There are lots of places to buy musical instruments online, but is it a good idea? There are lots of things to consider when choosing which instrument to buy, and where to buy it is definitely one. Instruments are expensive, so you don’t want to be buying one without being sure what you’re doing. I’ve written down some things to think about when you’re deciding on the best way to buy a new instrument.
There are some good reasons to buy an instrument online, but you really need to know what you’re doing. You might test a new instrument in a shop and then buy the same model, also new online, usually with no problem. If you want to buy a secondhand instrument online, always ask to try it out first, and be very careful if it’s not an option.
There are two main categories of instrument you might want to buy online – new or secondhand. There is a big difference between buying a new instrument online and a secondhand one. Probably the most important difference is that you can’t guarantee the condition of a secondhand instrument will be as good as it claims to be online. If the instrument is new, it has to be in perfect condition, or you are entitled to a full refund.
Should I buy a new instrument online?
The first thing you need to decide is whether you should buy a new instrument or a secondhand one. Assuming you’ve decided to buy a new instrument, you need to think about where you’re going to get it from. It’s likely that you’ll be paying quite a bit if you’re buying a new instrument, so buying it without having enough information is not advisable.
If possible, you should definitely go to a music shop to try out some instruments. If you have a few specific instruments that you want to try, it should be easy enough to find a shop, or a couple of shops that stock them if they’re new instruments. This is a big advantage of new instruments over secondhand ones – the right secondhand one just has to turn up at the right time.
Let’s assume you’ve tried out a few instruments and decided on the one you want. If you’ve been to a music shop and got some good advice from the people that work there, you should consider buying the instrument from them, to support the business. If, however, you’ve tried the instrument but you suspect they aren’t giving you a good deal or there’s some other reason you don’t want to stick with them, you could try online.
It’s worth noting that some people believe there is a significant difference between two instruments that are exactly the same make and model. This could definitely have some truth to it – particularly for, say, a wooden instrument, as there is a lot of variation between two pieces of the same wood. However, the differences will be subtle and if you’re more of a beginner then it’s unlikely you’ll find it particularly noticeable or a problem.
Should I buy a used instrument online?
Buying used instruments is a much more subjective process than buying new instruments. This means it’s very important to be sure of what you’re buying before you rush into it. The most important thing is to be sure of the condition of the instrument you’re buying. This can be very tricky if you’re buying online. Most importantly, you should make sure the place you’re buying the instrument from can be trusted.
Buying a secondhand instrument from a music shop online can turn out ok. You could, for example, have tried a new version of the instrument and decided you really like it, but can’t afford to buy it new. Then you might want to consider getting a secondhand version of the same instrument. You can’t guarantee that you’ll like it, but at least if it’s from a legitimate music shop, it’s unlikely that they will be untrustworthy when telling you the condition of the instrument.
One of the more common places that people get caught out when buying instruments online is eBay. You might see something that seems like it’s a great bargain and order it, only to find that the seller either didn’t realise how bad the condition of the instrument was or was trying to pass it off as being in better condition than it was. This can then end up costing you a lot of money in repairs (if it’s even worth fixing), meaning you probably won’t have got yourself a good deal after all.
eBay can be a great place to buy instruments if you know what you’re looking for and are really careful about it. Sometimes you can get a bit of a bargain, but be careful about things that look too cheap, because they most likely are. Occasionally, the seller will have the instrument and not realise it’s value, but most will make the effort to find out how much it’s worth with something expensive like a musical instrument.
The most important thing you should do if you’re buying on eBay is to ask to try the instrument before you buy. It can be a good idea to ask this even if you don’t intend to actually try it out, as this can tell you whether the seller is legitimate or not. If they get a bit shifty when you ask to try it, it’s likely to be a bad move.
Another good tip is to know which models are good and which are not so good. You should never buy an instrument that’s a model you’ve never heard of. If there’s something that sounds like a good deal that you’ve never heard of, take some time to research it first. If you can, ask someone you know and can trust to be honest with you about whether or not something is a good deal.
General tips for buying musical instruments online
It’s also important to take your time when buying any musical instrument, particularly online. You should make sure you do plenty of research. One of the first things to do is decide what your budget is. If you start trying instruments before you decide on your budget, it’s likely that you’ll end up liking one that’s out of your price range, as it’s definitely true to some extent that the more you spend, the better the instrument, although there’s definitely a lot of personal preference involved as well.
Don’t try too hard to get a secondhand instrument over a new one to save money. If you do end up liking an instrument that’s out of your price range, you should be careful about trying to find a secondhand version of the same thing. For a start, you might end up not liking the secondhand instrument as much, or the quality of the instrument might be compromised to the point where a cheaper new one would be better for you. Nothing beats trying as many as you can in your price range.
When considering the cost of the instrument, one thing you should think about is what’s included in the purchase. Single reed instruments have a separate mouthpiece and this may or may not be included with the instrument you buy. If you buy a new instrument, it will probably come with a very standard cheap mouthpiece. If you buy a secondhand one, you might get lucky and get a great mouthpiece included for the same price so watch out for this sort of thing.
Summary
To sum up this post, there are situations where buying a musical instrument online can be fine, but it can also be a bad idea if you haven’t done your research properly. You should always aim to try the instrument you want to buy, as even the same make and model could have some variation and you might have a preference for one over the other. Don’t assume you’d prefer a secondhand version of an instrument you’ve tried new to lower spec new model, as this is not always the case.