Pros and Cons to Buying an Instrument Online

Everything that can be purchased on the internet IS being purchased on the internet – right? Even pianos can be purchased online through one of the many Ebay-style sites that serve as a marketplace for buyers and sellers. Because of the high cost of shipping, traditional pianos may not be the best instrument to purchase online but what about others? Many people do it but what are the pros and cons of buying a piano online? (or any musical instrument)

Pro- It’s probably cheaper

Running a traditional music store is expensive. Music stores are specialty stores which means that they hold on to their inventory longer than stores like Walmart or Target. Because of that, and other overhead costs, music stores find it extremely difficult to compete with online stores. This is bad for them but good for the consumer. On higher priced items, a few percentage points cheaper can represent a lot of money saved.

Con- You can’t touch it

Not until it arrives, anyway. No discriminating musician would ever purchase a musical instrument without first playing and holding it. Two instruments with the same model number can play drastically different so it’s essential that you try a few different makes and models. That’s hard to do when you shop online. It’s not like a TV where you can check it out in the local store and order that same model online.
Some online music stores allow you to purchase one instrument and order two or three and send back the instruments that you don’t like.

Pro- No Tax

In many cases, online purchasing doesn’t require you pay tax as long as the company doesn’t have a physical presence in the state where you live. This can represent a large cost savings on top of the lower price you’re already getting compared to the local music store in your city.

Con- Repairs

When you purchase an instrument from a local music store, they may offer a year or more of free repair and maintenance to entice you to purchase from them. If you have a gig that day and your instrument breaks, the store will be more willing to do an emergency repair for you if you purchased the instrument there. Purchasing online probably doesn’t get you any of the service that you may need with your instrument and who wants to pack it up and send it away for repairs?

Con- Trade Ins

Many local music stores have programs where you can trade in your beginner instrument for an intermediate or professional quality instrument and receive a larger than normal trade in value. This not only gets the old instrument out of your home without having to sell it online, but it will likely make the newer instrument cheaper than what you would pay online. Although some online stores will take trade ins, they will likely not give you as much as you would get at a local store. Check both sources and compare the deals.

Bottom Line

Most pros agree that purchasing a musical instrument online is not the best strategy unless you can get multiple instruments to try before purchasing. Stick with your local music store and form a relationship with them if you can and if the price of the online store is a lot lower, talk to them about that. Often they’re willing to match the price to gain your business.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t04ZbKq02iw

————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————–