I have to quit reading the classifieds

[Iron]

That Duff is drop dead gorgeous but X braced or it would be mine.

[Trav'linmando]

I am in serious MAS for the oval hole Pava.

[Willie Poole]

About a year ago I saw a mandolin in the ads that I was interested in and I made an offer of 2 hundred bucks lower than what it was listed as and the company that was selling it said it was under consignment and the owner was firm in his price so I bought another mandolin, then a month or so after that I saw the same ad asking the same price that I made in my offer, I know things like this happen every now and then but it was a mandolin that I really wanted but my funds wer`t that good at the time...I wish the sellers would contact the owners and let them know that there is an offer on the table, if they would have told me that they would do that I would have held off buying what I did, I am not sorry for buying the other mandolin because it is a great sounding instrument and was also a bit less in price, the one I wanted was an oval hole and the one I bought is an FF hole and I wanted an oval hole to ad to my stable...

Just being at the wrong place at the wrong time I guess...

Willie

[JeffD]

The classifieds have been very good to me. I have bought only a couple of things, but they were exactly what i wanted, exactly as advertised, and the transaction went off without a hitch.

The discipline, it seems to me, is to know what you are lusting after and check if it might be in the classifieds, as opposed to browsing the classifieds to see if there is anything you might want to lust after.

That doesn't mean I have the discipline. I just know what I am doing wrong.

[pops1]

I have bought several instruments off the classifieds here. I still have a couple, and I look daily. Fortunately I am very fond of what I am playing and it is keeping me happy. All my transactions here have been stellar.

[MikeZito]

I am in serious MAS for the oval hole Pava.

For me the question is: "When do I NOT have a case of MAS?"

Right now I am smelling either a Kentucky KM-1000 or a Weber Gallatin F on the horizon . . .

[peterleyenaar]

I love looking at the classifieds even though I am perfectly happy with my mandolin, just to see what is out there, so many fantastic and beautiful instruments.

[Trav'linmando]

Right now I am smelling either a Kentucky KM-1000 or a Weber Gallatin F on the horizon . . .

Mike, is that Weber another oval hole?

[BrianWilliam]

I've said that before. More than once....

[LadysSolo]

No MAS, I just look at the classifieds to look at beautiful mandolins. Then I go play the great stable I have. Like the saying says, "just because you are on a restricted diet doesn't mean you can't look at the menu!" And I enjoy looking at the menu!

[BrianWilliam]

Looking at the menu makes me hungry. Mmmmm....

[Denny Gies]

Iron, take two aspirin and call me in the morning.........and...............keep reading.

[pops1]

Denny, Help, Help, Help

[Ivan Kelsall]

It's not the ads.i need to quit looking at,it's my bank statement !!. Too much month left at the end of my money,
Ivan

[mandobassman]

I look at the classifieds most every day. Just like to see what there is, but I’m really quite satisfied with what I have. Some days there are quite a few listings that are to die for. Perhaps if I had a larger financial resource I would be more tempted. Meanwhile, I just like to look.

[Br1ck]

The classifieds are a great place to see lots of different mandolins, and get a feel for the market. If you are looking for something in particular it will likely come up sooner or latter. That creamy top A3 with just the right amount of arm wear will pop up someday.

So will that Eastman 315 you want to replace your flea market special.

What I never understand is no picture or no price.

[MikeZito]

My main catalyst to MAS is boredom . . . and after recently having surgery, I have had nothing to do for the past 3 weeks but play the mandolin (that is a good thing - I only wish that I was getting better), hang out here at MC (another good thing) and surf the internet (that is where the trouble starts).

So every day I:

- Scan the MC classifieds
- Check out potential new inventory at the websites of 3 MC sponsors.
- Check for new additions to the Guitar Center website, Craigslist, eBay and Gbase.

I still have one more week before I go back to work . . . hopefully my bank account can hold out until then!

[peterleyenaar]

What I never understand is no picture or no price.

They are mystery insturments

[pheffernan]

My main catalyst to MAS is boredom

My main catalyst to MAS is curiosity. I read the glowing descriptions and see the beautiful pictures of the many instruments available to play, and living in a mandolin desert, I can either go without trying one for myself or buy it. Fortunately, the used market of appropriately depreciated instruments has allowed me to sample a number of mandolins that I found intriguing and then move them along at little or no loss. Unfortunately, it continues to be easier to catch than release and the things have a tendency to accumulate over time.

[Roger Moss]

What I never understand is no picture or no price.

I don't get that either. I just pass them by unread. Either they don't know anything about it or don't care enough to bother. Both indicate an unreliable seller.

[grassrootphilosopher]

There are allways interesting instruments in the classifieds...

I would like to try out the Gilchrists in the classifieds and see what the tonal differences are over the years.

Likewise I would like to try out the Monteleone, the Heiden and the Nugget.

I have a very soft spot for a Lloyd Loar tone. This is not for everyone. It may seem plinky if you do not have a reference tone (in your head or in another instrument). That´s what I would like a Mandolin to sound like.

I would also like to try out the 1944 000-28 at Jet City. Though I wonder why they price it so "inexpensive". They are normally way on the high side...

Unfortunately all these people do not live close to me and I don´t have time to travel.

[Roger Moss]

I seem to be living in a musical desert. Of the only local used mandos, one is dreck and the other is hilariously overpriced. It helps tamp down MAS but sometimes it would be nice to see some options.

[John Soper]

My wife used to refer to my habit of browsing the Mandolin Cafe Classified section as "surfing the internet for porn". Some truth there...

[Mandolin Cafe]

I don't get that either. I just pass them by unread. Either they don't know anything about it or don't care enough to bother. Both indicate an unreliable seller.

Statistics don't back that up. If you have access to the master database to analyze sales percentages for ads with photos and those that don't at 30 and 60 days--I have that information--you'll see there's not much difference between ads with an image and those that don't. Several truths here. If someone knows what they are looking for and someone else has it, that's what moves buyers. If someone is looking for a Sobell mandolin, a 10 yr. old F-9, a 15 yr. old Gilchrist, etc., etc. that's what drives it.

But the seller becomes unreliable because they didn't include a photo? No.

Reality is a lot of people think it's rocket science to upload a photo here when they may be able to do it in their own email, assuming someone showed them how. The concept is beyond them. Plenty of people right here on this forum that don't know how to upload photos in spite of written examples, a video that shows how.

They may be unreliable at adding a photo, but the suggestion someone may be dishonest or someone to not do business with as a result has virtually no basis in fact in my experience.

[MikeZito]

My wife used to refer to my habit of browsing the Mandolin Cafe Classified section as "surfing the internet for porn". Some truth there...

Several years ago, when I used to hang out at one of the Gibson Les Paul websites, that is how they used to refer to posted photos of guitars . . . and yes, there is some truth in there . . . .