Dear RFS community,

Recorders for Sale will celebrate its 10th anniversary in 2025, and over the years, it has grown significantly, bringing many changes along the way. This means I need to take some time to review how Recorders for Sale operates, ensure everything is clearly explained, keep the project sustainable, and reassess Patreon’s role so it aligns as closely as possible with how the website actually functions.

When I first launched Patreon, I was only managing the main website, and new listings came in at a much lower rate than they do now. Patreon provided an additional way to fund the project, but it also added more work, requiring duplicate posts and updates across two platforms. However, the biggest change has come from the sheer growth of the website itself: in these 10 years, and up to today, I’ve published an astonishing 712 instrument listings. As a result, the search system became unmanageable, with available instruments mixed in with sold ones.

The current solution has been to move all sold instruments to a new website which functions as a separate section within the main website (https://recordersforsale.com/sold). This minimizes confusion for visitors and keeps sold instruments separate. As it stands, this archive now contains 562 sold instruments (and counting), while the main website lists 155 currently available instrumentsm, with more being added regularly.

On one hand, this has been a huge improvement for users: now, https://recordersforsale.com only displays available instruments, and searches or category filters return only active listings. On the other hand, it has significantly increased my workload. To put it simply, the number of steps required to manage a listing has tripled, adding extra server costs and yet another website to maintain.

At some point, I need to revisit Patreon’s tiers and its core purpose. The original goal —funding free listings with €100/month from Patreon members— has become less relevant. Over the years it took to reach this funding milestone, the workload to maintain the project has grown substantially, yet the listing price remains the same as when I launched the site a decade ago.

For now, I’d like to clarify a few things for new Patreon members and first-time visitors, many of whom contact me because they’re confused by the three different websites. This is another sign that, while the current model works for those familiar with the project, it needs to be updated to better serve newcomers.

Below, you’ll find some key explanations about how things currently work:

The main source of information remains our website: https://recordersforsale.com/. All instruments listed there are available, as confirmed by the contact form at the end of each listing, which allows you to reach out directly to the owner.

When an instrument is sold, it moves to the “sold” section (https://recordersforsale.com/sold), and the contact form is replaced with a notice indicating its sale.

As a Patreon member, you have an exclusive benefit: you can contact instrument owners two days before the general public. Listings appear simultaneously on Patreon and the main website, but for the first 48 hours, the contact form is only accessible to Patreon members via the main site (e.g., https://recordersforsale.com/alto-li-virghi-ganassi/), where a button will direct you to the form through your Patreon account. At the time of writing, all listings are publicly accessible since they are over two days old.

For everyone else, I ask for a little patience. I’m currently extremely busy finishing my doctoral thesis, and I may not have the time or calm to make all the updates I’d like in the coming months.

Thank you all for your support!

Best,

Vicente