Mr. Tawny,

Thank you for the information. My sister is the executrix of the estate
and I will provide your information to her. I myself know just enough
to know that these pieces are quite valuable. And FWIW, Sotheby's has
recommended to us exactly what you proposed below. We just wanted these
pieces to stay in the US if that's possible.

As for those concerned about the "legitimacy" of this offer, perhaps I
was not clear enough specifying our terms: No money changes hands until
the buyer has opened and inspected the merchandise. Brinks delivers the
goods, you open the boxes, inspect the goods, and THEN you pay us, with
all the attorneys, notary, etc. present. I don't think Dr. Okasa Motubu
from Lagos would ever agree to terms like this :-)

We are only requesting the background information because we only wish
to deal with serious buyers and do not wish to waste our time with "tire
kickers." And the value of the merchandise is lessened once the boxes
are opened, hence we want to ensure we are dealing with a serious buyer
with the means to execute the purchase.

And yes, I am using an anonymous email service: I value my privacy and
there are a very few somewhat unbalanced individuals out there, some of
who even post in this and some of the other audio newsgroups. I do not
wish to engage them in any verbal jousting.

Stereophile, a music lover, not the magazine.

Mr. Tawny the talking tiger wrote:
If Sotheby's is willing to auction it in Asia for those prices, I would
suggest doing so. For pieces of that caliber, they often have lower seller
fees and charge a buyers premium. Those are impressive pieces, but if you
expect to get ABSOLUTE top dollar, without giving up the percentage, you
need to put out a bit of real effort. You need to set up a decent web site
with pictures of the pieces, and all your documentation. I would also
engage a selling agent for a set fee of the selling price (seems like 6%
would be fair, because this is the value of a real estate deal). There are
several reputable gentleman here, or do a google and find someone in your
own neighborhood.

But since you refuse to acknowledge who you are, and you use a "free"
, it does smell more than a little "fishy".