I look at it the opposite way, due to all the experiences I've had in 40 years of playing this music and acquiring instruments.lassoftheisland wrote:
Buying a secondhand whistle has always seemed risky to me...
My "rate of success" in buying used instruments has been far higher than buying new. My bad experiences buying new are many, and tedious to tell, and I'm not comfortable naming names. So let's leave it at that.
That aside, buying used allows you, in effect, to rent and try as many instruments as you wish, for free.
Because there's no difference in value between a 3 year old instrument and a 3 year 2 month old instrument. There's no difference in value between a 10 year old instrument and a 12 year old instrument. That two months or two years is your free trial, your free rental.
It so happened that I started hearing good things about MK whistles when a trip to Glasgow was looming, so I tried to get hold of MK to arrange a visit while I was there. I never made contact, wasn't able to visit MK or acquire an MK whistle while in Glasgow, so when I returned to the States I realised my only way to get an MK was to get a used MK. No problem, and over a few year period I owned a half-dozen different MK Low D's and spent much time exploring their subtle differences. I ended up with a superb MK which was my go-to instrument for a few years. The others were sold for what I paid for them, in every case.
I've bought, tried, and sold maybe 20 or 30 Low D's over the last 10 years, nearly all bought used. I now have just the one, a wonderful Goldie that I play every day. It was got used from a member here.
I tried in vain to get a Low C, and ended up with an incredible-playing one, got used from a member here.