Question:
new-be hoping for some help
I played sax in elementry school and want to get back in to it. I'm wondering what to buy. Should I buy used from a store or could I buy on Ebay? Also, on Ebay the prices range quite a bit, whats a good price? Thanks!!!

Answer:
My advice would be to buy from a store where you can get some help and try some saxes, why not contact Kessler Music (at the top of the SOTW page).

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Ebay is only for the experienced; not only experienced in the workings of Ebay and the many forms of fraud that plague the site, but also experienced in what to look for in a used saxophone. Also, you must assume that any saxophone sold on Ebay will need a complete overhaul, no matter what is said by the seller.

Answer:
Like the other posters on here said, I would definitely stay away from Ebay. I would go with a used horn. Keep in mind it's basically impossible for anybody to tell you what a good price on a used horn. There are so many other factors (brand, model, dents, scratches, condition of pads, etc.) that unless there were pictures and a lot of details, nobody could really tell you what a good price would be. My advice would be to just try out as many different types of horns as possible and see which one you are most comfortable with. Also, make sure you have a tuner with you to check the intonation. When you have a good idea of what you want, you can come back here and give the details and price and we can let you know if the price sounds fair. Good luck and I hope you find what you're looking for.

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Its easy to get burned on ebay, even if its not a scam. You can get a deal on what looks like a playable instrument and then find that you have to pour hundreds of dollars into an overhaul. Sometimes its worth it, others not. If you have to ask the above question dont log on to ebay.

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You might want to call Tim at . He's not too far from you and would have a good selection of new and used horns to look at and try out.

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You have to use a bit of common sense buying on ebay. If you are new to it, I would recommend just watching what goes on for at least a month. If it is a "used tenor" for which you are looking, find the page and "save" it in your "favourites" and follow the progression of instruments up the page every couple of days. You will soon get to know what different instruments will sell for.
Don't forget that most of the serious bids come in ten minutes before the close. You can check back through the site what were the winning bids on all instruments over the past week or so.
Similar instruments can end up selling for a substantial difference in price, depending on "the market" at that particular time.
As long as you aren't looking for a "pro" horn, there are always bargains to be had in excellent condition. Many people buy a student sax and can't get to grips with it or rapidly lose interest. They can then try to sell it fairly shortly after they purchased it or keep the thing hardly used under the bed for a few years and then suddenly decide to put it on e-bay. These instruments have often never been out of the house so can be in "almost new" condition if they haven't been dropped! Some of the ways people present items on ebay are pathetic considering the facilities they provide for you to promote them. The presentation of the advertisement can often give you a clue as to what sort of seller you could be dealing with.
The ideal situation is where several people put similar instruments on at the same time. This is when I bought a very good, hardly used sax, that was about ten years old, at a very good price.
When I came to sell it on, I waited until there was a "gap" on ebay for this sort of instrument and I ended up getting more than I paid for it, although still a fair price.
I'd only buy through "Paypal", which I think although safer, a very expensive service for what you get. I'd want to collect my item if that was logistically possible.
A vendor with a very good "points" score doesn't mean that you will get value for money, nor does one with no "history" at all indicate it could be a "dodgy" deal. Decide your "maximum" bid for anything in which you are interested and stick to it. The "reserve" price is usually not much below what the thing is worth.
Finally, remember that to have a "winning bid", you, at that particular moment are the one person in the whole country willing to pay that price for the item on offer.

Answer:
To add to the EBAY issue. Ebay is a wonderful yet treacherous way to get a sax cheaper than a music shop. What you get in a music shop is a nice variety of horns to TRY out or put your hands on. Better if you aren't educated on what to get, but the down side is the price on their horns due to their markup so they can stay in business. With Ebay, you don't have the markup, but if you don't know what to look for, buyer beware. The previous poster is correct in assuming that you will have to put money into an Ebay horn for a technician to check it. I would avoid anything that says the seller is from China. They can be identified by the adds having anything with, super, exotic, fair, or other strange adjectives and strange dialog in their adds. I bought a Vito (Yamaha 23 stencil) Alto last summer for $167 plus shipping that turned out to be in outstanding shape. I spent about 25 bucks for the sax technician to look at it and tweak it so I have a very playable shiny good quality student Alto for an investment of $200. I just got a Vito Tenor (Yahama 23 clone again) for $220 with a $75 repair job for less than $300 invested for a very playable horn. Both the horns are nothing special, but me not being a pro, who cares. I can play them both with no problems and am otherwise pleased. I consider myself lucky since I could have bought a dented up version of either one for the same or more and spent $200 or more on a complete repad or overhaul. Good luck!!

Answer:
I was quite self indulgent, once I was happy with my progression on my student tenor having a year earlier bought a new YAS275 alto, which I found excellent. I decided to buy myself a new tenor.
As there was nowhere locally (we Brits don't like travelling far!) where I could try anything other than student instruments, I went through a lot of information on this site and decided on a YTS62. I got it at a good price "on line" from a music shop which was about seventy miles away so, if I have any problems I can take it there. But like the YTS275, it played great, straight out of the box, (even better now I've a metal Link and Rovner lig, again from good advice from kindly people on here).
I've always been happy with Yamaha products, the quality is always there, I've had a succession of their keyboards too.
Back to ebay, I bought my new metal Link on there for quite a reasonable price, a few weeks ago. One exactly the same as mine recently went for more than half as much again as I paid for mine.
"Auctions are always a bit of a lottery!"

Answer:
This is only the second post I have made on this site only because I've mostly been reading and enjoying what it has to offer.
I'm new to the sax I used a beginner no name sax and moved through a beginner rubank book to start but I had to return the sax (alto) and I'm jonesing for another sax. I don't have any real serious money to spend on a horn right now but I need something to keep playing...I love it and miss it.
Alot of the advice here steers you away from ebay and that is probably sound advice but there are some people that got lucky there and that appeals to me because of the money I have to spend.
The only thing is I don't have any knowledge of the instruments on top of the fact that the condition may make them bad buys.
I really like the alto and tenor and would make the best of either.
So far I have seen Yamaha alto yas-23, Vito tenor, Evett alto, Conn's tenor & alto, Selmer BundyII tenor, Old Parisian alto, Lyon Healy (low pitch) needs pads and probably 6 other brands and some no names. I haven't any idea what quality they are or how they measure up.
If anyone could comment on any of them or recommend an instrument I'd appreciate it.

Answer:
Originally Posted by Indigo Bud Alot of the advice here steers you away from ebay and that is probably sound advice but there are some people that got lucky there and that appeals to me because of the money I have to spend.
Those who got lucky were more than likely experienced in buying and selling on Ebay, knew what they were looking for and understood the risks. If you insist on gambling on Ebay, then you need to find someone you trust who can guide you through the process, step by step, search by search, auction by auction. That's a lot to ask of total strangers. Or you could do what I did... spend years getting aquainted with Ebay, but not registering. In that time, comb through forums and online resources and learn what horns are out there; both new and old. Then get out and test some horns to see what you like, and to confirm that you could really save money making such a purchase on Ebay. Then set standards for bidding and don't compromise. Failing that, odds are you're going to spend more and eventually lose more gambling on Ebay.

Answer:
Perspective of a newbie who just bought from eBay
Perspective of a fellow newbie who just bought from eBay
*Note: I bought a sax last week, hasn't came in yet, will update with more information what it does.
I Have learned a lot from this experience. Solely personal reflections, may be off, just giving my perspective so others can gather more information for themselves.
First off, this forum is a wonderful resource with many informative and helpful people.
Second off, I am a complete idiot.
I decided not long ago that I wanted to learn to play the alto saxophone. I played clarinet for four years when I was a kid. I thought (and still do) what a great way to play music again but with a new different and exciting instrument.
Anyways, so with my excitability, I immediately began looking for a saxophone: a good student model, used, and cheap (by necessity). I read from various resources that the YAS-23 would be a good one to start on. I decided this model would be the safest/bestfor me to start on.
So I look at eBay for about a week: seeing the trends, what sellers post, what the prices go for, trying to understand this crazy process. Why do some go for 450 and some go for 200 with seemingly not much difference? I look at the local pawn shops for used instruments and they are selling lesser name models for around 400-450. Most of the local pawn shops (around here anyways) are chains nowadays (EZ pawn, cash america pawn, etc.) so there is a nice mark-up and standard prices set. I don't think I can find a good deal in the local market. I look at ebay, the prices are so much lower it seems without the middlemen...
I get too excited about getting an instrument early without doing enough research I think: anyone thinking about ebay saxophones, you really MUST read this article:
(I read this today, after I purchased on ebay) It goes over so many of the dangers of buying saxophones on ebay and is written by someone who has a lot of experience.
Anyways, so last week there were a bunch of YAS-23's on eBay. So I thought it would be a good time to get an affordable one. I thought I knew enough to buy a cheap one: check out previous feedback, check dings, pics, checking serial number, etc.) I got in some bidding war with two other people (which I kind of enjoyed, good to know that other people want it too!) at literally the last minute. There wasn't any action the first 6 days so I ended up paying around 250 for the sax.
Problems:
1) Horrible communication with the seller. I didn't communicate before purchase. When I emailed him, didn't respond till 4 days later, and doesn't give any detailed information from the questions I asked.
2) The person I bought it from isn't experienced in selling saxes (self-labeled a random beginning player and drop out), and you must package it very well to avoid damage when shipping ( bubble wrap/newspaper the inside of the case and the inside of the carton. I DOUBT he did this. I didn't know about the packaging necessities myself until today!!!
()
great thread on shipping:
Therefore, I might get just a busted up irrepairable sax on my hands with very little recourse. Even if the seller is actually for real NOT a sax expert and you get a great deal off of that, you might get a POS b/c of the same reason (the seller doesn't know how to pack properly, bought the crappy sax cuz he didn't know better and now trying to unload it, or some other issue) unless you know much more about it and the seller will follow your instructions and answer all of the important questions (on the above thread there was considerable discussion about the nightmares of shipping UPS, which of course my sax is). For this, you must be efficient in eBay and be a good judge of character.
3) I figured upon purchase that I would get repairs done to it, but i found out they can be really really expensive (more than I thought) if it is repairable at all....I thought I would get a decent condition cheap sax , repair it for around $100 and still get a good deal. But, from what I've read lately, it might turn out to be up to $700 or more depending on what needs to be done. Can't bet on what condition it will be in.
4) Positive feedback doesn't mean anything. Didn't know that before. (Another long well-written article on the reasons for this that I really enjoyed, i will try to find later)
One thing to think about: Limited to 80 character (20 words or so) feed back) . Come on, if ppl could write a full page on their experience, other potential buyers would get A MUCH better perspective of the overall seller! When I contacted other buyers from the same seller they told me lots of things that were not on the feedback. Big difference from what they posted, like "A+++, fast shipment, THanks!"
I knew there were vast amounts of hoodlums, but made a judgment that this seller was OK and the instrument was as described. (I haven't gotten the Sax yet, could be wrong, could be right, but shouldn't have made any judgment with such little information. It's like playing roulette at the casino: the house will come out ahead in the long run. Will let you know when it comes)
To try and save $200-$300, I might have lost my $250 completely. From a risk-reward perspective, I don't think this is a great one. A similar ratio will always be in place when doing online transactions on such a intricate and complex product like a sax (which should be seen, played, etc to really assess the value of).
My main point is you have to know TONS of stuff to buy on ebay just to get "lucky" and beat the seller-favored ebay system. Ebay makes commissions off of the sellers, so while buyers are important, sellers are more-so. And ebay makes much more money on items which go for a higher price (since they take a percentage),.The current policies reflect this favoritism, but of course it does make sense for the business.
Will I get a refund if it sucks or wasn't described as honestly as it should have been? NO. Will I get a refund if shipping breaks my stuff? NO (very very likely I will not, even w/ insurance). As a buyer, you lose almost all power once you submit your payment.
I wouldn't do eBay unless you want to try to beat the system. Try to curb your enthusiasm when you see the low prices and the thought of finding a good one that will be hand-delivered to your door in two days. You get what you pay for.
I did most of this research after I won the auction and did not hear from the person in so many days and got really worried! Oh well.....
Note: I still am not sure if the seller is legit and decent person, or an outright crook. I can't tell really even with all the problems. Might just be a disorganized novice saxophonist or something.
My saxophone is coming in two days through the mail. I won't be at my residence but a friend will house-sit for me and sign for it. I will keep everyone updated about the condition. I will also take it to the repair shop soon after and will post letting you know about what they say, what condition it is in, and how much it will cost to get it to good playing condition, and then finally we can make a conclusive decision about if i got taken, and if so how badly i got taken for.
Well, this has been my experience so far. If you have any questions, go ahead and ask them or PM them, I will try to answer them honestly! (Probably won't give my specific auction item# until the transaction is FULLY complete and a conclusive resolution has been achieved)
Again, this is a great forum, with lots of good information, and again, I am a complete idiot for getting too excited and buying stuff before doing all of the research beforehand!
Hope this helps.

Answer:
If you post the link to the completed auction, you'll get more informed feedback from the group.