You're certainly entitled to your opinion, DaveandKate; and I tend to agree with you....though my inclination is mostly due to my financial status, not to my actual expertise on the matter.

Since my last post, I have developed a different question for the knowledgeable members of the forum. I have located a flute that satisfies both my professor's expectations and my budget. (However, I still don't have a whole lot to spare.) The seller seems knowledgeable and reputable: he offered to meet with me to try the flute; he sent me about a dozen pictures of the flute upon my request; and he has been prompt and thorough in answering my questions about the flute. He is willing to accept wire transfer of money, cashier's check, or PayPal (though I don't want to do PayPal if possible, because the fees on something as expensive as a flute would be quite a bit). But Escrow.com standard services are at least as much as the PayPal fees! Is there some cheaper way of paying that is more reliable than blind trust?

I have paid for items using Pay pay and the seller was the one who paid the transaction fee, unless he is adding that to the price. As an off-shoot, there has been a lively discussion going on at another website about whether the metal used in a flute has any effect at all on the tone. All the scientific evidence and blind tests done seem to confirm it doesn't.

My mom uses Paypal frequently and agrees with you, chrismontez, that the seller normally pays the fees. In this case, though, the seller was asking me to pay the transaction fees. As it turns out, that's no longer an issue, though....the deal fell through. I wanted a trial period before I officially bought the instrument (I was under the impression that such a period is customary?), but he was not willing to give me one. I can understand the hazards of mailing a flute halfway across the country for a trial, but I have seen sellers, who are not necessarily dealers, on usedflutes.com who are willing to do trials. This seller wanted me to pay for the flute before he would send it to me, and he didn't even guarantee a refund. So....that didn't work out.

My flute instructor has mentioned to me that the metal a flute is made of is not really important; it's how the flute sounds and (most importantly) how YOU sound playing it. Sounds like that's the general consensus But can't there still be "lower-quality" flutes and "higher-quality" flutes? For instance, I have seen a lot of people bashing Gemeinhardts on this forum, saying that they're poorly made and dysfunctional and just plain trashy. Personally, I love my Gemeinhardt and think it sounds great for me; but I have no experience with other brands and don't have the expertise to give a sound opinion.

P.S. to all potential flute sellers - My budget has increased somewhat since my very first post....I'm willing to go over $5000 at this point and will evaluate offers up to about $7000.

Did the seller of this flute happen to be Winds101? You have to be really careful in who you deal with. Since I used to be in the flute business (and still kinda am) I have a lot inside info on what sellers are good and trustworthy and which ones are not. J.L Smith often has used flutes for sale and they are very trustworthy. It is sad, but true, that many of the flute sellers that you see on line don't really know their flutes. You would not believe what some other flute vendors have asked me. And I am like.. good God, and you are selling flutes to the public? lol! You really have to be careful and make sure that the vendor is up to par on flutes.

Here is a link to a very interesting study regarding metals used in flute making http://iwk.mdw.ac.at/Forschung/engli...inortner_e.htm . For $7000 you are into top quality flutes, the Muramatsu DS or something comparable. Look at this link for used Muramatsu flutes direct from Muramtasu-America: http://www.muramatsu-america.com/usedflutes_m.pdf. $5000 will get you a great used flute and I am sure they are reliable to deal with.

DaveandKate....it actually wasn't Winds101 that I was talking with. I've read some BAD stuff about Liz on this forum. As I recall, you had some issues with her, right? Plus, some of her prices made me really suspicious. Somebody who was selling his/her flute for money in a pinch might be willing to sell cheap; but a dealer? Especially after everything I'd heard about her....I just decided not to mess with it.

The seller I was dealing with (assuming he was being honest with me, and I *think* he was) is a private flutist who's trying to sell some of his backup flutes. He seemed knowledgeable about the flute and its features, and, at my request, he sent me about a dozen good photos of the flute. He willingly answered my questions (and believe me, I ask a LOT!), but he just wasn't willing to work out a trial or confirm a return policy. He offered to let me try the flute in person, but he lived so far away that that wasn't practical.

chrismontez....I can't open the link to the flute study you posted but I believe you. I remember reading something where James Galway was talking about how much he liked one of Muramatsu's models. I can't remember if it was the EX or the GX....but it wasn't the DS or one of the "high-end" models. Apparently he didn't have too much problem with it not being "Top Notch"

Btw, thanks for the link to Muramatsu's used-flute list! Some of the items on there look pretty good. I may seriously consider buying one of them! For the time being, though, I'm going to wait....I made an appointment to go to a flute store in a couple of weeks and try out different models. Maybe then I'll have a better idea of exactly what brand and model I sound best on and should look for.

Unfortunately there are many dealers out there that jack up the price and try and take advantage of people. People think that my prices were high for a flutes that I would sell that I put 8 hours of work into and only made around $50-$100 for But then there are the dealers that want to make hundreds off a deal and sell the flute with simple minor adjustments done to it. I suppose they have to make a living too, but I always felt that if I got the flute for a deal, then I would do work on it and make a small profit and give someone else a deal. Then again, mine was more for fun. I just get so irritated looking on usedflutes or ebay and seeing dealers jacking up flutes to ridiculous prices. Many of them you can get brand new for just $200 more. I know it is not just the flute business that is that way. It is sad. There are just too many greedy people in this world.
And yes, I did have problems with Liz from Winds101. I had been friends with her for around some years. (At least I thought) when she decided that it was perfectly okay to steal my work without so much as a regret or sorry. After that, she lost all credibility in my eyes and I will not recommend her to anyone.

Ebay or craigslist would probably be your best bet to find a good deal from a private seller. Of course you would probably need to set up an allowance along with the price for a COA or a repad and repairs, but you would still probably get the best deal this way. The economy is so bad with selling flutes right now that this would be the time to grab a high dollar flute for a bargain. I have pretty much stopped selling flutes because of this. Customers in the US wanted all my flutes for less than what I bought them for and even put a lot of hand work into them. I had enough of that.

If I think of anymore places to find flutes or find something that I think you may like, I will be sure to let you know. Happy flute hunting!