Did ya ever notice...?

[Steve Ostrander]

How many ads in the classifieds list their particular mandolin as "the best sounding brand x mando I ever heard" or "beats all the Gibson's I've ever heard" or "so and so said it's the loudest Pac Rim they've ever heard".

There sure must be a lot of killer mandos out there. I wonder why they're selling them?

[steve V. johnson]

I've noticed that the discerning folks on the Cafe always take care to pick the very best of any type, genre or brand of mandolin, which simply explains why those found listed in the classifieds are described as such.

Why are they selling? Of course, their discernment has grown in subtlety and they have come to appreciate instruments in greater depth and finesse, and with this comes the progressive curiosity and desire to experience ever more sophisticated instruments.

People with perception so finely honed also tend to be outgoing, generous, thoughtful and kind, and thus are naturally motivated to share the experience of fine instruments and the bliss they can bring, with others.

Seems simple to me...

stv

[Mike Bromley]

Ikky!

[JEStanek]

Mar-ket-ting. Which would you buy, a mandolin that was advertized as....

"Selling my mandolin. Finish is a bit beat up 'caus I play hard. I dropped it a couple o times but nothing broke off. It sounds like a mandolin when I play it. My wife says I play it too loud. I got a better one so I haven't played it recently and the strings on it are older than Moses and rougher than barbed wire, the 5 of them that are still on there. It comes with the original scuffed up case 'cause I didn't buy one of those fancy expensive ones. $1100 you pay shipping."

or this one...

"Sweet, well played in mandolin for sale. This one has been my gigging mandolin for years and has that well played in, banjo killer tone. Some minor scuffs and dings to be expected for a mandolin of this age. Many players have complimented me on it's great sound. My wife says it's the loudest one in the herd. I'ld say it compares well against instruments costing thousands more. Comes with original case, unfilled out warrantee card and a new pack of strings. $1100 + shipping"

Jamie

[Steve Ostrander]

Yeah, it was a rhetorical question. But I get tired of the "my friend said it's the best sounding "Tennessee" mandolin ever!!"

Jamie--great ad copy. You should be in marketing...

[jimbob]

it would be hard to sell one if it was advertised as having a small voice, lousy set-up, poor finsish, poor playability, etc...as stated above, marketing. Features, benefits, value....match those three things to a prospective buyer and you close the deal.

[woodwizard]

Mar-ket-ting. Which would you buy, a mandolin that was advertized as....

"Selling

"Sweet, well played in mandolin for sale. This one has been my gigging mandolin for years and has that well played in, banjo killer tone. Some minor scuffs and dings to be expected for a mandolin of this age. Many players have complimented me on it's great sound. My wife says it's the loudest one in the herd. I'ld say it compares well against instruments costing thousands more. Comes with original case, unfilled out warrantee card and a new pack of strings. $1100 + shipping"

Jamie
****

Would you take $999 cash? :grin:

[allenhopkins]

...your friend who's heard maybe seven other instruments of the same brand, let alone the same model, same kind of strings, same playing style, etc.

I'm always suspicious of superlatives. If someone says it plays easy, sounds loud and full, holds up well in a group situation, that's one thing. If he says it "beats every other Marvello mandolin ever made any time anywhere, and my friend with a Lloyd Loar Gibson has offered to trade me even up for it, and I showed it to Adam Steffey and he tried to sneak out with it under his coat, blah blah blah," I suspect the presence of used-car salespersonship.

[JeffD]

I wonder why they're selling them?

In all likleyhood to purchase an even better sounding more beautiful cooler looking instrument.

[TomTyrrell]

Yup, I love those "best in the world" ads. "Only selling 'cause I'm getting a better one."

The "Big Star said it sounds great" lines are good too. Does anybody really think a well known player is going to tell a person who paid good money to attend a seminar that the mandolin sounds terrible? The best way to avoid the "How can I make it better" discussion is to say it sounds great.

[JEStanek]

The unfilled out warranty card is bad too. The warranty is for the original purchaser not the original card filler outer.

Jamie

[Weagle]

Next time I sell an instrument, I am going to get JE Stanek to write my advertisement for me. He can write that stuff. LOL. That was great humour comparing the two advertisements.

Weagle

[Eddie Sheehy]

The "unfilled" warranty card just means that the mandolin was never "owned" and therefore only lightly played if at all in a store..... at least that's what it means to me.

[MikeEdgerton]

The "unfilled" warranty card just means that the mandolin was never "owned" and therefore only lightly played if at all in a store..... at least that's what it means to me.

Most people offer that as the fact that it hasn't been registered and somehow you can still get it covered under warranty. You can't generally pull that off.

If a store is selling it they can register the warranty provided they are an authorized dealer and they bought the instrument from the manufacturer, in that case lightly played means nothing as it's never been sold retail to a customer, it's still considered new. They wouldn't have to advertise that they had a blank warranty card, it would be assumed.

I got a blank warranty card with a 1994 Flatiron I bought. When they're years old they are simply a novelty.

[Robblegrass]

What makes me laff is when they say "a real Loar sound". Well I suspect the only Loar that the've even really heard is one on a record/CD.

Rob Baker