<HTML> <HEAD> <TITLE>Re: [CAUT] Yamaha CF value</TITLE> </HEAD> <BODY> Hey, Fred, We have only used eBay twice that I have been involved in, so I don’t have a great deal of experience to draw on, but I can tell you what I know. All sales have to go through the surplus property office.  They post the items on eBay and handle all the administrative details there.  We supply pictures, item description, and reserve price.  Surplus gets a percentage for their costs, just like with the conventional auctions.  All sales are FOB, as-is where-is, shipping is the responsibility of the buyer.  Payment goes through surplus as well, and they notify us when we can release the items.  We have the option of taking the items to the surplus warehouse and they schedule pickup, but since there is no climate control there we haven’t done that. A few years ago, before my time here, the School of Music tried to sell some stuff on eBay on their own, before surplus could do that.  They had the stuff sold, but it took so long to get all the necessary bureaucratic permission the buyer went elsewhere.  Lesson learned. Miscellaneous thoughts:  Set your reserve high enough so you don’t give the piano away.  No $24K Ds.  Don’t try to sell junk on eBay.  Go ahead and let the dealer give you $100 for that 1968 Wurlitzer studio; that’s the quickest and easiest way to dispose of it.  Be mindful of the total package.  What’s the price of the new piano with trade-in vs without?  Do you have a good appraisal on your inventory so you know what to ask on eBay?  What are the potential effects on your relationship with the dealer?  Is your school a source of reasonably good used pianos for him, that he can make a profit on?  What might the impact on future sales, and sale prices, be if that source goes away?  In other words, you might come out better this year, but will it come back to bite you a few years down the road? As I said, I have been involved in two eBay sales: the aforementioned M&H, and a pair of high-end stereo speakers that was donated to the music school a few years ago and never used.  In both cases there was essentially no local market for the item, and I think that’s the key criterion.  We’re near the end of a 15+ year process of turning over our inventory, after years of neglect, to it will be several years yet before we have any decent pianos to sell.  At that point we’ll have to make a decision, but I don’t anticipate using eBay on a regular basis any time soon.  However, for that one nice piano that you just need to get rid of, it’s probably the best way to get a good price and sell it quickly. Regards, Ken Z. On 4/4/07 6:35 PM, "Fred Sturm" <fssturm@unm.edu> wrote: <BLOCKQUOTE>Hi Ken, I've been thinking of how to unload pianos as they get replaced, get better than tradein value for them, and somehow manage to stay within state law. Maybe Ebay would work, as it is an open bidding process - which seems to be one of the things they want. Is that just a policy already in the Missouri system? What do you do in the way of delivery? Work with one of the nationwide firms, paid at their end? Any other practical details? I'm getting ready to approach the dreaded purchasing department between now and fall semester, and would like some ammo, so if anyone else from a state institution is doing something of this sort, I'd sure like to hear about it.   Regards, Fred Sturm University of New Mexico fssturm@unm.edu </BLOCKQUOTE> -- Ken Zahringer, RPT Piano Technician MU School of Music 297 Fine Arts 882-1202 cell 489-7529 </BODY> </HTML>