No problem, much of what I do is playing devil's advocate! But, hey, it's cheap therapy for me....
I guess if the seller was financially flush, they wouldn't. They would hold onto it until the market was better, pricewise or at least more liquid. The situation currently seems to be that there are a lot available, but few buyers, with some Loars being listed for sale over a year or more. I know a couple that have been several years with no takers. So......if the seller was "motivated" enough and needed the money for a pressing need, a buyer could begin with a line such as, "I know you have a wonderful mandolin and it is worth much more than I can offer, and I'm sure you'll find a buyer to pay full price in the next year or two, BUT if you would like to sell it today, I am glad to pay $50K and that is in cash -- in fact, we can go to my house right now and open the safe and you'll have the cash in your hands in 15 minutes!" Anyway, that might seem mercenary or maybe even predatory, but it is a persuasive technique I've seen used in business -- many, many times. And, it allows you to "take your profit" on the front end, so you know your investment is safe, unlike the person who buys at full retail, decides to sell, and ends up losing money after the commission is paid. And, I do believe in business that a good deal is a "good deal" for both the buyer and the seller. In this scenario, the $50K in cash might save someones home from foreclosure, help to avoid bankruptcy, might pay medical bills, might be used to start a business, college for kids, etc.......so sometimes cash today is more useful than the promise of cash a year from now.
Another advantage of selling to a dealer is that they have the experience to know what they are buying and the risks involved. When the deal is done, it is DONE. With a retail buyer, they sometimes carry unreasonable hopes and standards for a 95-year old instrument (after all, this is a holy grail type of purchase) and sometimes this surfaces in the form of a lawsuit for repairs, misrepresentation, etc., and sometimes this happens years after the sale --who needs that?!! When selling to a dealer there is less hand holding and less chance of dealing with a cry baby down the road. (although, I have had some dealers do that....) In fact, I'll list their names......just kidding!
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