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Hi,
I am a newbie to the B&O world and have been saving up for many years for a pair of Beolab 5. A pair is now being offered and am unsure what a fair price is. Appreciate some guidance here.
Thanks,
A
My answer will certainly not help much but in my experience a "fair price" when it comes to B&O is an almost non-existent concept.People who only have remotely heard about the brand will sell a useless item hundred of local money…People who really knows about the brand and the condition of the item will "maybe" ask a fair price, but they also are passionate people who will "value" their love for the item.And finally, people who know but dont really know or those who don't know will sometimes sell for a bargain.
Here in France, I've seen Beogram's 4002 painted blue at 800€, others from first seller with papers and loved with care for 50€.Beosound Ouverture ranges from 30€ to 1500€ (!)
Of course I dont even mention the working state that can be easy or not to fix.
In the specific case of the Beolab 5, which is an iconic product nobody can ignore the value I would say its eve more complicated:Here they range from 7000 to 2500€* (sometimes) BUT, you never know how they are and if they will work well for enough time to amortize your bet.
I believe that's why they're a lot of thread here in Beoworld about "should I buy BL5s".
To sum up, I would say:- Read all you can to learn about the speakers and specifically their flaws, the probability of fault and their repair costs.- Benchmark the average cost everywhere (eBays is always too much, local classified ad's are more realistic.- You can use beodex.io an uncommitted web site that monitor B&O transaction all over the world. It will give you an idea.- Last, go listen to them, talk with the seller and have a clear idea of what you're ready to spend foe them, and that will be a fair price.
Hope this help even if I know it really won't!
*@2500€ I was ready to buy them even completely faulty just to have them standing in my living-room, I would just have hidden a Beoplay A1 inside to have sound coming from them! But 2500€ still!
Thank you very much for your insight. Here, in the US the asking price is $14.5K for a pair of mint units. I will research and make a decision.
Hi MusicalEars, did you see this video? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xnC7B_fqkxU. Maybe useful. Good luck! Johan
Hi there MusicalEars,
The link that Matador43 gave to access historical listings and current value is now posted on my favourites page.
beodex io is the site,and it's fantastic for checking the current value and common listing prices.
As for the Beolab 5's- if you're quoting US dollars of $14,500, that is 12000 Euro ,and 18,819 Aus.
The web site posts the current value and what the "listing price" average is.
The Beolab 5's have a value rating of $12000 Euro and a listing average of 6651 Euro( $8036 US).
So if you're looking at current value ,according to this,$14500 US would be a top price,and only you can decide if it's a fair price.
Hope this helps.If my sums are wrong , please check out the web page,to be sure .
regards
Noel.
Hi Matador43, Johan & Loureed5,
Thank you very much for your feedback. I am being extremely cautious since I will be investing multiple years of savings into this dream speaker. Your feedback has been insightful and watching the recommended video helped me understand the potential pitfalls/ maintenance of this speaker.
As a side note - I will be making a round trip of about 5000 miles to get these speakers so I'm now thinking that perhaps $12500 would be something more aligned to their value as well as allowing me to budget some for the trip. My partner who was supposed to be making this trip with me is not going to be able to. So new plans are in the works. Will keep you all posted.
Thanks again and stay safe and musically :)
Best regards,
I would start be asking which type (mk 1.2 or 3) and/or serialnumber it has. A common problem is that some parts have the “softtouch” paint. If the BL5 has been serviced, than sometimes the paint can be “scratched” at the lowest “neck” part. Serialnumber can be found at the bottom of the biggest dish.
Hello again,
I've just re- visited my calculations.
Currently average listing price is 6654 euros or 8031US.
Paying 12,500 US might still be a bit high ?
So here are the details of the units:
BeoLab 5 (1) -
Type No: 6883
Serial No: 17643250
Item No: 1680009
BeoLab 5 (2) -
Serial No: 17654006
BeoLab 5 (3) -
Serial No: 17669237
So,is the price of US 14,500 for 3x Beolab 5's? That's a different story !
My apologies - The price is for a pair. The third one is also available for additional payment.
Hey MusicalEars,
Thanks for the clarification, I can now do a different set of sums.
Continuing with the maths ( If I'm wrong please somebody tell me so ).
The asking price is $14,500 US for the pair.=$7250each . According to Beodex.io average listing price is $8132US,and the current estimated value is $7909 US.
So on the strength of these numbers , I would suggest that the "asking price " is pretty well spot on .
If you can get your offer of $12500 accepted ,I would say that's "a fair (great) price",
It probably depends on where or which continent the BL5 are sold?Here in The Netherlands prices for such mk1's lay around the €5.000-€7000,-, for a pair.To my opinion the asking price is way to high.
That is very helpful Noel. Thank you!
Also, would you know the generation of the BL5 based on the NS#?
Will keep all posted as this journey evolves.
Thanks again and Best regards,
NS# ?