How much should a top crack affect the price of a vintage Martin?

Melodious Thunk

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Howdy,

How much should a top crack affect the price of a vintage Martin?

I ask because I just purchased a vintage style 2 from a seller who stated that it was crack free. Unfortunately, when it arrived, I noticed a fairly obvious crack. I looked at it from the inside and I can see glue drops. It looks like a homespun repair. I am wondering how much money I should ask to get back?

To make things worse, the uke was also advertised as being from the 20's but is clearly from the 40's during the war.

Thanks for your input,

Ryan

Cracked Top 02.jpg
 
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You are trying too hard to find something wrong with the uke and I suspect that even with a partial refund you will not be able to bond with it. I suggest you return it for full refund and buy the next one in a store so you can inspect it and be sure you love it 100%.
 
You are trying too hard to find something wrong with the uke and I suspect that even with a partial refund you will not be able to bond with it. I suggest you return it for full refund and buy the next one in a store so you can inspect it and be sure you love it 100%.

I am not trying hard to find something wrong with it?!?

I was told that it was from 1924. It is not!

I was told that it was crack free. It is not!

I paid what I paid based on what I was told. If I knew at the time that it was from the 40's and cracked, I would have passed as I could have got a 40's Style 2 without cracks for $300 less than what I paid for this one.

I wasn't shopping for a 1940's uke with cracks. I was shopping for a crack free 1920's uke.

On the other hand, cracks don't particularly bother me. I have vintage guitars and fiddles that have professionally repaired cracks. What bothers me is paying too much for an instrument. I also HATE being misled. I'll buy a properly repaired cracked instrument, but the crack must be reflected in the price. I am not going to pay top dollar prices for damaged and repaired instruments? Would you?

Also, I would love to find some decent ukes in a store so that I could personally inspect them. Unfortunately, this hasn't been possible. I looked all over the place within a reasonable distance from me.

-Ryan
 
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I am not trying hard to find something wrong with it?!?

I was told that it was from 1924. It is not!

I was told that it was crack free. It is not!

I paid what I paid based on what I was told. If I knew at the time that it was from the 40's and cracked, I would have passed as I could have got a 40's Style 2 without cracks for $300 less than what I paid for this one.

I wasn't shopping for a 1940's uke with cracks. I was shopping for a crack free 1920's uke.

On the other hand, cracks don't particularly bother me. I have vintage guitars and fiddles that have professionally repaired cracks. What bothers me is paying too much for an instrument. I also HATE being misled. I'll buy a properly repaired cracked instrument, but the crack must be reflected in the price. I am not going to pay top dollar prices for damaged and repaired instruments? Would you?

Also, I would love to find some decent ukes in a store so that I could personally inspect them. Unfortunately, this hasn't been possible. I looked all over the place within a reasonable distance from me.

-Ryan

Can you return it as it wasn't as advertised?
 
Can you return it as it wasn't as advertised?

I am sure I could. I just thought that I would ask for a price adjustment first. I have a pretty good idea of what to ask for based off of what I've seen by watching the vintage Martin uke market the past few months. I was just hoping for some more input before I emailed an offer.
 
I'd return it pronto. Once you find what you want; a 20's crack free Martin, you'll be glad you did. It never fails, if you decide to keep it, a '20's crack free Martin will come up and you'll have to pass.

If it has a great sound and you get a good discount, it may be worth keeping. A 40's is still close to 80 years old. With the discount you could start saving for the one you want and still play a Martin.
 
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That's a weird photo. I need to have a lie down in a quiet room.

John Colter.

ps. I had another look and can now see what it depicts. That is a negligible crack. I'm not surprised the seller was not aware of it. If you cannot accept it, then best to return the uke for a full refund.
 
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Subtract what you would be willing to pay for a 40s Martin with a minor crack from your original "20s crack free Martin" purchase price and ask for that as compensation.
 
Subtract what you would be willing to pay for a 40s Martin with a minor crack from your original "20s crack free Martin" purchase price and ask for that as compensation.

That's what I just did. I was hoping for some input from others, but I did quite a bit of research and believe that I came up with a fair number.
 
That's a weird photo. I need to have a lie down in a quiet room.

John Colter.

ps. I had another look and can now see what it depicts. That is a negligible crack. I'm not surprised the seller was not aware of it. If you cannot accept it, then best to return the uke for a full refund.

Wow, how could you make anything out of that photo?
 
I'd return it pronto. Once you find what you want; a 20's crack free Martin, you'll be glad you did. It never fails, if you decide to keep it, a '20's crack free Martin will come up and you'll have to pass.

If it has a great sound and you get a good discount, it may be worth keeping. A 40's is still close to 80 years old. With the discount you could start saving for the one you want and still play a Martin.

I'd return it, if that were an option. But maybe Milwaukee Matzen isn't that dissatisfied?
 
Wow, how could you make anything out of that photo?

It's a mirror inside of the uke so that the crack can be seen from the inside. It's really not that hard to make out? Did you click on the photo so that it enlarged?
 
I'd return it, if that were an option. But maybe Milwaukee Matzen isn't that dissatisfied?

It looks like I am going to keep it. I asked for a $300 price adjustment and the seller agreed. I decided that if he or she wouldn't refund $300 that I'd return it and buy a Style 3 that I've been looking at, but it looks like I'll be playing a Style 2 for a while.
 
It looks like I am going to keep it. I asked for a $300 price adjustment and the seller agreed. I decided that if he or she wouldn't refund $300 that I'd return it and buy a Style 3 that I've been looking at, but it looks like I'll be playing a Style 2 for a while.

Congrats, that is a huge adjustment for what may or may not be an issue. I played quite a few old Martins in stores ranging from 1910s to 1940s and they were all around $400 +/- a couple small bills. I didn't inspect them closely but they all seemed to be in decent shape and player grade, and all the 0 and 1 styles sounded awesome. But I felt that higher styles were not as nice, maybe weighed down by decorations, and certainly not worth the much higher asking prices in comparison. So with 300 off it would put you in the price range of a 0 or 1 style, and if you don't like the sound and playability in the next few months you can put it up for even trade for a 0 or 1 style from the 20s.
 
Congrats, that is a huge adjustment for what may or may not be an issue. I played quite a few old Martins in stores ranging from 1910s to 1940s and they were all around $400 +/- a couple small bills. I didn't inspect them closely but they all seemed to be in decent shape and player grade, and all the 0 and 1 styles sounded awesome. But I felt that higher styles were not as nice, maybe weighed down by decorations, and certainly not worth the much higher asking prices in comparison. So with 300 off it would put you in the price range of a 0 or 1 style, and if you don't like the sound and playability in the next few months you can put it up for even trade for a 0 or 1 style from the 20s.

Even with the $300 back, I spent more than $500. Also, I cleaned the uke with some soap and water and found another crack on thee back. So I'll need to pay to have that glued and cleated as well.

Where are you finding these ukes for around $400? The only ones I've seen near that price were Style 0's tat had a lot of cracks or other things I'd rather not have to deal with.
 
Where are you finding these ukes for around $400? The only ones I've seen near that price were Style 0's tat had a lot of cracks or other things I'd rather not have to deal with.

Last year when we were on Big Island it rained a lot so that was a good excuse to visit many uke stores, and some of them don't only stock new island made ukes but also have a lot old vintage models including Martins. This is not surprising as in the 20s Martin built about 15,000 ukes per year! In particular the Hawi cigar store and Lilinoe in Hilo had an impressive collection of wonderful vintage instruments available.
 
Last year when we were on Big Island it rained a lot so that was a good excuse to visit many uke stores, and some of them don't only stock new island made ukes but also have a lot old vintage models including Martins. This is not surprising as in the 20s Martin built about 15,000 ukes per year! In particular the Hawi cigar store and Lilinoe in Hilo had an impressive collection of wonderful vintage instruments available.
I called a store in Hawaii and was told that they rarely get vintage Martins. I'll have to check out those two stores you suggested.
 
It's a mirror inside of the uke so that the crack can be seen from the inside. It's really not that hard to make out? Did you click on the photo so that it enlarged?

It is hard to make out actually, but it became instantly clear the moment I read it showed a mirror.
Good to know all has been sorted out with the seller now!
 
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