Resale Value - Mandolins from Small Builders

[tjmangum]

There are so many small builders, it seems. How do their values hold up in the secondary market? I see instruments pop up in the classifieds, shop inventories etc. that appear to be nicely made instruments and I've played a few that were on par with the better known names, but often I can't find any real references or information about some of these builders or any recent sales.
How do they fair in the used marketplace?
Here's a link to an older thread that touched on this topic.
https://www.mandolincafe.com/forum/t...Small-Builders

[rcc56]

I've noticed that a lot of builders come and go. Some are very good, some less so. I've also noticed that some builders achieve popularity for a limited amount of time, then fall out of popularity. I call this the "builder of the year" phenomenon. The buying market can be fickle.

There are just a few names that seem to command respect over the long term.
I am fond of Paul Newson's mandolins. I've played 6 or 8 of them, and they've all been very good. Prices for his instruments are very modest for instruments of high quality. Will those prices hold over the long term, or double, or go down?? There's no way to tell.

[Mandobar]

Building a brand is hard work and it takes time. But what builders sometimes miss is it is a business. You need to run it like one. And you also need to learn to walk before you can run.

[Mitch Stein]

Unlike a lot of things, mandolins don't have an automatic reduction in quality over time so a builder known for making a solid instrument will have used instruments regularly go for similar prices as when they were built. I guess in today's landscape, I should say they sell at about what a mandolin of its original "tier" sell for.

Used Skip Kelleys go for about what I paid for mine new. I'd call Ellis a small builder and use Ellis are not cheap at all. Is Randy Wood a one-man? His used instruments are pretty steeply priced.

[Bob Buckingham]

Some builder's work sits in plain sight and then all of a sudden you hear one of their mandolins an wow they sound good to you ears. You play one and it fits you. I've tried many mandolins and was quite surprised when I played a friend's Pomeroy. A month or so later one came up for sale, and it ain't going nowhere. It sold cheap but is a gem that was never played but it is breaking in nicely. Other builders that blew me away once now don't and some real popular name mandolins don't speak to me at all. Instruments are a very subjective thing.

[Jeff Mando]

I agree there are some solid bargains made by talented, but unknown builders. Sometimes they hit the used market at fair prices.

I would make a distinction between a small builder making a "standard" F-5 type copy and someone commissioning a builder to use exotic (non-standard) wood choices and also non-standard finish choices such as greenburst, etc. Great if you plan to own it forever, but not so great when trying to sell it to someone who doesn't share your tastes -- like they say in real estate, safe choices appeal to a greater audience of buyers.

I don't know if the boutique guitar business is a fair corollary to mandolins, but I have seen several nice mint used boutique guitars linger for sale on dealer shelves waiting for a buyer...

[allenhopkins]

Harder to sell an instrument with an unfamiliar label, well-designed and made though it may be. I think Jeff M makes a good point that instruments with unusual designs and/or materials may put prospective buyers off. Of course, when you see Grisman playing a Giacomel, that conveys an "endorsement" that'll overcome the unfamiliarity, at least to some extent.

We're in a little bubble here, where small-label and individually-made mandolins are discussed and evaluated frequently. In the outside world, names like Gibson and Martin -- to a lesser extent, Weber and Collings -- and the widely distributed import brands are more salable than individual-luthier creations, that may be strongly competitive in terms of price and quality. People with expertise, and others who listen to people with expertise, are much easier to find on a site like this.

[haggardphunk]

I always wanted a Turkey Creek mandolin because the builder is local and lots of my favorite local pickers play one. It's hard to tell if he still builds any or not but his site is still up and says $6500 for a new F style. I found one for sale in a consignment shop for less than half that (and bought it)

I think it's really hard to place a value on them but I also think it's a great way to find a good deal. You can throw offers at people on used ones because there's not really a market history for what they go for.

[Eric Platt]

That's a good point, sometimes a local builder will have more resale value in their area than in other parts of the country. Folks like Lloyd LaPlant have a big following around here. But would someone from West Virginia pay much for one of his instruments? Doubtful. No matter how good it may be.

Am sure there are other examples, just LaPlant instruments are pretty much legendary in Minnesota (and possibly Wisconsin and the Dakotas).

[Ray(T)]

I’d never heard of Will Kimble when I bought my first one. Go with what your eyes and ears tell you.