Using an online auction site such as eBay may seem like a great idea to a parent that wants to give their child the chance to play in the school band or orchestra yet does not want to pay premium prices for the instrument.  Flutes, Clarinets, Trumpets, Trombones, Drums, and many more instruments can be purchased via online auctions at a fraction of what a person would pay in a store.  Are these auction deals really the best way to go though?  This article tells how to make sure to get a good deal on a good quality instrument when buying via eBay or other auction sites.

Buying An Instrument On eBay

 When doing a search on eBay for a musical instrument there are several very important things to consider.  First among them is the reputation of the seller.  Stay away from sellers with very low reputation ratings and instead concentrate on sellers that Ebay denotes as being Power Sellers.  Ebay Power Sellers have very high reputation ratings and do a great deal of business on the site.  People with low ratings are not necessarily bad to do business with (they may simply be new to the auction business) but the risk of being scammed in an instrument purchase on Ebay goes down significantly when using highly rated sellers.

Second, be certain that any potential musical instrument for a beginning band student is a good, high quality instrument.  Look for brand names that have withstood the test of time such as Olds, Yamaha, Ludwig, Selmer, and others.  The best way to search for a specific instrument is to go in knowing a bit about what is being sold in local music stores.  It is always a danger to buy an instrument from a manufacturer that cannot be repaired easily by the local repair shop.  The Ebay market is flooded with cheap musical instruments that are very difficult to get repairs for due to the difficulty in finding replacement parts.  Always research a brand name and instrument model before making a bid on Ebay for it.

Getting The Best Deal On A Musical Instrument

If the final decision is made to go ahead and bid on an instrument being listed on Ebay there is always the possibility that the bid will be outbid by another buyer at the last moment.  There are some tools that individuals can use to avoid this sniping of Ebay auctions, and if necessary, snipe the auction away from others instead.  One of these Ebay auction tools is known as Auction Tamer.  This program allows a user to track their auctions and keep a close eye on how they are progressing. Use it to