Mellotronists

We all know from past experience that:

1. Quite a few Mellotrons selling on eBay seem to disappear before 
the 
auction ends
2. From time to time a winning bidder pays for a Mellotron and loses 
all his/her money to fraud
3. Lately on big ticket items, a number of fake front page hijacked 
listings occur & seems to be a problem at eBay these days

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.