The Traditional Fisherman's Forum

Julian wrote:Very good condition B.James Richard Walker MK1V's and MKIV Avons generally seem to go for around £160 (plus Commission) on the recent Mullocks auctions.
Therefore I would say £150 would be reasonable to offer - a bit more if its in really top notch condition

Saying that I know someone here who won a lovely Mark IV at Angling Auctions for £100, just last year. Won while the room was napping!

Here you go. Good condition without the button and went for £130. Show this one to the seller if he's not sure!

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/James-B-fly-f ... true&rt=nc

on ebay you can go to advanced search,type in B James mk4 carp rod,tick the completed listing box,this should give you a good idea of what to offer.

I've had a look at the rod and it's in fair condition but a couple of the rings are out of true and may need replacing or rewhipping.

Based on your replies I have made an offer via my brother which I think is fair (to generous) and am now waiting for a response, although I get the impression that the vendor is expecting it to be worth a small fortune. I'm not prepared to pay over the odds so just hope my offer will suffice and common sense prevails....

Again, many thanks for all your advice

Good luck wagtail, i hope your offer is excepted.

Gaz

Sadly, people who aren't interested in the rods they've aquired, invariably have an exagerated idea of they're worth. Often they get these ideas from tackle shop staff who don't have the courage to say " I don't know", who then have a Google or a look at eBay and a make them think they've inherited a fortune, neglecting to point out that the rings are rusty, the cane de-laminated and bent, the silks loose and rotting and the cork handle crumbling.


I recently came across just such a rod in my local tackle shop who were intending to sell it on behalf of the owner who had recently inherited it from her late uncle.


"She wants £150 for it" they told me.


I pointed out that if it caught a fish it would break and if it got wet it would fall into its component parts. Being as they're pals I said I'd take a look.........



A week later, I've fixed it all into a fishable condition, including getting three bends and a spiral twist out of the tip section along with repairing 5 inches of delamination.



( You'd think the new owner might have got some words of thanks to me, but no)



Now it probably IS worth £150.

Unfortunately Nobby is spot on, I recently contacted someone who was selling a Chapman 500 that was a bit tired, to enquire a price, the seller was convinced he could easily get £200 for it.

Me too - a 550 that was bent every which way but loose: and he still wanted £180!

Nobby wrote:
( You'd think the new owner might have got some words of thanks to me, but no)

That sort of ingratitude enrages me.

When I see these stupid opening bid prices on the bay I'm always reminded of one of those silly things we would do as kids. If one of us kids had some stupid suggestion, or, more often, a spurious claim - quite often fishing related! - there would usually be an impromptu chorus from the rest of us of the opening lines for the Everly Brother's All I Have To do Is Dream:

Dre-e-e-e-e-am, dream, dream dre-e-eam, dre-e-e-e-e-am....

The opening bars were going through my head when I checked out that six hundred quid Chapman Hunter the other week. I see it reappeared with a more realistic two hundred opener. Interestingly, it is no longer on there so perhaps a deal was reached.

Well mixed fortunes for me on Saturday.

At a church-hall antique and collectors fair I managed to pick up a Jake Thackray LP 'Bantam Cock' as I remember his risque songs on the TV in the early 70s, especially the Bantam Cock song!

Even better I also acquired a copy of Magazine's 'Shot by Both Sides' 7" single with original picture cover (influential but obscure punk/new wave band of the late '70s) for only £1.50. As a long time fan I was pleased to find the picture cover only to be disappointed because there was what at first glance appeared to be some scribbling on the back. A more careful look revealed the scribbling to be the band's autographs - result

Disappointingly I later learned that the owner of the Mk IV has decided to hang on to the rod for now Oh well, I supppose hoping for more than two bits of luck in any one day is being greedy!