Should I wait to sell my flute?

[musicgeek]

Hi all,

I purchased a new flute and am now ready to sell my Pearl Maesta Pristine. But I have noticed that it has gone up in price, quite substantially, from when I purchased it a couple of years ago. So my question: Would it be wise to hang on to it? Will I be able to get more money for it in a couple/few years? Right now, I'm hoping to get what I paid for it, which is good too.

Any advice?

Thanks!

[dogster]

The pearl flutes do not have a great resale value so you would not get the full value of it as its a used flute .So now it being over 10,000 for a new one maybe you could sell it for 6500 - 8000 at the most .

Doug

[fluteguy18]

Generally a flute resells for roughly 80% of its current replacement value MINUS any damage and necessary adjustments/maintenance needed. So if it was worth $10,000 the most you could realistically ask for it is $8k if it had been recently serviced by a professional technician with no cosmetic flaws or unattended mechanical problems.

[flutego12]

Generally a flute resells for roughly 80% of its current replacement value MINUS any damage and necessary adjustments/maintenance needed. So if it was worth $10,000 the most you could realistically ask for it is $8k if it had been recently serviced by a professional technician with no cosmetic flaws or unattended mechanical problems.

when you say a flute resells for approx 80pc of its CRV, within what sort of time frame did you place that in?

[fluteguy18]

Almost immediately. I mean... if it's only a few months old and it's in perfect condition and has been looked over by a tech you could possibly get 90% of CRV. Maybe. Generally a consumer expects to save at least 20% if an item is 'used.' Take cars for example. It's the same principle. Once you drive it off the lot, it loses a lot of value.

Even when a flute has been sent out on trial so many times it gets discounted because it's been lightly used even though it hasn't ever had an owner beyond the dealer.

[flutego12]

Almost immediately. I mean... if it's only a few months old and it's in perfect condition and has been looked over by a tech you could possibly get 90% of CRV. Maybe. Generally a consumer expects to save at least 20% if an item is 'used.' Take cars for example. It's the same principle. Once you drive it off the lot, it loses a lot of value.

Even when a flute has been sent out on trial so many times it gets discounted because it's been lightly used even though it hasn't ever had an owner beyond the dealer.

That's a great piece of insight. So when you ask for a discount, the retailer would then flush out one that's been back from trials?

What about a flute that is, say:
3yo
5yo
10y
13yo?

[fluteguy18]

It's all about condition and the brand and make involved on a case by case basis. A 20 year old Bundy isn't worth very much. A 20 year old Powell? A different story.

Without seeing the instrument in person I can't really give any more advice.

[Sparklingorion]

Hi! Any idea where I can sell my Yamaha YFL 361 Flute? Though I bought it with the intention to learn how to play the flute years back, I never really got to signing up for lessons with a school. Therefore I've only used it a couple of times to try on the fingering chart. Some light servicing and polishing should be able to bring it back to it's former glory.