The 5000C is the classic Ambassadeur most people picture: the standard-size round baitcaster with ball bearings supporting the spool.
The centrifugal brake blocks on the spool shaft are small and easy to lose during a careless service, and without them the reel backlashes on almost every cast.
Price range is INFERRED from completed eBay listings; verify against current sold comps before bidding.
The 5000C is the deepest market of the classic Ambassadeurs: 42 listings, only 2 for parts, with working reels clustered at $45–75 delivered. What moves the price is origin (Swedish plates with a dated foot versus later production), completeness (box, manual, wrench and oil push a set past $220) and service (the serviced gold TC is $100). Red flags: a parts reel priced within a dollar of a working one, and a $285 "NOS" set. Fishers should take the $45 free-shipping Swedish reel or the dated 1974 reel at $66; collectors wanting the boxed set should negotiate hard, since it's flagged priced high.
Delivered prices include shipping as eBay quoted it to a US address on Oct 1, 2026. Many sellers charge by distance, so your total may differ — eBay shows your exact total before you buy.
A black Swedish 5000C on Buy It Now at $45 with free shipping, from a 100% seller: the lowest total on a complete reel, at the bottom of the $45–75 band with no auction risk. It isn't described as tested, so ask whether both brake blocks are intact and it casts without overruns.
Vintage Ambassadeur Abu Garcia Sweden Black 5000C Baitcasting Reel
A Swedish 5000C dated 1974 in the title, $66.49 delivered with Best Offer from a 100% seller, inside the typical $45–75 band. You pay about $21 more than the cheapest reel for a known year; it isn't described as tested, so ask whether the drag and anti-reverse work and offer a little under ask.
1974 ABU Garcia Ambassadeur 5000C Black Baitcasting Fishing Reel Sweden #74
The only fully serviced 5000C listed, described as near mint and made in Sweden, at $99.99 delivered. It's the gold TC version rather than the standard reel, and you're paying about $25 over the band for zero bench work.
Abu Garcia Ambassadeur TC 5000 C Gold Near MINT Made In Sweden Fully Serviced
Sold as a parts reel at $44.07 delivered on Buy It Now. It's useful as a donor for side plates, gears or brake blocks, but it costs about the same as the $45 working Swedish reel, so confirm which parts are included and buy it only for parts you need.
Abu Ambassadeur 5000 c, parts #6
Snapshot captured — listings may have ended
Delivered prices include shipping as eBay quoted it to a US address on Oct 1, 2026. Many sellers charge by distance, so your total may differ — eBay shows your exact total before you buy.
UsedVintage Ambassadeur Abu Garcia Sweden Black 5000C Baitcasting Reel
$45.00 · free shipping
Black Swedish 5000C at $45 with free shipping, the bottom of the typical band on Buy It Now.
ccrispjr1016
100% positive from 78 ratings
Used1974 ABU Garcia Ambassadeur 5000C Black Baitcasting Fishing Reel Sweden #74
$59.99 + $6.50 shipping
This seller takes offers, and sellers often accept less than the asking price.
Fine if you might miss it? Send an offer first. Someone else can still buy it while you wait for a reply.
Want it for sure? Use Buy It Now.
Dated 1974 and Swedish, $66.49 delivered with Best Offer: fair for a late Swedish 5000C with a known year.
jeffersonstreetvintageestatesales
100% positive from 574 ratings
ServicedAbu Garcia Ambassadeur TC 5000 C Gold Near MINT Made In Sweden Fully Serviced
$89.00 + $10.99 shipping
Gold TC variant, fully serviced, $99.99 delivered. You're paying for ready-to-fish condition.
horsemangd
100% positive from 2.4K ratings
For partsAbu Ambassadeur 5000 c, parts #6
$38.00 + $6.07 shipping
Parts reel at $44.07 delivered, nearly the price of a working one. Check exactly which parts are included.
v--s--2
100% positive from 628 ratings
UsedAbu Garcia Ambassadeur 5000C Fishing Reel, Sweden, W BOX MANUAL WRENCH & OIL
$214.90 + $9.70 shipping
This seller takes offers, and sellers often accept less than the asking price.
Fine if you might miss it? Send an offer first. Someone else can still buy it while you wait for a reply.
Want it for sure? Use Buy It Now.
Complete with box, manual, wrench and oil, but $224.60 delivered is over three times a loose reel. Offer well below ask.
beatt001
100% positive from 1.8K ratings
New old stockVintage NOS ABU Garcia Ambassadeur 5000 C Baitcasting Reel Set Serial #7410
$269.99 + $14.95 shipping
This seller takes offers, and sellers often accept less than the asking price.
Fine if you might miss it? Send an offer first. Someone else can still buy it while you wait for a reply.
Want it for sure? Use Buy It Now.
NOS claim at $284.94 delivered. Verify the box, papers and an unmarked foot before paying new-old-stock money.
muzik0001
100% positive from 4K ratings
Prices and availability change daily. The full, current search on eBay shows every matching listing, including new ones since Oct 1, 2026.
See all current listings on eBay ⟶The 5000C is the classic Ambassadeur most people picture: the standard-size round baitcaster with ball bearings supporting the spool. The C stands for exactly that.
ABU began production in mid-1966 and launched the reel publicly in 1967, replacing the bushings of the earlier 5000 with ball bearings for a freer spool and longer casts, while keeping the standard gearing of a little over 3½-to-1, the star drag, the centrifugal brake and the worm-driven level wind. Frames changed from four screws to three in January 1968, and red is the classic colour, though black and other finishes were made too.
The reel was built in Svängsta, and Swedish production carried on for decades, well past the point around 1980 when ABU took over its bankrupt American importer and became Abu Garcia. Later and high-speed versions fish just as well but are worth less to collectors.
It is the most-listed Ambassadeur: our latest snapshot found more than 40 matching reels, with most working Swedish examples around $45 to $75 delivered and boxed, complete kits well above that.
