Saxophones Help to price my vintage yani please

[ronschi]

I have a Yanagisawa 880 tenor which I hope to sell to a friend, but neither of us have any idea what it is worth. I don't want to overcharge him but I need an honest price for it. Would anyone offer an opinion as to its value? The more opinions the better, so's I can average them out. I'm told 880s are highly respected. This one dates around 1982. I bought it new in a respected London shop and it was referred to as an Elimona. As a matter of interest I was told some time ago by a retired Yani employee that Elimona is a conjoining of the words Elite Monarch.

The horn has just had a professional service and clean, so is in good working order. Some new pads, new corks, etc. There is some 'minor' wear, but otherwise in great nick. No dents or dings. It comes with the original Yani mouthpiece and in the original case. In my opinion (which is not necessarily worth a great deal) it sounds and plays great. Reason for sale? Credit crunch, what else!

I have taken some pictures and rather than clog up this forum I have put them on a separate website - please take a look.
http://www.ronschi.co.uk/yanagisawa/
Thanks for any help here.
Ron

 

[griff136]

Hi Ron,

I recently paid £500 for one in similar condition and I thought that was Cheap!

 

[daveysaxboy]

Nice clean horn,i would think around the £700.00 mark but that's only my thought.You can grab a more sort after early Yamaha 62 Purple logo for £800.00 if your lucky so i think the Yanni would be atad less,i could be wrong but that's my instinct,hope you get a good deal.

 

[Pjonah]

That's a lovely looking clean Yani you got there, just guessing but I'd say the buyer would get a cracking horn for £650-700.;}

 

[ronschi]

Thanks Griff, Daveysaxboy and Simon, good of you all to reply. Trouble is I've a bit of confusion now. On another sax forum I asked the same question (there weren't quite enough replies here to get a good average) but have been given suggestions a good bit higher. The general feel there (largely due to the condition) is it would be worth a bit over $1500 (about £900) with one person from the UK saying it should be nearer the £1000 mark. I guess it all depends on how you rate the 880 tenor I suppose. The trouble is of course it's worth what someone is willing to pay for it! My friend is quickly backpedalling since I showed him your responses. We have both been surprised by these valuations and I think if I show him the other forum's suggestions I suspect he is, understandably, not a buyer.
I guess it is going to have to be e-bay.
Will try here and the other forum first though.
So once more, many thanks you guys for helping me to understand the ball park value.
Ron

 

[ManEast]

Thanks Griff, Daveysaxboy and Simon, good of you all to reply. Trouble is I've a bit of confusion now. On another sax forum I asked the same question (there weren't quite enough replies here to get a good average) but have been given suggestions a good bit higher. The general feel there (largely due to the condition) is it would be worth a bit over $1500 (about £900) with one person from the UK saying it should be nearer the £1000 mark. I guess it all depends on how you rate the 880 tenor I suppose. The trouble is of course it's worth what someone is willing to pay for it! My friend is quickly backpedalling since I showed him your responses. We have both been surprised by these valuations and I think if I show him the other forum's suggestions I suspect he is, understandably, not a buyer.
I guess it is going to have to be e-bay.
Will try here and the other forum first though.
So once more, many thanks you guys for helping me to understand the ball park value.
Ron

Hi Ron
Please take a look at my post in the YARD SALE
Regards

ManEast