Does anyone know how to get an Oboe appraised? I bought it in 1970, it is a Laubin. In total it has only been played maybe 3 years. Looking to sell and need to know what it is worth.
To get any instrument appraised you need to find a qaulified technician to go over it and determine it's condition. Even though the oboe has seen relatively low miles if it has not been cared for it could have cracks, misalligned keys, pads that do not seal. So for an appraisal you need to find a professional shop near where you live to appraise it. You might call some insurance companies and ask who they would use to get an appraisal. If you know any "receivership" companies they will have access to people who do appraisals.
Now if you just want to sell it you have several options.
1 - you can see what other are going for and try to get a smuch as you can for the instrument by posting it for sale and tellign of all it's wonderful charms.
2- you can place it with a music consignment shop. There are quite a few you can mail it to. They will appraise it and sell it for what they think they can get for it and take a small percentage of the sale.
3- Look at everything you can get your hands on. See what eBay and other sites are selling them for and in what condition. Look at your own rationally, think about how much you paid for it and how much enjoyment you got from it, then come up with a price that you would be happy to receive for it.
If you are trying to get top dollar, then you have to pay for an appraisal; you might have to mail it to an oboe specialty shop.
Contact Peter at oboes.us. He is very knowledgable about oboes, their ages, values. He buys and sells them too, but he might be able to give you a ball park figure if you just need it for insurance. Of course without seeing it or trying it, it would be difficult for anyone to value a particular instrument, but based on serial number, brand, age, etc. you should be able to get an approximate value.
