Violin Forum/Message Board

[bill70]

Hello everyone. I just joined this forum to try to get some information. I inherited an old fiddle from my father and had some work done on it locally. The repairman told me that although the fiddle was middle of the road - the bow was a very expensive bow. I went on line and was shocked at the prices for an E. SARTORY bow. My question is what do I do with it? I don't play and I want to sell it but I'm not thrilled with ebay and wouldn't know what price to put on a reserve. The bow is in excellent shape with no wear or mars of anykind. Does anyone have any idea where I should start in selling this bow and what price I should consider.
Thank, Bill

[Shirley]

Hello, Bill - I would suggest that you get an official appraisal of your bow from a qualified dealer or luthier, as a first step. (Several things determine the worth of a bow, besides the name: condition (has it ever been repaired?) the fittings, how it plays...)

Then, you could give it to a store or luthier to sell on approval. Or, you might enter it in an auction other than eBay (it would be difficult to sell a truly valuable bow there - people wouldn't believe it!) - at least two reputable auction houses have web presence.

Then, of course,you could also take up the violin! I'm not being completely facetious - you already would have a good bow, which easily can be more than half the price of the instrument played!

Good luck. Shirley

[Jack H.]

there are a lot of bows out there with phony stamps on them.
The originality of the bow should be authenticated.
It should be taken to a quality violin shop that can authenticate it for you.
Be careful of leaving it on consignment, sometimes things happen and sometimes it may take years to sell.
best bet is it take it to a reputable auction house, they can appraise its value and originality and sell it for you at the next auction.
Tarisio, Butterfields, Skinner, Southebys, Christies, there are just a few na=mes of reputable auction houses.

[gavin_rossdale]

Pictures needed really............and even then-difficult to make a judgement I suspect.
Quite a number of real Sartory bows around and yes..........of significant value, somewhat dependant on condition.