Help purchasing 2010 Kamaka Tenor with Case

Howie1947 · Oct 28, 2014

I have a chance to buy a Kamaka tenor ukulele. The owner is a friend of mine. He purchased it it in 2010, and has hardly played it. I have not seen it in a couple of yrs, but I imagine it is in pristine condition. My question is, what should I offer him as far as price, certainly don't want to offend..................Thanks..............Howie

janeray1940 · Oct 28, 2014

Current MSRP is around $1400, but that's with the Gotoh UPT tuners (which came later than 2010 as a stock offering with Kamakas). IIRC in 2010 MSRP was around $1200. If I were the seller, I'd be happy with $900-$1000.

Howie1947 · Oct 29, 2014

I don't think tenors were retailing for 1200dlls in 2010. Think they were still between 900 and a grand

gyosh · Oct 29, 2014

The basic Koa was $1080.00 in July 2011 at the shop I purchased mine. I think that was the MAPP price at the time, the highly figured HF-3's were $1400.00

Hope this helps.

IamNoMan · Oct 29, 2014

I think the seller would be happy if you offered a little more than what he paid for it. $25 or $50 would make me happy. It would be foolish to lose a friend because of resentment over a little money.

coolkayaker1 · Oct 29, 2014

I'd start by asking him what he wants for it.

The Big Kahuna · Oct 29, 2014

Howie1947 said:
I don't think tenors were retailing for 1200dlls in 2010. Think they were still between 900 and a grand

As you seem to know more on the subject than anyone else here, I'm surprised you're asking for advice, unless you're just asking for justification for offering a low price.

Anyway, if you're genuinely interested, go to "Advanced Search" and click on the "Search single content type" tab. You can type in "kamaka" and select the Ukulele Marketplace forum from the "Search in forum(s)" section. Unfortunately, if you type in "kamaka tenor" it will treat "tenor" as a separate search term. You can then browse all the Kamaka sales in the MP and see what you consider to be a fair price.

Bao · Oct 29, 2014

Definitely ask what he wants for it first. Then talk from there.

Phuufme · Oct 29, 2014

Bao said:
Definitely ask what he wants for it first. Then talk from there.

This is what I did when a friend of mine was selling his Taylor K-14 cedar top, koa back and sides. I did some research on ebay and the Taylor site as to the value prior to asking him to make an offer. He offered a fair price so we agreed. Everyone was happy.

kkimura · Oct 30, 2014

If he's a good friend, buy it for whatever he asks for.

b_rad · Oct 30, 2014

I have found out through the years when buying or selling an instrument from a friend, to ask what he or she is willing to sell for. Much of the time if they have already lost interest in that instrument, they tend to ask much less than you might offer. Give your friend the chance to tell you what he or she expects to sell it to you for.

One last thing...never talk price if either one of you are not sober.

It may surprise you either way!

g'est · Oct 30, 2014

b_rad said:
I have found out through the years when buying or selling an instrument from a friend, to ask what he or she is willing to sell for. Much of the time if they have already lost interest in that instrument, they tend to ask much less than you might offer. Give your friend the chance to tell you what expects to sell it to you for.

It may surprise you either way!

Also, if they ask a lot less, you can offer a bit more than the asking price. Then both of you will be happy!

Fred Ukestone · Oct 31, 2014

Howie, you already have 5 tenors, two of which are Kamakas. Do you really need another one? Will it ever be played?

dkcrown · Oct 31, 2014

Since nobody has offered up a price for you, I will. If it is in good to excellent condition, I would offer $800.00. That would be fair for both of you and not damage your friendship.

Help purchasing 2010 Kamaka Tenor with Case

Howie1947

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