Organ Prices
We all see Organs for sale at prices far beyond most of our pockets. I talking to Phil Ives at the Bedford Rally and he told me what price the De Morrian eventually sold for. Originally on the market for £60,000 it was eventually passed to Prestons to sell. It was sold, so Phil informed me, for £16500. This included music, lorry, generator.

its been sold ? when I inquired they wanted 35k For it

Hello everyone, Oh, that's a sad price. Phil paid £20,000 for it in 1987. I know the second hand organ market is slow, but 'antique' instruments?..... Rob.

To be fair though the 80s did see some ridiculous prices. I recall even the Times in London reporting the auction where the 1900 Limonaire was sold and went to Japan fetching at auction c.GBP£100K I think it was at the time in the mid-early 80s. Crazy prices paid by people in a boom with money to spend where money was no object caused (as it always does when dealers smell money) vertical price rises. When Japan's economy went into depression/recession from which it's still never really quite recovered the market fell away. Antique gramophones also saw this obscene dealer over-inflation then collapse. At the peak for example an HMV 203 might fetch £10-12K but now it is accepted that 20 years later you'd be lucky to get even 1/2 that on a good day. Organ prices and the internet are always quite murky and "serious enquiries only" and one rightly suspects dealers and builders see the buyer coming and get what they can out of their pockets rather than ask realistic prices and acheive pragmatic sales turnover. But that's business. Personally I don't like doing business in this manner : the buyer would likely think you're only out to cheat them as your opening gambit and it automatically opens negotiations with zero buyer confidence and seller on the defensive. Far simpler to just be open and upfront. Always remember : any item however historic is only really worth what a buyer is prepared to open their wallet and pay over for it. Whatever the seller thinks it is ALWAYS a buyers market as the buyer is always free to walk away. Many dealers make a living selling things to wealthy "must have it now" obsessional buyers who don't care about money and therefore don't care whether they pay a realistic price for anything ever. People who spend money like that are nouveau riche - only the nouveau riche spend money in this uncontrolled manner as they are unused to wealth management. Old money and real money behave quite differently : think of old JP Getty and also the British Royal family for more couth examples of restrained controlled expenditure.