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Fri, 12 Mar 1993 14:08:36 -0500
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Hello, OrganNetters!
 
I was wondering, in general, what collective wisdom people could offer on the
subject of prices for used organ parts (especially for pipework).  I have begun
answering ads (mainly in Theatre Organ) to get lists of items and their asking
prices.  However, I am often not sure how much a rank is really worth, i.e. how
much less than the asking price would be a reasonable offer, based on the item's
condition.  I have heard the standard answer to such a question: "it fluctuates
based on supply/demand", etc.  The asking prices that I have seen recently seem
on the high side to me.  Has the past year or two been a period of high demand?
The general rule that I use, if the item appears to be in good condition, is to
take 15% to 25% off the asking price, although I have been told of a more
extreme example:  a Brass Saxophone rank (made new for Riviera Theater, had
never
been used; believe it or not...they had it made and then couldn't fit it into
the
chamber) for which the asking price was $3200 (shockingly high to many people),
but they were only able to sell it for about half that; I think this was about
1 1/2 to 2 years ago (however I wasn't looking for pipework at the time, and I
don't know what that particular rank sounded like).  More recent asking prices
for Brass Saxophones are in the $6500-7500 range (yikes!  I'll pass, thank you).
In the most recent issue of The Diapason, there is an ad offering 35 ranks of
choice Aeolian-Skinner pipework.  I called and asked whether there was a
English Horn (Cor Anglais) (there was), and told him that I'm not really ready
to buy anything just yet, but was curious what something like that would go for.
He said "around $2000."  Since I am in no particular hurry to buy a lot of
stuff,
I think that I'm in a good position to look around at what's available, get a
better idea of what I want, and make an occasional offer if I think it would be
possible to get a good deal.  If I change my mind and want to look into the
English Horn further, I'm wondering what kind of offer (on the low side) would
be reasonable.  If I go and ask to listen to the pipes, I'd like to know in
advance what a reasonable offer might be, so I am not wasting the time of the
seller.  Would it be courteous to give him a general idea beforehand what my
offer might be if I like the pipes' sound?  On the other hand, if my offer
sounds too low, the seller may not wish to audition the rank for me.  I suppose
that's just as well, because I can say that I'll still be interested if he
changes his mind.
 
I normally don't go asking people who have recently bought things how much they
paid, which is why I am kind of in the dark on this issue.  Perhaps it would be
less nosy to ask someone who has recently sold something.  If anyone on the net
has recently bought or sold organ parts or knows secondhand of such
transactions,
and wouldn't mind sharing the details, please do!
 
Later,
Kevin.

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