Being an Ovation owner...I'm kind of partial to them...I have small hands and its relatively thin neck fits well into them....Ovations are cheap enough that if you scratch them it's no major catastrophe, yet imbued with enough quality to keep you interested and motivated. The sound quality is good. Plus, like 'Spaw says, they're rugged....mine has been shipped from 95 degree jungle heat to -21 January in Colorado and the only thing it suffered was a crack in the laminated finish.... I've had my "entry level" Ovation for 15 years and still haven't outgrown it....but then again, I'm not a good guitar player either. The round back causes problems if you are "round" yourself, because the guitar wants to slip out of your lap....but Ovations are a good enough guitar to me that that is in itself an incentive to control my weight...

I also own an Epiphone (electric, however) and for a midpriced guitar (which is $400-800 U.S. in my book) I am very satisfied. The neck is its most redeeming feature...the tuning system its worst. The tuning pegs seem to have a lot of "play" or slack, in them.

If it were me, then, I'd bid on the Eppy or the Ovation....the prices on either don't sound too bad to me.

Happy bidding...Neil