I was down to the local pawn shop this afternoon and there were two flutes for sale, one of which was an Artley. (I can`t remember the second brand)
When buying a used flute, what should I look for? As far as I could tell, all of the keys worked fine but some cork seemed worn out (the pads looked in good shape though). Is there anything else that I should know when I go back to look at it again?

Thanks =)
Christina

Well I`m one that did buy a Pawn Shop Artley, for $25. I was curious if I had any aptitude, to play a flute, so if I wasn`t I wouldn`t be out much. Everything, except a couple of missing rods, looked fine, and being mechanically inclined, I thought I could make rods. Ended up paying $70.00 more to get it in playable condition. After a few months I took it to a respected flute technician and put $80.00 on getting it tweeked. Even though, I now am playing a Jupiter 711, I`m keeping my Pawn Shop Artley as my `kitchen flute`, where I can pick it up as the mood hits me. My Artley is a tank, and while the C#s don`t sound right, it is still a playable instrument. There is a site that lists Artley serial numbers (mine is a 1965). If the Artley costs less than $175.00 and this is a first flute, I`d say it`s a good deal.

I believe it`s $60, which was the main reason why I was interested.
I have never played flute before. I`ve picked up my friend`s every now and then, but never took lessons or anything. I will be teaching myself (I`ve been playing piano for over 9 years/clarinet 5 years/trumpet 2 years). Just as long as I can get the basic jist of playing, that`s all that matters to me. I don`t want to buy something though that will be really expensive to get reasonably playable.

Thanks for replying! =)

If you get one, I`m thinking it`s a good idea to bring it to a shop or somewhere to get it checked and most importantly, cleaned. Perhaps you can get it nice and shiny too. Even if the pawn shop says they cleaned it, unless they are professionals on instruments I wouldn`t trust them. I have no idea how much it would cost to get it cleaned though.