Hello from Vermont!

[matbaugh]

Hi all-
I used to be on these forums a LOT back in the early 2000's, but then stopped playing music.

I'm wrestling with the notion of selling my Thomas Aebi flute--I have barely used it, but have a hard time thinking about letting it go.

Have any of you been in this position? (A time has passed without playing and you consider selling instruments).

https://photos.app.goo.gl/rqGjn93K7sd9G05p1

[Dan A.]

Welcome aboard! Hopefully you're not still mired in snow in the Green Mountain State.

To answer your question, I bought a tin whistle a number of years ago, tried to play it, and then had it in storage, largely forgotten. In November of last year, I dug it out and learned a few tunes. Lately, though, I seem to have been stuck in a rut when it comes to playing the instrument. I am sure I'll pull myself out of it sooner or later...but Ive never given any thought to selling my whistles. This is because I wouldn't get $20 for the both of them.

I would say if you know you're not going to play the flute anymore, then letting it go is probably the best thing to do. If you think you're not going to play it anymore, keep it unless and until you know you're not going to play it anymore. You never know when you might pick it up and play a tune again.

Edit: I have seen matbaugh's post in the UIE by now...

[matbaugh]

Hey Dan-
Thanks for the reply--do you primarily play the flute?

If it were a whistle, I wouldn't worry about it--however, the flute is worth, what north of $3000 at this point? Basically, it's an asset sitting around if I'm not playing it, so it's been on my mind.

Plus, I just spent twice as much on a truck as I had intended, and am now considering funding it partially with the flute--this is the kind of thing I bet I'd kick myself for later on.
M

[Dan A.]

The only instruments I have ever attempted to play are the guitar (three failed attempts) and the tin whistle. But I completely understand your reasoning that the flute is an asset, especially with trucks being as expensive as they are.

[sligofluter]

Hi and wellcome.

The problem with the flute is you need to be "married" with your instrument. Irish flutes are hard to play, and I think unless you have innate talent for music, it is impossible learn to play it if the time you spend is not regular.

That's why I recommend starting with the tin whistle and later, with time and experience the time to move into the flute world will come.


David

[Loren]

matbaugh,

I’ve been in a similar position on several occasions, where I wasn’t playing for extended periods (for various reasons) and/or I needed the money. Having sometimes held, and sometimes sold I’d say that while it always pained me somewhat to my flute, in the end it was never really that big a deal, at least for me, unless I had to take a big financial loss, which was rarely the case. I’ve always been able to find excellent replacement flutes, typically used, when the time came that I wanted and was able to play again. So there’s my experience and obviously YMMV.

The other thing to consider is this: The Irish/ “Celtic” music craze was still going on a bit in the early 2000’s when you were last active here. Flutes were still in high demand with long waiting lists for many makers, and desirable used flutes being snapped up in minutes. If I recall correctly Aebi flutes were sort getting some positive talk at that time making them briefly “desirable”, and then later once the “great new maker” buzz has died down, they became less popular. This is a cycle we’ve seen frequently over the years.

Much has changed in the last 10 years: The Celtic music craze is over and demand for new flutes is down, yet there are a number of additional new flute makers cranking out flutes. And with few exceptions, the well known maker’s waiting lists have gotten much shorter. Big name used flutes rarely sell here within minutes of listing, now it’s days, weeks or months. I’ve seen Olwell flutes go more than a month unsold, this was unimaginable 10 years ago! A pristine Chris Wilkes keyless flute with engine turned rings took a month and four consecutive listings on eBay to sell for $1900. Back when you were active here that flute would have sold for more on in the very first listing on eBay.

My point to to all of this is that one thing you need to factor into your decision regarding whether to sell your Aebi is that you probably won’t be able to get what you think it’s worth, particularly given the condition, because market conditions have changed significantly since you were last here on a regular basis.

If I were in your situation right now and I hadn’t played in years, I’d sell the flute taking the loss and buy 2 shares of Amazon, knowing I’d likely make $600-$1000 by the end of the year, and certainly eventually cover whatever I lost on the flute sale relative to my purchase price. Then if I felt the need to have a flute around just in case I got the urge to play, I’d buy a Delrin Copley keyless - great maintenance free, relatively inexpensive flute, and then if/when I found my self playing regularly, I’d look to replaced the keyed flute. But really, hanging onto a “high maintenance” wooden flute that’s only likely to depreciate further over time, wouldn’t appeal to me at this point if I hadn’t played it in a long time. But that’s just me, and my intention here is only to give you some additional info. Hope it helps in some way. Good luck with your choice and possible sale.

[matbaugh]

Loren-
THANK YOU so much for your thoughtful response--makes perfect sense.

You're right, back in the early 2000's there was definitely an Irish Music craze and waitlists were quite long. Your thoughts about switching to a low maintanence delrin flute was exactly what I was thinking--something I never have to worry about, is cheap, and there when I need it.

My wooden flute has been a source of anxiety for me--sitting there in the closet worth thousands, but not being used.

Thanks again!

[rama]

There's an Aebi currently on Ebay, it has been there a while, worth monitoring to assess resaleability:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Tom-Aebi-woode ... Swi4laeb64