I found a couple of old violins of my father's in my mom's basement. He passed in 1981 so I know they're older than that. I'm thinking about selling them. What is the best way to get the best deal?

Selling old violins for a good price is difficult. Your best bet is probably a commission sale through a specialist violin shop but that will only be possible if they are in playing order. If you want quick liquidation try ebay.

So is commission better than outright trying to sell it to a shop? I know how much someone can get cut down by selling to a shop! I used to work for a music store and sell my instruments,the dealer will only give you a percentage of the value of the instrument due to their profit margin.
I am going to need the best deal I can get and I was thinking about eBay. However the violin obviously does need some cleaning etc beforehand.

I doubt whether you will get a better price at either of them. The best price would come from a private sale but that depends on wide advertising - or knowing someone.

You mean like advertising on craigslist or something?

i would HIGHLY recommend getting the violin's appraised by a proffesional before selling!

don't try to hawk them at a shop. you will most likely get really badly ripped off.

i was once offered $200 for a violin that is worth thousands of dollars.
needless to say i didn't take the offer.

a lot will have to do with the demand of it for the store.
if they don't have high demand for it, then they won't be willing to buy it from you.


you could also try selling it to music teachers as well. private teachers sometimes like to have a bit of a collection to lend to their students.

perhaps a school would be willing to buy it as well.

look around for a good deal, but i do recommend finding the true value before seriously selling it. at least then you know what they're WORTH and are able to make the sale with a more realistic expectation in mind.

So where is a good place to get it 'professionally' appraised? I was thinking of going to someplace like Music & Arts Store,I used to know people at that store although I'm not sure if they still work there.

i went to a music store that specialized in string instruments and they had someone there who would appraise them as well. he would only be there on certain days.

look in your phone book for music stores and call and ask if they do appraisels as well.

there may be a fee to get it appraised. i honestly don't remember if i had to pay anything, i don't believe i did as the man was recommended to me by my teacher at the time.

you could also ask music teachers their oppinion of the worth of the violins or if they could recommend where you could get it appraised properly.

you can also look online for basic info on how to tell the value of the violin.

if you look inside the Fholes you should be able to see the make and you can then do a google search on the make. then the value would also depend on the condition of the instrument as well so taking it to get appraised would still be a good idea. but looking up info on your own is a good place to start

good luck! =)

Thanks for the advice,I'll see how it goes!

I'm sorry to disagree but old violins get better as they age, they appreciate like a piece of artwork. It is much better to get a violin that has aged for at least about 5 years because the sound of the violin can change a bit when it is bought brand new.

Well I hope that holds true in this case,they're at least 25 years old at this point.My mother now seems to still be sentimental about them,it may be awhile before anything is done.