 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: GoatTnder
Date: 2005-04-27 07:54
I recently purchased a bass clarinet on ebay. It's a vintage Conn, and in pretty good condition. So, it got me thinking... everyone always shares their horror stories about ebay. How about some success stories. Find anything for cheap? Find anything that just worked great for you? Any good people to work with?
As for me, I've purchased smaller things before, but this was the first instrument. I was a little concerned, but it all seems to have turned out fine. The horn is exactly as described, and I didn't find any hidden damage to it. Whether or not this is a keeper is still in the air, but finding out should be fun.
Anyone else?
Andres Cabrera
South Bay Wind Ensemble
sbwe@sbmusic.org
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Author: BobD
Date: 2005-04-27 12:33
No bad experiences in over 100 transactions.
Bob Draznik
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Author: CPW
Date: 2005-04-27 13:00
As they say on Wall Street: "Gains outdid losers on today's (ebay's) stock market."
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Author: Brenda Siewert
Date: 2005-04-27 13:57
I've had over 700 successful transactions on eBay. Only a couple of those were disappointing. On most where the item wasn't what I expected I've been able to turn around and sell it again on eBay and state clearly what the problem was so the next owner wasn't surprised. I just broke even on a clarinet that needed pads very badly--in fact, I sold it to a fellow bboarder. The pads were beyond my ability to take care of, but the new owner is learning to repad and repair instruments--perfect fit.
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Author: Merlin
Date: 2005-04-27 14:26
My Selmer Paris Alto Clarinet was purchased on ebay for $200 USD. I could see from the pics that it was physically sound, but definitely needed repadding/corking and a new case.
I paid $50 CDN for a NOS case, and had my repair tech redo the horn. He even buffed the nickel keys up quite nicely. I put about $400 CDN into the work on the horn. Got two mouthpieces - a Hite and a Vandoren.
Total outlay for a really nice alto - about $900 CDN. An incredible deal, given the price of a brand new alto.
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Author: contragirl
Date: 2005-04-27 15:30
Bought a chipped "glass mouthpiece" from someone on ebay for $5, got it, it was an O'Brien (as I suspected). Got the chip fixed, didn't really like how it played for myself, but resold it for $60. (I offered to give my chip fixer $$ after that, but he declined. What a nice man!;) )
I had bought an old Noblet alto cl. for $300, in really crappy shape. Then had it overhauled for $275 and it played awesome. I eventually got tired of playing it all the time and resold it for about the same as cost and repair ($550).
:) I am an ebay addict. weeee
--Contragirl
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Author: ron b
Date: 2005-04-27 15:51
My experiences have been 99.8% good and the couple of marginally annoying sellers are not worth remembering. Made a couple of contacts I still do business with as an eBay buyer. My Bundy alto and bass clarinets were both in very good conditiion and playable 'as-is' when they arrived on my doorstep. I have purchased reeds, clarinets, saxophones, flutes, trumpets, hot wheels (my son's interest) and sheet music. It's like visiting yard sales without spending money for gas 
- r![[cool]](http://test.woodwind.org/clarinet/BBoard/smileys/cool.gif) n b -
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Author: Brenda Siewert
Date: 2005-04-27 15:55
Well, the downside is the potential for loss of $$. I've ended up many times selling stuff below my cost. But, that's the nature of the free enterprise system in the US.
I've also learned a lot about instruments from the time I started out in 1999 buying and selling on eBay and met lots and lots of great clarinet friends (some who frequent this board).
I remember what it used to be like when you had a used instrument and you needed to sell it--you'd get almost nothing for it in a trade or you could run an ad in the local newspaper and get 10 cents on the dollar. AND, when you went to the local music store you'd pay through the nose for a new one. Then the internet came along. Local music stores don't care much for it--but my musician friends are excited that there is an avenue for them to sell mouthpieces, barrels and instruments.
However, again I'll caution people not to buy from eBay or other internet sellers with bad reputations. Check out the feedback and contact the seller with questions. If you're about to plunk down big $$s for an instrument, give them a call if you're concerned. And, as a seller you have to watch for the ever-present scam artist who wants to send you more money than the item costs and have you do a "wire transfer" into his account for the overage.
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Author: dieter
Date: 2005-04-27 17:12
Got my Concerto today I bought on ebay for $1175. I'm delighted so far! I believe this is quite a success story :-)
cheers,
Dieter
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Author: kal
Date: 2005-04-27 22:28
I just bought a beautiful Hawkes & Sons simple system on the 'Bay for roughly $80 US. It arrived today. Short of needing new corks, a few new pads, and a good cleaning, the horn is in damn fine shape for its age. It's also brown - a dark, rich chocolate brown. Not sure if it's unstained grenadilla or really dark rosewood. It feels very light to me, but then it does have about half the keywork I'm used to. I've always had good luck on eBay, but I suppose this is my greatest "steal".
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Author: diz
Date: 2005-04-28 00:39
I personally wouldn't use ebay for "major" purchases (i.e. over $500). But that's just me.
Without music, the world would be grey, very grey.
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Author: ohsuzan
Date: 2005-04-28 01:37
<<I personally wouldn't use ebay for "major" purchases (i.e. over $500). But that's just me.>>
It also depends on what your alternatives are.
I've bought several clarinets and three oboes on Ebay -- one high-end clarinet, and one high-end oboe, as well as several others ranging from the sublime to the ridiculous.
Before I bought my best oboe, I looked on a lot of other sites, and I specifically looked for places within a day's drive where I could visit and try out a variety high end oboes. Guess what? They don't exist. Ebay makes it possible for me to get my hands on instruments I could otherwise only dream of finding.
I was able to arrange to have the upscale clarinet and oboe sent on approval. The oboe seller didn't even ask for a deposit (what trust!). But we had had a really good correspondence, and had a good "feel" about each other. That was true with the student oboe I bought, too.
There are definitely scammers on Ebay. There is one particular off-shore guy who shows up a couple of times a month listing hundreds and hundreds of high-end instruments at "private auction" starting at $1.00. Always a different name, fictitious location, listed in the wrong category, and always shown as a new member with zero feedback. Most recently, he listed 474 musical instruments in the "health products" category. Common sense should tell you that this guy is a crock.
But with a little judicious skepticism, I think Ebay is a great place to buy musical items.
Susan
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Author: Alseg
Date: 2005-04-28 01:40
I got a Vintage Buffet c. 1936 that is awesome....it was the seller's personal horn and he had to give up playing due to a hand problem.
It was a bargain. Didnt need any work.
An R13 from 1960s that I purchased was a good horn, but needed some setting up and unbending of keys and the crows foot. The seller knew that work was needed and specified the problems. A bargain?...not quite, but no major loss since it was priced accordingly.
The best thing is that IF you are knowledgeable, you can come up with items that are hard to find, like tenon cork cutters or spare case latches and handles.
Former creator of CUSTOM CLARINET TUNING BARRELS by DR. ALLAN SEGAL
-Where the Sound Matters Most(tm)-
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Author: Frodo
Date: 2005-04-28 06:40
I live outside the US and ebay makes it possible for people like me to shop there without having to travel. I bought a used but excellent Leblanc Normandy (wood) from ebay last year much cheaper than the plastic model Armstrong I bought brand-new locally. This plastic horn was also good but no match for the Leblanc. The only Leblanc's available locally are brand new and would have cost me a small fortune. Alas there are no used clarinets for sale where I live. The seller was very prompt. I got it within a few days after paying for it and this is an overseas/international purchase. Also bought a used/overhauled Vito 7166 from the same seller. The same experience. No problems with both instruments so far. I’ve made a few other smaller purchases since then.
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Author: Markael
Date: 2005-04-28 11:12
"There is one particular off-shore guy who shows up a couple of times a month..."
Did he start that boys band down in River City Iowa?
Just wait till the ewe-nee-farms come in!
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Author: Bob Phillips
Date: 2005-04-28 14:23
How about eBay Failure stories?
I bought a student-grade Selmer Bb on eBay, paying about $30 for it. It is a very servicable, and I can perform on it in a pinch. It even forced me to try to re-learn how to work without a left hand Eb and no articulated G#.
On the other hand, greed excacerbated by stupidity caused me to buy a (as yet undelivered) Rosewood LeBlanc. I didn't open the detail photos, it looks like I've got a second Albert system (in Bb? in C? in D?) instrument that might make a good table lamp. Who knows, maybe I'll play some Swiss polkas with it.
Bob Phillips
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Author: Bill
Date: 2005-04-28 20:10
Kal - contact me if you ever wish to discuss Hawkes & Sons clarinets. I have two (both in need of refurbishment - so - no, I've actually never played one!) and I know almost no one who is excited about them.
Bill
october.1958@verizon.net
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Author: Ralph G
Date: 2005-04-28 20:23
Does this count? A Leblanc LL A clarinet failed to meet the reserve, so I contacted the seller and asked what he wanted. Turned out he was a repair tech who knew his stuff, and he quoted a very good price. So I got it. It's been a good horn, and to this day I still haven't actually bought (or sold) anything on eBay.
________________
Artistic talent is a gift from God and whoever discovers it in himself has a certain obligation: to know that he cannot waste this talent, but must develop it.
- Pope John Paul II
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Author: David
Date: 2005-04-28 22:28
I've had a Dolnet Tenor sax for years, and love the big velvet fog sound, even with some frankly bizarre tuning quirks... Still, if you're listening, you compensate.
Now and then, I stick the word into the search box out of curiosity.
One day there was a Tenor for sale, with a tiny footnote that the seller had an Alto, you know,...if anyone was interested maybe...
Straight on the blower, scooted round to the man's house and bought it. A stunner, note perfect tuning top to bottom, a late 1940s serial number and of course, The Weight. You'd think lead would dent too easily... Still, I shouldn't have been surprised after whimpering under the weight of the tenor all these years.
Best of all, it perfectly matched the Tenor's Bel Air M70 Hexagonal design.
(And, as an aside, a local concert band I play in was given a Dolnet Baritone as a gift from a German town band. The German town is twinned with this particular district of London, England. I'd have put the chances of finding three Dolnets in the one place as "slim to none.")
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Author: Steve B.
Date: 2005-04-29 14:14
Well I've got 2 success stories.
#1 - A mint condition Buffet B-12 that I picked up for $150
#2 - A beautiful like new Buffet Festival fully Brannenized that I got for the
price of a new R13. The seller was cpaok who I highly recommend for his honesty and good service.
Steve
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Author: Mike Blinn
Date: 2005-04-29 15:30
My two eBay success stories:
1) A brand-new Leblanc LX, , in factory wrapping, for eight hundred dollars. In the 1990's, this was one of the top artist models in the Leblanc line. This is a wonderful clarinet.
2) A Vito (Leblanc) Resotone Bass clarinet, slightly used but looking new, for $500. Add $40 for shipping, $25 for my tech's adjustments, $20 for a Rover ligature and $60 for a new Woodwind Company mouthpiece. Total: $645.
Shop carefully and do not overbid. I bid on ten different bass clarinets before this one. I lost on all of them. Good thing.
Mike Blinn
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Author: jack
Date: 2005-04-29 21:53
Well about five minutes ago I "won" an ebay auction for a Selmer Rosewood Contrabass Clarinet for $2225.00. If it in as good condition as described it will be my second ebay success story. The first was a Selmer Mark VI Tenor Sax for $2500.00. I purchased a one year old Buffet low C Bass Clarinet of this Clarinet Board about eight months ago for $4250, Brannenized it (they are terrific people too), and have used it regularly in several week long engagements.
Jack
"To err is human, to lie about it is even more human".
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Author: BobD
Date: 2005-04-30 12:25
Just sold my table saw....only one day on eBay, for pick up only....to a guy in the next town.
Bob Draznik
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Author: DH818
Date: 2005-05-01 02:32
My best buy lately was a King Marigaux 355T for $140...in perfect condition, even had the warranty card in the case and it's not for sale. My daughter traded her E11 for it...
Donald C Hinson
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Author: Cindy
Date: 2005-05-01 06:15
All I've bought on e-bay was an old beat up clarinet for $15 that I used to learn to repad clarinets. Wasn't any better than I expected it to be, but it worked for what I wanted it for!
As for selling, I have only sold my double clarinet case, and the man i sold it to was polite and understanding beyond belief for my fumbles learning to use paypal and weirdness with shipping, and we had many friendly e-mails regarding the transaction. On top of that, I sold my case for over twice what I expected for it, so that was cool too!
So, yeah, I'd say working with that guy was definitely a success story!
So many instruments to play........so little time to play them!
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Author: rc_clarinetlady
Date: 2005-05-01 06:44
I bought both A clarinets on EBay. I didn't like the Selmer A for me as much as I like a Buffet so I'm going to sell it. I found a Buffet R13 A that was advertised in good condition with no cracks, chips or nicks. I bought it and it does have wonderful intonation and sound. Beautiful clarinet. It was rather dirty and needs pads so I was somewhat disappointed in the ad.
I then had my first "bad" experience................ I found a big nick in a tone hole in the right hand first finger hole. Couldn't believe it. Someone had stuck some black putty stuff in there to hide it too. I contacted the seller and he was actually great. He offered a complete refund to me or to repair it himself or to pay me back after I had it repaired. All were winning situations for me and I settled down. I went and had it professionally filled with grenadilla dust and glue for about $20 and then just left the subject alone. He apologized for it being so dirty too. I guess I feel like we take some risk by buying things on EBay and have some responsibility in the end results we get.
Anyway, a bad situation that could have gotten much worse actually turned out pretty good and I ended up with a wonderful A clarinet with divine sound and intonation. .........Rebecca
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Author: stevensfo
Date: 2005-05-01 07:32
>>There are definitely scammers on Ebay.
Well, I'm not sure if I've just found one. I've been buying instruments and accessories from the USA, Britain, France and Italy and never had a problem.
I've just won a bid for a beautiful Couesnon clarinet from a large Ebay store: iSOLD It, Federal Way , Washington
I've sent approx 10 emails via ebay and directly to them asking for the total cost so I can pay. The strange thing is, they say that they ship internationally, yet their FAQs say the opposite!
So far nothing apart from a few automatically generated emails.
Then yesterday, I got another auto-email saying that if I didn't pay in 4 days, I'd lose the item.
The only thing I can think of is to call or fax them tomorrow from work and/or pay for the item and let them sort out the postage costs.
Oh well, steep learning curve!
Steve
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Author: Mark Charette
Date: 2005-05-01 13:34
We'll close this one out for a while since it could easily be an unending thread.
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The Clarinet Pages
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