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A Tale Of Two Rexcrafts



 
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1jazzyalex
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Joined: 13 Jun 2016
Posts: 569
Location: San Jose, CA

PostPosted: Sun Aug 13, 2017 2:19 am    Post subject: A Tale Of Two Rexcrafts Reply with quote

Many of you will be familiar with the "Official Boy Scout Bugle" made by a company called Rexcraft. I think they originally sold for under $10, and a really complete one will have the original mouthpiece, with a little chain attaching it to the bugle so some little Webelo won't lose the thing.

Well! a few days ago, I noticed one for sale on Craig's List. Yeah, I already have a bugle, but this looked like it was in really nice shape, had the original mouthpiece, and was only lacking the little chain and holder for it. And the lady selling it only wanted $50!

Why would I need another bugle? I already have my Kanstul. But ... maybe I'd want to teach someone ... bugling ... and a second one would be useful for that. Or, maybe having something with some history would be cool. The lady said it had belonged to her brother, who was born in 1943 and was in the Sea Scouts, and some other stuff. It sounded so cool and historical.

I made an appointment to meet in San Mateo and went up there on the train, and got there just about an hour early, and waited at the agreed-upon coffee shop where I sipped a $3 "Dancing Waters" and read the hell out of the local paper that someone had left there.

She showed up on time, with one of those large purse things with a zipper on the top. I made some quip about a Bugle Boy bag for the bugle as she pulled it out. It was horrible. The bell looked like kids had thrown rocks at it. A lot of rocks. The mouthpiece had about half of the silver plating missing. It was very different from the photo, and yet it was the same bugle, because the leadpipe was just a bit bent, just like in the photo. I said "I can't buy this" and she stacked on more history ... her brother had died, as she'd said on the phone, but he'd died in Viet Nam. And his best friend had played Taps at his funeral and this and that and the other ... I suggested she find his old unit and donate the bugle to them, and she came up with some *other* society to donate it to because it's San Francisco Bay Area. I didn't get mad or anything, but just made some suggestions and then we wished each other a good weekend and that was that.

But I was racking my brain; how could that bugle have gotten so beat up? Maybe a big family fight, with bugle somehow getting tangled up in it? But that would not explain the mouthpiece plating wear.

Several hours later I realized a possible answer: Photoshop. She'd Photoshopped the photo to make it look good.

I guess the idea was to get someone to meet her and then they'd feel bad if they didn't buy it, so they'd buy it? That's a lot of work for a measly $50. I do feel sorry for her if she's resorting to hustles like that, but I'm not buying a bugle that's been so misleadingly advertised.

The ad's still on Craig's List in the SF Bay Area as far as I know. Go check it out if you want to see some good Photoshop work.

https://sfbay.craigslist.org/pen/msg/d/rexcraft-offical-boy-scout/6237761628.html
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