I have a beautiful Cocobolo and brass whistle in Eb that I am hereby auctioning right here, starting right now. This will be a quickie auction, ending midnight on Friday(OK, 12:01 Sat).
All proceeds from this auction will sent for hurricane relief. I’ll throw in shipping within the US (and many other countries).
I currently sell these for $250 USD, and I’m starting the bidding at $150. Send your bids to paul@busmanwhistles.com. I’ll post the value of the bids as they come in so you can keep track and will add the bidder’s name if requested. $5.00 increments please.
This whistle has a bright, clear sound and responds very quickly. Cocobolo is a beautiful wood and the brass fittings really set off the grain.
Ladies and Gentlemen… we have a bid for $175 from Merrie Olde England! That’s $175 U.S.Dollars! Do I have $180? Remember what this is for! You’ll always remember that your whistle helped the victims of Katrina… $180…
We’re up to $180 folks, thanks to a repeat bidder. Going hot and heavy here for the first thrilling hours of this auction. Do I hear $185? $185 little dollahs…
[quote="jmccain Hey Paul, Why don’t you post a picture?
Best, John[/quote]
Good idea John:
The brass you see in the top hole is part of the tuning slide. I recently started making my tuning slides longer for more stability and it’s worked out well. However, on the Eb, it extends into that first hole. On the C and Ds it’s not visible.
BTW-- in order to sweeten the pot just a bit, and to thank everyone bidding here. If you’ve been thinking of buying one of my whistles, for anyone who submits a legitimate bid on this auction, I’ll waive shipping charges if you place an order for any whistle. Keep those bids coming!
I just noticed the “new D+ whistles for those tunes that need the low D note.” Am I correct in presuming that it’s the low C natural? Is that bottom section rotatable? (Wishful thinking I presume given the thickness of the walls.)
Yowzah, yowzah, yowzah! I can’t believe my eyes.
Folks, when I went to bed last night, the bidding stood at $180. I lay awake most of the night picturing the bidding going up and up and up . I thought for sure that this morning it would be at LEAST up to $500 for this worthy cause. Imagine my chagrin when I found no new bids this morning
Let’s keep’er going!
With this type of auction format, a last minute eBay style auction blitz won’t be very practical (plus, the auction deadline of midnight Friday is after beddy bye time for this middle aged whistlemaker and I probably won’t be up to receive and post late bids) so examine your finances and make your very best offer now.
Thank you verrah much.. the bid is now $185. Do I hear $190?
I’m not 100% certain yet, but it appears that if I make this donation via my wife’s college (Russell Sage in Troy, NY) they will match the donation, so your bids will go further. They’re matching the first $10,000 of donations they receive, so it depends on when we get this in.
Ladies and Gentlemen… we have a bid of TWO HUNDRED AND SIXTY DOLLARS! That’s right – two hundred and sixty dollars!
This is from a woman who is well aware that she could buy a whistle from me directly for less than that. She tells me that she really can’t afford to spend this money, but she is moved by the plight of Katrina’s victims. She also hopes that she is outbid, so please, let’s help her along with the hurricane victims…
That will depend on when I get the funds to them, I think.
My wife found another source of matching funds too. Federated department stores (Filenes, Macys, etc) is matching donations up to a million dollars, so if Russell Sage does not pan out, I’ll send it there. They are donating directly to the Red Cross.
