In a message dated 4/3/2006 4:50:17 P.M. Eastern Standard Time, mellotrongirl@... writes:
If I was to list my Mellotron for sale (fat chance, btw)...I would:
1. Offer it for sale here first, giving a complete description & a
deadline to respond. Good hi-res digital pics say a lot...provide a
link to LOTS of close-up detailed pictures. Maybe eBay might get you
more money for your machine, but at least I'd offer a set-sale price
here first. I'd be tempted to go for area craigslist cities listings,
free musician buy/sell/trade gear forums & go that route before
dealing
with eBay's spendy listing fees.
2. Offer a contact name, address and phone number that matches one
that
can be found online in any people-finder directory. That may sound
like
divulging a bit of personal information, but this is the best way
IMHO
to let someone making a major purchase like a Mellotron know you are
who you say you are.
3. Offer to accept e-mails off-list when someone interested can call
you to hear the sounds of your Mellotron and the tapes note-by-note.
When entering a bid for a Mellotron on eBay, use the "ask the seller
a
question" function and request a phone number and a good time to call
for further info and sounds, etc. In the meantime, verify the number
is
valid, and matches the location item is for sale and all that. If
things don't synch, the deal is off. Don't place a bid! Simple as
that...all in the name of protecting yourself! If they don't
reply...well that means to me that they aren't serious about the
importance of your bid, or something is shady going on. After all,
it's
a serious decision and a major purchase, so a seller should be ready
to
field a lot of questions. The seller ought to put themselves in your
shoes to put it all into proper perspective...hopefully they
appreciate Mellotrons as much as we do.
Then...good luck with your offer and if you get one, you're happy
with it & it'll be your prized possession like mine is.
Excellent advice all around.
I, for one, have listed a Tron or two on eBay, and I have bought one there. In the most recent instance, an interested party emailed me and offered me a very reasonable price... What, in fact, I was hoping it would sell for. So I pulled it off and sold it to him. One of the most compelling reasons that I did so was because I knew he was a musician, he already had one Tron and I knew it would be played live. It was an exquisite machine. I was happy he bought it. Since then, he has brought two machines for me to restore for him. He also recently purchased another off ebay and had done a pretty nice job of fixing it up himself.
Recently, I bought the crappiest Tron I have ever seen on eBay. I drove 900 miles in one day round trip to pick it up. When I got there I discovered it was missing parts and the seller had never even turned it on. We negotiated a much lower price on the spot and I paid him cash. Luckily I had my trusty Mellotron dog, Bear, with me. He noted right away that there were dead critters inside. Cash at pick up is a good way to go if you can drive there. If not, see if someone from the list lives close enough to check it out for you.
Frank
PS.
That Mellotron is currently undergoing a total restoration and will up for sale by mid May.