Can Second Hand Instruments Provide Better Quality at a Lower Price?

Electrical appliances have one major consideration before anyone buys them, i.e. safety from accidental misbehaviour of the appliance itself. In other words, the buyers must be reassured that the appliance has undergone rigorous testing to ensure that all its vital components are functioning as intended. One sure way to reassure your buyers is to stick PAT testing labels on all the electrical appliances checking out of your stores.



It's not as if the simple act of sticking PAT labels is enough to convince the safety and integrity of the electric appliance. You need to undertake successful requisite testing of the appliances in order to showcase the testing results on the PAT testing labels.



For the uninitiated, Portable Appliance Testing or PAT labels carry the results of vital tests conducted on the appliance by an authorized testing agency. The results are in the form of 'Pass', 'Fail', or 'Visually Inspected'. There may be other depictions of results but these are most common signifying respectively, having passed the tests, failed the tests, and only visual and no technical tests were carried out on the appliance.



The testing and display of results of these tests has the legislative backing in the form of Health and Safety at Work Act of 1974, the Electricity at Work Act of 1989, followed by the Code of regulations applicable to electrical safety of appliances, machines, components, and tools evolved by the Institution of Electrical Engineers. Resultantly, all electrical devices manufactured, sold, imported, or installed in the UK should undergo prescribed testing. In this regard, PAT labels facilitate the communication of these Purchasing a second hand instrument can be very useful in terms of buying an instrument of quality at a lower price. Most of the music instruments slowly lose value with use (with the exception of Antique Instruments that should generally appreciate slowly over time). However, so long as the instrument has been well maintained and looked after and is essentially of decent quality, it should still provide a good playing opportunity for either beginner players or a current player wishing to up-grade to a higher specification instrument, without paying the amount it is valued at new.



The danger happens when a second hand instrument is bought privately and often without viewing it personally pre purchase. What might look like a bargain in written form, is not necessarily what arrives on the doorstep. There are an increasing number of circumstances of online private purchases of second hand instruments that have been unplayable upon arrival. The owner is then obliged to bring the instrument in for repair so that it can be made playable again. In the worst case scenarios, the instrument is damaged beyond repair.



Listed below are key issues to watch out for when purchasing a second hand instrument. These are not always obvious to an untrained eye, but imperative to the condition and overall price paid for the instrument:






Stringed Instruments



Cracks on the front or back of the instrument de-value the instrument the most. If they have been restored by a reputable repairer and the instrument is of sufficient value anyway, they should often come with a guarantee of lifespan for the repair made.



Warped fingerboard or bow stick. Instrument repairs shall be necessary, depending on the initial value of the instrument.



Check for repairs or cracks visible to the neck of the stringed instrument and the quality of the repair done (again most reputable music shops will guarantee a repair of this nature if the job has been done properly.)



Look for oxidized or perished strings. Worn strings of any degree shall need replacing.






Woodwind and Brass



Check for bent keys and dents on the instrument. This will affect their playability.



If these instruments have not been serviced regularly, pads can be swollen or perished and valves can become sticky or indeed immovable.



Look for oxidized screws that make the instrument impossible to service without drilling the screws out first and replacing them.



In conclusion, there is great opportunity for players in the second hand instrument market, but due to the nature of the instrument already being used it is advisable to make sure that the instrument's condition is guaranteed by a reputable music shop.There is a wide market for second hand instruments such as the Admira Guitar and Yamaha Clarinet.