http://cgi.ebay.de/Rudall-Carte-Antique-wooden-Flute-/120727025059
Surprise, surprise! And with the starting price back up £100 from last time… 
Strange thinking/tactics. Does the man think the price achieved by the bling one will rub off? He obviously wants/needs to sell (why else keep relisting at intervals?) yet isn’t prepared to drop the start price to a level that might encourage bids (unlike the vendor of the bling one, note!). The flute might (sight seen, play-tested) well be “worth”/deserve to sell at around £3-3.5k, sure - on a direct, private sale, but he clearly isn’t getting any joy from the eBay route. He’d probably do better to go hawk it around Willy Week or some such!
Without hesitation I would give a kidney for that flute and throw in the mother-in-law if I was pushed!
Does that mean you’ll be buying it?
He obviously wants/needs to sell (why else keep relisting at intervals?)
Or maybe he’s just not in a hurry and believes he’ll sell it for that price anyway sooner or later…
That’s what I think. And with costs of about USD $300 going for eBay/PayPal fees.
And sold, for the asking price of GBP 3500.
Well well. Mind you, it’s probably a fair price now, IMO. Looks like a nice flute.
Just one thought, for the experts: does that count as a ‘large-holed’ Rudall, as the seller says it is? 'Cos, judging by proximity to blocks etc, those holes don’t come close to the size of the ones on my R&R. Not bragging, just curious …
The holes look pretty darn big to me, allowing for the camera angle/distortion. Not as large as a Pratten-style Hammy, but you can still sink a finger-pad into a couple of them.