Auction typos

[AtomicClock]

I just scored a good deal on a very lightly used (late 90's? clanky valve linkage; zippered case; 178xxx) 42BG. Maybe because the auction site is fairly obscure, but maybe because it was listed as "Pro Grade Trumbone".

Anybody else get a good deal due to an auction typo? I wonder if anyone has quantified the cost of such errors.

[Burgerbob]

yup, my first 50B2 was misspelled in some way on ebay... can't remember exactly how. Got it for $900.

[blap73]

Not long ago I saw a "Trombone" on I think OfferUp, picture made clear it was one of those high pitched 3 valve thingies... a trumpet.

[mazman]

Somebody, just minutes ago, got a 2B on eBay for $400 from the Salvation Army that was listed as a King trombone. I would’ve bought it but I already have one.

[harrisonreed]

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[hwlentz]

Not an auction typo, but I was wandering through a huge antique/flea market/junk store in Atlanta about 10-12 years ago. Happened to look down under a table and saw an assembled trombone laying there. Picked it up and the price tag said “Trumpet $45.” The bell said King SilverTone. Played a few notes, paid the $45 without haggling and sent it off to be cleaned up and sold it for $2,000!

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[Mamaposaune]

20 or so years ago I came across a Bach 12 on ebay. The only thing was, from the pictures it appeared to be a 42B, silver-plated but tarnished. I bought it for a very good price. Full disclosure, unless I liked it better than my 42BOG I thought I could sell it for a nice profit.
Through correspondence with the seller, it turned out that the horn was being sold by a family member of a young trombonist who met an unfortunate early death. I think, if I remember correctly, he played with the Utah Symphony.
Suddenly I felt like the steward of this horn, and rather than keeping it I felt that it should be passed on to the "right" person, a promising young player who was short on funds.
I cleaned it up and got it in good working condition, then advertised it locally. The price was high, I knew, I wanted to be able to select that "right" person and then adjust the price.
I was contacted by a man who told me he had a teen-aged foster son who was talented and very serious about the trombone; he had been accepted to Julliard in the pre-college program, but told he needed to upgrade to a better quality trombone. They had been looking for a used one that was affordable to them, but the horns in their price range were either intermediate level and/or needed a lot of work.
I met with them, the kid started playing the 42 and literally didn't want to put it down. Played through some orchestral and solo excerpts, and really sounded great on it!
We settled on a price that just covered what I had in it (including an up-graded case) The dad was happy, I felt good knowing the horn would be played and appreciated, and the kid was ecstatic!

[walldaja]

Not a musical instrument but when I was in North Dakota I was looking for a 4WD pickup. One guy was offering a Ford F-150 with a wench. I never followed up, wasn't sure if he was unloading his girlfriend or if he couldn't spell winch.

[Posaunus]

During the Covid pandemic (2020), I became interested in obtaining a Conn 6H. I came across an eBay listing for a "Custom 6H with 7" bell." It was clearly in bad shape, with a wrinkled bell, faulty spit valve, multiple dents, severely worn lacquer, and an old case well past its "use-by" date. But the owner wanted to be rid of it, so I took it off his hands for less than $200. When it arrived, it was worse than I expected, I dropped it off with master tech John Sandhagen for evaluation and repair if appropriate. John identified it as not a 6H but instead a Conn 30H "Burkle" from 1936. For a surprisingly modest price, he rolled out the bell wrinkle, repaired the dents, overhauled the slide, and returned to me a "collector's item" trombone that plays like a dream (with a Conn 3 mouthpiece). [Thanks, John!] With a new (inexpensive) case, my 30H is now in my regular small tenor trombone rotation - and always attracts attention and envious comments!

[Finetales]

This happens a lot when you're into weirder instruments. I can't tell you how many mellophones I've seen listed as trumpets or cornets or French horns, and weirder alto brass listed as mellophones. I once got a unique and very rare (1 of 6 in the world) instrument, listed as a marching baritone, for about $60. My King flugabone was listed as a trumpet - got it for about $70. And so on.

[Kingfan]

Reverse story. I saw a King 2B listed locally for a great price. I saw the pictures and informed the sellers it wasn't a 2B. They said that was what they were told when they bought it. I suggested Googling 2b and compare the pictures to their horn, and look at the bell engraving. They confirmed it was a student model 606. They kept the price the same, though...

[NotSkilledHere]

a lot of estate sales and liquidation sites have people who are only vaguely knowledgeable about a bunch of stuff. so you'll see trumpets and trombones show up under searches for one or the other. I've seen some cool vintage horns that need love go through those sites every so often. shipping reliability and policies are hit or miss on those though so it's really up to you to decide on if you are willing to spend the money.