Lowballing

That Regal is pretty non-existant, unless you have a few you could show us? You boys are arguing about silliness and getting it done in a nicely rude manner. All that ever does is get threads closed.

I don't post here normally, but I found this particular uke pretty interesting, not priced outlandishly, and followed the thread to this one where I see a frustrated fella getting smacked around and talked to by people unlike they would like to be talked to. I was under the impression that there was something you folks like to call the aloha spirit? Get with it and play nice.

And we ALL talk out of our butts more times than we'd like to be known for.

billypete's Regal uke is not a run-of-the-mill $100. Harmony clone, as some of you are asserting. In fact, this price is a steal for the uke offered. I do not believe that it is refinished, there is no over-spray on the label. The original spring barrel tuners are sadly gone, but can be replaced with correct ones.

This is one of a batch of ukes made in 1927-28, most likely, made from a load of beautiful curly Cuban Mahogany that was shared among the guitar builders in Chicago at the time. The Harmony Vita Uke, and all the Vita instruments were made from the same wood. Regal built the nicest guitars in Chicago at the time, and if you can get one made of this wood, it is valued much higher than any other.

Hang in there billypete. If I were you I would remove it during this very poor selling season, and sell it later after you have done some research and can present it correctly.

RichM said:

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RichM, you are a wise man.

I got on a kick of buying Hawaiian shirts off ebay because, hey, every ukulele player should have at least one Hawaiian shirt to wear to uke meetups, right? Except I didn't stop at one... or even ten. They're kinda addictive like ukes.

But the thing is, sometimes I can find a nice one at the last minute that no one's bid on yet for $ .99 and shipping. Others want $100+ for what they think is some kind of rare, collectible shirt. I just ignore the ones out of the range I'll willing to consider.

Same with yard sales. Some people seem to think their "rare treasures" are worth a premium and get insulted if you offer them less, others just want to get rid of stuff and will drop the price if you ask it and then don't immediately say you want it.

Yeah, it's a seller/buyer dance, but I'm potentially a customer if I take the time to even ask the price. And I think the truth is a lot of sellers build a little wiggle room in their stated price.

Calling someone a Philistine is uncalled for. It's as bad as ripping the Guitar Center Salesperson. When did acting just like the offending party become so fashionable?

I think the problem with the OP is that he is passionate about what he is selling and in reality he isn't ready to sell for what the market value is. Perhaps that is why the language is charged if it is at all. I didn't read it that way and I am not offended by the word philistine. I myself am one IRT the english language and had to look up philistine! I am not at all offended by the true definition which is an uninformed person. If there is context for the word in the bible, well some like me would rather do anything else than reading ancient fairy tales.

I don't see wrong done with "ripping" the Guitar Center salesman either. I am a polymath and not a single person on the planet can know everything. That is called wisdom. People that have the delusion that they know everything deserve what reality has to dish out. Sometimes the naked truth can be perceived as harsh, but IME when someone is arrogant enough to see themselves as THE authority on a subject, then ANYTHING that chips at that facade will be considered harsh by that person. It is all about fragile egos and their passions - both bring about emotions.

What if I claimed in my infinite unfaltering authority that the animal running at me is a mouse when it is a bull? Reality happens. The real world is harsh and not white gloved pampering. End of story.

Getting low ball offers suck. But no need to get upset. I have a uke for sale I'm the marketplace for half what it'd cost. Three offers. All lower than I was willing to take. A lot lower. I still have the uke.
I will admit, I don't remember the three people that low balled me either.

ohmless said:

I don't see wrong done with "ripping" the Guitar Center salesman either.

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I think you gotta be careful about ripping anyone, especially when you bring up how little they make...that's uncool

I apologized for that statement. uncool to bring up out of context without the following apology.

it is called a taste of his own medicine. And actually people are generally paid based on performance and credentials in this country so his pay is fair game.

I am too old to be cool. I can care less. Generally I am bro but that dude insulted a customer. He should be out of a job IMO.

It happens all the time. You can get a lot of low offers, which can be frustrating and even sometimes downright insulting but something which kept me sane is the knowledge that at the end of the day, you still have the uke with you. Nothing can take that away from you. You have the uke, you win.

billypete said:

I'm not sure where to put this post, but this seems like a reasonable place. Reference to this post: http://www.ukuleleunderground.com/forum/showthread.php?88971-FS-20-s-Regal-Soprano-3k-ish


I have a lovely vintage Regal in the marketplace for $300 (shipped) and some joker sent me this PM which frankly just made me mad. I am an economist by trade, and can observe that given the lack of interest in my posting, the price is too high for this marketplace. I can't help but attribute that more to the participants of the market than the intrinsic worth of the instrument. I will have to post a nice comparison soundclip. In the meantime I went out to Elderly and found some used intruments in the asserted price range. I have to answer: Really?!? I had planned on moving the posting to FMM, but will likely land future postings there first. I think the old stuff is undervalued here. If one of the rock-star luthiers makes a monochrome soprano out of 30 year mahogany it will fetch a half G easy, but 90 year old mahogany made by some italian immigrant in chicago, nameless, but likely trained in the tradition of stradavarius is only good for a spit bucket. The word Philistine keeps coming to mind.

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Captain Simian said:

I don't get upset when I get a low ball offer. What I don't like is when a potential buyer is rude, condescending, and makes a lowball offer. I admit that I'm not an expert on any of this but I'm not completely stupid either.

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yes Captain...that is what I was trying to say...there are fellow UU members who treat sellers like this....maybe we should post there condescending remarks on the UU so everyone can read them...

you might of gotten a PM from the same person here on the UU

nongdam said:

Calling someone a Philistine is uncalled for. It's as bad as ripping the Guitar Center Salesperson. When did acting just like the offending party become so fashionable?

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I would like to be clear that the individual who PM'd me was clearly not making an offer, tried to compliment the instrument, was likely trying to help me out by letting my know my price estimate was off, and replied back with restraint and genuine concern that I reacted so negatively. So kudos to him/her. What got me was the 'wallhanger' bit. I have a Wendell-hall TV concert by Regal, of which I am quite fond, but have no illusion about it being valuable in spit of how cool it is. This uke is really quite nice and it troubles me that it is dismissed as just a cheap Regal. I suppose i ought to be happy I live in a world where such a gem can be had so cheaply, but it seems like alot of old craft is being devalued regardless of age. I meant less to deride the PM poster as a philistine than the entire benighted world (as if somehow that is better). I guess I will ask a different question: how much longer will 20's Martins be treasured as production continues in Mexico? What if Martin were to move it to the Philipines? How long then?

I like your uke. It's not for me, but who cares? I just don't understand the upside of you opening this entire conversation to public debate. I tried to sell a Martin tenor in gorgeous condition here on UU for a price that was a steal, and I got lots of low ball offers. So what?

Someone will eventually buy your uke at the intersection of Price St and Value Ave, and you'll both walk away satisfied, just like I did (thanks Steve.)

Nil desperandum.

Agreed, thanks back at you, Thom.

billypete, the lowballer was just trying to rattle your cage. Don't let them succeed in doing so.

The delete button works wonders.

billypete said:

I would like to be clear that the individual who PM'd me was clearly not making an offer, tried to compliment the instrument, was likely trying to help me out by letting my know my price estimate was off, and replied back with restraint and genuine concern that I reacted so negatively. So kudos to him/her. What got me was the 'wallhanger' bit. I have a Wendell-hall TV concert by Regal, of which I am quite fond, but have no illusion about it being valuable in spit of how cool it is. This uke is really quite nice and it troubles me that it is dismissed as just a cheap Regal. I suppose i ought to be happy I live in a world where such a gem can be had so cheaply, but it seems like alot of old craft is being devalued regardless of age. I meant less to deride the PM poster as a philistine than the entire benighted world (as if somehow that is better). I guess I will ask a different question: how much longer will 20's Martins be treasured as production continues in Mexico? What if Martin were to move it to the Philipines? How long then?

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It's fine billypete. Just chill and relax.
I could have gone ballistic with your Philippines comment since I'm originally from the Philippines.
But you know, it doesn't bother me one bit. I get what you are getting after. But to answer your question, martin will still sell laminates at $300-400 a pop (some people just don't want old stuff that needs to be taken care off)and let me give you an example.
Most of your expensive Ralph Lauren shirts are made in the Philippines and that does not decrease their value and is still sold at the same price as u.s. Made ones. My ex girlfriend used to work at one of the factories that made them as well as nautica, anne klein, izod, etc. They still sell for the same price.
I could have said Philippine made stuff is not all mass produced stuff ( it hasn't been for a long time since wages are 6x that of china so we cannot compete at that) and we are damn good craftsmen as seen in these all philippine made and designed furniture http://www.switchmodern.com/manufacturers/kenneth-cobonpue.asp

Yep I know. $6630 for an outdoor day bed doesn't seem to be made in the Philippines but it is(says so right there in the product details)
http://www.switchmodern.com/Outdoor...ges/Kenneth-Cobonpue-Balou-Outdoor-Daybed.asp


So going back. The rockstar luthier does make a difference just like the rockstar furniture maker(who just so happens to live and produce stuff in the Philippines) it's just demand driven. Demand depending on quality as well as perceived quality. Slapping a martin decal on a uke built anywhere in the world automatically gives it some perceived quality to a lot of people. Just like slapping an Apple logo on a Chinese made MP3 player gives it automatic perceived quality vs a clone which says "HA-POL made in China"

I do agree though that your uke is worth quite a bit more than people are willing to shell out now but you know what just relax and chill. It's not a well known uke or a sought after uke which explains the lack of interest at that price. I'm more puzzled that your pohaku is not selling, that's the one that blows my mind. Someone please buy billypetes pohaku!!!

Ipcmlr said:

It's fine billypete. Just chill and relax.

I do agree though that your uke is worth quite a bit more than people are willing to shell out now but you know what just relax and chill. It's not a well known uke or a sought after uke which explains the lack of interest at that price. I'm more puzzled that your pohaku is not selling, that's the one that blows my mind. Someone please buy billypetes pohaku!!!

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Econ 101, something is only worth what one is willing to pay. I bought a uke for 1800.00 that retailed for 2200.00. It obviously wasn't worth 2200, since I was only willing to pay 1800.00. Didn't like it, and guess what. It sold for 1450. Thats what it was worth to the next person, and it took a while to find him.

You are correct, the time stamped photo thing is a suggestion only. I have had similar posts from so called experts stating that I wasn't following the rules etc. Sold my last six or seven instruments on this wonderfull forum, not one had a photo with a date on it.
"Expert" = X is an unknown and spurt is a drip under pressure.
Regards
Dennis