[Judywil43]

Selmer Mark 6, Paris Alto sax, with photos

[ATTACH =CONFIG]222156[/ATTACH] Hello, we want to sell my husbands alto sax he had since high school. We think the year of the instrument is 1967. It is a Selmer Paris Mark 6 Alto sax. One owner, only played for a few years. It hasn’t been played in 40+ years. Original lacquer. It is still in the original case. We need advice on where to sell it and maybe a fair price for it. Thanks for any help you can give us.

Serial# is M119962

 

[SAXISMYAXE]

Administrator note:

Be aware that as a new member of less than six months and fewer than fifty posts you are not permitted to buy/sell on the forum per our rules. Asking or selling advice (elsewhere) is OK,

 

[1saxman]

119xxx is about 1965. 130 in '66 and 140 in '67. Value depends on condition but it could go from $3000 to probably $6500. Check ebay for completed auctions of similar horns to get an idea. If you're a member there with some good feedback you probably will get your highest return from it there. You could also find a music store that specializes in band instruments and put it for sale there on commission - usually costs about 20%, but considering the ebay and PayPal fees and not having to do special packing/shipping, that's not really a bad deal. It could depend on where you are. If you're in or near a major city you'll probably sell it quicker.

 

[bokagee]

I'd guess it needs an overhaul -- pads, corks, felts, springs, etc. That could run $800-1200 depending on who did it. I'd recommend that you not get work done to it yourself, sell it as-is. A likely buyer would prefer to take it to a tech they know.

Cosmetic condition will make a big difference. If it's in great looking shape, $6500 minus the cost of overhaul might be a pretty good shot. $3000 is a little low in my opinion, even if it's a little beat up. Can you post some pictures? Guys around here love to look at pictures of saxophones! Of course, what REALLY makes a difference in value is how it plays.

 

[Guto]

Of course, what REALLY makes a difference in value is how it plays.

Not sure about that. Lots of people buy vintage saxes over the internet without play testing them. What really drives price in that market is cosmetics. How it plays will mostly impact how fast you sell it if you go down the consignment route.

 

[jman1977]

$3,000 is wayyyyy too low unless you have no choice other than to sell to a dealer/music store, then be prepared to get lowballed big time. The typical floor would between $4,000-$4,500 depending on the actual condition. $6,000 would be the ceiling assuming it's in top condition, although you'll probably sell it for a couple hundred dollars less because it's not a 5-digit VI. The most likely range (again assuming top condition) is $4,800-$5,500. 5-digit VI's in good-great condition sell for between $6,000-$8,000 on eBay. There will be occasional outliers that sell for more than that ("museum quality" 5-digits and "Sanborn range" ones).

Photos would go a long way towards helping the members here give more useful estimates.

For your reference, below is a link that'll take you to a historical listing of VI's that have sold on eBay in the past couple of weeks:

https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_fr...&LH_TitleDesc=0&rt=nc&LH_Sold=1&LH_Complete=1

You can very easily avoid the high selling fees on eBay if you are not in a rush to sell. I always wait until I get the no final value fee or capped final value fee promos before listing my items for sale. Right now, between my 2 eBay accounts, I can list up to 20 items for sale, and each item has a $10 capped final value fee. Last month I sold my other VI for $4,800 under a $20 capped final value fee promo (I only paid $20 to eBay and around $150 to Paypal -- unfortunately Paypal doesn't offer similar promos). Sometimes when I'm really patient and lucky I get 10% eBay bucks back on each sale on top of the capped final value fees, which means I actually end up making money off of eBay in addition to the sales proceeds.

Another option you'd want to look into is the various user groups on Facebook (Saxophone marketplace, etc.). Reverb.com is another good option (around 6% fees).

Edit: I forgot to write that when you sign up for a new eBay account, they send you a promo for 3 listings with zero final value fees within a week or so after signing up (I have 3 eBay accounts, 2 of which I opened within the past year and one of which I've had for over a decade). Obviously, having zero feedback and zero history will hurt with buyers, but the way I've gotten around this is to include a link to my original eBay account (showing my lengthy history and 100% positive feedback) and letting potential buyers know they can send me a message on that other eBay account to confirm that it's me.