Is this for real?

Irish Flute
1

http://cgi.ebay.com/Chris-Wilkes-Irish-Keyed-Flute_W0QQitemZ110216940278QQihZ001QQcategoryZ10183QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

It seems kind of strange that someone would have an (8-key?) Wilkes for sale and not have a whole lot more information about it than this.

If it is what it says it is, I suspect it will sell for just a wee bit more than the current bid of $200!

:astonished:

2

yeah, dream onā€¦ :wink:
but if it doesā€¦the lucky bidderā€¦though I donā€™t believe so.
will be interesting to see now that you have posted on chiff, how much it will go for.

berti

3

Letā€™s gamble!

I vote for $5000 final price. Who bids more? :slight_smile:

4

I donā€™t know, it doesnā€™t have a serial numberā€¦ :smiley:

5

Didnā€™t this appear on ebay some months back and there was some debate on the ā€œWilkes, Worcesterā€ side of things. or am i mistaken?

6

Well, the seller has no eBay history, which leads me to believe he/she is wishing to remain anonymous. Itā€™s probably a Chiffer.

As far as predicting a selling price, Iā€™m not sure I like that idea. Weā€™re not able to see or try the flute, and speculating about itā€™s value might skew someoneā€™s auction (for better or for worse). Best to wait and see what happens, IMO.

7

Tintin, maybe you and Graham and Tim are up for a little road trip? :smiley:

8

Yes, you would definately need to see this flute in person before bidding at high value to a ebay seller with a zero rating/no selling history on ebay. It sure would be nice to have good photos of the pieces, as you can hardly see the flute in the current posted photo. I think that it may be possible to bid on the auction with the understanding that if you won the auction, the transaction would be finalized in person. The seller describes the embouchure hole as perfectly round and flat. I am guessing that he actually means oval, although I couldnā€™t tell for sure by looking at the photo.

9

Hmmmā€¦ the description sounds very very similar to the fully keyed Wilkes that I bought last summer.

And itā€™s got the same big yellow caseā€¦

I would be surprised if this is a genuine sale.

edit:

Iā€™ve reported this to ebay as copied pictures and text. The picture is one of the ones that was used for the Wilkes I purchased.

Iā€™m really alarmed that itā€™s had so many bids and would advise people not to bid unless the seller can prove itā€™s a legitimate sale.

Pamela

10

My flute inspector lab coat is at the cleanerā€™s at the momentā€¦

11

I thought that picture looked familiarā€¦

12

I contacted the seller. They replied from the following email address:

Joseph & Marius D. <cucuveaua75@yahoo.com>

They said they were in the UK temporarily and were dealing from there. They also sent me the following three pictures which I have put on the web for you to view. Were these also used in a previous sale?:

http://web.cecs.pdx.edu/~walpole/tmp/wilkes1.JPG

http://web.cecs.pdx.edu/~walpole/tmp/wilkes2.JPG

http://web.cecs.pdx.edu/~walpole/tmp/wilkes3.JPG

Jon

13

Joseph & Marius D. ?
Selling from a Kentucky EBay location but dealing from the UK?
Zero feedback rating?
My bullshit detector is reading off the scale.

14

Sorry - double post.

15

Yes, I already have copies of those three pictures. They were posted on the original ebay listing last July. That listing is no longer available to view, as itā€™s over 90 days old.

Itā€™s also worth pointing out that the paypal guarantee is extremely small when buying from sellers with less than 25 feedback.

Beware - or let the buyer establish his bona fides.

16

By the way, a quick google search of the sellers email address shows that they also have 10 high end racing bikes for sale right now! All of them are advertised through a classified ad site based in Kentucky - a site they appear to have joined just a few days ago. I guess you should draw your own conclusions.

ā€“ Jon

17

Easy there misterā€¦ you might get accused of being mean.


:smiling_imp:

18

Another thing to remember, no personal checks or money orders! If you use your credit card or Paypal, you can reverse the charges.

19

Apparently a scam; the listing is gone.

As an aside, I donā€™t believe Chris puts a serial number on his flutes.

20

If you use your credit card or Paypal, you can reverse the charges.

Not quite true. Paypal only reverses the charges if there are sufficient funds in the sellerā€™s account to cover the reverse payment. And the process is very cumbersome.

Using your credit card is less risky and requires entering into an appeal process that may not be decided in your favor.

eBay is always risky and never totally safe.