Buying a horn from a stranger?

Ferguson · Post by **Ferguson** » Tue Oct 23, 2007 3:22 am

Consider an escrow service. For a small fee, they hold your money until you receive the instrument and you decide to keep it. Then they forward it to the seller. If you return the instrument, they only refund your money after the seller has received it back in good condition. I believe you can link to a service like this through Ebay. Beware fraudulent escrow services out there.

Or, find someone you can trust (and hire) in the seller's area who will look at the horn for you, and maybe arrange shipping.

BTW, a couple grand for a 191 sounds cheap. That raises my suspicion a little. But maybe it's an older horn at a great deal. However, if it sounds too good to be true, well, you know the punch line.

Steve Ferguson

MikeMason · Post by **MikeMason** » Tue Oct 23, 2007 8:09 am

Ask for some references in the tuba world.Most players know/have studied or played with some players we might know.

Alex C · Post by **Alex C** » Tue Oct 23, 2007 10:03 am

MikeMason wrote:Ask for some references in the tuba world.Most players know/have studied or played with some players we might know.

Ditto. Especially in North Texas. Tuba players are as thick as flies and almost certainly someone will know him or know someone who knows him.

I have never had a problem buying or selling between tuba players.. still I take precautions.

Alex F · Post by **Alex F** » Tue Oct 23, 2007 11:20 am

Bob,

If you post the general location of tuba (i.e., Dallas area), maybe one of out esteemed Texas tuba toters will offer to help you out, in exchange for . . .let's say . . .a 36 oz. steak and a couple gallons of beer.

Another idea is to ask the potential seller who, if anyone, has worked on his tuba. Then, have hime send you a repair receipt and call the repair person yourself. You probably want to know this information anyway.

Dean E · Post by **Dean E** » Tue Oct 23, 2007 11:56 am

I assume that you've visited a Tubenet sponsor in Indiana?

Donn · Post by **Donn** » Tue Oct 23, 2007 4:13 pm

What are your conditions of acceptance?

Valves reasonably tight, tubing not bent or battered, etc.? Or would be inclined to send it back if it plays flat for you on the 4th partial or something like that?

TubaingAgain · Post by **TubaingAgain** » Tue Oct 23, 2007 4:33 pm

Bob You will very happy with the 191. Fill me in on the details 4 or 5 valve yellow or gold brass

josh wagner · Post by **josh wagner** » Tue Oct 23, 2007 5:54 pm

heh, yeah no cashiers checks that was a headache. And yes you much trust the person. Sorry it took so long John. stupid banks. Oh well.

josh wagner · Post by **josh wagner** » Tue Oct 23, 2007 7:20 pm

yeah

bort · Post by **bort** » Tue Oct 23, 2007 8:05 pm

Bob -- Talk to the person, and try to gain a little trust in him/her. Get some real pictures of the horn, and if it feels legit, then go for it. If you're uncomfortable, see if you can find someone in Texas to help you out.

My guess is that the person on the other end of this feels just as cautious about selling as you do about buying.

tofu · Post by **tofu** » Wed Oct 24, 2007 12:20 am

Some good advice above - BUT - nothing beats going and playing the horn and paying and bringing it back in your own car. Texas is not as far from Chicago as you might think. If the seller is in the NE section of TX you can get there in a day. So you go down on Sat. and come back on Sunday. Other parts of TX are an easy 2 day drive. You could take a cheap flight down and back or fly down and rent a car and drive back or even take Amtrak down and back. All these options probably cost not much more than shipping the horn to you and back if you don't decide to buy. Take a friend or relative with you to share the driving as well as to listen to you play the horn to give you a disinterested party objective feedback on how you sound on it. Good Luck!

bort · Post by **bort** » Wed Oct 24, 2007 12:26 am

The seller might meet you halfway too, always worth asking about...

tokuno · Post by **tokuno** » Wed Oct 24, 2007 1:13 am

I take no credit (nor blame) for this list - I found it a while back on one of these forums and snagged it for future reference. Some good ideas, and some that probably don't fit as well for you. Good luck.

1. get seller's phone # and verify it
2. get address and verify it. you can always send a registered letter with signature requirements
3. get serial number of instrument
4. talk to the buyer......several times.
5. get employment information and verify that
6. if the seller is serious, you should be able to make him ship the tuba c.o.d. there is no risk to him in doing that as you can pay for the c.o.d. charges.
7. before you accept the shipment, inspect the package. do not tell the shipper you are going to do this because they usually say you can't open it..........just do it before you sign and pay.......for that kind of money, don.t take the risk of not inspecting the box, you could have something else inside and after you pay, and sign for the item, you are stuck
there is lots more you can do.
8. never pay for a tuba with anything but paypal. $1000 of protection is better than nothing.
9. beware of the expensive tuba being sold for a song and a dance.
10. get pictures of the seller holding the tuba with a newspaper of current date
11. ask for references to verify seller
12. never buy from a seller who does not list an actual location of the instrument and himself. never buy from a foreign seller
13. check ebay rating and contact previous buyers and sellers to see what they say about the seller
14. before buying tell the seller you will be coming to pick up the instrument and you would like to see it before you buy,...........make up a story like you are going to be in the area, or you have a friend who will come and look at it. if the buyer balks on this, you know something is up.

you never have absolute assurance that you are going to get what you pay for, but there are many ways to minimize your risk
one other thing you can do is find a reputable music shop near the buyer and have him take the horn there. contact the music shop and ask them about the horn.......
if there is a shop nearby, and the seller refuses to cooperate, then bag it

termite · Post by **termite** » Wed Oct 24, 2007 7:10 pm

G'day all

I successfully bought a tuba from an overseas seller using an escrow service.

I don't necessarily reccomend this but where I live the ONLY tubas you can buy are Besson/Boosey&Hawkes, Yamaha, Jupiter and just recently some enterprising soul has started bringing in Werils and St. Petersburgs. A couple of shops list a some of the B&S models but don't carry any in stock - you order one and take pot luck.

Regards

Gerard

Donn · Post by **Donn** » Thu Oct 25, 2007 2:39 am

Bob1062 wrote: He is supposedly in Lewisville, TX 75067.

I might just take Amtrak. Does anyone know what major city that is near?

The Texas Eagle goes from Chicago (easy for me to get there by public transportation) to Texas.

Texas Eagle to Dallas via St Louis. Then 3 hour ride north to Lewisville via routes 059 or 001, and 102. That's what the computer says. Bon voyage! as they say down there.

tbn.al · Post by **tbn.al** » Thu Oct 25, 2007 8:52 am

[/quote]

Bon voyage! as they say down there.[/quote]

If you say that in TX you are likely to get a strange look. More like, "Have a nice trip and don't get stuck or nothin'."

Rick Denney · Post by **Rick Denney** » Thu Oct 25, 2007 9:09 am

Bob1062 wrote:He is supposedly in Lewisville, TX 75067.

I might just take Amtrak. Does anyone know what major city that is near?

Lewisville is a fringe suburb of Dallas that is between Dallas and Denton. You'd save a lot of time if you can recruit the assistance of someone in that area to ferry you around, if it comes to that. If that someone is a tuba player, you can have help with a second opinion, too. Tuba players will do a lot for free dinner and beer.

Rick "no longer a resident of north Dallas" Denney

Tom · Post by **Tom** » Thu Oct 25, 2007 11:16 am

tubashaman wrote:Lewisville has some nice areas

however isnt the 191 a recently new horn, so why would they sell it?

The 191 has been out for 6-8 years, I believe, and possibly 10+.

Nice tubas, for sure.

But heck, I've seen tubas bought and sold again on the used market within a matter of months of their release...1291 etc.

TubeNet

Buying a horn from a stranger?

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Buying a horn from a stranger?