Gold Plated Tenor

[hornophone]

Just thought I'd give the SML fans a heads-up that there is a very nice looking Gold Plated Tenor out on E-bay right now #200056696198. Wish I could add that one to the collection, but alas...

[Swingtone]

Yeah, that's the nicest example I've ever seen! Anyone care to have a competition for who can guess the winning bid? I think it'll go to 4 Grand.

[Swingtone]

Just checked the auction. I guess we'll never know how much it went for (unless the lucky winner is a Forum member). But I'll betcha it was more than $3,000, like old ebay said.

[Bernards20040]

yep it probably went close to 4K.
i am betting the high bidder e-mailed the seller offered the extra (off e-bay) and the deal was done. E-bay only gets to see the 3K sale and buyer and seller both win. (buyer gets the horn for what he thinks it's worth and the seller saves on final value fees) Yep a win win situation, not for e-bay though:twisted:

[hafuch]

Looks like eBay security yanked the sale. Something fishy I bet ... anyway, eBay said they're "looking into it", so it sounds like either the seller's account was compromised, or it was a hoax. Last I saw, it was at 3k, but now it's just a memory ...

Gold plated Rev D
http://cgi.ebay.com/SML-Gold-Plated-Tenor-Saxophone-Sax-OUTSTANDING_W0QQitemZ200056696198QQihZ010QQcategor yZ16234QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem


Out of curiosity, I've noticed that this SML GM II (?) keeps reappearing on eBay.fr, from a "giorgiojazz" seller in Italy.

I've noticed that of the eBay sellers who sell internationally, many refuse to sell/ship to Italy because of "various problems" or "difficulties". What sort of problem arise? Just curious, as someone who's fairly new to eBay, and knows that scams are rampant there, but FORTUNATELY just has no experience with them (knock on wood).

Since I've noticed this giorgiojazz's impeccable, museum-quality SML has gone without even a single bid SEVERAL times, I'm wondering if other eBay buyers out there smell a rat, or know something I don't. The guy seems to have good feedback, so it seems a curious situation? Any ideas on what's up with that? Is it a scam/fraud or a legitimate deal? I realize he's not giving it away as a "bargain" or a "steal", but then again, neither was the seller of the Gold Plated Rev D, and it exceeded 3K before it got yanked?

Any ideas? Thanks in advance, and here are the links in case anyone fancies checking it out.

SMeLmer

SML GM II (?) in Italy
http://cgi.ebay.fr/SML-Gold-Medal-Marigaux-Tenor-Sax-Saxophone-no-Mark-VI_W0QQitemZ280057709429QQihZ018QQcategoryZ10184QQ rdZ1QQssPageNameZWD2VQQcmdZViewItem

or in English

http://cgi.ebay.com/SML-Gold-Medal-Marigaux-Tenor-Sax-Saxophone-no-Mark-VI_W0QQitemZ280057709429QQihZ018QQcategoryZ10184QQ rdZ1QQssPageNameZWD2VQQcmdZViewItem

[abadcliche]

I would guess that horn isnt selling because his starting bid is almost 3k USD and its the least-desired finish.

[paulwl]

Gold decreases the value of an SML? That's a new one. Was it bad plating, cheaply done, peel or wear prone etc.?

[bfoster64]

There's a gold plated SML Rev D tenor just like the one in the Ebay auction, 98% perfect, for sale locally. They are asking $4750 but at one point they had agreed to sell it for $4250. The seller backed out so it is still for sale.

[abadcliche]

paul, not sure if you were replying to me- the link to the auction that giorgiojazz was selling was a lacquer horn with nickel keys, and that is what i was referring to as least-desired finish.

[paulwl]

Ah. That clears it up. 8-) Thanks.

[hafuch]

Hello Abadcliche and others,

I was under the impression that the lacquered body with the nickel-plated keys, or "two-tone finish", was in fact SML's premium finish (silver- and gold-plating not withstanding, of course) for the Gold Medal models.

According to Fred Cicetti (1997):

"The two-tone model was a Gold Medal with nickel-plate keys and guards.

For your amusement, here are the list prices (not including cases): Standard alto, $350; Gold Medal alto, $415; Gold Medal 2-Tone alto, $435; Standard tenor, $400; Gold Medal tenor, $475; Gold Medal 2-Tone, $495; Gold Medal Baritone, $625."

(ref. http://www.saxontheweb.net/SML/thestory.html)

If the two-tone finish is "less desirable", players would have had to pay more for a "less desirable" finish option; this excerpt from Cicetti's article seems to suggest that the two-tone finish is, in fact, the "more desirable" one.

I also understand that the Buescher TH&Cs, among other top class saxes of the period, also featured a similar "two-tone" finish, and that only later did this two-tone finish come to be indicative of poorer quality student horns.

Here's a curious question: When did this two-tone finish cease to be a top-quality option and instead become indicative of a student-quality horn?

Anyway, whether with the more or less desirable finish, the starting prices on the sax linked in the above posts does seem quite high, though not necessarily astronomically high ...

And it seems that Gold-Plated Rev. D is back again, currently at $2650:

http://cgi.ebay.com/SML-Gold-Plated-Tenor-Saxophone-Sax-OUTSTANDING_W0QQitemZ200059344244QQihZ010QQcategor yZ16234QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Could be interesting to watch this, I suppose.

SMeLmer :)

[hafuch]

FYI: that gold plated Rev D went for $3650. Pretty steep, I think, but it is perhaps one of the most beautiful I have seen. Only $50 more than Steve Goodson's top dollar evaluation of $3600. If you factor in the 20% increase for the gold plate, you've got a bargain at $3650! :-)

[abadcliche]

The two tone finish was indeed a high-end finish back in the day. However, since then, most student horns (probably starting in the 60s, with the Selmer-Buescher Aristocrat that devolved into the Bundy) have come in lacquer/nickel, and the finish has come to be associated with that.