Buying a flute online?

[berglind]

Hi, I'm new to this board, I'm trying to find information about buying flutes online, I've used the search here but didn't find anything (or it didn't work).

I am looking to buy a new flute, I am a clarinet player and teach flute (and other woodwind-instruments, because that's how we roll in Iceland). I've been playing on an old Artley I bought on ebay for 100 dollars, which is ok for playing with students, but now I'm getting more and more paying gigs, and my Artley just doesn't cut it, so I've been borrowing a flute from one of my students when I play those gigs.

The music store selection here in Iceland is..well, there are two shops in the country that sell flutes, both have poor selection and are crazy expensive, so I've been thinking about buying a flute online.
I've been looking at justflutes.com, and found a Pearl flute in my price range, which I quite like (description, reviews and demos on youtube), the PF-665 with a forza headjoint.
But I'm really reluctant to actually buy an instrument without testing it first. I would never buy a clarinet without trying multiple instruments of the same model.

As you can probably read from this, I don't have so much experience with buying flutes, but I'm hoping they're maybe not so individually different as clarinets are?
I know it's always a better option to try out the instrument before you buy it, but in my case I have three options
1. Buy a flute in a music shop here and pay a ridiculously high price.
2. Buy a flute online and pay more than half of the price in music shops here.
3. Keep borrowing my students flute (which is getting kind of embarrasing), and save up for a trip to the UK for next year.

So please help me out, should I go ahead with buying a flute online, or is it just stupid and I should keep saving up and borrowing a flute until I can afford buying it in the store here or go to the UK?

[Phineas]

It all depends how much you have/want to spend. Online, there are tons of choices.

[berglind]

My budget allows up to around 1000 pounds/1600 dollars... I'm not looking for a professional flute, just a decent flute I can use in concerts without embarrasing myself (I am decent fluteplayer, just with a crappy flute

[Kaylyn]

I have purchased several flutes online and have yet to receive a lemon. The caveat with that is that I have so far only purchased brands that I was previously familiar with, for the most part. Even if a flute gets, in general, great reviews it may not be a good match for you! For example, most people really like Yamaha flutes. I appreciate them for their mechanical soundness but have yet to find one that I *really* enjoy playing. This is just an example of my preferences, of course!
My advice to you is if you do decide to buy used online is to find somewhere that accepts returns as (some larger eBay sellers do). This may be more difficult given your location. I do understand your dilemma about not having good, local options. Walking into a music store and trying several different flutes was never a luxury I was afforded, either! It's very frustrating.

GOOD LUCK and let us know what you end up doing!

[berglind]

Thanks for a good advice. I probably will buy the flute from justflutes.com. I have ordered from them before (not instruments, but sheet music and accessories), and been very happy with the service. They also get great reviews online, so I feel like I could trust them.
I have played on a Pearl flute before, not the model I'm thinking about now though, but I liked that flute a lot.

I'm thinking, since I'm not buying an expensive flute, they might not be so "individual"?
But this is kind of hard to decide, I go back and forth with the decision probably ten times a day