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I see a deal for a new-in-box Analog Keys at $1400 USD. Is that a fair price?

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I dunno, I see decent looking ones going for less than $700 second hand, don’t personally see any reason to pay much over $1000 for one, even if it is NOS.

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If you will keep it in the box until the day that a NOS Analog Keys is actually worth $1400 on the collectors market then I see no problem with the price. It will always be in better condition than any item which has been previously used.

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yeah that’s the going rate these days. I wouldn’t pay more than $800 shipped.

$1400 for a NOS one? I wouldn’t do it. but I’m sure someone eventually will. NOS mainly just gives you the warm-tinglies of “it’ll probably last longer.” but at that price… buy two used ones :upside_down_face:

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I would agree with others in this forum – unless you’re specifically looking at something as a collector’s item, or it’s really rare, it doesn’t make sense to pay a premium for N.O.S. when excellent/mint versions are available on the used market.

However, if you have your heart set on the idea of a “never touched” Analog Keys, you can find one even cheaper ($1349) at Analogue Haven (no affiliation, I just keep my eye peeled for interesting old gear):

https://www.analoguehaven.com/elektron/analog-keys/

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Can anything really be NOS nowadays?

I’ve bought three things this year that were advertised as NNS that were clearly 30 day returns, in one case probably been sold more than once before.

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I think that depends on the integrity of the retailer.

I’ve recently made a number of N.O.S. purchases of discontinued eurorack modules (older intellijel stuff, mutable instruments) from Analogue Haven, Big City Music, and Detroit Modular. In all three cases what I purchased was definitely unused/unopened.

If a retailer advertised something as N.O.S. that was clearly a return or used item I’d demand a return/refund and they’d lose my business.

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How badly do you want an AK, and how badly do you want a perfectly mint one?

You should be able to get a MK1 A4 for around USD$600 or so. AKs seem to sell for $700-$900 in good shape. Mine came with a scratched Page/Scale key, but I suspect I could get a replacement key from Elektron for cheap or free. If not, doesn’t matter much to me.

For $1400 I personally would rather have an AK and an A4mk1 in good condition rather than just a super mint AK. But I also see a bit of wear on a synth as a sign that the synth was actually put to good use rather than sitting in a collector’s closet.

I don’t think we can tell you the right answer, this is really a situation where personal preference and personal finances should show you the way.

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There is one on Craigslist here in Seattle area for just under 1K … tempting for sure.