Ukes for Sale on Fleamarketmusic

Jerryc41

Jerryc41

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Fleamarketmusic is a great place to find ukes, and I've bought one or two from there. One thing I wonder about is why some people feel compelled to write too much about a uke. All I want is the basics, not the guy's life story or where the trees for the uke were grown.

Unless a uke really grabs my interest, I skip listings that are overly wordy.
 
I’m the opposite. I prefer thorough descriptions over too short. Skimming is easier than trying to contact the seller for more details. Not that the latter should be difficult, but it’s an extra step. Although what’s more annoying than not enough description is not enough pictures, or pictures that are not detailed enough.

It might be that we have different preferences because we have different approaches. I’m guessing from the size of your collection that you prefer to just go for it if something catches your eye (ear?), whereas I have a tendency to be quite picky, often passing over several of the same model to get the exact one I want. Right now there’s a limited run on a particular uke that I want to acquire. But I’ve passed on over half a dozen of them because they weren’t quite right. It’s turning into a game of chicken to see if the limited run will end before I settle on one I like.
 
rafter said:
I’m the opposite. I prefer thorough descriptions over too short. Skimming is easier than trying to contact the seller for more details. Not that the latter should be difficult, but it’s an extra step. Although what’s more annoying than not enough description is not enough pictures, or pictures that are not detailed enough.

It might be that we have different preferences because we have different approaches. I’m guessing from the size of your collection that you prefer to just go for it if something catches your eye (ear?), whereas I have a tendency to be quite picky, often passing over several of the same model to get the exact one I want. Right now there’s a limited run on a particular uke that I want to acquire. But I’ve passed on over half a dozen of them because they weren’t quite right. It’s turning into a game of chicken to see if the limited run will end before I settle on one I like.
Click to expand...

That's a good approach. I want a certain amount of information, and that's all.

I know what you mean about trying to buy a uke before someone else does. Sometimes, thinking is the worst thing you can do. : )
 
All Jerry is thinking is- do I have one like this, how much? :D
 
All kidding aside, I know what you mean. Some descriptions are long enough to be made into a mini series
 
Like rafter, I like detail. I don't want to have to bother contacting someone to find out that I'm wasting my time and theirs.

But, since I'm just browsing these days, (until UAS takes hold again, LOL), I really don't want to waste someone's time contacting them if I'm just curious about details, but don't expect to buy.

Some of us are detail oriented people, and some of us aren't. It's all good.
 
I far prefer too much information compared to too little.

Usually a brief description and pointing out any dings and dents along with the specs will pretty much cover what I need. I might ask for clarification on a point or two.

I want to know who made it, what it's made of, when it was made, how many owners, what tuners, what it's strung with, etc.
 
glennerd said:
What’s worse is craigslist ads that don’t even bother to mention the brand, let alone model.
Click to expand...


Yes with a tiny poor resolution photo. I have seen the same in Guitar Center's used listings.
 
Jerryc41 said:
Fleamarketmusic is a great place to find ukes, and I've bought one or two from there. One thing I wonder about is why some people feel compelled to write too much about a uke. All I want is the basics, not the guy's life story or where the trees for the uke were grown.

Unless a uke really grabs my interest, I skip listings that are overly wordy.
Click to expand...

A double bass is different from a uke, I guess, but I am lucky enough to own a beautiful double bass and the luthier who built it told me as I chose the maple for the neck, back and sides, precisely where the tree stood. The top was from a sinker log salvaged from a nearby millpond - it had been submerged for 50 or 100 years. Those details don't make the bass sound or play any better, but to me it's really fascinating to know. It's also really important because wood poaching is a problem, so if the luthier knows the wood was ethically and legally sourced, I feel a lot better about owning the instrument that it made.

I guess, I don't care where the willow for my daughter's laminate Ohana uke came from, but it's also a lot less precious.
 
Haha, okay, I just wandered over to the Flea Market, and I think I see what triggered Jerry. While I still stand by what I said: too long is better than too short, I’d agree that the thing that probably sparked this thread is on the side of too long. Actually, it’s also a formatting issue. I’ve never listed on the Flea Market, so I don’t know what you can or can’t do, but one long wall of text can be off-putting. Paragraphs would help. So would bullet points for features. That kind of thing. Maybe none of that’s possible, but if a picture is worth a thousand words, converting some of those words to pictures would probably make the listing more attractive.
 
Wow, I see what you mean. I almost expected that listing to begin with "Chapter One…"
 
I don't mind reading about ukuleles.

Also, the FMM Marketplace usually is for higher end ukuleles, not as a written rule but by tradition. If you want to sell a blue Makala Dolphin uke, that might suffice as a description, but if you go above say 300 $ sellers might want to know when it was built, what materials it's made of, the precise scale and dimensions, down to the previous ownership.

And there are always pictures, you don't have to read it all if you don't want to.
 
rafter said:
Haha, okay, I just wandered over to the Flea Market, and I think I see what triggered Jerry. While I still stand by what I said: too long is better than too short, I’d agree that the thing that probably sparked this thread is on the side of too long. Actually, it’s also a formatting issue. I’ve never listed on the Flea Market, so I don’t know what you can or can’t do, but one long wall of text can be off-putting. Paragraphs would help. So would bullet points for features. That kind of thing. Maybe none of that’s possible, but if a picture is worth a thousand words, converting some of those words to pictures would probably make the listing more attractive.
Click to expand...

There is no formatting - no paragraphs.
 
I see which one is being cited. If I was interested in that ukulele, I'd read the entire thing, (I'd copy it, stick it in my word processor, and format it, perhaps), but even knowing that I wasn't going to buy it, I read much of it & skimmed the rest. Some of us are detail people, (I can go too far that way sometimes, I think), and some of us are into the bigger picture. It's all good.

My favorite part is always sound samples, though. That's the most important thing to me. Fleamarket doesn't have those, but that's one reason I love HMS and Ukulele Friend for browsing.
 
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