What is the Right way to sell an instrument?

[snowstripedmoose]

What I would like to know is how to sell an instrument, a few months back I was finally able to sell my Armstrong 104 flute it took nearly a year to sell it I ended up having to sell it for half the value it was worth. When I dropped the price i had so many inquiries it was crazy.

I am thinking about selling my two piccolos both are Yamaha's I have a very old YPC32 which i got in 1997 and a YPC62 which I bought in Osaka in 2008.
I tried selling my Armstrong on consignment and the instrument was treated badly by the place that I put it on consignment with they left the instrument by an open door and of course the wind caused problems i ended up having to take the instrument back and it took a lot of work to fix the damage caused by the wind (I was not amused by this ). Ebay is not an option for me.

Can anyone suggest how I could go about selling these two instruments. I understand that the market for piccolos is a lot smaller for piccolos than flutes.

Please note I am not giving up on playing the piccolo its just a change in circumstances requires me to think about selling my piccolos.

neonG

[fluttiegurl]

There is no right or wrong way to sell an instrument, but some are certainly better than others. The success of selling a flute is always based on getting the information out to the right people. In other words, finding people who are looking. That is not always easy.

I have sold instruments on consignment at Flute World with great success. They are flutists and know how to care for them. They also regulate them before the sell and handle shipping and insurance. The down side is that it does take time and you have to pay for any repairs up front.

Usedflutes.com has been somewhat successful. It is free to use and a lot of people check the site regularly. The bad side, you have to be VERY careful not to get ripped off. Use common sense and do not ship until it is paid for and the check clears. Also, do not reply to buyers if they sound fishy (want to pay more than you are asking, want to arrange shipping themselves, want to bypass customs by saying it is a gift, etc.).

Netinstruments.com (if it is still around) is also a free service. I sold a nice Gemeinhardt there a few years back with no problems. It was a pretty quick sale as well.

The best option is trying to sell locally. Contact local band programs to see if there are any students looking. Also consider placing classified ads in local newspapers.

I may be interested in the YPC 62. I hate that the p.m. has been deactivated. If you are willing to post your email address, we can discuss it. I am looking for a nice wooden picc.

[snowstripedmoose]

I got the best news on Thursday I got offered a job so now it looks like I won't have to sell my piccolos for the moment.

Its amazing how things can change in 24 hours I got first a phone call asking if it was all right to contact a reference for a job then a few hours later bam I got offered a job. I still need to pinch myself. Of course it throws graduate school up the flag post for me as I am so close to finishing only three subjects left before I graduate but I guess there is always part time studying.

I can now get my flutes serviced they need some TLC
I can also go back to music lessons if I have the time

neonG
Currently over the moon and still haven't descended yet

[Classitar]

Fantastic!

[Zevang]

Happy for you neonG!!

It's amazing sometimes when a little faith can change everything... There are many that do not believe this...

Also, thereare some times when we need to experience the ugly so we can reach the beauty.

congrats

[cflutist]

Great news !!!