Quote:
Originally Posted by jmnbass  Would any luthiers be able to tell me what the current average market value is for Paul Claudot basses? What would be an exremely high price, an average price, and a low price, in your opinion? |
It doesn't work that way, for several reasons.
One, volume of trade. There's not a large enough market for vintage double basses to accurately quantify a "range" such as you're specifying. These ain't Beanie Babies.
Two, geography. Where it's located matters. A Juzek on the East Coast is less of a rarity than on the West Coast. If a European bass is still in Europe, the cost of importing it is a major expense.
Three, timeframe. The current economic marketplace for just about anything is vastly different than it was even a few months ago. (We're in a recession, as you may have noticed!) Extremely hard to tell how that will effect the price of quality instruments going forward.
Four, condition. Knowing the "high" and "low" prices a Claudot has commanded recently doesn't really bring you any closer to answering your real question, which is:
How much is MY Claudot worth? It may be a far more sterling, well-preserved one than any that have hit the market in a long while. Conversely, it may be the most trashed to go on the block in recent memory.
The best approach would be to describe the instrument in question; let's examine it, not a theoretical "market" for Claudots. From there, perhaps you'll get some informed opinions as to how much it might go for in today's marketplace.
That being said: I'll trade you straight across for my Kay!
