As you probably know by my very excited and enthusiastic previous thread - i have a new violin!

Only thing is it didnt come with a case
Well, he gave me a case free which im very grateful for, but, as he said himself, only problem is - it's green!
like... bright green. just, very green... which i don't think i'm brave enough to carry to school!

for the time being, i'm going to have to use my old case. my big heavy old red stentor case.
i'd really like a black oblong shaped case.

the cheapest i found was £20 (well, $40), which i know is very cheap for one of those but before going and buying from America i was wondering if i could get anything even close to that price from a UK site? I also dunno how much shipping would be from America, so...

JPB music sell a JTL oblong case in a choice of colours for £40 +p+p.
That is pretty much the cheapest you'll find for a half decent rectangular case.
http://musical-instrument-suppliers.co.uk/violincases.htm

I have this case for my new violin,
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Edler-Geigenkasten-H...oQQcmdZViewItem


It's a lovely case although heavy and service from the seller in Germany was excellent.

My other violin is in a bright purple dart shaped JTL case.

I bought a BAM Trekking violin case from ebay because I wanted a case I could wear as a rucksack and it is very 'compact'. It normally sells for GB210 but I did get it much cheaper because it's ex-display. The only strange thing is the bow-tube because you have to put your bow into a velvet tube before slipping it into the plastic tube and I don't like the idea of the hair rubbing on the velvet all the time... so I wrap it in a silk scarf and have padded the ends of the tube. I do like this case but the bow tube can be a pain and it does get bumped quite a lot.


Inside the violin sits very nicely into a deep pocket and is well protected. There's also plenty room for a shoulder rest, rosin etc. I really bought this case for Dad's (wonderful) violin because he has his in a GB45 case and it's really not very robust at all. I think Dad's case is a Hidersine and he bought it in a music shop (I'm surprised he did buy it because it even has cheap handles )


I also have a rectangular case which my own violin is actually in just now because it's much more straight forward but it is a relatively cheap case and doesn't protect quite as much as the BAM. I think it cost around GB80 but it came with my Zeller as a package deal and it doesn't have a maker's mark on it. I use it because it's easier to whip the violin in and out of where the BAM is great for travelling.

If it's over £18 in value - not only do you have shipping, but you have import duty and VAT to add on as well.
Import duty as a percentage varies on the type of item and is applied only to the cost of the item.
VAT is 17.5%, and they add that on to the item, shipping AND import duty costs
If it's delivered by courier, you may also find they put a fee on as well, because they will pay the import duty / VAT immediately so they can deliver the item to you quicker, and then charge an admin fee for doing it. Royal Mail deliveries, however, they'll just tell you to come and get it from the post office and you pay the fee. It can be delayed in getting delivered, though.
Just worth bearing in mind the extra costs you may have to face...

We've been fortunate whenever we've bought items from the U.S that we haven't had to pay import duty. Often the packages were marked on the customs label as 'gifts' and we didn' get charged and other times I think we were just lucky. The exchange rate is so favourable at the moment though that often even adding in all the extra costs things can still work out cheaper.



When you're looking for a case though I try to remember that cost should only be born in mind after finding a case that offers suitable protection for your instrument. The cheapest case isn't much use if it doesn't protect your violin or worse still the case itself actually damages it.
May I recommend also taking out a dedicated musical instrument insrance policy if you haven't already, specialist insurers are usually much better to deal with and understand the needs of a musician more than just adding your instrument to your house contents policy. Premiums aren't all that expensive either. I just insured my violin for £800 and the annual premium is only £30. The policy also automatically covers your acessories, case, bows etc up to £500.

You'll almost certainly get stung for import duty, VAT and "handling fees" for a large, conspicuous item like a violin case. Shipping costs are also likely to be rather high (and I'm pretty sure VAT etc is charged on the total cost, including shipping).

Admittedly most of the things we have bought from the U.S have been considerebly smaller than a fiddle case, usually engineering components etc.
I'm the sort of person though that would usually rather pay a bit more to buy in the U.K and get my hands on the goods quicker, trying to support a local business if I can. Not always possible but hey..

Hi, I've just bought a new case after a long search for the right one; I can recommend Stringzone (www.thestringzone.co.uk) as a supplier of a good range. Very quick service too (and a free pencil!!). It's a Gewa case and I'm very pleased with it so far. I hope this doesn't count as advertising...
N

I use StringZone for most of my string and accessory orders and they do offer great service and good prices.

It is worth keeping an eye on Ebay for a while- there is a decent looking ProTec case on there at the moment.

If the green case is a good one other than the colour, paint (probably spray or acrylic) and an arty friend might make it into something quite unique...

Haha yes i did consider jazzing up the green case or a better idea, painting it black or something XD But it's not a very decent case anyway, no padding or anything... it's just one he bought very cheaply so he can afford to give them away free