UU Is Most Definitely A Powerhouse Price Influencer

AQUATOPAZ said:

I think the influence from UUers would be seen in driving up the price of some auctions, such as the Timms, whose prices do seem to have increased from the UU bids. As OP stated in other posts, paraphrasing, (older Martins, which these Timms are supposed to emulate the sound of, can be purchased for considerably less than the price of these auctions). All groups can heavily influence prices of some items when sufficient numbers of their members enter auctions.

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True. We do "pass on the word" when we see something that may interest the group as a whole. The aNueNue Moon Birds for example. When a new batch pops up on the HMS website, we hear about it right away, and they get sold fast. I'm not an Ebay person, so I hadn't thought of the bidding war thing.

AQUATOPAZ said:

I think the influence from UUers would be seen in driving up the price of some auctions, such as the Timms, whose prices do seem to have increased from the UU bids. As OP stated in other posts, paraphrasing, (older Martins, which these Timms are supposed to emulate the sound of, can be purchased for considerably less than the price of these auctions). All groups can heavily influence prices of some items when sufficient numbers of their members enter auctions.

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I do stand corrected, I was unaware of this.

Kathy, we do drive each other, just like a 1890's gold rush!

When I first got into rescuing vintage Martins, I bought a bunch (20+) of neglected and abused Martins mostly on eBay, I probably drove the price up, but I had the bit in my teeth. Now I'm realizing my dream and turning out playable rescue items, I couldn't do it without the UU. When I have more than 4 finished ones I try to send them out at what ever price is reasonable, I'm driving the price on Vintage Martins down I guess.
It's all my fault. Should I see a ukulele shaman? Am I a martyr or hero? Anyway the shop beckons.

PetalumaRescuke said:

When I first got into rescuing vintage Martins, I bought a bunch (20+) of neglected and abused Martins mostly on eBay, I probably drove the price up, but I had the bit in my teeth. Now I'm realizing my dream and turning out playable rescue items, I couldn't do it without the UU. When I have more than 4 finished ones I try to send them out at what ever price is reasonable, I'm driving the price on Vintage Martins down I guess.
It's all my fault. Should I see a ukulele shaman? Am I a martyr or hero? Anyway the shop beckons.

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You are rescuing beautiful instruments and giving them a second chance to inspire people. Kudos to you.

Actually, the only thing that has happened over the last 15 years is that the ukulele has followed the path of the acoustic guitar world. The “high end” ukuleles of the 80’s, 90’s and into the mid-2000’s are a far cry from the tricked out customs of today. The sleepy little instrument is all grown up.

But UU is no more an influencer than the AGF (Acoustic Guitar Forum) in bringing these customs to light. This is not a bad thing, but for those who have been around the ukulele way before I was, I understand some difficulty with the transformation. The ukulele goes along for over a hundred years relatively unchanged in its service and then one day it is a $5k, $10k, $??k work of art. It doesn’t bother me, but I understand the more nostalgic jumping flea perspective.

John

There are those who want only functional ukes, & there are those who want bling - there are those who are happy strumming their cheapies, & there are those who cherish their custom ukes - each to their own - none are wrong in their choices, each enjoys it their way.

I don't understand the OP. For me it may have been an influencer because when I was interested in a specific uke I looked here to see what people who sold a similar model were asking. But what I learned doing this is that the range can be enormous, from people who need to sell quickly and seem to offer super bargains, to people who don't really want to sell and are totally out to lunch with their price expectations. For example ukes that I was looking for ranged from about $500 to $1500 with only slight differences in reported condition. It would take some more effort to analyse the distribution of asking prices around the median and compare that to the cost of a new one to extract meaningful information. And that is way too much effort for me

So I decided to check out the marketplace. I don’t want to speak for the OP and I’m not sure exactly what the OP is looking at. But a stupid wild guess example might be a pre-fire Maui Music by Peter Lieberman. Once upon a time this was a pretty sought after ukulele, as a pre-fire Peter Lieberman had a certain mystique. I could be completely wrong, as I’m just guessing and trying to equate the underrated brand thought in the original post. Of course there may be shipping and CITES concerns that have kept this ukulele from finding a new home.

But I look at it as time moving on and new people looking at current offerings that appeal to them. I bought my first ukulele from Michael Aratani (MGM). MGM used to be a household name on UU, but there are probably a lot of people here who have never heard of him. Michael sold on eBay and had these short videos showing off each ukulele and his standard sound sample routine. He was a wonderful person. But time moves on and HMS/Ukulele Site has taken that lead to new heights... and that is a good thing.

John

merlin666 said:

I don't understand the OP. For me it may have been an influencer because when I was interested in a specific uke I looked here to see what people who sold a similar model were asking. But what I learned doing this is that the range can be enormous, from people who need to sell quickly and seem to offer super bargains, to people who don't really want to sell and are totally out to lunch with their price expectations. For example ukes that I was looking for ranged from about $500 to $1500 with only slight differences in reported condition. It would take some more effort to analyse the distribution of asking prices around the median and compare that to the cost of a new one to extract meaningful information. And that is way too much effort for me

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Just a guess, but one difference, aside from need to sell or not, might be if the seller is the original owner of the ukulele or if they bought it used (and at a reduced price.) The age of the ukulele might make a difference, too. Prices have increased on many brands, so if someone bought it 10 years ago, the price they paid may have been a lot less than the current new price. But, someone selling a basically new ukulele would want to ask for more $ so their loss wouldn't be as great.

Just a couple things that might be a factor. Or maybe not.

Joyful Uke said:

The age of the ukulele might make a difference, too. Prices have increased on many brands, so if someone bought it 10 years ago, the price they paid may have been a lot less than the current new price.

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Definitely! How many Martins sold for $500 in the 1930s?

"I had the bit in my teeth"

As a former horsewoman, I know exactly what you mean!

PetalumaRescuke said:

When I first got into rescuing vintage Martins, I bought a bunch (20+) of neglected and abused Martins mostly on eBay, I probably drove the price up, but I had the bit in my teeth. Now I'm realizing my dream and turning out playable rescue items, I couldn't do it without the UU. When I have more than 4 finished ones I try to send them out at what ever price is reasonable, I'm driving the price on Vintage Martins down I guess.
It's all my fault. Should I see a ukulele shaman? Am I a martyr or hero? Anyway the shop beckons.

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Hero for sure! I have a Dave rescue, and it is great, with a wonderful setup too. I love looking at its well worn glory, and the big sound that comes out of that little box never ceases to amaze.