Conn 22b review and Ebay lesson learned

radiobob · Posted: Sun May 23, 2004 1:17 pm Post subject:

I wrote a post about a Conn I bought on Ebay a few weeks ago. I returned it to it's seller and he re-listed it today. When I saw this horn it had just been listed at a BIN of $199. I checked Paul Ayick's site and thought I had found a Conn 28B large bore in gold plate at a real good price, so I jumped the gun and swooped. When I posted my new find here Paul quickly pointed out that it looked like it had been relacquered and I wouldn't know if it was a 22B, 26B, or a 28B until I measured the bore, as they all look identical. When I got it I found that I had indeed bought a 22B that had been relacquered from 1926, though it was marked 22B on the reciever. The lacquer had been applied over minor dings om the horn and it looked good, but if you looked close you could see the lacquer wasn't applied smoothly in places. It had not been overhauled as I had hoped. The horn plays nicely with a good tone and good response, but a bit stuffy, due I assumed to some moderate valve wear, though being a small bore could account for it too. Compression was what I would call fair, although most sellers would probably call it O.K. or good. the B/Ab tuning slide works fine with minor dings. All in all this horn is in good shape with no major issues that I could find. Since I already have a 22B I elected to return it to the seller. He refunded my money with shipping charges too with no questions asked. I was quite grateful and gave the horn a good cleaning and sent him what I knew about the horn. He asked if he could quote me, I said yes, and he did. He called me a trumpet expert! Ha ha! Informed neophyte maybe. I was really impressed by this seller and wouldn't hesitate to buy from him again. And if anyone is looking for a good Conn 22B you might want to keep an eye on this one. Here's the listing:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=3726173255

moral of the story: Take your time and don't jump too quickly on Ebay. It's worth doing a little research first. This lesson was painless, the next one might not be.

Bob

[ This Message was edited by: radiobob on 2004-05-24 00:53 ]

mheffernen5 · Posted: Mon May 24, 2004 2:01 pm Post subject:

I don't know what else to say except I'm sorry you couldn't keep it even though it sounds like an awesome trumpet to have for its age.

radiobob · Posted: Mon May 24, 2004 4:46 pm Post subject:

Thanks for the sentiment. If I didn't already have one to fix up I probably would have kept it. Actually this was a good Ebay experience. I got to play with and inspect a 22B that's in a lot better shape than mine and I enjoy cleaning old horns. This was my first up close experience with a rotary key change mechanism. The seller was honest and friendly and I think I was able to return the favor a little. All in all a good experience for us both I think, although I'm sure he would have rather I kept it:) This is the way Ebay should always be. Now today I recieved a 1922 Buescher model 10-22 that was described as having great valves, good compression and a great player. When I got it the valves were completely worn out, totally unplayable. The seller has about 2,000 transactions and a 99.6 positive rating. I can't imagine he was trying to decieve me deliberately, how could he be so wrong? I'm waiting to hear back from him, I've requested a full refund plus shipping. We'll see what kind of Ebay experience this one will be.

Bob

Ebayscrounger · Posted: Mon May 24, 2004 5:02 pm Post subject:

Hi Bob, I've bought over a hundred horns on Ebay, and like you sometimes I have had unrealistic expectations and was disappointed when I got the horn, but after re-reading the listing, I saw that I was expecting too much. Only twice have I gotten horns that flat out weren't what they were advertised to be. One was an old 22B listed as "Playing well"...It didn't have valve springs, the other was a Yamaha 4335 listed as being "near mint", but was actually really beat up. Both times were from sellers with great feedback, and both times they refunded my original purchase and shipping charges and both times they paid for the return shipping. People with great feedback go to great lengths to maintain it and are usually eager to straighten things out. In one case the badly worded listing was blamed on a wife and in the other, an assistant. Sorry to hear about your run of bad luck.
_________________
I once had it, but I lost it. Where did it go???

Still looking for my horn...

ScottA · Posted: Tue May 25, 2004 10:34 am Post subject:

As someone who buys and sells regularly on E-Bay (With 100% positive feedback) I wanted to be sure I understand this transaction. Did you buy this horn based on the sellers description while at the same time assuming things about it that the seller did not state? If that is the case as a seller I would not be too happy about the return either. Often the reason to sell something on E-Bay is to just get rid of it, often at a price much lower than one could get if holding out for the right buyer in, say, the TH Marketplace. As long as the sellers description was not at all misleading I would feel obligated to keep the horn and resell it myself. I took a shot and it didn't work work quite right, of well. I hope that E-Bay does not turn into a Wal-Mart type experience where people can try something for a week to see if they like it and then want to send it back or threaten bad feedback. (Not to say that you did that--but it does happen)

I do not mean to cast aspersions on anyone but I would like to know how other TH'ers feel about this aspect of E-Bay. Thanks!

Scott

conn53victor · Posted: Tue May 25, 2004 10:51 am Post subject:

I always have high hopes and low expectations from eBay. I won an MP3 player but neglected to ask if it would work with my Macintosh. It doesn't. It's my problem and I will resell on eBay, probably at a loss.

Unless the product is not as claimed, it is mine if I win the bid.

heavyharmonies · Posted: Tue May 25, 2004 10:56 am Post subject:

I agree. I've bought some clunkers on Ebay in addition to the gems. Unless there was a material misrepresentation or omission on the part of the seller, I just suck it up and either keep the horn or resell it on my own. File under "lesson learned."

I did have an auction recently where the horn was going to be coming from the UK. I should have gotten specific shipping costs from the seller in advance. I did not. The shipping costs as quoted by the seller ended up being in the $100 range. For a $200 horn it simply wasn't worth it. I backed out of the sale, offering to reimburse all of the seller's Ebay fees. The seller was quite amenable to this, and there ended up being no problems. I now know never to bid on horn auctions from overseas. After having another horn lost by Parcelforce, and the inflated shipping costs from overseas, it simply is not worth the the extra cost compounded by potential hassle if something goes awry.

-Dan

radiobob · Posted: Tue May 25, 2004 11:26 am Post subject:

No, I happen to agree with you. I've bought about 20 horns from Ebay now, and on some of them my expectations were too high although they were described accurately. I kept the horns anyway to resell after I've fixed them up and learned from the experience. I wouldn't expect a seller to give me a refund for my own mistakes. This seller, though, offered a 15 day trial period with a full refund if not happy for any reason. When I wrote to tell him I'd like to return the horn but I was in a hurry and would explain further the next day, he wrote back and said no explanation was necessary. I've had generally good luck with Ebay and have only burned myself a couple of times. The Buescher was the first horn I've bought that was the opposite of how it was described. I do expect a full refund for that. I always give the benefit of the doubt as to whether someone was intentionally trying to decieve, until they give me reason to think so.

Bob