TubeNet

Of course it is only common sense to be as fully informed as possible before buying something - especially when a lot of coin is involved. But you also have to be cognizant that the make/model of a tuba can vary widely and a really exceptional well playing horn can be worth significantly more than even a new one of the same model. Some people get so hung up on "Bluebook Valuations" that they pass on an exceptional horn because it's priced more than similar models in similar outward condition.

And of course there are a lot of old tubas that don't change hands a lot or or had very limited production numbers so there really is a limitation on coming up with comparable values since even the ones that you can track prices on may have varied significantly in how they played so you have to make a seat of the pants "what it's worth to you" decision. Remember when it seemed like 345 Holton prices would climb forever? In the midst of that a lot of new/copies came on stream and then folks I think started to have a benchmark of if I buy this old 345 for X amount and add in how much to fix/restore I'll have this much invested vs. I can buy a new "version" for this amount. Consequently it seems like old 345's have seen a roughly 25-35% drop in what they are changing hands for. Now we have 6/4 Chinese versions popping up and it will be interesting to see how that plays out with pricing.

But your point is well taken that it pays to be informed. I think one of the areas many buyers of used horns really do a poor job of is significantly underestimating how much it will cost to fix or restore a horn. Parts aren't cheap even if you do it yourself and if you have it done by someone the labor isn't cheap either. I always laugh when I see ads on here when sellers state that a horn has an issue but it's an easy fix & won't cost very much. If it was easy and cheap they'd have done it before putting it up for sale.

tofu wrote:But you also have to be cognizant that the make/model of a tuba can vary widely and a really exceptional well playing horn can be worth significantly more than even a new one of the same model.

That! Maybe there are tubas where you can get a useful sight-unseen opinion from someone ("the regs"?) But anecdotally, the "I played three of them at the shop, and this one was so much better than the other two" type of story is so common that I wouldn't put much value in what anyone says. Until you try it, you don't know. That's life - it's pretty much how I've bought all my tubas, except the excellent 40K - crap shoot.

But even when you know how it plays, and even if you knew how easily it would sell on "the market" whatever that is for a given price, value depends on more than that. How bad do you need a tuba? How easy is it to find something you like better? Does it tickle you personally, enough that it doesn't matter how much you could sell it for later? Tubas aren't usually great investment platforms, anyway.