hi, so now that i’m a wanna be flute player, i’m searching for deals on flutes on ebay… then i like to share them, b/c 9x out of 10 i don’t actually buy anything… but someone should, sometimes they’re great deals.
so here’s what i’ve found… to repeat, i’m not the seller, i can’t answer any questions about them, but there are 2 nice flutes up for auction on ebay:
I’ve been keeping a close eye on ebay as well even though I bought my first flute a couple of months ago. There were quite a few good sales on ebay when I was still trying to decide what to go for, and I was sorely tempted by a new maple sweetheart flute that appeared on ebay and didn’t sell (also posted here). I am really enjoying playing my flute but I suppose the next one I go for really should have a tuning slide for when I want to start playing with other instruments. At least I assume so. I noticed that M&E Eb flute too. Not sure it’s what I need next though.
One thing I have learnt from buying a flute though is not to order from abroad as customs charges and the poor exchange rate really increase the cost significantly.
Hi,
I suggest a keyless flute in the key of “D” for your first flute. There are lots of good makers whose flutes are of good quality and are relatively inexpensive. Check this board for ideas.
Another option is to contact Doc Jones at the Irish Flute Store, explain your situation and price limitations and ask for his advice. He is a great person with whom to deal and has lots of flutes (new and used) at a variety of price levels. Doc is completely trustworthy and has a web site: http://www.irishflutestore.com
cheers,
Paul
thanks everybody. i already have a key of d flute (tipple) and traded some whistles for a copley. so no worries there.
and i know Doc; i’ve bought a Shaw, a Mellow Dog, and a Burke from him. i totally agree.
Skinty, i bought a Fred Rose whistle for about $175 on ebay, shipped from england, didn’t pay any customs charges that i’m aware of… not sure what the seller declared on their end; i was recently advised when shipping it to Canada (traded it and another whistle for Copley mentioned above to declare it worth $50 and list it as “used whistle parts.” so i guess it depends on what the seller declares as far as customs charges go…
anyway, a lot of people seem to imply that by posting these ebay “deals” to this board people are going to bid against each other, but so far i haven’t noticed that, and i have heard that people have got some of them. so i like to do it as a service, but if people really think it’s not helpful, i’ll stop.
I’m considering getting a fred rose flute for my second flute. I emailed him at the end of January and he said that he’s making some more but it will be at least a couple of months until they’re ready. He also said that he makes some with brass lined tuneable headjoints.
I reckon it would be a good thing if we knew who here was going to bid on a flute so that we don’t automatically bid against each other unless we really wanted an item.
I find these notices interesting and helpful. Please go on with them.
I’d never know about most of these otherwise. I watch the
auctions and I don’t
see it driving prices up. Even if it sometimes
does, I think it’s better that we are alerted. Thanks
On reflection, I’m in agreement with Mark on this one. I used to post what I thought were interesting instruments on either e-bay or craig’s list here so that they might not be missed by the C&F crowd. However, we are all reasonably internet savvy, or we wouldn’t be posting on a discussion board in the first place, and should be capable of doing our own searching if we are in the market. Posting an auction, or sale, here only helps the seller, as it inevitably broadens the field for competition for a bargain. As I feel a closer association with the board members here than with some faceless seller, I will refrain from such posts in the future.
The new policy on e-bay for anonymous bidders listing makes it all but impossible to determine who is doing the bidding during an auction, so I don’t see how anyone can tell during the auction whether you were driving up a price for a friend. Unless folks complain, after the fact, I can’t see how you would be able to tell if there was a bidding war between two, or several, C&F board members either.
thanks for sharing your opinions. i would like to think that it’s helpful that i post these to the c&f boards, but if not, then i’ll stop.
i think of it as a service to both the seller and buyer; one of the first sellers i bought a whistle off of from ebay was a c&f member (who hadn’t posted their whistle here themselves). i didn’t bid against anyone, and got a pretty good deal.
from the buyer side, i think, although a lot of people are internet savy, i think they don’t take the time to search ebay every day the way i do. so then yes, i think it’s a service to buyers as well, as i’m letting them know about something they might not have known about otherwise.
as far as bidding against other c&f members, i usually don’t really bid against other people. i’ve bought a g flute and 4 whistles on ebay so far, i didn’t get into a bidding war with anyone to get any of those.
and honestly, if you really want something, and are willing to bid against other people for something, you should be willing to pay something fair for what you want. if not, let the other person have it. (i think) to be fair, to say that other people shouldn’t bid against you is to say that ebay isn’t fair itself–so if you think that’s true, don’t use it. or if you’re saying it’s not fair that you have to pay more because someone else found out about it, because you wanted it and they wouldn’t have know it was available… is that helping other c&f members?
i think ebay works, it’s fair, and all i’m doing is sharing information–which i think is basically a good thing. and some people seem to appreciate, so…
Here’s how. Flutes on e bay mentioned here, drooled over publically and
at length,
like the Rudall listed recently, often simply don’t sell. Nobody bids on them.
Other auctions mentioned here are often quite sluggish. The recession, I reckon.
So posting about e bay auctions here doesn’t appear to create much competition
among buyers.
You, on the other hand, have no evidence for your speculation that these alerts
are lifting prices or creating bidding wars.
Most of us aren’t ‘in the market.’ Though many of us might still bid on
something if the right instrument came along and we learned of it.
And even if we are capable of searching
e bay ourselves, many of us have plenty of other things we must do.
Therefore the service provided
to us by alerts like these is most welcome–at least by people like me.
Also one learns quite a lot from these listings, about flutes. Consider
the informative discussions we have about flutes being listed on e bay,
especially the old ones. Some of our most interesting and enjoyable threads.
So the posts have a benefit to many of us and there is no solid reason
to think the costs to us are significant.
By all means don’t post such posts if you don’t want to, of course.
I’m not trying to start some kind of flame war here, but of course I have evidence. I have bid on several flutes on e-bay and been beaten out at the last minute in a short bidding war, only to see someone on this board announce that they just won the auction. I’m not crying “sour grapes” over these auctions, I know how e-bay works and I bid all I was willing to pay for each item. I’m happy someone from the board who appreciates a fine instrument got them. However that doesn’t change the FACT that there was an actual bidding war, and I’m sure that everyone who got into it would have preferred that the other bidder had missed this particular auction.
I agree that lately the economy has affected prices and purchacing. Not to mention tax time rolling around. Perhaps the Rudal listed recently is an example of that, but didn’t one of the two go for the anticipated price? I don’t suppose there is all that large of a group of $2K+ antique flute collectors out there willing to take on a restoration project. Also, I’ve been keeping an eye on the $100 - $500 range, and around there most flutes have been selling quite well (unless of German origin for some reason). I’m certain that not all antique flute collectors are also C&F members, but I’m equally certain that there are a large number here.
You have a valid point that some of the discussion here has been initiated with the posting of an e-bay ad though . That often works better if the OP is doing more to describe an interesting flute that just indicating that it is at auction. I can see your POV, but still disagree.
i also want no part of any kind of flame war, if i sense things are getting too heated or that this is not helping anyone you won’t see me posting to this thread anymore…
that said, i like what you said Latticino. i’m sorry you didn’t get the flute you were after, i also have not always got everything i bid on. i think we can agree though, that’s ok? you mention you saw that another c&f er posted winning that particular flute, so i’m happy for them that they got it and hope they enjoy it. i really believe everything that comes around goes around… i’ve missed out on some and won others; i think that’s how it should be.
also, i was thinking about posting more info… i noticed that people were more excited when i first starting posting ebay links and then interest started to tail off… i think that might be b/c if i just said “copley flute” and paste a link, people will click on them for awhile, then realize that a lot of it is stuff they aren’t interested in. on the whistle side, i started adding other info, like what the current bid price is, whether the whistle is tunable, what key, what it’s made out of… if this information helps people decide what they want to look at and what they don’t, i can also say how many keys a flute has, what its made out of, whether it looks damaged, etc…
and i agree too; a lot of other useful information can come out of posting these links… there was in interesting discussion before about the case that a flute came with that i found helpful (looking for one myself).
anyway, thanks everyone, i really appreciate all the feedback; you flutists are more lively than the whistle crowd (this is way longer than the longest thread over on that side about this
Again, I follow lots of auctions from this board. Often the flutes don’t sell. Sometimes there are no bids,
somtimes they don’t make the reserve. Lots, probably most, flutes listed on the used instrument
board aren’t selling either. There just isn’t much reason to think alerting people to e bay auctions
is making much difference, especially as it’s likely that most bidders don’t find out about the
auction here. Note the fact that you find yourself
bidding against one of us doesn’t support the claim that a listing on this board has anything to do with it,
indeed, you make no mention of the auctions in question being posted here.
But suppose it happens. Probably does sometimes. You lose out to someone who learned about the flute here
and wouldn’t have bid otherwise. So one of us gets it who otherwise wouldn’t have. What’s the matter with that?
You don’t get it, she does. Frustrating, I agree, but that’s not your beef, surely.
You say alerting us about the flute only helps the seller. What about the chiff and fippler
who wins the auction who never would have bid otherwise. Doesn’t it help her?
OK, there’s a ‘short bidding war’ (oxymoron?) that otherwise wouldn’t have happened. That is,
she’s bidding on the flute, too. So you’re less likely to get it or may pay more; but she
gets a chance at a flute she will enjoy.
You don’t know whether the person who outbid you was specifically looking out for a flute and regularly checking ebay anyway, or whether it was an impulse buy after having seen mention of it on here.
The fact that they entered a bidding war and won suggests the former.
