Buying used musical instruments on eBay is thought to be risky, but it is still a buyer's market; excellent instruments, some playable and some needing repair and restoration, may be found at truly bargain prices. How can you minimize risk?

Some background: I have sold old stringed instruments on eBay, and I also have a business in restoring and selling them to people who visit with me and pick out what they want. Old stringed instruments (that is, those that are anywhere from 40 to 150 years old) can be outstanding values; and because the wood has had a chance to age and mellow they almost always sound better than new ones. I much prefer the in-person visit, for it allows the buyer to look at, handle, play and hear a variety of instruments; and it allows me to play them for the visitor so they can hear them off-ear, so to speak, and make up their minds. But like many people involved in instrument repair and restoration, I have far too many instruments to work on and sell face-to-face than I have time for; and so over the years I've turned to eBay to downsize my accumulation, which is always in danger of becoming, to borrow part of Richard Todd's phrase, a museum of enthusiasms. Yet from time to time I hear from my instrument-playing friends and collectors that they've been "had" on eBay and wish they hadn't bought what they did. They turn to me for advice. "You sell on eBay. How can a buyer of musical instruments there learn to buy smart? "

Here is the advice I give them. It may seem pretty obvious, but it's surprising how these principles can be thrown by the wayside when a would-be buyer fastens on a potential bargain and hopes against hope that this instrument that is poorly pictured and too briefly described on eBay is a diamond in the rough. Usually it is a lump of fool's gold instead.

So let's begin by stating some of the things that make a purchase risky. One, how much do you know about the instrument, how it should be pictured and described depending on its condition? If you don't know, then unless the seller is knowledgeable and the photos are good and plentiful and the description and statement of condition is detailed and clear, you are taking a big chance.

Two, how thoroughly is the instrument pictured? There is simply no excuse in this day of fine cameras and easy eBay pics for an eBay seller to put up a single, sometimes blurry, photo of a musical instrument and expect the would-be buyer to learn much of anything from it. Every musical instrument needs to be shown from different angles, with closeups of different parts, particularly those where something could be amiss. A seller who does not bother to do this at best doesn't care about the would-be buyer, or at worst has something to hide. Imagine if you walked into a store and asked to see a musical instrument and the clerk held it up for you to look at, from a distance, and wouldn't let you handle it and look closely and turn it around to see the parts!

Third, how thoroughly is it described, and what is said about its condition? Are the defects noted? and if they are noted, what will it take to bring the instrument into the condition you wish it to be? Many eBay sellers of musical instruments are unable to describe the instrument knowledgeably, simply because they don't know enough about it. They may have picked it up at a yard sale, or perhaps they are selling it for a friend, or possibly they are dealers in used and antique objects and in the course of their purchases they buy instruments. If they are not specialists in musical instruments their descriptions reflect their lack of knowledge. They are not trying to mislead deliberately--although in an effort to sell they may make the instrument seem better than it is, because they know something of the language, or they know something of what appeals to buyers, perhaps a brand name or a picture of some beautiful inlay on the fingerboard. And so if the description is not detailed and does not appear knowledgeable, you are taking a big chance.

Fourth, what kinds of items does this eBay seller sell? What is the feedback rating, and what do buyers say about the seller in their feedbacks? A good eBay seller will have satisfied customers. Of course, it's not possible to satisfy everyone. I recall how miffed I was when I got my first (and only) negative feedback last summer, after ten years of selling on eBay, because parcel post took too long to deliver a camera to someone, and he blamed me even though I sent it out only two days after he paid for it. Sellers have no recourse for this sort of unfair feedback, so don't limit yourself to those who have only 100%. But a feedback level below 98% could well be cause for concern.

Finally, if you are a knowledgeable buyer, and you know what kind of instrument you are looking for and what condition means, and you are familiar with the brand names and models and years of manufacture, and you have some idea of what they are worth, and you know how to interpret a knowledgeable seller's photos and descriptions, then you have a very good chance of getting a bargain. Check out the return policy, but remember that proper packing and shipping of musical instruments is expensive, so you want to be as sure as you can before you buy. Many good instruments, sometimes in playing condition and sometimes for repair and restoration, are sold on eBay as-is by knowledgeable sellers who seek knowledgeable buyers, and often these are the best bargains of all.