Sindt prices....

[pancelticpiper]

I follow Highland pipes closely on Ebay and I do see sets of pipes being "flipped" fairly often.

It's odd how a set will be up on Ebay and there's little bidder interest and the thing goes for well under its usual value, then the flipper puts the same set up a few weeks later and a couple people get into a bidding war over it and it goes for considerably more than its usual value. Perhaps there are seasons, pulses, in the market? Or is it random?

I know there have been times when I've put something up on Ebay, at a very reasonable price (considerably lower than the usual going Ebay rate), and the auction ends with no bids... then I immediately re-list the item and it gets attention from multiple bidders and ends up closing for twice the usual going Ebay rate! There seems to be no reason for it all.

[PhilO]

These things just run in cycles - John Sindt is the new Patrick O'Riordan at least with respect to their seeming indifference to the secondary market. I've been very fortunate to have obtained a bunch of O'Riordan Travelers both from Pat direct and on the market and got all but one at his regular uninflated prices. I have the Low D 3piece, G, Bflat/A, and D/C sets and love them all especially the G and Bflat/A. When Pat made the Bflat/A set for me I asked him if he was aware of the market pricing on his whistles. He didn't give a hoot and just makes them and charges what he charges. A lovely man. I also got the lower keys from a former Chiffer who wasn't playing anymore at the prices that Pat charges.

I also have 2 Sindt Ds, one in sterling, which is my very number one favorite whistle and a C. I have a feeling John would give much the same response as Pat. Also a lovely gentleman.

Hmmm....what would that sterling Sindt bring....NOT ON YER LIFE!

[ecohawk]

Pancelticpiper,

I am absolutely in agreement with you on the unpredictable nature of eBay as a marketplace. I've lost count of the things I've bought and sold there both well below and well above what I expected. The best example I can think of was my first Goldie low D. It was listed by the seller as being available only for local pickup and the seller lived in Latvia. I contacted him/her to check if the seller would consider shipping to the US. When the answer was "yes" and they acknowledged that it was a mistake on their listing, I waited for the listing to be edited. It never was so I bought that instrument for $50. Two years later, a similarly described Goldie low D sold for more than Colin's asking price because the listing erroneously described it as an original handmade by Bernard Overton, yet one could plainly see Colin's engraving inside the end of the tube. I told the seller of the error but he also never edited the listing.

Hmmm....what would that sterling Sindt bring....NOT ON YER LIFE!

Amen PhilO. I'm with you there brother.

ecohawk

[ytliek]

Watch and see...

[maki]

What amazes me is when someone sells a sindt for the original price of say ten years ago.
Not long ago one went for $85.
Did they know about current prices or were they disinclined to profit?
IIRC the listing lastes for 5 second before it sold.
I was the 4 th viewer of the post and it was already gone.

[ytliek]

I'm happy to be over it, Sindt wishing, however, one of those shiny sterling whistles...

[trekkie]

Wild speculation, on my part, but I think Mr. Sindt may be close to filling all of the orders he had before he closed his list. Didn't he have a 20+ month wait before he closed his list around 2 years ago?

Could be, it will reopen, sometime soon, with short wait times. One can only hope.

[gariwerd]

I recently received a couple of sindts after a 2.5 year wait and asked about ordering another. John said he is not taking orders at present and to try again in a couple of years so I don't think his order book is opening anytime soon.

[Emrys]

I can understand the bruhaha... and wow, I love my Sindts. Almost nothing is as good as playing a great instrument. And the Sindts have a tone that really does it for me.

[Steve Bliven]

And yesterday a Sindt D went for $232.50 US on eBay.

Best wishes.

Steve

[free-feet]

And yesterday a Sindt D went for $232.50 US on eBay.

Best wishes.

Steve

I think that's a very reasonable price for such a great instrument. I love my Sindt.

I think if one thinks how many hours of enjoyment one gets out of a good instrument, $232 for thousands of hours of enjoyment, and pure pleasure, is one of the cheapest forms of hobby and/or recreation i can think of. So why not spoil yourself totally?

[Mr.Gumby]

I think that's a very reasonable price for such a great instrument.

It's silly money. A nice whistle but that sort of money is way out of proportion.

[megapop]

I think that's a very reasonable price for such a great instrument. I love my Sindt.

Love and reason are two entirely different things though...

[free-feet]

Love and reason are two entirely different things though...

When in love, reason does tend to take a back seat sometimes.

To be honest, i got my Sindt in a batch of 6 whistles that i bought. For me, the Sindt was the best amongst them, so sold all the rest except the Sindt on eBay and with people outbidding each other i actually made a small profit of about £20 if i remember correctly. So essentially i got paid £20 to own a Sindt.

But would i pay £200 for a Sindt? Yes, i would. Maybe people would think me unreasonable, but as i said above, if i'm going to play a whistle for an hour a day for the rest of my life, then personally i think that £200 is well worth paying to have the whistle to play that i love the most.

[PhilO]

I think that's a very reasonable price for such a great instrument.

It's silly money. A nice whistle but that sort of money is way out of proportion.

I drive a Subaru - practical great value cars for the northeast and I love them; yet I see others tooling about in cars with gizmos and gadgets and eye appeal that add nothing to the package for 20-30 thousand bucks more. I'm happy; but probably they are as well. Whether it's pure acquisitiveness, advertising stature, real preference along with the ability to pay for it, sort of makes the world go round, eh?

I generally sort of agree with you, but, alas, I'll bet I have one of the biggest collections of whistles (over a hundred) of most that have been available over the past 20 years or so. For me it marks a trip of great joy - my own personal historical markers in a way and I love collecting them. Yes, I hear you, better marked with tunes learned and shared, but why not both?

As I've said before, I love to collect worthy whistles throughout my life of all types (including dozens of "cheapies" which I prize as well and don't sell with an occasional gifting), but I also love the music, listen and play every day and work to get better at it.

We're all a bit silly at times, mate.