Re: Resale Value - Mandolins from Small Builders
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.
Allen Hopkins
Gibsn: '54 F5 3pt F2 A-N Custm K1 m'cello
Natl Triolian Dobro mando
Victoria b-back Merrill alumnm b-back
H-O mandolinetto
Stradolin Vega banjolin
Sobell'dola Washburn b-back'dola
Eastmn: 615'dola 805 m'cello
Flatiron 3K OM
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