Water Damaged Master Model on E-bay

[tnt2002]

This one looks repairable. Not by me though.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...=STRK:MEWAX:IT

[Mike Bromley]

Uh, nope.

[barney 59]

If the price doesn't go any higher it might be fun to try.

[Mandolin Mick]

You'd have to love a challenge ... I'm not that ambitious ...

[Ed Goist]

I know I'm seeing this through the eyes of someone with very marginal 'handy' skills, but...
How on earth did the bid get as high as it has on this?!

[JeffD]

The mandolin split open and the entire wood body is warped, split, cracked, chipped, etc etc. The strings are rusty, the screws are rusty. The finish of the mandolin has water marks on it as well. The case is also water damaged. The latches are rusty and the felt is peeling inside the case.

But think of the money you'd save.

[Chris Biorkman]

I wouldn't pay $20 for that. It's junk.

[Spruce]

I wouldn't pay $20 for that. It's junk.

Yeah, plus it's got all that water damage.....

[woodwizard]

Wow! Accidents & natural diasters happen. Sad. Doesn't matter how much it's worth when it's soaked in water it's going to come apart. Seen pictures of a Loar apart like that from water damage. I bet it would cost way too much to fix this F5G right. Wonder how many Loars were lost/destroyed etc. through time? I'm pretty sure there are probably several that didn't make it.

[MikeEdgerton]

I'm amazed that anyone would pay that much for this. There is one Loar that has been a flood and was reconstructed. It was for sale a few years ago and was owned at the time by a collector (and forum member) from Florida.

[woodwizard]

On the other hand... now that one was worth fixin'

[Brett Byers]

the tailpiece looks fine.

[sgarrity]

First of all it's not a Master Model. And it surely ain't worth the money to buy it and then pay to repair it!

[Bernie Daniel]

the tailpiece looks fine.

Yeah that and the tuners, and the inlay -- look OK. But the rest is probably not remotely worth trying to restore, IMO.

Isn't there at LEAST $2 - 2.5K in work there for a luthier -- maybe (probably) more?

Then you are about back to the price of a decent used F-5G that has never been "under water for 24 hours". This is a great example of what a c-r-a-pshoot eBay has become for some items -- like quality musical insturments. That high bidder is being taken for sure.

[MikeEdgerton]

First of all it's not a Master Model. And it surely ain't worth the money to buy it and then pay to repair it!

The Gibson F5G label is the standard Gibson label that says it's a Master Model. The seller is taking it from that.

[sgarrity]

Yeh I know Mike. I always thought it was stupid that Gibson did that. But in mando speak it still ain't a MM, it's an F5G!

[allenhopkins]

OK, the waterlogged F-5G is currently at $700. Recent used F-5G's have sold between $2.8K and $3.2K. That's a "spread" (assuming that bids on the "Jacques Cousteau model" don't go much higher) of between $2.1K and $2.5K. Now, of course we don't know what the restored "Titanic" Gibson will look or sound like, so it's a crapshoot (will the Cafe censor program edit that?), but if in fact, as hypothesized above, "there['s] at LEAST $2 - 2.5K in work there for a luthier," you're not too far from an economically defensible purchase.

Not that I'm gonna take the plunge...

LATER: Can't believe I said "take the plunge"! Actually, it's the F-5G that took it; my mind must have been underwater, or maybe I'm "all wet" by nature -- but really, it's the mandolin that's "all wet"...

Time to stop now, and go to bed.

[mrmando]

I'm buying it for my wife to use in her mermaid act.

[Bill Snyder]

Yeah that and the tuners, and the inlay -- look OK. But the rest is probably not remotely worth trying to restore, IMO.

Isn't there at LEAST $2 - 2.5K in work there for a luthier -- maybe (probably) more?

Then you are about back to the price of a decent used F-5G that has never been "under water for 24 hours". This is a great example of what a c-r-a-pshoot eBay has become for some items -- like quality musical insturments. That high bidder is being taken for sure.

How so? If all of the pertinent facts are given I don't see how anyone is being taken. They may lack the knowledge to limit their bid at a reasonable level, but to say they are being taken suggests the seller is pulling the wool over their eyes.

[Knucklehead]

I'm amazed that anyone would pay that much for this. There is one Loar that has been a flood and was reconstructed. It was for sale a few years ago and was owned at the time by a collector (and forum member) from Florida.

Was that the one that was in a car that went into one of the canals in Florida? I heard the story from a friend who has a couple of music stores out in Hawaii.

[Bernie Daniel]

How so? If all of the pertinent facts are given I don't see how anyone is being taken. They may lack the knowledge to limit their bid at a reasonable level, but to say they are being taken suggests the seller is pulling the wool over their eyes.

Taken as in making an poor/uninformed decision (not being defrauded) -- certainly the seller has a right to sell. My main point was these on-line auctions (like eBay) readily lead to these questionable purchase decisions. Not too many, even uninformed, mandolin buyers would walk into a music store, handle that mandolin and then pay over $700 for it with that kind of damage I'd guess. But on-line they figure maybe I can fix it up. I have not actually seen it but I doubt it will be worth the effort. I could be wrong.

[bmac]

It all depends on whether you have the skills and how you value your time... Granted, it would not be worth its price and then paying someone else to restore it... However it could be a wonderful deal for a retired builder interested in owning a Gibson of that era. Or, I suspect, a skilled amateur could bring it back to playability and appearance. I think it would be a really interesting challange.

If I had the money.....???

.

[AlanN]

There is one Loar that has been a flood and was reconstructed. It was for sale a few years ago and was owned at the time by a collector (and forum member) from Florida.

Yeah, Charles Johnson has a series of photos of that Loar. Serious seam sep (but not as bad as this, as I recall). I heard Gilchrist fixed it up.

[MikeEdgerton]

It took me a few minutes but I found the pictures of the Loar that was dmaaged on Charles Johnsons site. They are here. He always has great stuff at www.vintagemandolin.com.

[Bernie Daniel]

Nice pictures! Hate to see that but for sure I would pay $700 for a water damaged Gibson F-5 that happened to be signed by Lloyd Loar.