Best shop to consign high end bow in New York City

[scordatura]

Thinking of selling a fine French bow in New York city. Opinions on which shop to choose? Pm if you want to be stealthy. Isaac Salchow and Yung Chin are bow specialists. Salchow only works three days a week from 10 to 4, which seems pretty limited for a full time business.

[Michael Darnton]

Rare Violins of NY. But why just NYC---the business is international now and there are many fine shops.

[martin swan]

I would second Michael's point!

Also, when you say "fine bow" what level of bow are you talking about?

[scordatura]

4 hours ago, Michael Darnton said:

Rare Violins of NY. But why just NYC---the business is international now and there are many fine shops.

Of course it is international. But walk in customers creates a local (ish) context. What percentage of your bow sales are international vs when someone is in town? I’m sure that depends on the value of the item. The bigger the price tag the smaller number of people that can purchase it. Therefore travel and or shipping is probably necessary once you have worked your way through local clients. That is not to say Stefan and Julian don’t visit other localities if the circumstances dictate. Another factor is I like the ability to physically transport when possible.

[scordatura]

2 hours ago, martin swan said:

I would second Michael's point!

Also, when you say "fine bow" what level of bow are you talking about?

Classic French maker. Pricey. I’m not publicly going more than that. Sorry.

[Navyasw02]

26 minutes ago, scordatura said:

Classic French maker. Pricey. I’m not publicly going more than that. Sorry.

At least you narrowed it down to half the bows ever made. 

[martin swan]

20 hours ago, scordatura said:

Salchow only works three days a week from 10 to 4, which seems pretty limited for a full time business.

Many full time businesses dealing in fine bows are only open by appointment ...

So I don't think Isaac's walk-in hours can be interpreted as a sign of laxity, rather a need to spend time making bows, restoring, writing certificates etc. without interruption.

If you have a fine bow to sell, it's important to get it to someone who is actively reaching these customers, rather than someone that you can access easily. At this level very few of us expect local sales, rather we have networks of clients who have shopping lists, and most times we go to meet them. Having said that, New York is a good place to show bows and Isaac is probably one of the better connected people in the business.

 

[Michael Darnton]

@scordatura In point of fact a very small proportion of what gets sold is handed out in the shop and that was the way it was at The Other Shop I worked at as well.

[scordatura]

I will say that if I wanted someone to write a certificate for an important bow, Isaac Salchow would be one of the few in the US that I would seek out. I noticed that he wrote a certificate for the Tourte that is for sale at Tarisio on Wednesday (yesterday). Paul Childs also recently wrote a certificate for the same bow.

[The Violin Beautiful]

Salchow and Childs are the most highly regarded American bow experts, so either of them would be a good choice as far as reputation and reach to a high end clientele.

Now that Chris Reuning has a spot in New York, you might try that as well. 

[scordatura]

4 hours ago, The Violin Beautiful said:

Now that Chris Reuning has a spot in New York, you might try that as well. 

Thanks for that. I did not know about the NYC office.

[scordatura]

What do you think is a good commission rate? One would think that for more expensive instruments and bows, that the 20% rate would go down a bit. What about the 50-100k range?

[Michael Darnton]

I think you should sell the bow yourself. 20% should pay your time for the necessary legwork and would satisfy your requirements the best.

[Jeffrey Holmes]

4 hours ago, scordatura said:

What do you think is a good commission rate? One would think that for more expensive instruments and bows, that the 20% rate would go down a bit. What about the 50-100k range?

Honestly, I think 20% is a realistic and fair commission rate for bows in the 50-100K range (great Sartory, Simon, exceptional fancy mount Voirin, Henry, Francois Peccatte, etc, etc.). It gives the dealer room to negotiate or collaborate with colleagues to get the job done (splitting commission or reducing their commission when required or appropriate) and pays the dealer for their "reach" (their valuable contacts with viable customers).... but I can see that exceptions to the rule may occasionally be possible/appropriate (reselling a bow the dealer originally sold, working with a "serial" buyer that deals with the firm)... and although some may disagree, they are welcome to try and get the job done themselves. 

I think choosing a reputable firm (one that will honestly disclose the actual selling price) is paramount.  You've received a number of good referrals here.

[Michael Darnton]

There you go. I nominate Jeff Holmes! He's a good guy, honest, and has good connections.

[Jeffrey Holmes]

18 minutes ago, Michael Darnton said:

There you go. I nominate Jeff Holmes! He's a good guy, honest, and has good connections.

Blush....    I'm not in NY though....

[Michael Darnton]

 

@Jeffrey Holmes

I was hoping that we'd moved beyond that irrelevant qualification, and you are the poster child for demonstrating that.

[scordatura]

I knew that bringing up commission rates might ruffle some feathers. Can't hurt to ask. I'm sure I'm not the only one to think about this.

[martin swan]

We charge 20% whether it’s a Tourte or a Thomassin. 
We are very selective about what we sell, and we like there to be trust and mutual respect between all parties. 
So far no one has ever questioned our commission rate.

I don’t think anyone’s feathers have been ruffled - we are just trying to explain how high end bow sales work.