Well, I had a disappointing experience today. There was a local ad for a '77 Givens A style mandolin for $2500. The headstock inlay indicated it was probably an A5 and the ad owner said it was in "great condition." I figured at an offer a bit less than $2500 it would probably be a pretty good deal for an older Givens. When I saw it the wood looked pretty good with a one piece back and it was in cosmetically decent shape. But, the tuners were cheap replacements with no bushings and almost impossible to turn. The base of the tailpiece was probably a replacement and there was no cover. The bridge, instead of thumbscrews, had regular hardware nuts and the saddle was all the way down to the base. The action was pretty high at the 12th fret. To top it off it had strings from the 19th century -- not only dead but, mummified. So it had no volume and it was impossible to get a good read on the tone. All in all I was looking at a new tailpiece, new bridge, probably a new nut, new tuners and, in all likelihood, a neck reset. Reluctantly, I passed because I just didn't want to begin with $2K plus all the work without a much better idea of what the end sound would be like.