Any soprano new for less than $700 is likely junk. If the seller does lots of business on ebay, and offers a guarantee, and feedback from those who have bought from that sellar is good, you should be okay. Check out the other items the seller has for sale, if the descriptions are all the same, word for word, except for "name of product," beware. Another brand that MIGHT be okay is the E. M. Winston. Mine is fine. It has the normal intonation problems of the soprano, but no worse than the Keilworth I played. My lip has learned to play it in tune. Good luck!

I think things that make a suspicious ad are: ** Paying only by money order or cash. ** There's no picture of the horn in question, only a right-click of a picture taken off the Selmer web site. ** Something insane. They don't put the mouthpiece on the horn correctly. I've seen ads for saxophones where the mouthpiece had the reed on top; I don't know what to make of that. An-other time, the seller claimed to be a relative of Junior Walker (and the Allstars) selling the horn used on “Shotgun”, claiming that the horn was an alto, later corrected. A relative? Doesn’t know this? $10K? ** Of course, when you send an e-mail asking for the serial number, and they don't respond. ** What’s the general opinion about pawnshops selling on eBay?

Buying a sax online versus paying more, less selection at a local store or individual. I can't imagine buying a horn online, one that I haven't played. It's either going to be your horn or the horn for your child. In any case, the person is going to be playing it for years and years, and have a lot of time and frustration invested in that instrument. Your horn has to be better than you are. If you want your child to play the saxophone, you have to spend the time to find somebody who can play the saxophone and noodle around on it. This issue seems to be re-lated to the concern that Mark VI’s on eBay are the ones with problems: If it is such a good horn, why are you selling it? Alternatively, is there a problem buying online and through the mail from a bricks-and-mortar firm if they offer a money back guarantee with a trial period? Wouldn’t they send the junkiest one? Cannonballs and internet shopping www.saxquest.com/forumPostView.asp?ForumUID=6&ThreadUID=341&PostUID=1248 REALLY long discussion with some commentary on internet buying Get someone to play it for you www.saxquest.com/forumPostView.asp?ForumUID=6&ThreadUID=3024&PostUID Seems to be good advice. You know, the best investment may be “your time”.

Buying a sax online versus paying more, less selection at a local store or individual. A previous posting (seems like an ad for a particular music store) makes claims about internet buying. Would you agree? “FACT: Most New Saxophones sold on the internet claim they’re teacher / educator ap-proved, but the fact is, they are Not..! It costs an additional $120 ~ $280 to have a New Sax pre-pared and tuned by a certified technician to honestly play & meet MENC educator standards.” “FACT: Most Used brand name student Saxophones sold on the internet look New claim-ing they've been used “gently" or a few times”. But the fact is, they are complicated instruments & the slightest abuse by a child results in very expensive repair work! . . . The reality is, no mat-ter how good a used Saxophone appears, (especially a Student model), it probably needs $160 ~ $300 of repair work just get it to play right again.” “FACT: Would you let your child use a stranger's toothbrush..? Even if the used Saxo-phone is in perfect condition, did you know that it costs $120 ~ $200 to Sanitize a Saxophone? If not you could risk your child to serious health issues.” This previous posting is: www.saxquest.com/forumPostView.asp?ForumUID=6&ThreadUID=3033&PostUID NB -- I put all these postings here in order to make a sort-of single site for eBay issues, since many eBay buyers (e.g., parents) are already inundated with info.

In other discussion threads players have stated "watch out for those eBay Mark VI saxophones with a high F#, they have intonation problems". Is this true? Is it also true, or a general principle, that Mark VI saxophones on eBay are the ones that don't play well? “Advice for first purchase” www.saxquest.com/forumPostView.asp?ForumUID=6&ThreadUID=4196&PostUID Warns against F# Mark VI’s I remember seeing an ad for a Mark VI from the 50’s with original perfect lacquer, a high F# and a low A. Six months later, the same thing was for sale, and I suspect it may have been the same horn. My thinking: Perfect lacquer because it doesn’t play well and hasn’t been played much at all since the late 1950’s. Do “problem horns” keep reappearing on eBay?

One of the issues is really strange unheard-of brands. Link to Connsaxman Jim's "Approved Saxophone Brands" www.saxquest.com/forumPostView.asp?ForumUID=12&ThreadUID=4395&PostUID This link has a list of brands with which players are familiar and able to comment on the brand’s features. A broad “cut list” of sorts; if the brand isn’t listed here, caveat emptor.

Just how cheap can you get a saxophone and not expect to be ripped off? “Best sax for $500-$600” www.saxquest.com/forumPostView.asp?ForumUID=6&ThreadUID=3875&PostUID Discussion about how much to spend just to get into the market. “Is This Brand Any Good” www.saxquest.com/forumPostView.asp?ForumUID=6&ThreadUID=4376&PostUID Some general discussion about the low end of the market as well as some issues regarding inter-net purchases. Cheap saxes on eBay www.saxquest.com/forumPostView.asp?ForumUID=6&ThreadUID=4189&PostUID One discussant advises against eBay purchases (across the board, apparently) “First sax purchase … eBay” www.saxquest.com/forumPostView.asp?ForumUID=6&ThreadUID=3002&PostUID Some positive comments on eBay purchases, and caveats about Chinese/Taiwanese horns on eBay.