Show me the money!

Bonsai Nut

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Tonight I'm hanging out on bidders.jp and someone is posting some nice bonsai trees! Check these babies out:

Starting at the top, for $2K even we have this powerful black pine. People would die for this pine in the U.S. for only $2K.

biddersbpine1.jpg


biddersbpine2.jpg


Next, for $1280 we have this gianormous five needle pine. Look at that ramification! Once again, seems like a steal for $1280, as long as you have someone to help carry it around.

bidderswpine1.jpg


bidderswpine2.jpg


More in the mood for shohin? This little rough bark maple had me fooled. Looking at the first photo I thought it would be 24" or so tall. Beautiful tree, but not sure it is worth $600 (especially compared to the trees above).

biddersmaple1.jpg


biddersmaple2.jpg


And another shohin. This one for $480. Not a bad little tree - especially since they say there are no scars whatsoever. However I think this tree would have a hard time selling in the U.S. for that amount (?)

biddersbpine3.jpg


biddersbpine4.jpg


It seems like big trees are going cheap in Japan! The unfortunate thing is that it would be hard to slip one of these under your jacket on the plane :)
 

Smoke

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More in the mood for shohin? This little rough bark maple had me fooled. Looking at the first photo I thought it would be 24" or so tall. Beautiful tree, but not sure it is worth $600 (especially compared to the trees above).

And another shohin. This one for $480. Not a bad little tree - especially since they say there are no scars whatsoever. However I think this tree would have a hard time selling in the U.S. for that amount (?)

Being in Orange County I would think you would know prices of stock down there fairly well. I will tell you that Ted Matson or Larry Ragle would scarf up that maple at that price in a heartbeat. So would I but I used their names since you may know who they are and might not give a poop who Smoke is. As far as the Pine, that is far below what most Shohin collectors here in the states would pay. I would buy that in a minute and would have to probably fight off quite a few buyers in the process. It may behoove you to visit next years Shohin seminar in Santa Nella if you wish to see a feeding frenzy when someone with good stuff shows up. These guys are like pirahna ready to strip a vendor of their goods in seconds.

A pine with a trunk like that and branches that thick andwell ramified is very rare in the states. I would think that a pine like that would easily bring over a thousand in a live auction. Vicky from House of Bonsai brought 5 pines like this, but not quite as thick, but very well proportioned from China that sold in the first five minutes she rolled back the sheet on her table in the GSBF convention in Fresno in 2003. I know, I was one of the guys standing there five minutes too late kicking myself in the ass after seeing those pines walk away at less than 500.00 a piece.

Cheers, Smoke
 

Bonsai Nut

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Shows what I know. I haven't been to a shohin show in years - I think my last one was back in '98. I probably need to go to a few (but leave my checkbook at home). What you are describing reminds me of a koi show I go to each year. Because I often show koi I can get into the show an hour before everyone else and check out the thousands of fish they bring in for the show each year. It is amazing how fast an hour goes by when you see hundreds of people huddled outside a chain-link fence waiting to charge the koi tanks. I am sweating bullets as I try to decide which fish to buy - plus they are all moving around and you see a good one then he swims away and then you can't find him again. I swear I could toss a channel catfish into one of the tanks and it would get bought up before I had a chance to turn around :)
 

Graydon

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Sweet. I'm with Smoke on this. Every one of those prices are fair and I could see every one of them fetching more than that here in the States.

The first JBP is a stunner but the standout is the maple. What a tree.

I can't make heads or tails of anything on the bidders.jp site. I get tired of clicking on every link to find bonsai. Thanks for posting such fine examples with the prices. I guess a guy can dream...
 

Bonsai Nut

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I can't make heads or tails of anything on the bidders.jp site..

The box at the top of the page is the search box. Just type in "盆栽" in the seach box and hit the button next to it. Then, all you have to do is sort by price by pressing the header at the top of the column with all the prices in it. First press and it ranks from low price to high, second press it ranks from high price to low. Then you have all the really expensive bonsai at the top of the page :)

P.S. Exchange rate is currently about 119 yen to the dollar.
 

Graydon

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The box at the top of the page is the search box. Just type in "??" in the seach box and hit the button next to it. Then, all you have to do is sort by price by pressing the header at the top of the column with all the prices in it. First press and it ranks from low price to high, second press it ranks from high price to low. Then you have all the really expensive bonsai at the top of the page :)

P.S. Exchange rate is currently about 119 yen to the dollar.

Thanks - but I don't have keys that look like that on my computer...? I know, copy and paste the text.

So how are you so literate in Japanese? I have considered trying to learn somehow but I'm getting kind of old to learn stuff like that. Perhaps spoken language using that Rosetta Stone software but written... ouch!
 

Bonsai Nut

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So how are you so literate in Japanese?

In a prior life I was part-owner of a computer game company. We were very closely related to some Japanese companies and I tried to make myself familiar with culture and language. I am not at all fluent - but "not totally ignorant" might be a better term. :)
 
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