ebay advice and recommendations

fyffer · Post by **fyffer** » Tue Jul 12, 2005 11:34 am

I know a number of you out there have bought and sold flutes on ebay, and I was hoping you could render some of your knowledge and insight to a neophyte.

I am considering bidding on a couple of items that to my untrained and inexperienced eye look really nice. One claims to be a Meyer, but had a starting bid of $25, while another Meyer starts at $100:

The $100 starter: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... 7336327202
The $25 starter: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... 7334973415

Also intriguing is this piccolo, also at a very low starting bid, currently at 16 pounds:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... 7334807533

Based on many of the discussions I've read here, I'm highly skeptical of the claims of antiquity of these items, but I was hoping some of you more savvy folks could enlighten me (and if you're even more savvy than I, you may snatch one of these babies up before I do, but that's a chance I'm willing to take for the sake of personal enlightenment).

Thanks in advance for any advice and help you can offer!

BillChin · Post by **BillChin** » Tue Jul 12, 2005 12:49 pm

A zero feedback listing is always a big roll of the dice. If you are also inexperienced, I suggest you keep looking. There are always more instruments next week or next month. It may go for a bargain price, but the buyer really has little idea of what exactly is going to be received. The seller seems to know next-to-nothing about the instrument and that is a huge red flag.

On the damaged Meyer, do you know how to repair the cracks and replace the pads? If the answer is no, do you know a local person that you trust to do the work at a reasonable price? If the answer is also no, the instrument is of little use to you. If you have experience doing that kind of repair work, it may be a worthwhile fixer-upper.

The $100 start Meyer looks more promising. Excellent feedback, a money back guarantee (less shipping). Given that it will probably sell for market price. I don't know what market value is, but it is unlikely to sell at a bargain price. If you are looking for a Meyer and are willing to pay the going rate, keep watching it and get ready to bid at the end.

One thing you need to know about is sniping. Many auctions close with a flurry of bids because several serious bidders have the auction marked and put in their high bid at the last moment. Sometimes this is done by hand, sometimes by software.

fyffer · Post by **fyffer** » Tue Jul 12, 2005 1:49 pm

I have no experience in flute restoration, but I consider myself generally very handy. And, if I can pick up an old flute that *may* be restorable, for not a lot of money, I am willing to take a stab at restoring it myself (of course with the ever-helpful guidance of the C&F community).

AFA sniping - Yes, I've been sniped before. That's one of the things that has kept me off ebay in the past. Also, I'm not as leary about the zero rating (perhaps I should be). The user name is only registered as of 3 July, so that's a good reason for the zero. You have to start somewhere...

monkey587 · Post by **monkey587** » Tue Jul 12, 2005 2:06 pm

fyffer wrote:I have no experience in flute restoration, but I consider myself generally very handy. And, if I can pick up an old flute that *may* be restorable, for not a lot of money, I am willing to take a stab at restoring it myself (of course with the ever-helpful guidance of the C&F community).

AFA sniping - Yes, I've been sniped before. That's one of the things that has kept me off ebay in the past. Also, I'm not as leary about the zero rating (perhaps I should be). The user name is only registered as of 3 July, so that's a good reason for the zero. You have to start somewhere...

I'm working on my 2nd ebay fixer-upper now. I was thinking of bidding on the $36ish Meyer but I'll leave it if you want it. Often people just pick stuff up for cheap at estate sales and post them to ebay hoping to make a profit. 0 feedback is a little worrisome, so basically I'd say don't bid more than you're willing to lose if it IS a scam, but the vast majority of the time it's probably not a scam.

BillChin · Post by **BillChin** » Tue Jul 12, 2005 3:34 pm

Odds are that is an honest person looking to sell the unknown piccolo. However, they know nothing about the instrument and are shipping from the UK. If it is delayed for a long time in customs (possible given the recent news background) or damaged in transit to the U.S., a zero feedback seller will have little idea how to deal with the situation and may not really care if they get a negative. They are also less likely to know how to properly pack the instrument than someone who has shipped dozens of instruments successfully. Like I said there are plenty more instruments just wait a while.

For the damaged Meyer, I suggesting doing some preliminary research on what it might cost in terms of time and materials to refit and repair the flute before bidding, that way you go in with your eyes open.

Again, I suggest bookmarking the auction and putting your best bid about 15 seconds before the close (allow more time, like 60 seconds, if you are on dial up). The item page tends to slow down because several other people are doing the same. If you are unavailable at that ending time there is software such as Auctionsniper. It is the most popular and gives three free uses before you have to register and pay.

IDAwHOa · Post by **IDAwHOa** » Tue Jul 12, 2005 6:18 pm

A comment or three on starting prices on ebay:

Part of ebay's commision comes from what you claim as a starting price. If the starting price is $0.99 then you pay a smaller commision than if you set your starting price at $199.99 and a Buy It Now of $299.99.

That said, a person with a low rating or not much activity (like me) will pick a lower starting price to 1) save money on the commision and 2) a lower start sometime generates more hits and interest in the item.

Wanderer · Post by **Wanderer** » Tue Jul 12, 2005 6:36 pm

Setting a low starting price for an item is great..if there are TWO people who want your item.

If there's only one, they get it for the starting price, and you get burned. Had that happen to me..but not that often.

fyffer · Post by **fyffer** » Tue Jul 12, 2005 8:46 pm

The "damaged" Meyer, which started at $25 just went for $100. I missed it by seconds. I assume no one really expects to win these by watching the clock and trying to time it right, but instead by using software. Anyway, it was fun to try.

The piccolo is more interesting however ...
In a question to the seller, I asked for details about the condition of the instrument, and part of the response was to take note of the underlined part of the description: "Flute and case sold as seen in photo."
Now, I've heard of people having inadvertently bought photographs of the items they thought they were buying, and I hope this is not the same. Would someone take a look and see if you think this is shady? One thing that looked funny to me is the foot joint -- it looks closed (??), and there is no embouchure visible in the photograph. I suppose it could be on the underside, but why would anyone (a non-musician notwithstanding) display a flute without showing the embouchure? Anyway, I hope I'm not just being too annoying with all this, but I'd really like to try my hand at an old flute.

Jayhawk · Post by **Jayhawk** » Tue Jul 12, 2005 9:15 pm

If they can't email you a picture of the embouchure (when they've already posted pictures), I'd worry that the sale is shady.

Eric

IDAwHOa · Post by **IDAwHOa** » Tue Jul 12, 2005 9:41 pm

Wanderer wrote:Setting a low starting price for an item is great..if there are TWO people who want your item.

If there's only one, they get it for the starting price, and you get burned. Had that happen to me..but not that often.

Agreed, this works best with more popular items rather than obscure ones.

BillChin · Post by **BillChin** » Tue Jul 12, 2005 10:03 pm

fyffer wrote:The "damaged" Meyer, which started at $25 just went for $100. I missed it by seconds. I assume no one really expects to win these by watching the clock and trying to time it right, but instead by using software. Anyway, it was fun to try.

The piccolo is more interesting however ...
In a question to the seller, I asked for details about the condition of the instrument, and part of the response was to take note of the underlined part of the description: "Flute and case sold as seen in photo."
Now, I've heard of people having inadvertently bought photographs of the items they thought they were buying, and I hope this is not the same. Would someone take a look and see if you think this is shady? One thing that looked funny to me is the foot joint -- it looks closed (??), and there is no embouchure visible in the photograph. I suppose it could be on the underside, but why would anyone (a non-musician notwithstanding) display a flute without showing the embouchure? Anyway, I hope I'm not just being too annoying with all this, but I'd really like to try my hand at an old flute.

Sniping by hand is an art unto itself. Sniping software takes the adrenaline rush out, but is generally more reliable.

If you have your heart set on restoring an old flute, you might do better by posting a Wanted-to-Buy notice here or on similar message boards. That way you'll know the problems. The seller will be a musician who knows the instrument, and what sort of repairs it may need.

With eBay if a person waits a week or three, there will be more interesting auctions. I promise. If you want to buy from a zero-feedback seller, overseas with the built-in slow shipping because of customs, a seller who knows nothing about their item, and posts a poor picture for the item and refers you to it when you ask questions, go right ahead. It may come up roses, but I would wager against it.