Appraising The Aria M-700

[mindmadness]

I'm trying to find a way to appraise my Aria M-700. It was passed down to me and it seems to be in excellent condition. What might it be worth? Where should I go to get it appraised?

[Bill Kammerzell]

I'm trying to find a way to appraise my Aria M-700. It was passed down to me and it seems to be in excellent condition. What might it be worth? Where should I go to get it appraised?

If I were to take it anywhere around where I live it would be an acoustical music shoppe that did things like set ups and repairs. Somewhere that sells good quality acoustical instruments, including mandolins. They would very likely do appraisals. I'd call and ask of course. Without knowing the area you live in, no one here can likely make a real recommendation.
You could also check pricing at somewhere like EBay, Reverb, Craigslist.

[mindmadness]

I'm in the Montréal, QC area. I haven't been able to find anywhere that says they deal with mandolins.

[StuartE]

Reverb shows one that sold for $799.00 in 2015.

[Bill Cameron]

Theres a fellow in Montreal who sells high quality mando instruments regularly in the classifieds here, perhaps he would help you with your quest, look for Brian Echenberg.

That is a good quality, but not mastergrade, 70s Japanese made F5 copy. They were made under many different names at the time and sold for the bargain price of around 200-250 (Cdn) new then. They have appreciated in value--remember that everyone here including Canadian dealers talks in US dollars. It is not super-desirable/collectible but in very good condition you should be able to sell it to a bluegrass player for 7-800 Cdn, maybe a bit more, because they always want F5 style instruments to be socially acceptable at bluegrass campfire jams and such where they dont care to risk their multi-thousand-$$$ custom instruments. A good "player grade" instrument, as they say in the trade.