Pictures of Bob's Violin -

[Cotton Pudding]

Hello all, first thread on here.

I had the pleasure of speaking to Chris through Facebook a few months ago and inquired about Bob's old violin.

The conversation wasn't terribly interesting so I'll try to just sum it up. I asked him about it, he gave me a price of $250 to be sent to his paypal account and sent me a few pictures of it.

I told him that $250 was too much for me to consider spending on it and that I was unfamiliar with paypal. He promptly responded telling me I had an hour to change my mind because he was going to sell it at a local pawn shop.

A couple hours later he messaged me and told me that the shop wasn't interested in it (as they "had too many already") and asked me to buy it for $200 instead and told me he and his mother really needed the money to pay bills. He then told me he would accept a check and gave me his new address but made it clear he was understandably uncomfortable with it and was only allowing it because he was desperate for money.

After deciding not to purchase it, I promised I wouldn't share his contact info (and I won't) and conversation between us ended. I still have the pictures saved and thought I'd share them.

Take a look and tell
me what you think. Was I foolish for turning down such a deal?

 

[Morbid Boredom]

If I were to take up the violin again, I'd want to see the violin in person and play it before buying it.

Are you actually in the market for a violin, or was this just a "Christory" thing? If it's Christory, then all that matters is how much you're willing to spend.

 

[CatParty]

post conversation please

 

[the Borg]

I deal with musical instruments and have a decent idea of how much things cost. A used violin would fetch anywhere between $60 and $160, depending on who made it, which I can't tell from these pictures. If it's a Strat, it'll hold value pretty well, most likely costing $250 or more if it were immaculate (and depending on the year made), but I see some damage to the lacquer, which means that the wood in some areas might also warp so that brings the value down substantially. Without being able to see who made it, or hear how it sounds, that looks like it could cost anywhere from $80-100.

 

[BT 075]

Wow this is truly informative and certainly worth creating a thread for.

No shit is too minor.

 

[Cotton Pudding]

post conversation please

I would just to show it's legit, but I don't have a working computer right now. I'm using my iPhone and don't have a way to censor things like my name or other information I don't want shared.

I shot Null a message asking if it would be ok to share the pics with the forums and he gave me the ok.

 

[the Borg]

Did he say who made the violin, or what "brand" it was? You probably were getting ripped off anyway, but it doesn't hurt to know.

 

[Cotton Pudding]

No shit is too minor.

I know it's not a big deal, I just thought I'd contribute a little something. I'm honestly not seeking recognition for a few pics of a battered violin.

 

[EI 903]

I know it's not a big deal, I just thought I'd contribute a little something. I'm honestly not seeking recognition for a few pics of a battered violin.

Satan wasn't mocking you. He was replying to a complaint that the user later deleted.

 

[Cotton Pudding]

Did he say who made the violin, or what "brand" it was? You probably were getting ripped off anyway, but it doesn't hurt to know.

It's supposedly a Strat copy.

 

[Cotton Pudding]

Satan wasn't mocking you. He was replying to a complaint that the user later deleted.

My bad, I wasn't intending it towards him. I thought it was going to include the original quote.

Satan's a cool guy, and I hope to be buddies someday.

 

[the Borg]

Used Strat copy in that condition: maybe $100-120 with its condition, if it were an antique copy and showed it, it could fetch as much as a more modern used strat. It also depends on the wood used, but that doesn't look like it's a maple-spruce, so $100 is where I'd stand.

 

[BT 075]

Satan's a cool guy, and I hope to be buddies someday.

We already are. I am buddies with everybody who brings me new content. New content makes the world go round.

 

[Cotton Pudding]

Ok, so as per request, I was able to save a pair of pics of the conversation without showing my info or his.

Again, I'm just using my iPhone so I apologize in advance for the lack of quality.

 

[derpi]

I thought Bob took care of his stuff???
Do violins naturally just get like that after a while or was it not taken care of well enough?
At least he got the bow restringed

 

[MrsFrizzle]

I would be unlikely to pay $200 for it when you can find similar violins of the same age that haven't been in a hoard/through a house fire for less than $100 at your local musical instrument shop, on eBay, and on Craigslist/kijiji/Gumtree/whatever your local equivalent is.

They made literally millions of those "Stradivarius" copy violins between 1900 and 1980.

Also, you know that Chris's estimates of the value of any object are always 3 to 4 times too high at best.

 

[Cotton Pudding]

I thought Bob took care of his stuff???
Do violins naturally just get like that after a while or was it not taken care of well enough?
At least he got the bow restringed

I just wish Chris would've taken it out of the trash pile before he took the full body pic of it in its case.

 

[Morbid Boredom]

I thought Bob took care of his stuff???
Do violins naturally just get like that after a while or was it not taken care of well enough?
At least he got the bow restringed

Things get damaged. A violin is a hollow box, made of wood not even a half-inch in thickness. Bob was an amateur musician, so a ding or scratch wouldn't bother him.

The marks near the peg box are unsurprising, Bob probably gripped the violin with his left hand while he tuned it using his right.

 

[ToroidalBoat]

Either Chris didn't bother to take a picture of the violin in a clean setting, or Hoard 2.0 is so bad that such is impossible. On the bright side, at least there's no rat droppings visible in the pics (as far as I can tell).

 

[JohnConstantine]

While the sharing of new content is appreciated, Chris' recent doxing might leave you vulnerable to a similar incident, especially if you decide to reveal anything intimate (implying Chris tried to sell you Bob's story along with his violin), since we know he visits the forums on occasion.

That said, muchas gracias.