Good opportunity for a 1908 Fratelli Vinaccia bowlback

[mrmando]

Ad here, if you are looking for one:

http://seattle.craigslist.org/est/msg/2783508130.html

NFI, but since I am local I'm willing to be an agent, if you need one, to get this paid for & shipped.

[Bruce Clausen]

Owner seems to want a lot for an instrument no one seems to have played in many decades. "Needs some minor TLC, some time and some money," but no details. Taking a hard line too about coming out to the 'burbs with cash. He or she thinks it may be worth more abroad— could be, but it'd be a risky thing to try to export.

And is there a binding rule that states interesting instruments must be offered with truly horrible photos?

[mrmando]

There never has been and never will be a good photo published on Craigslist. CL software shrinks any photo you submit and reduces its resolution to a bare minimum.

The only way to put a decent photo in a CL ad is to host it somewhere else and put the HTML code into your ad text.

It is not a bad price for a Vinaccia, depending on the meaning of "minor TLC." I will be passing near this particular stretch of the 'burbs on the next three Sundays, which is why I made the offer I did above. Financial distress explains the insistence on a local cash transaction, and anyway, one often sees CL sellers make such a stipulation. Those sellers have been reading the fine print on Craigslist, which is enough to make anyone paranoid.

[Bruce Clausen]

It's very kind of you to offer, Martin. Perhaps I was being a bit negative. :(

[mrmando]

That's OK, Bruce. If I wanted to buy this for myself I would have a ton of questions for the seller. I am tempted to go and look at it, but the fact is that I would be "just looking," and I don't want to waste the seller's time.

[Jim Garber]

If you are buying local and in person the seller may very well insist on the asking price but if "objective is to get money ASAP for an emergency", I would say there might be wiggle room esp if the buyer decides to walk away for the denial of a lesser offer.

BTW, depending on what the need for the TLC is, that price is prob reasonable. It looks like it needs a new bridge -- one end of that one is broken off. Impossible otherwise to tell condition at all from photos.

[jeffc]

Hi Bruce, I was wondering based on your comments, does an instrument like this go 'bad' if it's not been played in some time? I'm new to this whole thing so I really do not know the answer. Thanks~

[Jim Garber]

Oh, yes, they go stale esp if kept in the back of the fridge. :)

No actually, no expiration date. Of course, if it hasn't been played inn some time it is possible that it needs to be refurbished and restrung and checked for issues like cracks, separations and warpage.

[Bruce Clausen]

Hi, Jeff. I take it you are the owner, and I'm not sure we should be discussing this here, but so far no one has objected, so I'll try to answer your question.

First of all, your instrument is potentially a very fine and interesting one. If it is in good working order, your asking price doesn't seem outrageous to me, and others here seem to agree. But inherited mandolins that haven't been in use can have all kinds of problems, some obvious to the owner, others not. A knowledgeable local buyer of course should be able to spot problems and estimate their cost. But I'd think your ad would inspire more confidence and interest if you could say that the instrument has been recently set up, restrung and played, and that it is in excellent condition and sounds good. In-focus photos taken without flash would also be helpful.

The fact is, old bowlback mandolins are quite plentiful and not very much in style. We hear very often here from people in exactly your position, wanting info about their grandfather's old mandolin. Most often the instrument goes up for sale as is, and my impression is that usually asking prices are pretty low. This doesn't mean you should lower your price, just that you may have to wait a while for the right person.

Then again, I may be wrong. Sorry you need to sell, and I wish you success.

[jeffc]

thanks, Bruce. your comments are very much appreciated, and good to know.