Orville Thunderbird on the Bay...

Denis · August 30, 2010, 10:55:59 AM

No affiliation to the seller. All hardware is either chrome or nickel except the pickups, which are black. Interesting.

http://cgi.ebay.com/Orville-Gibson-Thunderbird-IV-4-Bass-1989-CLEAN-/180554629956?pt=Guitar&hash=item2a09e50344#ht_764wt_1139

Dave W · August 30, 2010, 11:07:02 AM

Unreasonably high BIN, no surprise considering the seller.

Muzikman7 · August 30, 2010, 11:23:24 AM

I agree Dave.

Bionic-Joe · August 30, 2010, 03:25:11 PM

I would LOVE to have those Pickups!!!!!

Psycho Bass Guy · August 30, 2010, 03:42:48 PM

Quote from: Dave W on August 30, 2010, 11:07:02 AM
Unreasonably high BIN, no surprise considering the seller.

What's up with that? He got all pissed off at me on the Dudepit a few years back because somebody asked what a B15N (NOT one he was selling, BTW) was worth and I gave an honest answer. Does he sell to actual musicians or just rich collectors?

uwe · August 30, 2010, 03:47:43 PM

"This Orville by Gibson POINT BLANK will blow away a new Gibson Tbird."

No it won't. It doesn't have the upper register sustain and the pups aren't as full-sounding either. It approximates a TBird sound.

Buy American.

Bionic-Joe · August 30, 2010, 04:17:43 PM

My 12 string Thunderbird sounds so killer with the split coil in the neck and the Orville potted style by the bridge!!!! Both are the BLACK Pickups!!!!! (I still love the Nickel/Chrome but black is beautiful!!!) So I'm one of these guys who just loves ALL THUNDERBIRDS!!!

Muzikman7 · August 30, 2010, 04:41:20 PM

I'd rather have this $975.00 http://www.guitargai.com/html_folder/gai_otherBA4.html#

Aussie Mark · August 30, 2010, 05:26:15 PM

Not sure why there's hate here for Kevin. He's not the only ebayer who adds an inflated BIN "just in case". I do it often when I'm listing something internationally. It's a good selling tactic, especially when every other currency on the planet is creaming the USD at the moment.

Having bought from Kebo before (not on eBay) I can vouch for the fact that his "street" prices are more than reasonable and he is willing to negotiate.

So, since there are no bids yet, if one of you really wants the Orville, shoot Kebo an email and start negotiating. You'll get it for a lot less than the BIN.

Psycho Bass Guy · August 30, 2010, 05:35:52 PM

I'm not hating on anybody. It just takes one look at his website and some of his posts about vintage values to see that most of his prices lean more to the "investment" side of the vintage market, like Gruhn, than the "player" side. I didn't appreciate the tone he took with me when our views conflicted, which implied I had a financial motive of my own influencing my advice, so I remembered it. Hence, I asked the question I did. I'm glad you had a positive experience with him and can offer an example to the contrary, but I don't generally forget when someone tries to say I'm being less than honest.

dadagoboi · August 30, 2010, 05:53:06 PM

Quote from: Aussie Mark on August 30, 2010, 05:26:15 PM
Not sure why there's hate here for Kevin. He's not the only ebayer who adds an inflated BIN "just in case". I do it often when I'm listing something internationally. It's a good selling tactic, especially when every other currency on the planet is creaming the USD at the moment.

Having bought from Kebo before (not on eBay) I can vouch for the fact that his "street" prices are more than reasonable and he is willing to negotiate.

So, since there are no bids yet, if one of you really wants the Orville, shoot Kebo an email and start negotiating. You'll get it for a lot less than the BIN.

Asian and AUD currencies may be up v. the dollar but Euro and Sterling are not. Don't know Kebo, thanks for the info. Ditto to Psycho Bass.

Dave W · August 30, 2010, 07:24:54 PM

Quote from: Psycho Bass Guy on August 30, 2010, 03:42:48 PM
What's up with that? He got all pissed off at me on the Dudepit a few years back because somebody asked what a B15N (NOT one he was selling, BTW) was worth and I gave an honest answer. Does he sell to actual musicians or just rich collectors?

He did the exact same thing a number of times in the Gibson forum at the Pit. Somebody would give an opinion of value and he would jump in with numbers that were usually about twice as high as anything we had seen, and then he'd get pissed off if you pointed that out. And it wasn't ever anything he was selling.

He's entitled to his opinions on value, of course. But IMHO he was a retailer using his forum membership to advance his business interests, not just a disinterested bystander with a different opinion.

Quote from: uwe on August 30, 2010, 03:47:43 PM
"This Orville by Gibson POINT BLANK will blow away a new Gibson Tbird."

No it won't. It doesn't have the upper register sustain and the pups aren't as full-sounding either. It approximates a TBird sound.

Buy American.

I can't blame Kevin for that. It's just typical seller hype. And he may sincerely believe it.

Denis · August 30, 2010, 07:27:45 PM

Quote from: Muzikman7 on August 30, 2010, 04:41:20 PM
I'd rather have this $975.00 http://www.guitargai.com/html_folder/gai_otherBA4.html#

THAT is drop dead gorgeous! So dark yet not black! Damn, that is one hot bass, right there.

Dave W · August 30, 2010, 07:43:10 PM

Quote from: Aussie Mark on August 30, 2010, 05:26:15 PM
Not sure why there's hate here for Kevin. He's not the only ebayer who adds an inflated BIN "just in case". I do it often when I'm listing something internationally. It's a good selling tactic, especially when every other currency on the planet is creaming the USD at the moment.

Having bought from Kebo before (not on eBay) I can vouch for the fact that his "street" prices are more than reasonable and he is willing to negotiate.

So, since there are no bids yet, if one of you really wants the Orville, shoot Kebo an email and start negotiating. You'll get it for a lot less than the BIN.

No hate here. If you buy something from Kevin, you can be sure he'll actually ship it and not spend your money on other things, if you get my drift. If he had a bass I wanted at a price I thought fair, I wouldn't hesitate to buy from him. That doesn't change my opinion that his prices are typically way high and that he used a forum to try to establish them as normal.

A couple of years ago at Jules' forum (I can't find the thread now) somebody started a thread about an EB-650 on eBay with a $5000 BIN. I've never seen one sell for over $2000. The auction ended at under $1700 without meeting reserve, and the poster had written the seller asking if he would sell at slightly over the closing bid. Seller responded that this was a $5000 bass any day of the week, but he would sell it for $4400. The seller was Kevin. He still has that EB-650 on his website at $4595. Yet the last EB-650 I saw on the Bay sold for $1026.11 this past February. Reasonable or inflated? You decide.

Muzikman7 · August 30, 2010, 08:26:22 PM

Quote from: Denis on August 30, 2010, 07:27:45 PM
THAT is drop dead gorgeous! So dark yet not black! Damn, that is one hot bass, right there.

Yep if I didn't a 06 Thunderbird I'm happy with I'd buy it.