Koaloha Auction

10k is a lot of money for a blinged-out ukulele.
 
Jerryc41 said:
I just checked on that Koaloha auction. The bid went to $9,800 (with a reserve of $9,000, I thought), yet there was not winner.[/QUOTE

Wouldn't the winner be the person with the highest bid? Maybe I just don't understand auctions?

A lot of money, but I hope that whoever ends up with plays it and enjoys it.
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That's quite weird. Every auction I've been to if the reserve price was met the item was sold to the highest bidder. At some, you also had to take into account a 15% fee for the auction house on top of the high bid. But that shouldn't be the case for this since HMS was running the auction.

Of course, it could be that the high bid could not be paid by the person who made it. [Sheer speculation on my part.]
 
If you are going to pay $10K for a Uke you sure want it to sound like that.
 
Looks like there is a 2nd auction now, too. "Only" $1500 right now for a Kamaka custom tenor.
Meanwhile, the Devine is now $5,525.

I have fun listening to them and watching the bidding, so at least I can enjoy the auctions vicariously. :)
 
Jerryc41 said:
Auctions should be for charities, not for companies to get the most they can out of rich customers.
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I think you need to know more about a company and its owner before you make a comment like that. In this instance, you are so very wrong.

There is not a more honest and benevolent music store than HMS. Why you would make such a crappy comment is beyond me.
 
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Jerryc41 said:
Auctions should be for charities, not for companies to get the most they can out of rich customers.
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I don't know about that. Auctions are usually about low supply, high demand items. In that circumstance, they are exactly about getting the most you can out of the interested customer pool. And I see nothing wrong with that.
 
Jerryc41 said:
doesn't an auction guarantee the highest price, especially when there is a reserve? Do you think that running an auction makes a company dishonest? I don't have to know anything about a company to comment on how auctions work.

It wasn't a crappy comment. It was the truth. Let's not attack fellow members for no reason.
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Well, you made a comment about how auctions "should" work which is more of an opinion than fact, and you are entitled to that opinion, so I'm not going to attack you for it. The way auctions *do* work is like you said - to get the highest price - but that is not dishonest (and I realize you were not saying that Jerry). Really, a lot of capitalism boils down to an auction. It's just that the "bidding" isn't always directly evident.
 
My understanding is that HMS auctions these items NOT to "get as much as they can out of their rich customers" (you presume to know a lot about the bidders in these auctions), but to give all their customers a shot at these wonderful instruments.

HMS doesn't make a lot on the auctions, besides.

But then again, you weren't referring to HMS, so perhaps this post is unnecessary.
 
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I tend to go towards thinking that to some extent high-end auctions and even build commissions to custom luthiers, are a way for people to become patrons of people they see as artists.

This has existed as a factor in “arts” for a very long time.

Now there is an updated internet version and anyone with a couple of bucks can be a part.

Anyway, I don’t see builders making to much money as any sort of immediate problem. Same for shops.
 
I seem to missing something. I visit the HMS site everyday. Whenever I go to the HMS, I do check auctions and always get "here are no available products for auctioning at this time."

In any event, I hope the new owners are very happy with their beautiful ukuleles.
 
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