If you have ever searched the Internet looking for a musical instrument, you will know that virtually anything is available at any price. How do you make sense of this bombardment of 'deals'?
Should you purchase that shiny, brand new blue flute or should you look at new or second-hand ones made by 'name' brands? And do you really have to pay the price that goes with that 'name' brand? Yes, pretty much
We are inundated with new products from China. At Music Services, we have a never-ending parade of importers wanting us to sell them. We are told by these importers that they have 'worked very closely with the factories in China to produce a quality product at an affordable price'. Really?
From experience, we can tell you that most of these instruments are of poor quality and do not play well. Nor do they stand up to the endurance tests they are put through by a young learner. At Music Services we see a steady stream of people coming to us with instruments they have purchased online that do not work. In many cases they cannot be serviced properly, or at all, due to poor quality craftsmanship. The few that we would honestly attempt to service and repair usually cost more to repair than they did to purchase. We have gone to several importers offering to do warranty servicing for their products, yet they have come back to us saying that "servicing is too expensive and these instruments are only meant for beginners to get started on…and then be disposed of". So, in effect, these instruments cannot be repaired and they cannot be recycled.
This philosophy is creating a whole new category of rubbish/disposable items in a world that is trying to cut down on this sort of thing. We think this is irresponsible.
The market for quality second-hand instruments has suffered. People won't pay for quality second-hand when they can get something shiny and blue for the same price or less. In most cases, a quality second-hand (for example; Yamaha) student instrument is a better buy.
As an experiment, Music Services worked with an importer who said they 'work very closely with the factories in China to produce a quality product at an affordable price'. For the first little while they listened and made several corrections. Sadly, however, they soon got impatient and in the end put out a very inferior product: in our opinion.
So…with the philosophy of "Reduce, Reuse, Recycle", Music Services urges everyone to be better caretakers of the earth. Shop responsibly. Do not encourage the importers of these shoddy, disposable instruments. We do acknowledge that there are a few very good instruments being manufactured in China. Some of them are also very well priced: but these are not the norm.
You cannot be expected to know how to purchase an instrument you know nothing about. For this reason, Music Services offers FREE inspections of any instrument and promises to give honest and helpful feedback. If you are buying an instrument on a budget, we recommend quality second-hand instruments. As a guideline, a second-hand instrument is worth approximately half the price of a new instrument minus any repair/service costs. Always get the instrument inspected before committing to the purchase; just as you would do when purchasing a car!
