The altos seem to be even higher. I prefer private sales if possible.
I bought an almost mint early engraved Mark 7 (I prefer the 7 than the VII because that is what’s on the neck) for $1300 in a private sale.
The only thing drives up the prices is the flippers. The tenors are still only worth $2000 and the altos should be less. They’re still Selmers, but not as good as the preceding, or actually, following models.
They still have the Selmer sound but the pinkie tables are clunky. They fixed that with the Super 80 and on.

 

The altos were seldom criticized, as they were not much different in the feel of their action, or so I'm told. I've never owned one.

The "clunky" table is something I just don't feel when I play the tenors. I notice a tad extra reach and slightly different tilt from the VI, but only what I would expect going from one model or brand of horn to another.

It's unlikely that you'll find another deal such as you describe, at least not when dealing with anyone who has knowledge of current prices. I bought a Mark VII tenor in VGC for $800, but that was in around 1999. Made a "killing" selling it for $1,000 or so to buy a new Cannonball.

 

I'd be curious if your valuations show a difference between the earlier ones that were engraved and had the M designation over the later ones with the N designation, and more often than not, unengraved.

 

This is something I do occasionally, not all the time. The time periods I used are short-span, and sample size is small. I lumped them together, not differentiating, so I couldn’t say. Most of the ones I see are unengraved, though; like 4 of 5. And most are lacquered, not silver finished.

I used eBay for pricing years ago, but found such wide variations in horn conditions that comparisons seemed useless. There are exceptions, but IMO the sellers on Reverb have a better handle on how to describe things and are generally more familiar with what they are selling.

 

We didn't like it (tenor) in 1974 but now the 7 represents a classic Selmer, and a Series III neck provides the ergonomics of a VI and plays great. As for the alto, minor differences from the VI so its always a great choice. I was looking at the tenors hard recently, running from $2500 and up, but I did an impulse buy on a like-new early B&S 'Guardala' in the same price range. Looks like it will be #1!

 

... but now the 7 represents a classic Selmer, and a Series III neck provides the ergonomics of a VI and plays great.

Maybe for the playing angle, but certainly not the finger stretch; the latter of which was the only thing I appreciated with my long gone VII tenor.

 

maybe dyslexia is on the rise and people think they are getting a VI on a bargain price or the buyers are getting older and just don’t see the extra I in VII.

in all seriousness, the seven was stigmatized and when I looked to buy a professional horn in the early 80s my band director said “look for a mark vi but whatever you do don’t buy a VII”. His advised swerved into my psyche and rightly or wrongly I would never consider buying a VII. (I would however play test one. I think that I tried a friend Alto back in the early 80s and just remember the keying to feel odd)

this attitude about the VII has probably dissipated overtime and the Selmer brand has made these horns take less of a penalty.

Some of the bias against VII started in the early to mid 80s. At that time a used VI was a just a few hundred more than other used horns. I bought a used Mark VI alto for $600 from a pawn shop in 1985. (Those were the days!). My tenor bought in 1984 from a music store was $900. You could still find new old stock VIs for maybe $1200. Why would you buy a VII when you can have a VI for a bit more? That attitude has persisted whether correct or not what has changed is it is harder to rationalize a VI at 2X to 3x the price of other used horns.

the original super action 80 is in a similar funk as the Mark VII. The price on these seem to be soft as well. Though at the time my band director actually suggested looking at the original SA80 saying that Selmer realized their mistake and went back to a design that was more aligned with the Mark VI.

 

I have 6s and 7s altos and tenors.
I bought my original 7 alto back in high school 1982, new.
I made a YouTube video detailing the differences of a late 6 alto and a 7. They play pretty similar except for both the table keys. The underkey leverage points of the LH pinky table is different and the feel is different but not unmanageable, even though I can press the 7s C# with my palm. The 7 is heavier due to the wider ribs all over, add'l keywork, larger touches, etc.

When I went to UM, Sinta didn't like the 7s, even about 10 years ago I talked to his right hand man at a store and he still didn't like the 7. This even though I heard Dr Sinta had played the 7, at least for a short while. I haven't compared a SA80 directly to the 7 but it appears they put more smaller type keywork on it (smaller table keys, etc). My 7 tenor is an M tube, and alto an N tube. I would like to compare a N tenor or an M alto to mine.

It's good to hear the 7s prices are going up some. The SBAs, 6s have skyrocketed over the years no matter what the economy was doing and other instruments.

 

I almost bought a VII when I was looking for a new tenor last year. Great sound had an "oomph" to it I liked. Guy wanted $3500 for it I think. But there were major tuning issues on the left-hand notes which I couldn't seem to rectify (A though C# were 25-30cents flat). Normally I'd say a good tech could fix but the thing was freshly overhauled so that was less likely the issue. Ended up going with a Series III which gave 95% of the sound with spot-on tuning. Really did like that VII though.

 

Nothing against the tech, but the problem was more, not less, than likely due to the overhaul. Poorly adjusted pad heights throughout can cause intonation troubles.

I bought a tenor several years ago, a mid-60s 10M, that was impossible to tune with any mpc. It had all new pads and cork. Its tone hole cover heights were way off. Took a good tech well over an hour to make it playable.

 

I've been watching Mark VII prices since I bought a VII Tenor. They do consistently present a bargain compared to other Selmer Paris models. I'm very happy with the tone and response of my My Mark VII Tenor (around 1980 build, N serial number and engraved) and I got it for quite a bit less than a new or modern Selmer Paris of any kind... let alone a Mark VI. Having stated all of that - it doesn't have the best intonation. I can focus and fix most of it, but it is not "spot on" like the Reference 54' and Reference 36' Tenors I owned or locked in like a Series III or a Yamaha Custom. I think that as the Mark VI's continue to age (and also maybe end up in their "forever homes" more and more) there will be a rise in interest in the VII's and people will be trying to snap them up and have them set up by good shops to be something "vintage" that plays pretty great for the price. I personally don't want them to go up too much in price, but that's because I'm still looking to buy and not sell. They've got a bit of a bad rap for now and that creates a value opportunity if you can try one out in person before you buy. You might get lucky like me and end up with something great for thousands less than the alternatives.

 

Last time I sold a VII was about 20 years ago. $1200 iirc for an alto. Early M. Almost VI serial number range. 100% original lacquer and a solid player. Preferred my silver plated 62. No regrets.

 

Wow, I did get a deal. It kind of just fell in my lap. The guy had heard me play and asked a friend for my number. The neck had a slight pull down that was easily repaired and my tech only had to replace one of the original pads.

 

My buddy played a Mark VII with Ella, The Commodores and others and swore by it. I had a VII years ago and loved it as well. Considering whats going on with Paris Selmers, I would not pass on a great VII. They will be $5K soon

 

I traded my VII tenor for a VI baritone (low Bb).
It was an even trade.
I later traded that VI baritone for a Conn 33 transitional baritone.
The VII tenor was a terrific horn and I do often miss it.
It was quite an early one with French engraving.
Had the blue S on the neck and a M serial number.
I also quite liked how it played with a series III neck.

 

I had an early tenor Mk7 a few years back, it was a really good horn but it was too heavy , nothing wrong with the original neck but if you try it with a ref 54 neck it really sounds like a Mk 6.

 

I have an M series VII with no engraving, fairly early on model, and it is amazing.
Was overhauled and set up by Roberto Romeo (prior to me buying it).
I A/B‘Ed it with more horns than I can count and the sound out of it is just stunning.
For me, I do not mind the ergos at all (it is one of two non-Conns I own) so ergos are a dream 🙃
It plays easily in tune from top to bottom even for a hack like me - this is all due to a proper setup.
Intonation issues are generally more due to setup issues than horn issues when dealing with many horns.
Of course, some are just a hot mess period, but, a proper setup can cure a LOT of intonation woes (and a properly matched mouthpiece).

I am happy to see the VII prices on the rise, go me. Haha.

 

According to my observations of sales at auctions on Ebay and Yahoo.jp over the past 5 years, prices for 7s (which were actually sold) are confidently holding around $ 3,000.

 

I'm reviving this thread to point out that Mark VII tenor prices, average asking prices at least, have risen almost $700 for ones in various conditions in a bit over a year on Reverb and other sites. And, more of a reason, a member here in the US is selling a really nice condition one on the SOTW Marketplace priced at the low end of the current range. It's about 1/2 the prices I see for a VI that doesn't look like it was salvaged from the Titanic.

Give it a look if you're hunting for a nice Selmer Paris tenor for yourself or a student. The low-Bb is a stretch for sure, but if you're like me that note gets played about 3 times an hour.