I want to buy my own Cello and Double Bass; and having survived on the ones I have rented from school for nearly 5 years, I think it is about time. I have a limited budget because it will be my parents buying them, and I don't want them to have to pay loads of money, but obviously I still want a good quality, nice sounding instrument.

So far I have found Gear4Music.com, which sells both instuments. Has anyone bought from Gear4Music before? What did you think of your instruments and their service (if you have shopped with them)?

And, do these instruments look good?

Here is the Cello: £398.99 ($750-$800 I think)
http://www.gear4music.com/String_Instruments/Cellos/Archer_4--4_Size_Cello_plus_Fibreglass_Casesefv_5.html

It is handcarved, made from spruce and maple, has ebony parts, comes with fiberglass case - with wheels. Sounds good to me. But im no expert. What do you think?

The Double Bass: £449.00 ($850-$900 maybe?)
http://www.gear4music.com/String_Instruments/Double_Bass/Full_Size_Orchestral_Bass_by_Gear4musicsefv_5.html

I am a bit unsure about this one, so I'd appreciate your opinions. It is made out of spruce and maple again. But it says ebony endpin and 'ebonized' jujube tailpiece. Is that where they have painted it black or something, is jujube a good wood? It also says 'Hand finished laminated instrument' is that bad? I know laminate instruments are cheap and nasty, but it says it is made from spruce. But it says it is handcarved, not a factory one. AS you can tell i'm a bit confused.

If you spot anything else I should be wary about..I'd love to know, obviously. Thanks for any answers to my questions!!!

(p.s) The workshop is somewhere near me, so hopefully I can go visit and have a go on the instruments if they allow you too.

Do not go near a laminate! i play the violin but i'm guessing the same still applies. it will be awful, its not really real wood. the jujube thing is just wood played black, go for the ebony.
you do get what you pay for, i guess its hard to give you advice for cello, when i play violin but thats my opinion. make sure its set up too when you buy it. the hard case sounds good, that way you don't have to worry about knocking it around.

Thankyou for that

A lil update: - what I currently do...
- I have a cello at home (school Cello)
- I have a cello at school (also schools)
- I have a double bass (yep you guessed it, also schools) which I take back and forth from school to home. The double bass and notthe cello to take back and forth (you might think it is cruel because it is so big), but that is because she has a higher demand for double basses, just because there is less of them. So my teacher couldn't get me two. But she could get two cellos.

I thought if I were to buy a cello, I'd give the other two cellos back to her. But then I'd need a double bass for at school, so I could give the school one to school and have my own one (which I was planning to buy) at home.

Situation now: - yay

My teacher has more double basses now, so said she'd be able to get one for at school.

This means I can just get a cello, meaning I can spend more on it, thus get a better one that is solid wood. Yippeeee!

So if the above doesn't really make sense with the whole cello/double bass thang...

basically, I'm spending about £900 on a Stentor Elysia cello. Solid wood, because I'm buying through the local music service they throw in a hard case aswell.

It's looking guuurrrdd

Thanks for the info on laminate.

Some helpful advice:
NEVER buy an instrument from the internet. EVER.

Always go to a music store, preferably one that specializes in strings. You need to know how the cello sounds, feels, plays, etc., before you buy it. I know many friends that bought instruments online, and not one is happy with what they've purchased. Buying something of this nature online means trusting the seller, trusting the quality of the instrument, and blindly assuming that what you buy will be good for you as an individual.

Using an internet store is a bad idea, but if you decide to go with it, please let me know how it turned out. Maybe you can change my and many others' opion on the subject.

Its funny you should say that, because i'm not getting one from the internet anymore

The cello i'm getting, I haven't actually played it - though my teacher reccomends it and says it would be the one she would get at my level. Plus, it is from the local Music Service so if I have any problems I know exactly where to go!
I am so excited I ordered it on Monday last week and they said it would be 1-2 weeks...so hopefully soon!!!
(it comes with a great case also)
Thanks for all your advice!