Alembic Europa / Value?

[MrStevie]

Hi there Alembic Community.  I'm helping a friend who's father passed.  I spoke to Mika and she gave me the information on the this bass.  She suggested I post here to see what a fair value would be.  Any pricing help would be greatly appreciated.  I attached some pics.  Here's what we know.

Alembic Europa
Cocobolo Upgrade

Best Regards,
Mr. Stevie

[Russ]

Condition is everything in regard to resale value in IMHO... Some of the pictures on the back of the bass appear to be either reflections and maybe some scratches, so it's hard to value without knowing for sure what they are.

When you look at the bass, are there any noticeable dings, scratches that are obvious, etc?

I like to say that having precedence for what others pay is a good way to gauge value, but if I fall in love with the look of an instrument price is almost irrelevant (within reason).

The Cocobolo top is considered a top quality top (highest priced option for tops if memory serves), that appears to be the only real upgrade from what I can see. It's a pretty bass no question, the figuring is really nice!

It's going on 29 years old, so the condition of the neck (can it be set up and play cleanly across the entire neck without the action being super high, fret ware, etc) is a question mark - pictures and maybe taking it to get set up could help you know for sure.

If this thing was in Excellent condition, meaning the neck played right and it didn't have any huge nicks or dings I'd probably pay somewhere in the area of $5K for it - maybe more if I really connected with it.

My recommendation is do some research on Reverb, look at what others are listed for and look under the sold filter to see what others have sold for (or at least what they sold for based on what they were listed for, sometimes I've found these not to be right based on what I purchased a bass for and what they say it sold for).

HTH

[tkotmk42]

Nice, has this bass been sold yet/??

[lbpesq]

My take is a little different than Brother Russ’.  While I generally agree that condition is a critical factor in appraising a used instrument,  IMHO Alembics are an outlier to the usual situation.   Because Alembics are so rare and individually so unique, condition plays a far less role in valuation than, for example, with a Strat or a Les Paul.  It’s not like you can choose between ten different Europas with Cocobolo tops currently listed on Reverb.   If this is what you want, you might very likely have to wait years for a similar used bass to hit the resale market.  Not that condition means nothing, it’s just seems to be far less important when it comes to used Alembics.

Bill, tgo

[StephenR]

Nice, has this bass been sold yet/??

The guy that inquired about the value of this bass and the SC is affiliated with a music store in Pennsylvania. I have not seen either instrument listed anywhere including the store website.

[MrStevie]

Yes.  That is correct.  I'm the used manager at NStuff Music.  I was approached by the family who owns the basses.  I'm trying to help move them as a favor.  I'm trying to find a fair value as not to gouge anyone.  But, I need to get a fair value for the instruments.  After speaking to Mica at Alembic, she suggested that I post here in the Alembic forum.  They will be listed shortly as soon as I can get them out there. 

[lbpesq]

Checking asking and, more importantly, selling prices on the net, my estimate would be in the $3K - $4K range.  Maybe a little more as prices do seem to have gone up during covid.

Bill, tgo

[StephenR]

I concur with Bill's price assessment. Most of the listed prices you see are too high as indicated by the amount of time the instruments sit unsold. It can be difficult to confirm actual selling prices but generally any Alembic that is fairly priced will sell quickly. Of course anything that is priced under what it  generally would sell for will also move quickly usually going to a flipper.

[srfogel]

Checking asking and, more importantly, selling prices on the net, my estimate would be in the $3K - $4K range.  Maybe a little more as prices do seem to have gone up during covid.

Bill, tgo

I bought a walnut Europa 5 string about 2 years ago.  Mid $3K if that is a useful reference

[hammer]

I'd agree with Bill and Stephan. $7500 list price Europa's have remained on the market 12-18 months or more and many are still there. For a 4-string instrument in great condition with a cocobolo front and back $4000-$4500 would probably sell quickly and would be a fair price.  A lot depends on whether your friend really needs the cash or is willing to sit on this for awhile. If he/she really needs the cash that 3500-4000 price point would probably sell pretty fast.

As far as the SC deluxe, I wouldn't suggest listing at nearly as high a price as some have suggested but it's worth a fair bit more than the Europa given the model and the build especially the neck recipe.. I believe anything in the $7000 range and up will sit around for a fair while as your are then in the price range of a lot of Alembic Series basses for sale and they are entirely different animals. However, $5500-6000 would be a fair assessment and likely sell it quickly. Given how some people respond to cocobolo (drool, drool, drool) and how quickly the family would like the cash, you might first consider listing them as pair with a discount to someone who will purchase both.

[YamatoJJ]

Are these basses gone?

[StephenR]

Both are still available... the Europa is listed for $5,999.00, the SC Deluxe is listed for $10,999.00. These are being sold commercially so they can't be listed here in "For Sale and Trade". If the shop selling them wants to put links here they need to go in the "Seen on Craigslist, eBay...." section of the club forum.

[YamatoJJ]

Thank you Stephen: I looked at the commercial website and wow the pictures are gorgeous!