Okay, I am really bummed out to the point of crying and I really need to just talk to anyone. I made a REALLY stupid mistake and bought a supposably handmade flute from this guy off of ebay. He owns his own company and everything, and all the feedback seemed so great. Here is the site. http://www.modernwoodenflute.com/

I spent $575.00 (I bought a silver plated flute from him) total for shipping and everything, and I got it today. It is total Chinese JUNK! The tone holes aren`t level, the adjustment screws are the wrong size and stick out way too far, the keys are so big that I am afraid I will get my finger stuck in the open holes, there are several lumps on the body like dents have been removed, the plating is thin, it was out of adjustment, the split E is leaking on it and it is the biggest honking flute I have ever held! You can tell that the tennons were all oiled on top of everything. Now tell me, does this sound like a handmade flute to you?

....So I write to this guy and tell him that I would like to simply return the flute because it is i=out of adjustment and just not what I expected. He then replies:

"That`s strange......I played it just before it shipped out......For some reason I thought you might no be happy with a 500.00 flute.....IF you can get it here in three days I will return your money."

How do I know that I will even get my money refunded when he does get his flute back? The guy seemed so nice on the phone! I am just too trusting!

Sorry for the long rant. What would you guys do? My husband wants to drive down to Florida and kill the guy. He knows what he is selling. He even claimed that he was a professional flutist. Hmmm....
I can`t attest to his wood flutes that he makes, but I sure can about his silver one`s. They are HORRIBLE!!!

That`s a bummer. I live in Florida, and never heard of the guy. Luckily, if I need a "flute", I`ll just make it myself, either out of CPVC, or bamboo if I can find it. Ever think of coming on over to the Chiff and Fipple forums??? there`s a lot of helpful info, friendly people, and woodwinding tips there. http://www.chiffboard.mati.ca/

Wow. I`ve seen his stuff all over eBay, but the biggest indicator that he was legit (I thought anyways) was the link to his site on Larry Krantz`s website. Did you use PayPal to pay for it? I`ve been able to recover some funds through Paypal the few times that eBay deals fell through. That might be a route to recoup some of your money.

Honestly, I had been tempted to buy one of his wood headjoints, but I`m thinking not now.

I`m terribly sorry you were scammed.

Thanks for the kind words, ninafire. Like I said before, I can`t attest for his wood flutes, only for the silver one`s.

The flute came with an all wood headjoint which seemed pretty nice, but then again, I could not say how well it played on this silver flute because it was out of adjustment. It would not fit on my powell. Maybe his wood flutes are great, and he just doesn`t do well with the silver one`s? There are a lot of good things people have said about his wood flutes. (But now it has gotten me wonder about how many of those testimonies are true or not?)

He told me that the flutes body is made in China, so maybe that has something to do with it?

...anyway, he did contact me again and said he will return my money and that it won`t be a problem. I did pay through Paypal, so hopefully I have some kind of protection. I was just worried about the whole thing because he said IF (in capital letters) I can get the flute back to him in 3 days, THEN, I will get my money back.

I have heard of sellers getting the product back, but then taking months to return the money. He seems like a very nice person, but I would have to say that I would be embarrassed myself to sell one of his flutes to anyone.

What he didn`t count on is that I know my flutes and do repairs, so I know bad quality when I see it. Darn! I wish I could show this flute to ED! I would love to hear what he has to say about it.

I feel better now about it after having a good glass of wine. Lol

I`m am so sorry to here about your bad luck. The flutes certainly look tempting and being a Flute sponsor on Larry Krantz` site ( http://www.larrykrantz.com/support.htm ) certainly gives the impression that that was a legit company.

Post your concerns on the flute list, Yahoo Flute Net, and Galways chat. Point out that they are an advertiser on Larry Krantz` site.

You may want to wait to see how your return process goes before you do that though.

If the return goes fine then you can just post a review.

Certainly hope you get your money back quickly.

Piko, that is a good suggestion, but Larry won`t post anything negative about a company of the Galway board. Do you remember what happened with Ar@k (please don`t be mad for mentioning your name) He got kicked off because he said something negative towards straubinger pads.

Also, notice on the website that it pretty much advertises his wooden flutes? They must be okay then. I know for a fact that the piccolo`s are not made by him. I have spoken to the maker of them. The silver flutes are unexceptable and I would rate them up with the other no names off of ebay.

The Galway forum is a little different now. Since it is a Yahoo Group your message will instantly go out to most of the people who use the immediate e-mail method or as a daily digest to the rest. The permanent forum posting could be removed and maybe the digest if it was stricken soon enough.

But your complaint it an isolated case which should not be removed. I don`t think Larry Krantz would remove an honest to gooness "review".

"Also, notice on the website that it pretty much advertises his wooden flutes? They must be okay then."

If a guy cannot present a metal flute in adequate state for market, then he sure as hell can`t produce a wooden one in a good state! The basic issue is his integrity!!!!

I feel for you Kara, believe me, but one thing I cannot understand... haven`t you regularly warned others about buying cheap stuff via Ebay? And warned about the misleading advertising?

Kara,
What were you thinking? I`m shocked I tell you. Shocked.
You didn`t even ask us here for any opinions.
I really hope it all works out OK.
~Bilbo

Yes, I have warned people of those off brand ones but this was different. He has his own website and I talked with the guy for almost an hour on the phone. He knew a LOT about flutes, trust me! It wasn`t one of those Symphony or Sky flutes, it had his name on it. He seemed respectable. He told me how he handmade them. There are brands out there that are made by independent makers that have been wonderful, so I thought I would give him a try.

What I want to know then, is where did all the wonderful reviews come from on his site if his wood flutes are like this silver one I got?

"What I want to know then, is where did all the wonderful reviews come from on his site if his wood flutes are like this silver one I got?"

I Can`t say.
I Can`t say whether any of them are genuine or not. They may be either way. The only person that I tried to find that actually had any credentials listed was Bob Archer-Minister of Music/LHO-Oshkosh,WI/ I couldn`t find him on the internet. That does not mean that he does not exist. Also not sure what the letters "LHO" refer to.

I would be a bit disturbed by the statement that was made too late. "For some reason I thought you might no be happy with a 500.00 flute..." Hmmm.

Sorry that this happened to you. It is easy to get taken these days. The internet puts us in touch with more people. More good people and more bad ones.
~Bilbo

Kara,
Sorry to hear about your being scammed. I think you should report him to the Better Business Bureau, if he is using false advertising for his products it needs to be brought to their attention. That or you could take him to small claims court, but that would be a hassle. I hope things work out for you.

The review can be anything from genuine truth, to totally fabricated.

Unfortunately somewhere in between are where many reviews fit, even for reasonable quality products.

Scenario 1.
You ask a mate to write a review. That person is hardly going to say something too negative, because there is a personal relationship involved.

Scenario 2.
Somebody writes a review and you simply remove the parts that are negative.

Scenario 3.
Somebody writes something negative that is true but conflicts with the marketing hype. THAT review never reaches the public.

Scenario 4:
A reviewer is paid by the marketer, and feels obliged to say only positive things.

Scenario 5:
A person may review a product and be scared to write the truth lest it be legally challenged, putting the onus on the reviewer to prove his statements to be true in court, which nobody wants to be involved with.

There are many other scenarios.

Scenario 1 & 3, Example:
Somebody writes stuff that is not too complimentary about a certain type of pad. The manufacturer is both a `mate` of the guy who runs the web site, and a sponsor of the website. The `review`, quite irrespective of how true it might be, is quickly removed from the website. Some of us know of a specific example of this. For every one you know of, there will be many, many that you don`t know of.

Scenario 3, Example:
I was asked for my comments regarding a very well intentioned new brand of instrument on the market. I know that the developer was interested in my critical comments so that he could improve his product where he wanted to and could. I found quite a few issues that were not too positive. These never reached the internet of course, but all manner of ALWAYS POSITIVE reviews DID reach the internet, many of them by people with a personal association with the developer of the instrument.

The message of this post, NEVER take a review seriously, even if it is written by a high profile person. It will almost always be a warping of the truth for one reason or another. That piece of truth that was warped or omitted is usually the most important part of the truth.

Remember, there are sins both of commission AND omission!

I`d have bought from him too with reviews like that - is it possible there`s been some sort of mix-up? The flute you bought sounds worse than flutes I`ve had here that go for 1/10 of that price.

Return it. If you don`t get the money back quickly then complain through paypal. I assume this chap has decent ebay feedback? if he has, threatening a neg may get some action quickly.

Liz