The Mandolin Store has blemished Eastman 305 & 315 mandolins at $125-$150 off. Pre Black Friday sale.
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The Mandolin Store has blemished Eastman 305 & 315 mandolins at $125-$150 off. Pre Black Friday sale.
Thanks to this post I finally got a nice mandolin. It just got here today and I don't even see any blemishes. I was going to buy a new 305 anyway after some reading in this forum. It was nice to save some money though.
Good for you. The 305s are nice. Wish I had spent just a little more and got a 305 when I bought my KM-250, but oh well.
I am trying SO HARD to NOT buy an Eastman 314, F-body with an oval sound hole. I've got the nickels & dimes squirrelled away in a coffee can, but I keep telling myself that I'm saving up for a NICER mandolin later. Like, two years from now later.
But a nicer mandolin later doesn't keep me from wanting an OK mandolin NOW. :crying:
A retailer can get around distributor price agreements by selling new stuff as 'blemished' to lower the price,
at least occasionally.
Glad you got a nice instrument!
I got my 315 from TMS last year about this time. It was discounted as being blemished. I still have yet to find a blemish.
Dan, everyone needs an F to go with their A mandolins. Just do it :)
You'll be happy in the short term, but you will still want the NICER mandolin, and then you will be farther away from getting it. I say keep saving for what you really want.Quote:
Originally Posted by Dan in NH
Yeah, that’s what I keep telling myself.Quote:
Originally Posted by RobP
I’ve got my eye on an Eastman 815/v, F body with f holes, Adirondack spruce top, and a violin varnish finish.
I’ve even managed to track down the last two NIB 815/v’s currently existing “in the wild” (last four actually, but two of them are in Europe).
Now it’s just a matter of socking away my nickels & dimes & bottle caps & breakfast cereal box tops.
What others say - save your money. Unless your current mandolin is really impeding your progress, or you've developed to the point where you really need something different, time is better spent just playing/practicing, and when you have the money, you'll be in a much better place to evaluate the available candidates.
Having had an older MD815/v, now in the [able] hands of our son, I have to say that once you get in that $2k+ area, you really should try to expand your view, and IMO, find a used Northfield F5S to try. Might take a little more coin, and time, but none of these things are true rarities, and employing your fingers and ears (i.e., vs. fixating on a brand/model) is going to serve you better in the long run.
Allow me to be the contrarian. A used mandolin, appropriately depreciated, will give you pleasure in the short term and hold its value while you plot your following purchase in the long term.Quote:
Originally Posted by keith.rogers
'got to agree. I had a 305 for two years that I sold locally and got every penny I put into it. I have an 815v for two years and the value, according to classifieds, has increased by $600.Quote:
Originally Posted by pheffernan
Apparently investing in mandolins is a safer bet than my retirement account.
? I didn't say anything about buying new. (Both the Eastman I gave away and Northfield were "previously owned.")Quote:
Originally Posted by pheffernan
Now if I could get my DH to believe this, I'd be all set.Quote:
Originally Posted by gspiess
I wasn’t suggesting that you did; rather, I was offering a different perspective on the advice, shared by many, that the OP should save his money and wait. In my opinion and experience, buying used and appropriately depreciated mitigates the risk of lost value and allows for more immediate gratification.Quote:
Originally Posted by keith.rogers
I got a blemish from the Mandolin Store a couple of weeks ago. Came with a good setup and gig bag. As for the blemish?? There might be a small spot on the back, or a small light streak in the fingerboard. I own Taylor guitars and love the streaked fingerboards. One thing they were up front about, they would guarantee the instrument for 3 years, but no factory warranty.