biscuit joiner - Posted - 07/19/2009:  12:14:59

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It's disappointing to hear that Gruhn may not be a great source for appraisals, since as far as I know he has the necessary knowledge.

Does anyone else (Huber, Cushman, etc) do "online" appraisals (as best one could do such a thing w/o banjo in hand) that are considered objective?

I guess that's one more way the bho is such a great resource, I know I've learned a lot from the prewar 'regulars" on here.

rb4player - Posted - 07/20/2009:  15:17:41

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Gruhn knows instruments about as well as anyone. The issue is in providing appraisals based on photos, and then hedging because it's difficult to tell an original from photos alone. No one should give too much credence to photo-based appraisals. They are most useful in identifying stock instruments for people-with-little-knowledge to assess ballpark value. They are not the way to determine the specific value of a collectible.

Jim

bobbybanjo - Posted - 07/20/2009:  16:19:28

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quote:

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Originally posted by rb4player

Gruhn knows instruments about as well as anyone. The issue is in providing appraisals based on photos, and then hedging because it's difficult to tell an original from photos alone. No one should give too much credence to photo-based appraisals. They are most useful in identifying stock instruments for people-with-little-knowledge to assess ballpark value. They are not the way to determine the specific value of a collectible.

Jim

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I think that the evidence shows there is a little more to it. Gruhn has always accepted clients money and produced the most generous, over the top appraisals that are possible. His ready explanation is that he is working from the photos and that he always includes disclaimers in his appraisals. The fact is that time after time we see people selling their instrument for far, far less than the Gruhn appraisal and we have also heard of cases where he has grossly misrepresented certain instruments.l

DaveInCA - Posted - 07/23/2009:  10:01:48

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Up to $1550 and down to the last hour...not a bad price for a nice-looking Granadoid. Hope it sounds good too.

Sold for $1,782.87.

Dave

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Edited by - DaveInCA on 07/23/2009 10:43:50