in previous thread), without people making up their own rules. Your rationale above is wonderful and I'm sure that your motive in offering it for sale on this forum on 25/3/08, (on eBay 26/3/08) borders on philantropic. It's nice to have the luxury of time to rationalize as you seem to have done in a previous eBay tarnsaction.

 

Jun 11 2004, 01:27 PM

Post #1

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Group: Members

Posts: 90

Joined: 11-June 04

From: Co Clare, Ireland

Member No.: 671

 

The putative large sale on Ebay of the 32 button Jeffries anglo did not happen. I made a stupid mistake. Thinking I was bidding in dollars, I bid a reasonable, but unwitting, amount in GBP that translated into $7,000 +. I apologized profusively to the seller, who responded with a rude message. I continued to apologize and offered to contact the underbidder, which I did"

 

I think that I wil take Dirge's advice and in the future, walk away from auctions that are questionable.

 

I will not be addressing this issue again.

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