Buying on Ebay

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Buying Musical Instruments

2001

We are looking for a standard clarinet for my daughter, and I am very confused about the price differences between ebay.com and the local music stores. For example a Le Blanc Plus brand new clarinet costs around $2000 at the music store, but the starting bid at ebay is only $300. Anyone recommend buying instruments from ebay? Thank you.

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I haven't bought any clarinets but I've bought ~30 guitars from ebay. I've also found that the prices people are asking (and the prices I've paid) don't correspond to those in a standard retail store. I think it's because some people are just getting rid of stuff and others sell stuff on ebay as a business.

If you can get a $2000 clarinet for $300, and if there's nothing wrong with the clarinet, then I'd say go for it. But, the last one is a big if. Unless you know a lot about clarinets you need to be very careful. You'd definately need some kind of examination period during which you can get your money back. Whether you can get this or not depends on the seller, but you can always ask. Jon

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You might want to check out this month's issue of Consumer Reports. They have an extensive article about buying from on-line auctions, including tips to avoid getting ripped off. Helena