Hi, I'm thinking of selling my full-size violin with its case and associated accessories which has been much-loved and in perfect condition due to personal circumstances.I can't afford lessons at the moment and am too busy to play it so there's no point in keeping it.

I'm in Singapore so would particularly welcome suggestions from other people here. I don't want to sell it to a junk shop and would like to see it go to a home where it would be much loved and played. Yes, it's like looking for a home for a beloved pet.

I can't list it on ebay because I don't have a credit card and frankly speaking, I've had bad experiences with ebay in the past as a buyer...

Any advice? If I really can't get a reasonable price or a good buyer, I would have to keep it.

This is a difficult one to answer for another country. But over here, your best chance of a good price would come from asking a specialist shop to sell it on commission.

Liz

Hi, everything's in perfect condition but since it's second-hand, is there any rule of thumb for how much to discount? I'm really not sure how to price it though I paid a mint for the whole kit. The violin is a good student model, not cheap but not more than student quality but the case itself is BAM, a French-made case and it comes with quality accessories like dominant strings, Kun shoulder rest and so on.

Also, I have brand-new ABRSM violin scores/books, any ideas where could I sell them to?

Thanks!

Bam cases are reasonable cases, so you shouldn't have any difficulty selling that - although they aren't massively expensive, so don't expect to make a fortune. Also bear in mind that if you sell it as an outfit then you are limiting your potential buyers to those who want to buy an entire outfit.

As for the violin, if you can give us a model name (or a luthier name if it's a benchmade instrument) then I'm certain someone on here could give you a reasonable idea of price (although your local market will dictate to a certain level what you will get).

Where did you buy it? Will they not sell it for you? Most luthiers will accept to sell instruments on commission (usually varies from 10 to 20 percent of sale price).

Good luck selling it!

Allan

Generally speaking the cheaper violins (£500 and under) tend to go down in value and the more expensive tend to go up in value when you resell them. The cheapest violins (Stentor 1 and 2 etc) will resell at about half their retail price, even in good condition. It's just the way things are these days because the market is so flooded with violins. The cheaper the violin was in the first place, the more it will reduce in value when you come to sell it. I advise anyone selling a Stentor 1 or 2 to ask for £40-£50 for it including bow and case.

If your violin cost about £500 or more then the best thing is to advertise it in your local press or at your local music shop. Don't try and sell it to a luthier as they will also try to make some money on it so will offer you less than a private buyer will. The other alternative is to try and sell it at an auction, or sometimes if you bought it from a luthier or a good violin shop they will do a part exchange when you want to upgrade. I would also advise selling the case separately if it's a good one.

Good luck!

Violinia

It's a student violin of slightly more than 250 pounds, not counting the bow. If it is in perfect condition, how much would it be reasonable to ask? What is the minimum to sell it at? Half of that price?

Thanks for the help!

So much depends on what it is. The bottom line is that you are competing both with new instruments and with ebay. The price of any musical instrument drops by 50% of the list price as soon as you leave the shop, in my experience - as dealers we have never ever got more than 60% and that is with our own guarantee which a private seller would not offer. Selling through a teacher will get you the best price but of course depends on someone wanting it. For private sales advertised in a newspaper or at a fixed price on ebay you have two choices - take a rockbottom price or wait for a very very long time. For quick clearance when the price doesn't matter, use ebay.

Liz

That's still not enough information to make many sensible suggestions, sorry. What is it? Age? Label? Place of manufacture?

Liz

Do you have any contacts with local teachers and/or are there local music shcools near you? If so, give them the details of your instrument and ask if they know of anyone looking for a similar instrument - perhaps a child moving up violin sizes. Have you tried placing an advert in a local paper with a good 'for sale' column?

I must admit that I would be reluctant to part with an instrument just because you are not playing it at the moment - it will cost you much more to replace later.

It's a few years old and Czech.

My family hates the sound of the violin so when I do have the money for lessons I intend to take up something quieter. I'm busy so I only have time to play in the evening/late at night. So I will probably not be playing the violin again. It saddens me but I live with Philistines...My classical guitar is too soft to bother anyone but they scream and make a fuss whenever I practice the violin (I assure you I'm not that bad, they just hate music!)

That's so sad, Sakura. Perhaps you can hold onto the violin until you move out of home. As a previous poster mentioned, it will cost you more to replace it later on (and often becomes hard to justify once you have to start paying rent, groceries, etc!)

If you don't want to sell your violin then you should't do just because of what other people think.

Would playing it quieter help? You can get practice mutes which are like normal mutes but rather heavier so they cut the sound right down. Would that be worth a try?

I have a practice mute but they still complain.

I can't concentrate when I know someone's gonna burst through the door and demand I stop.I can't afford to move out.

US families tend to be more democratic then some -- we strutured our lesson & playing times by majority consent. We all understand that chores needs to be done & people need quiet times after a hectic work/school day. So it means that no one disturb Mommy (me) from 8:30-9p when she is practicing, after she got home at 7pm from work to cook/wash dishes/etc; and Mommy knows to quit playing by 9:05p because the little one needs to be tugged in & to read bedtime story and to spend some bonding times with Hubby (playing on-line PC game )

Is there a way to sit down with your family and explain how much you would like to keep playing the violin, do not want to give it up and ask for some consideration as to set a time for you to practice without being disturb? Of course it will be after all the necessary chores/works were taken care of? You may not get hours and hours of playing times, but consistent enough to keep up the level & to progress furthur. By having a set time, your family will also know they won't have to deal with the sounds of violin beside those set times, and to wear earmuffs during them.



This is true. I have one of my violas appraised for insurance purpose, and it is double the price (after play it for 6 months) I paid to replace it.

I agree with everyone else's comments about trying to keep your instrument. Selling it will be a large disappointment in the long term. Violins of under several thousand rarely go up in value, violins in the higher hundreds may hold their value when you resell them, but student violins sadly go down. You'd be looking most likely at half what you paid for it (basically you have to make it worth someone's while to buy it and you're competing with the shop, so the only reason to buy it from you is to make a considerable saving).

I'd hang onto it, you never know!

Allan