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.

In a message dated 03/04/2006 21:50:17 GMT Daylight Time,  
mellotrongirl@... writes:

If I was  to list my Mellotron for sale...
(Hell would have frozen over first) 
 
I would list it on VEMIA (_www.spheremusic.com_ (http://www.spheremusic.com) 
) as that is run in the  same way as a normal auction. No sale, no fee. 
Auction house holds funds until  item turns up and only releases them when both 
parties are satisfied.  Occasionally lists M400s.
 
I have sold several large items this way (ARP2600, Jupiter6) without any  
hassles at all, that is what part of the fee goes towards.
 
Norm

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.