Sep/19/08
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Watermelons, Johnny Marvin Ukuleles and other eBay Totty

Pineapples and kiwis not to your taste? How’s about a watermelon ukulele from Kala?

Another seller thinning their collection, this time in the UK. Current picks include an adorable Gibson banjo-uke and a decorative Favilla with suspiciously blurry photos.

Plenty of stars put their name and face on a plastic ukulele, but Jimmy Durante? (Net research suggests Durante and Clark Gable were taught the uke by Bill Tapia).

A more understandable endorsement with this Johnny Marvin Professional. I think that bridge is supposed to be the shape of on aeroplane but it looks more like a goldfish playing the harmonica to me.

This week’s most staggeringly over priced ukes: Baritone Maccaferri Islander starting at $300, Swagerty Surf-a-lele for $400 and whatever this is supposed to be for $8,000.

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7 Comments

  1. newbie September 19th, 2008 7:01 pm

    I want to get myself a vintage ukulele from ebay but I’m clueless about how much I should bid for those.
    Is there any helpful site out there with prices and such?

    How much do you think is the right price for a baritone maccaferri islander?

  2. Cardboardfrog September 19th, 2008 7:23 pm

    how pretenious is the description on that last uke?
    i mean really, come on, you can be a very skilled luthier but its a bit far to describe yourself as an artist without sounding like a ponce!

  3. todd September 19th, 2008 9:42 pm

    I have to agree with you………..the over-priced ukes are…..well, silly and overpriced….

    cheers,

    todd

  4. Isaac September 20th, 2008 12:50 am

    I like how “construction flaws are artistic reflections”

    My $22 uke must be by Michelangelo

  5. Woodshed September 20th, 2008 3:16 pm

    newbie: I’ve just written a post about this. I hope it’s some use to you.

    cbf: He has to justify the price tag somehow.

    todd: … but I still want them.

    Isaac: Good point. The first reaction when you find out you’ve done something stupid should always be, “I meant to.”

  6. KatieBrain September 21st, 2008 4:04 pm

    I agree about the ‘fish playing a harmonica’ bridge. How is that a plane?!

  7. Woodshed September 21st, 2008 5:01 pm

    Katie: Perhaps they had novelty shaped planes in the 1920s.

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