congaplace.com

Hey guys,

I recently had for sale a vintage Valje "concert" model bongo. It really was in excellent condition and all original. Anyways, I posted it here and got a few nibbles, I was willing to sell it to forum members for $500. I would have wheeled and dealed a bit for sure. I had gotten the bongo in a trade from a forum member and $500 would have given me a good profit.

I know that is the price of a new bongo, but unlike other claims this bongo really is rare and very collectable, also it was in almost new condition.

I put it up for sale on my blog and Ebay. I got an offer for $400 which I declined.

So it was a no reserve, no "buy it now" auction, just a straight up bidding auction with an opening bid of .99 cents. The first day the price went to $280.

I had done my research and these kinds of auctions statistically get the best action and highest prices.

The bongo eventually sold for $675! A pretty good price.

Now I'm quite thrifty and have owned some nice drums. I'm a player not a collector and I'm always looking for deals. I knew the drum had value, but I was willing to let the market tell me how much the drum was worth. I personally would not pay that much for a bongo, but I don't collect, some people do and I'm happy for them. They preserve drum history. I do think the bongo was actually worth the price.

I'm writing this as a kind of reaction to some of those auctions where people start a price for a pair of Gon Bops at $3,000 and such, ridiculous! Inflated prices hurt everybody, buyers and sellers.

"Worth" is a fuzzy concept. There are some out there that would have paid 3 times what you sold it for.

I have an old 60's Slingerland bongo. How much is it "worth"? $200? It once belonged to Ringo. Does that change the value?

If you want something bad enough ------. "A horse! My kingdom for a horse!"

Still a good trade - love that SOS!!

I recall someone who had some drums that most of us thought were overvalued and kept showing up. Much debate ensued with said person. One of my comments was basically - "well if you are so sure they are worth what you think ... put em on ebay and see what happens".

Your story is a case in point.

Or just watch a couple of episodes of Pawn Stars [I know its 90% BS - but still fun] and see loads of people with unrealistic expectations of value.

Saludos, everything has his price. May be for someone an instrument in this case the Valje Bongó is priceless because it holds a sentimental value, history, ect,ect. For other they may think is too much in money because for them is a working object.

In my case I have a limit on how much I may spend because all my bongos are intended for giging, they will take abuse, pounding & beating. I use to think that old bongos were better but they may come apart while playing because of age so they may be good for a collector who will brag about in terms of age, history, previous owner, maker & will keep it inside a glass display , those will pay a considerable amount. Also I use to think that old bongos were better in sound but not really IMHO, the player hands & technic are the ones who produce the right sound. Thus some people may think that buying an old Bongó will make them sound better, they are off to a wrong start.
I bought a CVS Bongó 2 months ago & from start has a beautiful old school sound. So old is not necessarily better IMHO,IMHO.

What is a CVS and where can I get one?

Buckoh Cvs = Charlie Vega Santiago 787-329-7614, 787-830-3669. Check my post about Cvs.

Moperc have a nice old school sound, as do SOS and Ritmo and some of the colombian bongos. I think the new school sound is Buffalo and plastic. Of course real old school is goat. So there you have it. Those vegas look nice bro. I think the good woods give a nice old school sound too, fat and warm with crack. Fat crack.

Oh! Yes Pcastag Moperc has the sound. I still have the one bought on 2005. From Colombia 3A is the boss, I mean they all sound good because I have own El Piernas & a CP but 3A puts more emphasis on the Hembra sound IMHO.