No mix up. It is basically a replica of a Symphony and all the other off brand flutes off of ebay, but with his name stamped on it. I have taken pictures and looked at all the details very closely. I know my flutes!

As a seller of flutes on ebay myself, I have 100% positive feedback rating and I don`t want to mess with that.

Okay...so basically i`ll get scammed on a crappy flute if i buy one of these from e-bay (i`ve been looking)
1)Selman
2)Schill
3)Sky
4)Blessing
5)JD Felinni Ryhthm/Hawk--This guy claims his flutes are 100% silver not nikel plated, and he`s sellign them for about $150. just seems strange...but i was thinking about it--i wont lie.
6)Rosetti

am i right or am i right? Maybe i`ll just buy a used Yamaha.

Holy crap! I looked up that guys email adress because I bought a case from him before and I found this website that he runs. http://www.friendsofhillarytour.com/

That`s too bad Kara. By the way, T_T is a tearing face (for those who don`t know).

I remember for a week when my precious Gemeinhardt was swapped with a Bundy ii That was a really bad day...plus I also was told I didn`t get into the Honor Band the same day...I wish I did that year...I did the following year, though.

Wow...that guy is a sure scammer...

Whoah TJ! You should have put a warning before you posted that site. There are some pics on there that some people might find offensive. How on earth did you find that?

Carla_UGA,
You may very well get scammed by buying those brands. Same goes for stores like walmart selling "musical instruments"-junk toys. May as well be chrome painted plastic, they`d probably last longer. If it looks too good to be true, it probably is. Etc... Kara`s Ebay sales aside because they probably are good deals, if the flute being sold is advertised as brand new, plays perfectly in tune always (Now that`s a tip-off), is made from solid silver or solid gold and is being sold for $150, you are being scammed. I would even be cautious about buying used top name brand instruments from Ebay since you can`t generally see and play test the instrument before putting money down. I would generally buy name brands that places like fluteworld.com stock and only after play testing buy someone who knows what they are looking at and what they are hearing. I remember at my store where I teach play testing three brand new good name brand flutes for a student and the store owner got mad at me because none of them were in decent enough playing shape. Two had tenons that were either too loose or too tight and the other was out of pad adjustment. All had passed the factory quality control persons. I have a friend who worked for a name brand flute manufacturer several years ago who play tested them at the end of the assembly line here in the states. He quit after they told him to be less stringent on his testing so that they didn`t have to spend so much time and money fixing the finished, new instruments.
My point if it got lost by anyone-some impartial person who knows flutes should play test the flute before buying.

For a flutist, the sound of our instrument is our reputation. It does not work to blame the instrument after a performance if we are out of tune, or if the tone is bad, or if the flute breaks in the middle of a performance.

~Bilbo-steps down from soap box..

Kara, sorry to hear about that, I was scammed once on Ebay and got a partial refund from the buyer when I complained to Ebay.

I live about 20 minutes away from Oshkosh, WI (no kidding). I suspect LHO is "Lutheran Homes of Oshkosh", essentially a collection of nursing homes. There is no Bob Archer on the music faculty at UW-Oshkosh, nor as a member of the Oshkosh symphony. If Bob Archer actually exists, he`s probably a hobbyist at best, and probably not someone who knows much about flutes/flute quality.

Intersting.. Maybe someone should try and find these people that left this guy feedback for his flutes. Couldn`t someone get in trouble for making up feedback like that? The more people I talk to, the more suspicious this all gets.
(Kara has a mission now.)

You could gp after this issue but maybe a way is to have a person who he doesen`t have a link to an unsatisfied customer. (Or just use a different name and Email address) Contact him and ask for references. If he is proud of them and his work he would not have any problem giving them out. One could even ask to speak to others who have bought his instruments or those specific names on his wab page. IF what I suspect is correct and that other link is true, he thinks that he has found a new way -sic.(By LYING) of selling/advertising those cheap oriental imports, making them look like the perfect pro model. Who ever checks references anyway. If he doesen`t give any reference contact info. He probably doesen`t mind loosing one customer. IF he gets a bad rep on Ebay, can`t he just change identities and continue?
~Bilbo

I can only speak from a rather sketchy knowledge of British trading law but I presume there are similar terms in American law, so check it out.

As a customer you have made a contract with him and if the flute he supplied you with is not fit for use then you can return it- I don`t really believe he can impose a three day limit on your return by law. If he has missold the goods by claiming them to be something they`re not then you should also have a claim against him.

I would check your consumer rights out online then e-mail him and remind him- you`re more likely (and you do have the right to!) get your money back if you know the law is on your side.

I think this is a good lesson for anyone buying off Ebay, sorry Kara had to suffer for it. I only buy off Ebay if it is from a major retailer, anything else is too too risky

You do have to be careful when buying off of ebay. 99% of the flutes that I have gotten off of there needed some kind of work done to them, even if stated otherwise. I have gotten some really great deals and met some wonderful people, so not all are bad.

That guy should have the flute by today, but he is nowhere to be heard from and is not call me back or answered any of my messages. He should refund my money as soon as he gets the flute back, but somehow I have a bad feeling about the whole thing.