I really want to get a piccolo(i know how to play flute so I figured it would be cool to play piccolo too). Only problem is my local music store only has one and its used(has this annoying scratch on the mouth peice which makes it very annoying to play cuz u feel it) and it doesnt play that great(i know how to ajust my embroucher to play it from playing my bestfriends). People told me ebay isn't reliable, and the store doesn't order piccolos. Can anyone show me where I can get a decent piccolo to play around with thats a decent price(200-350 ish)

Unless you're willing to go used, you're probably not going to get a whole lot in that price range. I would suggest keeping an eye on the websites of flute dealers (fluteworld.com flute4u.com, etc.), or possibly talking to Kara (who is another member here). You could go the eBay route, but there are risks that you have to understand and be willing to take when buying an instrument. You might check out usedflutes.com, or perhaps you could go to another nearby music store and see what they have. Your local music store could almost certainly order new piccolos if you asked them to get something in. There are tons of options....You just have to pick the one that works best for you.

hmm well how bout piccolos that are are 400-540ish?

I only have 540 dollars extra to spend on a piccolo.

Well, near top of that range (starting around $500, even at the best prices) are the lowest model piccolos I would suggest buying new. If you go used, you should have no trouble finding something for $540 or less. The same sources I mentioned above are still where I'd start looking.

Oh, and don't assume that they are lesser piccolos just because they are used. I actually prefer used instruments most of the time, as you can get "more" for your money, and assuming they were taken care of (and if they weren't, with some work from a tech), they can play just as well as when they were new. Age doesn't really matter at all. In fact, there's a whole group of flutists who swear by old French instruments, some of which are 100+ years in age.

Just to balance the perspective. I've bought quite alot on ebay and rarely experienced problems - with one exception when there has been a problem I've been really impresssed with how sellers go out of their way to maintain their reputation. (I couldn't imagine any local shop matching the level of service). The only problem I've had was with a computer part that I bought cheap from some-one without any feedback and it never arrived. Despite the fact that it was covered by the seller's insurance I failed to secure a refund - a few weeks later he was banned from ebay!

IMHO ebay is reliable and predictable. You take a risk if you buy from some-one with low or poor feedback. You gamble if you buy something which is poorly described - although you can and should always ask questions to clarify a description. If you buy an unbranded instrument it has a low resale value. Obviously, you can't try before you buy so you can't be sure whether an instrument will suit you or even if its being made to consistent specifications.

If you buy a second hand piccolo you should expect it to need some attention/servicing. Obviously, with a high quality reputable brand instrument, its likely to be worth it - providing you have a good technician who doesn't overcharge.

Many repair shops won't repair cheaper and/or unbranded asian imports although the better technician are finding ways of providing lower cost services. You may already have encountered shops that rubbish low cost instruments - much the way that Yamaha was unjustly rubbished when they first started making flutes ...

I have previously posted that I was impressed with the low cost Venus piccolo I bought and others have made negative postings. This implies that the standard of manufacture varies which is not consistent with the precision manufacturing technology which one expects in newer factories. In my experience the most common problems with Chinese manufactured goods in other fields, is that the design/specification is wrong (or perhaps incomplete). When this occurs, a whole batch of goods have exactly the same faults - the most recent I've seen is a double sax stand which can't fold small as intended!

If you buy a second hand piccolo you should expect it to need some attention/servicing. Obviously, with a high quality reputable brand instrument, its likely to be worth it - providing you have a good technician who doesn't overcharge.

That really depends on the source whether you should expect to have to put work into it. Buying from a reputable flute dealer that advertises it as having had a recent overhaul or having been looked at by a tech recently, you shouldn't need to do anything to it, and when you recieve it, if you find repairs are necessary, they will usually take care of any problems for you. Buying off the internet from someone with an undetermined connection to the flute, you should of course be prepared to pay for necessary maintainance and repairs.

While eBay is a great resource, and many a good deal can be had, unless you know what you're looking at, you could lose a lot of money. I've bought some great instruments at great prices, but I've also seen a lot of instruments priced well above what they were worth, and unless you are very familiar with the product and it's values in various states of repair and use, you're exposing yourself to an unnecessary risk. Also, an inexperienced buyer of instruments most likely would not know what questions needed to be asked of the seller, or even what requirements the prospective purchase must meet. All of this means that eBay is probably not the best source for instruments unless you have a good base of knowledge and experience to support you as you browse.