Setting the Terms for a Trial Week

[Tubanomicon]

Hello everyone!

I have someone who's interested in purchasing one of my tubas. He is a college student with whom I play on a weekly basis, and he wants to do a trial week with the horn. He doesn't have much money after just having purchased a plane ticket, so he was hoping to "rent" the horn for $60. That price would cover a rental period of two weeks. At that point, he would let me know if he would want to purchase the tuba or not. (He says he will have additional funds for the purchase at that time.)

I'm not sure how I feel about these terms. I understand he's a student and he's short on cash. But I want to protect myself in the event something happens to the tuba. Is there a way I can agree to a trial period while still accommodating his financial situation? Or should I basically pass on his offer by explaining I would need the full purchase amount upfront?

How have other TubeNetters dealt with trial weeks in the past?

Any thoughts would be most welcome.

Thank you!

David

[arpthark]

I've done week trials with a handshake agreement of "if I screw up the horn, I'm paying for it." Never charged a fee or paid one when trying tubas. There has to be a level of trust involved that he's a smart adult who won't destroy a horn. You see him weekly, so you've got to make that character call.

[Michael Bush]

On the one hand, I basically think it's better to think of trials as a fully paid purchase with the option of return for a refund within a certain window of time.

On the other hand, perhaps the question is how much you trust him. I was once offered the chance to take a great and well-known player's extraordinary tuba home for a week, when I wasn't even thinking about buying it (nor was it for sale), but was interested in a similar one. I declined, because I didn't want to risk something beyond my control happening. But I was deeply moved by his trust.

This is obviously someone you know, not some random person a thousand miles away. So maybe it would be okay. You're in a good position to judge how much trust you want to offer.

[Tubanomicon]

Thank you so much for your advice!

I contacted him to discuss all of this, at which point he said he won't be able to afford the tuba due to financial troubles. Oh well. I'll be sure to keep all of this in mind for future trial week requests.

[bort]

Let him use the tuba during one of your rehearsals. There's no better trial by fire to see if it's something he might want to buy.

Otherwise, I wouldn't go for his terms. He can buy it or not buy it. I'm not trying to be mean about it, but he either has the money or he doesn't. No need to spend 2 full weeks with the tuba before even deciding whether or not to buy it. In my mind, that's not a trial period, that's borrowing a tuba. Unless it's a very close friend, I think that's just asking for trouble.

In my experience, I think you only need a few minutes to tell whether or not you want to buy a certain tuba (especially if it's a decision of "buy this or nothing"). However, it takes about a month (or more) to decide if it's something you want to *keep*.

[Tubanomicon]

Bloke and Bort, I can't thank you enough for putting things so bluntly into perspective. It makes sense to not take a chance when it comes to something as expensive as a tuba. Bloke, I agree that selling the instrument first should be the way to go. And Bort, I like your "buying" vs. "keeping" distinction. Thanks again!

[swillafew]

Sounds like a great time to play the game "what's the worst thing that can happen?". If the person can easily cover the cost of an accident, fine. I do my best to not touch other peoples' instruments except to help protect them once in awhile. Borrowing one is pretty much unknown.