Hello,

I am trying to sell a Violin but am experiencing some difficulty, I was wondering if any could help. I have been advised to sell it privately as dealers will tend to give me a lower price, does anyone any good places to advertise? I am in South West England, someone suggested trying to sell it through a teacher but there don't seem to be any close by.

It is a Dresden violin circa 1890, it cost £650 when bought 5 years ago with a bow that cost around £150.

Any help would be greatly appreciated, I hope this doesn't break the no advertising rule... I'm not advertising I'm just looking for advice on good places to advertise else where.

Thanks,

Alex

Everything depends on how quickly you want to sell it and how much of a loss you are prepared to take. Unfortunately there is a myth that violins increase in value. This is only true over the long term, not over five years. If you bought it from a dealer the chances are that originally it will have come from an auction and the dealer could get a similar one for £100 or so from the next auction (he would have to do some work to it of course but even so that gives you some idea of the figure a dealer is likely to offer for it if it's not a trade-in). Some dealers will sell instruments on commission - typically 20% - but of course if a customer buys your violin they will not buy one that the dealer might have in his stockroom. Selling on commission can take months, everythign depends on having a customer who wants that violin at that time.

Ebay is the place for quick liquidation and I'd guess you'd get about £100 for the violin you describe if you listed it on ebay. Even selling as a dealer with a full warranty I would expect to get no more than that on ebay.

For a private sale you have to attract someone who is willing to come to you to see one violin and to accept it with no warranty. That's why it can take a long time to sell privately and that is also why you won't get anywhere near £650 for it on a private sale.

And all these factors, of coruse, are why people recommend selling through your teacher if you possibly can, and it also explains why trade-ins are such a popular option, but that's not a lot of help unless yopu want a better violin.

I'd say your best bet is likely to be a sale on commission - would West Country violins or Bristol violin shop be interested?

Sorry to be the bearer of bad tidings!

Liz

I originally got it from Bristol Violin Shop, and they said they may be able to sell it for me, but probably wouldn't be interested in buying it themselves.

Then that's probably your best bet, I'm afraid.

Liz

Are you looking to buy another violin to upgrade your present one? If so, depending on what it is, the condition it's in and what you are interested in trading it up for you may be able to negotiate a deal with wherever you get another violin from. Some dealers even have a buy-back clause of you later upgrade an instrument or bow from them, but I don't know if this applies to your own circumstances.

If you are just wanting to get rid of your violin for now, think carefully. If you ever want to play one again it willl cost you a lot more to replace than you would get for it now.

Alternatively - do you have another, even distant family member who might be interested in it, either now or in the forseeable future?