$1,500 beat up ukulele.

It is not only ebay. I have seen listings on Reverb and vintage instrument shops that are asking crazy prices for instruments in need of serious work. Some instruments are in dumpster condition and people are hoping for a big sale just because they are old or say Martin, Kamaka or whatever. In many cases the only way to make it worthwhile would be if you have experience as a luthier. Paying for repairs could cost far more than the value of the instrument.
 
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It's supply and demand. I see a lot of listings on EBay and Reverb with prices reduced by 25% or even 50% and no purchase offers because the original listing prices were ridiculous.
 
One thing that you will often see with the inflated prices, even if it is only an asking price and never sells, is that people then refer to those prices and use them to value other items. It becomes a crazy cycle.
 
When I was in the peace corps a fellow volunteer told me of an encounter with a vendor who uninvited approached and offered to sell an item.
$200
No thank you
OK, $5

No thank you

Lesson .. if you can get some one to bite at the higher price…
 
Lol! We laugh at this same thing with old mopeds and parts. It's nuts what people think this stuff is worth.
 
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