The Bassic Sax Blog

Posts Tagged ‘eBay’

Have you ever considered what might happen to your carefully collected and maintained saxophones upon your death? If you’re like most people under the age of 30, it most likely hasn’t even crossed your mind.

However, once you’ve hit 30, or once you’ve experienced the loss of someone close to you, you suddenly realize that after you’re gone someone has to deal with all your stuff. Such is the case with these 2 fine vintage saxophones currently listed by a seller on eBay.

     Source: eBay.com

The Conn curved soprano on the left is described like this:

This auction is for one saxophone. Up for your consideration is a Conn LTD Soprano Saxophone. I don’t know much about musical instruments as I am selling this for a friend who’s husband passed away. He was playing this and other instruments up until two years ago. I have another saxophone listed that was also his. This saxophone looks to be in wonderful condition. Some of the pictures have reflections that may look like dents. THERE ARE NO DENTS TO BE FOUND. I believe there is a guard piece missing from a bottom valve. I have shown this in my pictures. Other than that, it’s a beautiful looking instrument. It has a great patina which we will not touch. It is silver in color. I’ve never seen a saxophone this small before. On the front of the bell it says “MADE BY CONN LTD ELKHART IND.” On the back it says “PATD. DEC. 8, 1914. 1119954 S 51073 L.” I would guess that the buyer would be doing the usual upgrades that an older piece like this may need. Even if you don’t play a sax, this would make an outstanding display. It comes with a hard case that’s in good condition for it’s age, but it does have that old smell to it.

        Source: eBay.com

The Buescher True Tone alto on the right is described like this:

This auction is for one saxophone. Up for your consideration is a 1914 Buescher Tenor or Alto Saxophone. I don’t really know much about musical instruments as I am selling this for a friend who’s husband passed away. He was playing this and other instruments up until two years ago. I have another saxophone listed that was also his. This saxophone looks to be in wonderful condition. Some of the pictures have reflections that may look like dents. THERE ARE NO DENTS TO BE FOUND. It’s a beautiful looking instrument. It has a great patina which we will not touch. It is silver in color. On the front of the bell it says “THE BUESCHER ELKHART IND.” On the back it says “1 7 2527 TRUE-TONE TRADE MARK REGISTERED LOW PITCH LICENSE PAT. DEC. 8, 1914.” I would guess that the buyer would be doing the usual upgrades that an older piece like this may need. Even if you don’t play a sax, this would make an outstanding display. It comes with a hard case that’s in good condition for it’s age, but it does have that old smell to it.

On Sep-02-10 at 09:09:07 PDT, seller added the following information:

I’ve been told by a kind ebayer that this is a very fine alto sax.

        Source: eBay.com

I personally find it sad that the widow of this sax player has to have a friend sell these 2 horns for her, since neither seems to know anything about saxophones. For example, saxophones don’t have valves. 

I guess they didn’t take them to a music store who knows something about vintage saxes for an appraisal either. Although I am curious to know how they knew that the Conn is a soprano, since it is more difficult to ID than the neck difference between an alto and a tenor.

In any event, had they taken the horns to a music store for an appraisal, they might have been told these instruments are in fact somewhat valuable even in their current state, and that a reserve auction, or an auction with a pre-set starting price might be in order. As it stands right now, vintage sax lovers have a chance to bid on a couple of classic vintage horns that currently have extremely low prices.

The auction for both of these classic vintage saxophones runs until September 11. The Conn curvy currently has 12 bids on it, and the price is $208.05. The True Tone alto has not seen as much action. Only 2 people have bid on it, with the high bid being $60.32.

So if you have a saxophone, or a saxophone collection, perhaps this will give you pause for thought. What have you done to help your loved ones with regards to disposing of your horns? And if you an extensive gear collection—things like expensive vintage mouthpieces—that’s something else to consider.

© 2010, The Bassic Sax Blog. All rights reserved.

That’s the question that Music Factory Direct is asking in their auction of a JinYin Bass Saxophone Model A600G.

Over the past couple of years we’ve seen prices for new, American-style, Asian-made bass saxophones go all over the place. Check out the other posts in this series to see what the prices on these horns have been. When you do, you’ll notice that none of the prices have been as low as they currently are on this JinYin.¹

     Source: eBay.com

JinYin is the manufacturer of all the new American-style bass saxophones—regardless of what name appears on them, or what finish they come in.

The good people at Music Factory Direct do mention in their ad that JinYin is the manufacturer of this bass. Here’s how they describe it:

The JinYin Model A600G Bass Saxophone. Through its vast resources of engineering and manufacturing skills, JinYin is only one of a handful of companies in the entire world producing a bass saxophone. This instrument they produce has it all! Excellent tone and response, good intonation and comfortable key work. This bass sax, without a doubt, is one of the most incredible values you will find, with other models costing anywhere from $3,000.00 to $10,000.00 more. Comes complete with mouthpiece, cap, ligature and deluxe lightweight case.

Features:

Key of Eb

Execellent tone and response

Affordable price

Ergonomic hand position

Comes complete with mouthpiece, cap, ligature and deluxe lightweight case.

Oops, I guess that was a typo. I’m sure they meant to write that this bass is in Bb, not Eb. That aside, they certainly seem excited about this bass saxophone.

     Source: eBay.com

     Source: eBay.com

Here’s the case that looks just like the one that Glenn G. recently bought for his Keilwerth bass. He wrote a review about his new case on June 16, 2010.

     Source: eBay.com 

If you are in the market for a cheap bass saxophone, I don’t know how much cheaper than this you can get. At the time of writing there was 1 bid of $3,600.00 on the horn.

This no reserve auction for a new JinYin bass sax ends today at 11:29 PDT. So there is not much time left to get your bid in… If’n your interested in a cheap bass that is.

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¹ There is 1 brand of American-style bass that was—for a very brief period of time—apparently available for considerably less than this JinYin is currently being sold for. The Canex bass saxophone was listed for a mere $2,000 in June 2009, but in September that same year it had jumped to $3,000. 

Last time I checked Canex no longer includes a final price for their bass. The listed price was apparently for “reference” only, and a ”… detailed price due to final confirmation !!!!” Whatever the hell means.

I assume that means they don’t want to change their website regularly, or be held to the price that they state on their website. Perhaps they got burned and actually had to sell a bass at 2 grand. That’s gotta’ cut into their profits.

© 2010, The Bassic Sax Blog. All rights reserved.

I happened to come across an interesting toy sax collectible last night on eBay. Besides appealing to those who might collect saxophone-shaped things, this might also appeal to those World’s Fair collectors out there.

     Source: eBay.com

The seller writes this about this little toy horn:

Fun, unusual item – a toy tine saxophone from the 1933 Century of Progress World’s Fair in Chicago.

The souvenir sax measures 4 1/2″ long.

It bears a sticker from the fair – a bit scratched, but clearly shows this was sold at the Chicago’s COP. The label partially covers the word “Japan” – place of manufacture.

Anyone else see some irony—and as it turns out, more than a little foreshadowing—here? The 1933 World’s Fair theme was A Century Of Progress, and this little tin toy was imported from Japan.

When exactly did we start importing most of our stuff from Asia? I didn’t realize that this trend was beginning as early as 1933.

Other examples of vintage saxophone-shaped toys might have come from Europe, but the rest were made in the U.S.A. This is certainly the earliest one from the Asian continent that I’ve come across.

As it turns out, this particular little toy sax from the World’s Fair might have lost its original lustre. Here is what the seller wrote in response to a question about the finish:

Q: Can you tell me about any rusting or damage to the saxophone? Thanks.

A: No rust or damage. I think the saxophone at one time must have had a silver coating. There is a small amount of silver residue. Now it’s uniformly worn down to the base tin. I will post another picture (of the reverse view) this weekend to try to show this. Thanks for asking.

The auction for this saxophone collectible runs until September 5. Bids are to start at $9.99. At the time of writing there were no bids yet on this souvenir of the 1933 World’s Fair.

© 2010, The Bassic Sax Blog. All rights reserved.