 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Roxann
Date: 2014-12-14 08:30
Is there a general rule of thumb regarding how much a clarinet will depreciate, assuming it is taken very good care of?
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Author: TomS
Date: 2014-12-14 09:56
Depends on brand and model. I sold one Buffet R13 for about what I paid for it new, 17 years previously ... The R13s hold their value well, unless really old, abused, worn out with bad looking wood.
Had an almost new Yamaha student line clarinet and I took a considerable loss when I unloaded it ...
I sometimes find older, but fundamentally mechanically sound clarinets like Noblets, Selmer Signets and Bundys for cheap, fix them up a little, play them for fun for a while and then maybe sell.
Tom
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Author: Paul Aviles
Date: 2014-12-14 14:46
The answer is NO.
Even more so if you are speaking of "insurance." I insured my hand made, top of the line Wurlitzers for what they were worth brand new when I bought them. About five years later, my standard insurance company wanted the standard depreciated value so that the 'payout' upon a loss would be much lower. I had to dump said company, and THAT could be a subject for a WHOLE thread of its own.
...............Paul Aviles
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Author: MSK
Date: 2014-12-14 17:46
I had a similar insurance experience to Paul Aviles when my student model marching clarinet was stolen out of my high school locker years ago. For insurance purposes, "replacement cost" is important.
As for resale: as a person who likes to troll that auction site (but is not an expert), it seems that professional wood clarinets depreciate less than plastic student models and that Buffet, Yamaha & Bliss student models depreciate less than other brands. I have yet to find the grail of an intact Yamaha 250 under $200, but there are plenty of Artley and Bundy dirt cheap.
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Author: Roxann
Date: 2014-12-14 18:33
Insuring my clarinet never occurred to me, but I imagine folks who play expensive, professional clarinets routinely insure them. Hmmm...something else to consider should I ever opt for a pro clarinet.
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Author: TomS
Date: 2014-12-15 03:25
If you love the clarinet and are really serious about playing clarinet and plan to continue indefinitely, I'd purchase a pro instrument as soon as you can afford it (without going hungry to make the payments). Almost everyone benefits from the best instruments, students to professionals. Go for it.
A young or inexperienced player won't appreciate ALL the fine points of a fine instrument, but those qualities will be apparent later on ...
However, if you aren't a working pro or really advanced student, I'd enlist the services of the best teacher that actually plays professionally, to help in your selection of an instrument.
Tom
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Author: Lelia Loban ★2017
Date: 2014-12-15 17:57
In my amateur experience as a flea market cockroach, the lowest of low-end plastic student clarinets (and other musical instruments) depreciate immediately to a fraction of their original prices. I've been warned by the repairman at a local music store, where I've done some trading, never to bring him any of the least expensive models of plastic clarinets to trade, because if he wanted them, he could get them for next to nothing, in bulk, at school clear-out auctions, or from parents trying to trade up.
He particularly warned me against the Chinese clarinets with the bright red plastic pads, which he can't (and wouldn't, anyway) buy at school auctions because the local school band teachers know better than to buy them for the schools. He says the teachers take care to warn parents against those extra-cheapies and that stocking them would damage his store's reputation. People who buy those clarinet-shaped objects new will find they're almost impossible to sell used at any price, even at yard sales.
If I were buying a new clarinet for a student, I'd stick to well-known brands and models with good reputations, sold by dealers in musical instruments, not from a discount department store offering the lowest prices on no-name brands. For myself, I'd buy the highest-quality instrument my budget could stand as long as that instrument suits me personally. I've followed the same rule with the used clarinets I've bought. Regardless of the resale value later on, right now I have to practice on this instrument and I don't want it frustrating me. I can frustrate myself enough without that kind of help!
Lelia
http://www.scoreexchange.com/profiles/Lelia_Loban
To hear the audio, click on the "Scorch Plug-In" box above the score.
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Author: BobD
Date: 2014-12-15 19:00
If you buy new then figure about the same as a new automobile.
Bob Draznik
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Author: John Peacock
Date: 2014-12-16 01:16
Initially, they seem pretty similar to cars: the price drops hugely the moment they're taken out of the showroom. From reputable sellers, the cost of used professional instruments that are just a few years old seems to be perhaps 65% of the new price for the same model (even with a full overhaul included). Obviously, you can get much lower prices on eBay if you're willing to take a risk (not a real risk, I'd say: if you don't like what you get, you can resell at little loss, but you might get an utter bargain).
In the longer term, quality instruments more than hold their cash value. To take a semi-random example, a top-quality Buffet would have cost 150 pounds in the UK in 1967, according to an old catalogue I have. Allowing for inflation, that's equivalent to 2400 pounds today, and a good condition instrument from that vintage would probably now set you back about 1200 pounds. So in real terms the value has halved (or hardly dropped at all following the initial loss on becoming a used instrument). But in cash terms the value has gone up an average of 4.4% per year over that period. Not the most spectacular investment, but less risky than the stock market.
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Author: pewd
Date: 2014-12-16 20:50
Search ebay completed listings, that will give you an idea.
Highly variable depending on brand/model
Bb R13 - depreciates to about 50-60% of the new price, then pretty much stays there, unless more than 20-25 years old. My 'rule of thumb', when parents or student ask, is it will go to about 50% and not much lower, if you take care of it and it doesn't have major damage or develop cracks.
E11's - they depreciate to about 20% of the new price, sometimes less. One can find great deals on e11's on eBay, IF you're real careful in selecting one and look at the pictures carefully.
Plastic and off brands - they can be had for just about nothing on eBay. .
- Paul Dods
Dallas, Texas
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