I am a professional Trumpet player of 35 years and the purpose of my guide is to let students and parents know about shopping for a quality Brass Instrument. Keep in mind: "Instructor approved," "Not a throw away," "German type," "Phosphorus Copper Lead Pipe," "It has a serial number!", "This is a genuine," "This is not a Cheap imitation", "Wholesale" or "You won't find a better Instrument at this price," "Bankruptcy'', One year Warranty".. etc.. means absolutely nothing on a website or anywhere else and is a Big Red Flag! Remember just because a Cheap Bargain Brass Instrument looks great doesn't mean its a good Instrument and all that glitters is not Gold, in fact it most likely is pot metal a combination of Lead & Copper! Low end cheap Brass Instruments with names you have never heard of usually are unrepairable because of the metal quality and music stores don't carry the parts for good reason. Most of these "Instruments" are made in 3rd World sweatshops in India, Pakistan & Mainland China by the same company and sold under different names, most of them European sounding. Some intentionally have names very similar to a quality brand name to trick you! Do research on any brand you want to buy and the seller. Any reputable Musical Instrument manufacturer should have their own website, distributors and sell their product in music stores not just on the Internet. Are there any reviews or complaints on the web? Where are they made? Is the shipping cost overly high and what's the return policy if they send you an inferior instrument? Are you stuck with paying their overpriced shipping, handling and probably a hefty restocking fee not to mention your time and cost to send it back if its no good? The Seller has nothing to lose and everything to gain even if you ship it back! Forget about the positive feedback, most customers see a beautiful looking Brass Instrument which arrives quickly and they immediately leave positive feedback and don't realize they have an inferior "Musical Instrument" till it falls apart a couple months later. They never think to go back to leave the new negative feedback to warn others. They may be embarrassed or they are afraid they will receive retaliatory feedback. So be sure to throughly check for any and all feedback about defective merchandise whether its a Brass Instrument or any other kind of Instrument they sell. If the Instruments are high quality there is very little chance of ever hearing such feedback because they are always inspected before being sent out by any reputable Manufacturer. A Brass Instrument is never under any circumstances to have the outside lacquer inside the valve chambers! Make sure a qualified Brass Instrument player plays your Brass Instrument when you receive it. A beginner will not know if its them or the Instrument that doesn't sound right. If you read any promised supplies are missing with the order or that they are inferior is another sign of non inspection & bad quality control. Be aware another sign is when a customer complains they received a poorly made Instrument the seller replies: Contact us it must have been damaged during shipping! Sometimes they blame the customer for mishandling it or reply: "Best Quality at this price" this means: Did you really expect a decent Instrument for what you paid? Another red flag is if the Seller has left rude feedback on the buyer's feedback page who has a legitimate complaint. Your Child deserves to learn on a well made Instrument not some cheap piece of junk that will make a great table lamp. These Brass Instruments if they continue to work will make them a trial for your child to learn on. The most common complaint is always the sticky valves because of the inferior metals used which is unrepairable! If it sounds too good to be true it is, these are well planned out Scheme's to Con you, Buyer beware! The moderately higher priced brand names such as Amati, Jupiter and Holton are of much better quality and worth every penny, they can be repaired and will have resale value. If you can't afford to buy a quality Brass Instrument or you are afraid your child may lose interest in playing the Instrument then rent one for the time being, you are not saving money buying junk.