View Full Version : Help with value and best venue to sell Joe Foley Mando
Grizzylemon
Mar-17-2011, 2:35pm
My father was an avid collector of musical instruments, although the only ones he played were the mandolin and bagpipes. He died last month and my brothers and I are needing to sell off most of his things to pay for some repairs to the house he left and to cover unpaid funeral costs. He had a Joe Foley mandolin that was handmade in Ireland. My brother listed it on ebay with a reserve, which it did not meet so did not sell. I believe it got up to $866. My brother wants to relist it with a lowered reserve, but I think it is worth more. My questions. What sort of information should we list with it that would speak to mandolin lovers? Is there a particular place that would be better to try to sell this mandolin? Does anyone have an idea of the value of this mandolin? Any help will be appreciated. I will probably also need help with other mandolins as we get them ready. Thanks a lot. Any help will be gratefully appreciated.
This was the link to the ebay auction. Hopefully it still lets you see the pictures.
http://cgi.ebay.com/Joe-Foley-Irish-Mandolin-/180637407549?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2a0ed4193d
abuteague
Mar-17-2011, 2:50pm
If you are not into mandolins and not into sales, I'd have it appraised and sold on consignment. Elderly does consignment at 15% http://elderly.com/ and others might be at 30%. However, they do good marketing and have lots of eyeballs. I used Mandolin Brothers once too http://www.mandoweb.com/. http://themandolinstore.com has used instruments as well. I know I'm not good at selling instruments so I outsource it to these establishments that are pros.
One of you should have taken up mandolin. Looks like a fine instrument and a precious gift from a father.
Sorry for your loss.:(
Clement Barrera-Ng
Mar-17-2011, 3:04pm
Grizzylemon - sorry for your loss also, and I remember the mandolin from earlier in the week when I saw it on eBay. Foley instruments do not come up for sale in the used market often, and when they do they are usually in the UK or Ireland. Because of how rare they come up for sale, it's not easy to gauge what the proper resale value is. I can't say I know the precise value of the mandolin, but I am with you when you said you believed it's worth more - perhaps much more. Just to give you as a point of reference: I sold a 10 string Foley cittern (23" scale) a year and a half ago for $1600, and when it recently came back on the market it was listed for $2800. Even for a mandolin, which usually sells for less than a comparable longer scale instrument like a cittern or bouzouki by the same marker, I would venture to guess that fetching half that should not be a tall order. But again, this is pure speculation on my part.
As for what would be a good place to sell it - the previous poster mentioned Elderly and Mandolin Brothers, and depending on your location, I would also add Gryphon Strings in Palo Alto CA, and Buffalo Brothers in Carlsbad CA. All of these are top-notch retailers that have a steller reputation for acoustic instruments. The Classifieds here on MandolinCafe is also a great place, and it's probably as good as place as there would be for mandolins. And for my own personal dealings, I would probably put eBay as my last resort, as instruments tend to sell for less there, and both eBay and Paypal take a cut in the proceeds.
Another thing to consider is that right now, it's tax time for a lot of people, and so it may not be the best time to sell. If you are not in a hurry and can afford to wait, I would advice getting the instrument properly appraised by one of the retailers mentioned above (as well as Gruhn Guitars), and then set the price accordingly and wait for the right buyer.
Best of luck.
Grizzylemon
Mar-17-2011, 3:09pm
I wish I had learned to play any of the instruments. We are inundated with bagpipes, tin whistles, accordions, concertinas, a few banjos, some clarinets, a few violins and some 'charrangos'? Are you even allowed to sell those due to the animal used? ;)
Clement Barrera-Ng
Mar-17-2011, 3:12pm
BTW forgot to mention that there's already a Foley mandolin listed in the cafe classifieds in case you may have missed it:
http://www.mandolincafe.com/cgi-bin/classifieds/classifieds.cgi?search_and_display_db_button=on&db_id=46474&query=retrieval
Grizzylemon
Mar-17-2011, 3:24pm
Ahh, that one looks a bit fancier. I am going to contact some of those places to find out about appraising, I assume you have to send them the instrument and all that?
Clement Barrera-Ng
Mar-17-2011, 3:28pm
Ahh, that one looks a bit fancier. I am going to contact some of those places to find out about appraising, I assume you have to send them the instrument and all that?
Not necessarily. I'm sure they will let you know what to do once you contact them. Based on some of the written appraisels I've seen, it appears that some of them, at least Gruhn Guitars, will appraise based on pictures you send them.
Eddie Sheehy
Mar-17-2011, 7:43pm
I checked out your Foley on Ebay. Looked like a flat top with Mahogany back and sides and no binding. There's only so much Joe's reputation will add to that instrument. On top of that the market is pretty flat.
Grizzylemon
Mar-17-2011, 9:08pm
Thanks Eddie, I guess I will see what the guys at Elderly think about it. We might have to relist it with a lower reserve.
Grizzylemon
Mar-21-2011, 7:02am
That idiot brother of mine has relisted it on ebay. I think I am going to have to throttle him. :disbelief:
acousticphd
Mar-23-2011, 4:59pm
I saw both ebay listings. It's a good set of photos, and the mandolin looks very nice to me (and it appears to have top and back binding), though not necessarily the style of instrument I would pursue.
Not being familiar with Foley, I would have suggested including as much information as you know and/or can measure in an ebay ad, such as year of make, body dimensions/depth, nut and FB width, bridge height, is the top arched or radiused, and some description of the playability. To me, superlatives like "best sounding mandolin I've heard" are best left out. I would think a handmade instrument like this should be worth $1K at least, though I agree it is really a buyer's market.
One think I would suggest with a fine instrument on ebay, is dispense with the reserve, and instead make the starting price perhaps 10% less than the amount for which you'd be willing to sell. It would be helpful to get a better idea of a market value, but otherwise, why not not list it here instead?