Would anyone buy an instrument off of ebay.com? I see lots of Buffet clarinets that are in my price range that look good. I really want a Buffet E11 Clarinet. Does anyone know about Buffet Evette Clarinets? Are they good? I am going to post 3 different clarinets. Please tell me what you think of them.

#1)http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=3735767362&ssPageName=STRK:MEWA:IT

#2)http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=3736572668&ssPageName=STRK:MEWA:IT

#3)http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=3736849801&ssPageName=STRK:MEWA:IT

What do you guys think?

Chelci

Ask yourself whether you want to take the risk or not. You might end up with a bargin or a piece of crap. Looks for sellers with good feedback aswell as sellers who seem to know what they`re talking about and you should be ok.

Only buy if you can get a cast iron guarantee that the clarinet is in full playing order, or if you are willing to add whatever your loca repair shop charges for a full overhaul.

Liz

Many Evettes were just plastic, including that one.

I might well go for the E11 or the Selmer signet if it were me, they look safe enough.

Liz

what i did was request 3-4 days to try the clarinet out... within that time period i could take it to my lesson teacher.. or the music shop to see if it was in good working order. If not, i could return it for a full refund. E-11s were the standard beginner horn for my school, and they will make a fine marching horns if you continue with band

In my opinion I would not buy a clarinet off of Ebay. I did it once and will never do it again. I was able to return the clarinet but it was a real pain to do so. In the picture that they had of it it looked fine but when I got it the mouthpiece was chipped the barrel was cracked and the pads were really bad. I was beter off with the old one that I had.

In a word: no.
I feelyou should always try any clarinet before you buy it, whether it is second hand or brand new. It is the only way to find out whther or not it suits you.

DO NOT BUY A CLARINET FROM EBAY!!!!! My friend did and her clarinet is so screwed up.....something is always wrong with it!!! Plus what Tom said u shud always try a clarinet before u buy it.

h,m,,....maybe you can try this website

www.charlesfail.com

they sell 2nd hand overhauled instrument.very reliable and you could buy a signet Mazzeo series.a good old trusty clarinet i must say~

Cheers~

This is a tough question. As a hobby, I collect clarinets and restore them to playable condition. Ebay does have some real bargains, but it also has lots of bad eggs I wouldn`t touch with a 10 foot pole. Granted, I`ve been playing clarinet for 20 years, so I know the questions to ask, but even so I`ve been screwed on Ebay. I`ve seen some of the same horns (clarinets) sold over and over again on Ebay. Many people buy someting they think is a bargain, and get screwed. Then they re-sell the horn on ebay to get rid of it.

Now wait, there are some excellent clarinets on Ebay, but you have to read between the lines and ask the right questions.

Phrases to watch out for:

- "I believe it to be Rosewood." I`ve only seen very few that really are made out of rosewood.

- "All the levers work". Dead giveway that the person does not play.

- "A nice bright tone." Anyone that plays clarinet knows, you strive for a dark rich tone.

- "It comes with X number of reeds". Old nasty reeds are not a selling point for a clarinet player.

Other things you should consider:

1. It should have a case. Even a crappy case provices some protection. A clarinet without a case is 20 times more likley to be damaged.

2. The seller should level with you about where it came from. The old "found it in the attic/basement" story is most likley false. ASK FOR A SERIAL NUMBER. Stolen horns are sometimes unloaded on Ebay.

3. IF they advertise the clarinet as being Overhauled, ask them who did the work. If they can`t tell you, it was probably never done.

4. Beware the word "Vintage". While many old clarinets play beautifully, many are also junk. Ask for a serial #.

5. Beware the phrase "Brand New, Never been played". All clarinets have been played, even new ones are test played for adjustments. The question you have to ask, How well was this taken care of? Clarinets do not have odometers. A clarinet that is 1 year old and well taken care of, is going to be better than a horn that is 2 months old and never swabbed out.

Just some advice.

If you are going to join marching band, don`t get a wooden clarinet because if it rains as much where you live than where I live, your clarinet will get screwed up. If not, then get it from Ebay, all my friends did, and they are super happy with their clarinets. In fact, try to get an Buffet R-13 clarinet. This will last you forever!

they just stopped making buffet clarinets recently, as for buying clarinets off ebay-risky

dont buy clarionets from ebay-way too risky, and never settle for anything less than 30 days trial time. If the person is a good clarinetist (the only kind to buy a clarinet from) they will understand and let you do this, if not- they are likely scam artists, greedy pigs, fools, jerks , etc. IF they really want to sell the clarinet they will be hospitable.

ANd if they are truely a professional clarinetist(ur unlikely to find on eon ebay) they will work with you and give you all the knowledge they can, give decent answers to questions, and tell you any flaws that it has currently.

And they might even want to be sure they are selling their precious old instrument to someone who knows how to take care of it and respect it

Good luck,

-Scott

First of all,
If you want to buy a clarinet dont buy it online, go to a convention or a large music store where they have a variety of clarinets, and play the ones you are interested in, if you buy online there is a 90% chance that you wont like it, try some out see what ones suit you and only you dont go by anybody elses word saying go with and Buffet or a Selmer or a Jupiter just go and try it yourself, Somebody once told me to go for a Buffet R-13 and it just wasnt me so i went for a Buffet E-12 which was way better I though it had the applications that I wanted not somebody else, "so try it before you buy it"
Good Luck

hey i bought mine from ebay. $150.00. works great. it is an old discontinued Selmer Signet Special.