Good ebay Story

[CharlieB]

Ebay isn't always evil. Sometimes it works out.
Back in 2006, I paid a fair price on ebay for an Olds Recording trombone advertised to be in "good" condition. When it arrived, I looked it over carefully and was amazed at its condition. Not a blemish anywhere on the horn, and zero wear on the slide tubes. Even the case had no blemish anywhere, and no musty smell. The euphoria was short-lived. The horn could not be assembled because the slide tenon would not insert into the bell receiver. ??????? Did I have mismatched parts that some ebay hack had refurbished and peddled Online? Not so. Olds used to put matching serial numbers on the slide and bell, and they matched on my horn. This was a brand new, never played, 1956 horn.
The accessory box in the case contained an Olds 3 Mouthpiece that had zero insertion marks on the stem. Also in the box was a warranty card issued by the Olds factory, noting that the horn had been delivered to a Tucson, Arizona music store on 12/17/1956. When the store sold the horn, the end user was to fill in his name and return the card to Olds. No end user's name appeared on the card.

I determined that the fit-up error was an oversized tenon and not an undersized receiver. I was able to correct this with a little emery cloth and a lot of patience. It turned out to be a great playing horn.
I don't know who sold me the horn (ebay), so I can only speculate. I'm thinking that as a factory defective horn, the store set it aside to be returned to Olds for replacement, and it was put in storage somewhere in the store, where it was forgotten for fifty years. Then, something happened to the store and the horn reappeared. ??????
It now lives on a stand in my practice room alongside the other girls in the harem. Unfortunately, it is no longer pristine. It is still damage free, but my left hand has worn through the lacquer after fourteen years of playing.