Ebay sales observation

[BobD]

I was checking out Ebay today and noticed something interesting. I looked up a few different tenors and found that there are 9 VI's, 2 T991's, 1 T992, 1 III, 0 62's, 0 54's and 0 36's. I just found it interesting that the most coveted of saxes is also the one up for sale most often. Wouldn't you think people would hang onto them as opposed to selling them? Do you think that people are selling them in favor of the newer horns?

[Mike Ruhl]

I would expect to see more Mark VIs than current-production horns for sale on ebay. I don't think it represents any kind of trend.

[Jerry K.]

Bobd, could have a lot to do with the number of VI's made over the long production run. They were made from 1954 to 1973 and probably 175,000 horns or so were made over that period.

[max]

I agree with meruhl.

1.) the newer horns (esp the Refs) have only been out a few years. The people that bought them probably aren't ready to sell them yet.

2.) a VI is going to get a lot of $, so people that have them and don't totally love them will cash in, and most likely make a profit. People selling new horns are going to take a loss.

[MojoBari]

I'm not saying they are all "bad", but eBay is a good place to sell a bad VI. The good ones are better sold in a way a player can try them first. That way, they fetch the highest $.

[mostly alto guy]

I've often wondered, and a time or two posted similarly, why so many people describe their beloved Mark VIs as great-playing, sweet-sounding instruments, yet want to sell them. And on ebay no less.

For some it's direct economic need. I sold mine when I needed quick cash (over 20 years ago), and if you press them, a lot of sellers say that is the reason they are selling. If they didn't need the cash right now, wouldn't they wait and watch the market value continue to rise? So goes the logic.

Also, as has been said, there are a lot of MKVIs. Selmer made them (altos and tenors) for roughly 25 years. No other model I can think of was in production for that long. We see what looks like a lot for sale simply becasue there are so many total, in the same way that Accords and Camrys are the most often stolen cars in America. Not special, just godawful plentiful.

But the primary reason why so many players (not counting casual players who just want to make a buck) sell MKVIs, IMHO, is that they find them not so special that they can't be replaced by the two or even three modern pro horns that can be had for the going price of a single MKVI. If you're a gigging pro who depends on being flexible to get work (as most do), there is no way a single MKVI tenor can be as valuable to you as, say, a 5-6 year old YTS-62, a brand new Yani A901, and a second-hand Buffet R13, all of which are perfectly passable pro-level instruments, the lot of which you can buy for the selling price of a 5-digit MKVI.

In terms of revenue generating potential, which would you rather have?

[JL]

Also makes you wonder how many really "good ones" are for sale. Of course, the definintion of a "good one" may vary from one person to the next.

[max]

In terms of revenue generating potential, which would you rather have?
MAG - exactly.

I sold my Guardala mouthpiece on eBay a few months ago. It was a great mouthpiece, but not $900+ great... at least to me. I'm glad it was to someone, though! :D

[michaelbaird]

I'm glad people are selling more Mark VIs. If something ever happens to mine, I can find another one :D

[singlereed]

Well they did make a huge number of VIs. You also find a huge number on ebay of 'rare' C melodys and lots of US made horns for example. I know instinctively it feels weird to use something like eBay to buy and sell a sax, but it gets to a global audience of sax players and I have had many successful purchases and sales. Unless I want a brand new horn, its actually quite hard to find anywhere to go and see what I want to try, so I tend to go for something on ebay at a good price, and if I don't like it, I sell it on. My alternative as a seller is to give away 20% to a dealer in commission or advertise it in a local newspaper - my experience is that is more expensive, gets few or no calls.

[Dave dix]

SINGLEREED,
I SECOND THAT.
Most music shops in the UK stock a few new student line horns and very little pro horns.I played a V11 for 20 plus years until i tried a martin.I have bought 3 martins from the US and all are great,cheap and my selmer is gathering dust!!
I have never seen a martin for sale in a uk shop except a few years ago in Michael Whites.also if i bought one i didnt like i can always sell it on.

[Anonymous]

Actually, I switched from my (third) Mark VI Tenor to a Yamaha Custom just to prove the point that:

I make the sound, NOT the machine.

I've been keeping it as a spare, but I'd sell it in a minute if the price was right!............Offers?

[AMASAX]

perhaps a decent definition of a 'Good Mark VI' is one that i just sold for a lot more than i paid for it... :lol:

[Anonymous]

My first two VI's were under $500 brand new, the third, under a grand!

[Balladeer]

My Mark VI alto (61xxx) was purchased in late 1966 used for $60. At the time, new ones cost $660.

[retread]

Balladeer, you got a buy. I remember selling an old Beuscher Aristocrat alto, with silver paint on the neck, to a music store for $50 in 1961. I assume they cleaned it up and made a nice profit. I had bought it a year earlier from a pawn shop for $35. But $500 or $600 was serious money back then, at least for me. As sidemen in the boonies we got $10 or $12 a gig, $40 on New Years Eve. Of course, that $50 for the Buescher paid half my tuition and fees for a semester.

Geez, when I start talking about the old days I realize creeping oldfartism is setting in.

[1saxman]

Retread; I hear that! I have learned that you can't be a grumpy old man and play music - it just takes all the fun out of it. My take on the question is simply that people sell Mk VIs because they're not really (or no longer) pros in most cases, and just can't resist taking a big profit. I'm a part-time player myself these days, but I would never part with my VI as long as I could play it. After that, sure, it could go, but only to my son who is a player. He's already got my previous one, a #130xxx. In a nutshell, this means that to me, the fact that a Mk VI is for sale on the internet has no implications as to how good a horn it is. I bought my last one sight unseen from Tim Smith at Sax Alley, and it's the best one I've had. I've only bought one sax off ebay that didn't blov for me (after overhaul/repad), and I was able to get my money out of that one. Two of them are Martins (tenor and bari), which are fantastic horns - if you like Martins.

[cmelodysax]

Dave dix

- if you're monitoring this thread then I can recommend 'Don Mackrills' in Edgeware, Middx. in the UK ( www.donmack.com ) for good classic saxes - he currently has five Martins listed on his website.

I've bought a 'The Martin' tenor, and a 'Martin Magna' alto from him in the past, well pleased, they are still my main horns. I was always able to take any mouthpieces into the shop and work my way down the 'rack' trying a few, no pressure whatsoever.

His prices may be higher than ebay, but he did give very good part-exchange on a couple of useless (to me) horns !

Regards, Alan.

P.S. Not related or connected in any way, just satisfied........

[Dave dix]

hi tinminer
thanks for the message i know Dons shop quite well. A bit pricey but usually has good horns in. I may drop in and have a look
Dave

[Dan000892]

Hey berg! I'll give ya $2000 for your VI... that's more than double what you paid! :lol:

[Anonymous]

You're all heart...under that shoulder holster!
But $3K could start to loosen my grip on it!

[Dan000892]

Ah... if only I had 3k.... I have computers though. Need a computer??? :oops: :lol:

[Anonymous]

Up to my pits in 'em!

[Dan000892]

Here's some sales data I've compiled on Mark Tenors on eBay over the last couple weeks...

Mark VI Mark VII
AVG $3,694.61 $1,648.17
MEDIAN $3,869.44 $1,602.50

MAX $6,999.99 $2,625.00
MIN $2,000.00 $859.00

COUNT 26 6


It doesn't take into account year of production or quality; only sales that were completed for fully functional marks.

(There was a Mark VI that went for $1925 but it was missing the neck... and some keys. The $2000 Mark VI was working but beaten really bad... A high school had it!)


I figure I can continue to update this and add some models/features at request (within reason!). Maybe someday (in about a month) someone (ahem!) can find me a decent Mark VI (for bout $2k). hehehe :P

edited because my table looked nasty :lol:

[Honeyboy]

I know a music store owner who has, during the past year, purchased a 140xxx Mark VI alto with some kind of wooden clarinet (which was worth more than the Mark VI)for $500.00 from someone who obviously didn't know the value. A second person sold him a Mark VI tenor for about the same amount. It amazes me how people will sell so cheap to a music store. Where are they when you need them???

[Dan000892]

It is amazing... I think a lot of it is asthetics. Would a very young musician (or even better his/her overbearing parents) rather have this beat up or scratched or dark or not shiny instrument or a piece of Taiwanese crap that is shiny and "a good instrument for the student" for trade-in value.

This ploy is most successful when said vintage horn needs an overhaul that cost just as much as a crappy Tiawanese horn...