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Goban for sale/appraisal

Posted: Sun Mar 28, 2021 5:18 am
by Uberdude
A lady from Dorset, England has contacted the BGA as her husband has died and left her with a rather nice Go set. She put it on ebay but someone said she was asking far too little. Would anyone here be able to offer an idea of a fair price and/or like to buy it?
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Full size and a few more photos are on google drive:
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/ ... sp=sharing

Re: Goban for sale/appraisal

Posted: Sun Mar 28, 2021 8:10 am
by drmwc
Do you know the materials it and the stones are made from? I couldn't tell from the picture.

Re: Goban for sale/appraisal

Posted: Sun Mar 28, 2021 8:49 am
by Uberdude
I don't know about the board, Toby says:
WE HAVE received an email from a lady from Dorset whose husband had died, leaving her with a good quality Go set. She sent us 8 photos, which show a Go ban with feet (and Japanese writing on the underside) and some very even grain patterns. The white stones are clam shell, so I guess the black ones could be slate, and the bowls look in good condition.

Re: Goban for sale/appraisal

Posted: Sun Mar 28, 2021 11:45 am
by gowan
The board looks like spruce (shinkaya) and the bowls might be zelkova (keyaki); with age, unstained keyaki darkens to a honey color. The board has some wear, damage to one corner (?) and needs cleaning. It is difficult to be sure from pictures alone. Haven't there been people who post on this board who sell used equipment and their prices might be a guide? Here is a page for a seller of used equipment https://store.baduk.club/collections/vintage-gear

Re: Goban for sale/appraisal

Posted: Sun Mar 28, 2021 12:44 pm
by bogiesan
Uber, I am assuming you have posted to FB and reddit, too? We see inquiries there every few weeks from folks who want to buy a set, although, truly, a traditional floor board is a handful. One needs a certain amount of dedicated go-space. Hope a good price is arrived at and the set will sell quickly. Should make someone very happy.

Here in the States, we have an online marketplace known as craigslist. Folks use it to sell their priceless treasures but mostly it's stuff (and lots of junk) they no longer want. They don't generally expect to make money; they just want to be rid of it. If someone finds a bargain, they snap it up and flip it for resale or they are just as likely to know someone else who wants to buy said underpriced item.

Re: Goban for sale/appraisal

Posted: Mon Mar 29, 2021 9:52 am
by Soromon
It's a nice set. The board has some wear but it looks like she has:

17cm Shinkaya goban
XL Keyaki bowls
Size 34ish Slate & Shell

I'd say $500-$700ish, plus shipping, would be a good price.

There's an inscription on the underside of the board, so it may be worth it to send that image to reddit.com/r/translator to see if the board has a famous autograph or other historical value.

Re: Goban for sale/appraisal

Posted: Mon Mar 29, 2021 2:51 pm
by Uberdude
Thanks Soromon.

Re: Goban for sale/appraisal

Posted: Wed Mar 31, 2021 8:16 am
by goTony
Just wondering how much is she asking? In these economic times it may be harder to sell such equipment.

Re: Goban for sale/appraisal

Posted: Wed Mar 31, 2021 2:58 pm
by Joaz Banbeck
It has been a while since I bought a go board, but that particular design is common here in the US.

Soromon's suggestion of $500 to $700 might be the market price for one in fine or new condition.

With the damage that it has, I'd expect it to go for half of that.