Weber Beartooth mandolin

[Charles E.]

Yesterday, while in a pawn shop here in town, I had a chance to play a Weber Beartooth A style mandolin. It was fully bound and had the Weber 'flowerpot' inlay on the headstock. It needed a cleaning and new strings but other then that was in good shape. Even with the old strings it sounded and played darn good. I do not know the year of manufacture.
The asking price was $1,590.oo. I have found very little info about the current value of the Beartooth, is this a fair asking price or a good deal I should jump on?
I am not in the market at the moment but would hate to let this go by if it is worth it.

Thanks for any thoughts.

[allenhopkins]

Found a couple dealer's ads through Google, $2K from Mandolin Brothers, and $1.6K from MandoMutt. Mandolin Store sold this one for $1.7K, apparently. This one was eBay listed with a $1.5K reserve -- which wasn't met -- last year.

Price seems low-competitive, not a "must jump on it" level, but fair. Will the pawnshop negotiate? Might be worth a bit of dickering.

[Charles E.]

Thanks Allen, if is still there next week, I will have another look at it and talk to the staff.

[darylcrisp]

Charley

here is one posted at gregboyds for a compare
http://gregboyd.com/instruments.html...ns&maker=Weber

[Ivan Kelsall]

Charley - I used to own a Weber 'Beartooth' oval hole model. The Beartooth was Weber's top of the line "A" style at one time & they were terrific mandolins. I only parted with mine because it developed a warped neck & was going to take months to put right,shipping it back to the US to be repaired under warranty,so i part-ex'd it. It was a terrific instrument & still possibly the loudest mandolin i've played to date. The price seems pretty good for a used Beartooth & i'd be putting in a close offer on it,
Ivan

[Marcus CA]

I do not know the year of manufacture. The asking price was $1,590.oo. I have found very little info about the current value of the Beartooth, is this a fair asking price or a good deal I should jump on?
I am not in the market at the moment but would hate to let this go by if it is worth it.

If you look at the serial number, the first digit or two will tell you the year, and the last digit or two will tell you the month.

From what others have said, it sounds like if you're looking to do a catch-and-release with this mando, you might make or lose $100-200 down the line. If the pawn shop will negotiate with you, that would shift the math more in your favor. In the meantime, you can have some fun with something that sounds a little different from what you currently are playing.

[OldGus]

If I had a 'bear tooth' I would spend the money on salmon and blueberries for the coming winter...

[Charles E.]

Thanks for the responses. I think I will let this one pass and hopefully some other local mandolin player will get a deal. Honestly, I was tempted but the Girouard I bought a few months back makes me so happy.