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Thread: Eastman 305 & 315 blemished

  1. #1
    small instrument, big fun Dan in NH's Avatar
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    Default Eastman 305 & 315 blemished

    The Mandolin Store has blemished Eastman 305 & 315 mandolins at $125-$150 off. Pre Black Friday sale.
    Eastman MD-514 (F body, Sitka & maple, oval hole)
    Klos Carbon Fiber (on order)

    And still saving my nickels & dimes & bottle caps & breakfast cereal box tops for my lifetime mandolin.

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  3. #2
    Greenhorn
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    Default Re: Eastman 305 & 315 blemished

    Thanks to this post I finally got a nice mandolin. It just got here today and I don't even see any blemishes. I was going to buy a new 305 anyway after some reading in this forum. It was nice to save some money though.

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  5. #3
    small instrument, big fun Dan in NH's Avatar
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    Default Re: Eastman 305 & 315 blemished

    Good for you. The 305s are nice. Wish I had spent just a little more and got a 305 when I bought my KM-250, but oh well.

    I am trying SO HARD to NOT buy an Eastman 314, F-body with an oval sound hole. I've got the nickels & dimes squirrelled away in a coffee can, but I keep telling myself that I'm saving up for a NICER mandolin later. Like, two years from now later.

    But a nicer mandolin later doesn't keep me from wanting an OK mandolin NOW.
    Eastman MD-514 (F body, Sitka & maple, oval hole)
    Klos Carbon Fiber (on order)

    And still saving my nickels & dimes & bottle caps & breakfast cereal box tops for my lifetime mandolin.

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  7. #4

    Default Re: Eastman 305 & 315 blemished

    A retailer can get around distributor price agreements by selling new stuff as 'blemished' to lower the price,
    at least occasionally.

    Glad you got a nice instrument!

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  9. #5
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    Default Re: Eastman 305 & 315 blemished

    I got my 315 from TMS last year about this time. It was discounted as being blemished. I still have yet to find a blemish.

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  11. #6

    Default Re: Eastman 305 & 315 blemished

    Dan, everyone needs an F to go with their A mandolins. Just do it

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  13. #7
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    Default Re: Eastman 305 & 315 blemished

    Quote Originally Posted by Dan in NH View Post
    Good for you. The 305s are nice. Wish I had spent just a little more and got a 305 when I bought my KM-250, but oh well.

    I am trying SO HARD to NOT buy an Eastman 314, F-body with an oval sound hole. I've got the nickels & dimes squirrelled away in a coffee can, but I keep telling myself that I'm saving up for a NICER mandolin later. Like, two years from now later.

    But a nicer mandolin later doesn't keep me from wanting an OK mandolin NOW.
    You'll be happy in the short term, but you will still want the NICER mandolin, and then you will be farther away from getting it. I say keep saving for what you really want.
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  15. #8
    small instrument, big fun Dan in NH's Avatar
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    Default Re: Eastman 305 & 315 blemished

    Quote Originally Posted by RobP View Post
    You'll be happy in the short term, but you will still want the NICER mandolin, and then you will be farther away from getting it. I say keep saving for what you really want.
    Yeah, that’s what I keep telling myself.

    I’ve got my eye on an Eastman 815/v, F body with f holes, Adirondack spruce top, and a violin varnish finish.

    I’ve even managed to track down the last two NIB 815/v’s currently existing “in the wild” (last four actually, but two of them are in Europe).

    Now it’s just a matter of socking away my nickels & dimes & bottle caps & breakfast cereal box tops.

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  17. #9

    Default Re: Eastman 305 & 315 blemished

    What others say - save your money. Unless your current mandolin is really impeding your progress, or you've developed to the point where you really need something different, time is better spent just playing/practicing, and when you have the money, you'll be in a much better place to evaluate the available candidates.

    Having had an older MD815/v, now in the [able] hands of our son, I have to say that once you get in that $2k+ area, you really should try to expand your view, and IMO, find a used Northfield F5S to try. Might take a little more coin, and time, but none of these things are true rarities, and employing your fingers and ears (i.e., vs. fixating on a brand/model) is going to serve you better in the long run.
    2018 Kentucky KM-950, 2017 Ellis A5 Deluxe

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  19. #10
    My Florida is scooped pheffernan's Avatar
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    Default Re: Eastman 305 & 315 blemished

    Quote Originally Posted by keith.rogers View Post
    What others say - save your money. Unless your current mandolin is really impeding your progress, or you've developed to the point where you really need something different, time is better spent just playing/practicing, and when you have the money, you'll be in a much better place to evaluate the available candidates.
    Allow me to be the contrarian. A used mandolin, appropriately depreciated, will give you pleasure in the short term and hold its value while you plot your following purchase in the long term.
    1924 Gibson A Snakehead
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  21. #11
    Registered User gspiess's Avatar
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    Default Re: Eastman 305 & 315 blemished

    Quote Originally Posted by pheffernan View Post
    Allow me to be the contrarian. A used mandolin, appropriately depreciated, will give you pleasure in the short term and hold its value while you plot your following purchase in the long term.
    'got to agree. I had a 305 for two years that I sold locally and got every penny I put into it. I have an 815v for two years and the value, according to classifieds, has increased by $600.
    Apparently investing in mandolins is a safer bet than my retirement account.
    Being right is overrated. Doing right is what matters.

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  23. #12

    Default Re: Eastman 305 & 315 blemished

    Quote Originally Posted by pheffernan View Post
    Allow me to be the contrarian. A used mandolin, appropriately depreciated, will give you pleasure in the short term and hold its value while you plot your following purchase in the long term.
    ? I didn't say anything about buying new. (Both the Eastman I gave away and Northfield were "previously owned.")
    2018 Kentucky KM-950, 2017 Ellis A5 Deluxe

  24. #13
    Registered User Sue Rieter's Avatar
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    Default Re: Eastman 305 & 315 blemished

    Quote Originally Posted by gspiess View Post
    ... Apparently investing in mandolins is a safer bet than my retirement account.
    Now if I could get my DH to believe this, I'd be all set.
    "To be obsessed with the destination is to remove the focus from where you are." Philip Toshio Sudo, Zen Guitar

  25. #14
    My Florida is scooped pheffernan's Avatar
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    Default Re: Eastman 305 & 315 blemished

    Quote Originally Posted by keith.rogers View Post
    ? I didn't say anything about buying new. (Both the Eastman I gave away and Northfield were "previously owned.")
    I wasn’t suggesting that you did; rather, I was offering a different perspective on the advice, shared by many, that the OP should save his money and wait. In my opinion and experience, buying used and appropriately depreciated mitigates the risk of lost value and allows for more immediate gratification.
    1924 Gibson A Snakehead
    2005 National RM-1
    2007 Hester A5
    2009 Passernig A5
    2015 Black A2-z
    2010 Black GBOM
    2017 Poe Scout
    2014 Smart F-Style Mandola
    2018 Vessel TM5
    2019 Hogan F5

  26. #15

    Default Re: Eastman 305 & 315 blemished

    I got a blemish from the Mandolin Store a couple of weeks ago. Came with a good setup and gig bag. As for the blemish?? There might be a small spot on the back, or a small light streak in the fingerboard. I own Taylor guitars and love the streaked fingerboards. One thing they were up front about, they would guarantee the instrument for 3 years, but no factory warranty.

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