TromboneChat

I am selling a used trombone online. I was contacted by someone who is very interested in the horn because of its reputation. He wanted to clarify with me that I would accept a return after 7 days because he didn’t play on it as well as he’d like. He was shocked that I would only accept the return if it showed up not as described. As a private seller, am I wrong in thinking it’s unreasonable to rent someone my horn for a week for free? Or am I just that out of touch?

You can make your policy whatever you want.
If you make it clear nobody should be shocked.

I don't think it's unreasonable at all to offer no returns and no refunds. Try to depict the instrument as absolutely accurately as you can, the good and the bad. No one really likes surprises in either direction, and I've had my fair share of them. I endeavor to minimize the chances of surprises for buyers, and I sincerely appreciate when other sellers do the same.

I offer the refund if it doesn’t turn up the way I described it, and will take as many pics as a buyer wants. The buyer wanted to try the horn to see if he really liked a red brass bell, and return it if he really was a yellow brass bell player after all.

Some retail outlets offer that sort of return policy, but their prices are higher, too.

Unless the buyer is local to you, there's shipping costs to consider.

I'd only do it if they paid for 100% of the shipping & handling both ways. It all adds up... shipping also involves about 30-60 minutes of time for a trombone, perhaps $10-$20 in supplies unless you're shipping out a ton of horns and can buy things in bulk, and the gas down to the post office. I've selectively offered it for horns that were not in good repair. I thought they were good playing horns but there was something either cosmetically wrong with them or they had some other issue and so I wanted to make sure the buyer was okay with those and probably wouldn't have been able to sell them otherwise.

So, no, I don't think your policy is unreasonable at all.

I would not buy an instrument if I did not know its the model I want. In that case I would wait and get more information first. An alternative would be to go to the seller and try the instrument and then decide. No way you should lend someone your instrument for free to return on those premisses.

I think people should stay away from private sellers if they dont know what they are doing. It is always a risk you don't get exactly what you really wanted but if it is as described then you have to accept you got exactly what you bought. You need to take consequences for your decision as a buyer too.

It is different if you buy from a shop. They might let you try an instrument for a week and if you don't like it you can return it, but then the instrument is more expensive too.

You can not do this with everything. You can not buy a suit and use it for a week and then return it because you don't like the color. No one expects this, nore a used suit from a private seller. Why would this be the case for an instrument?

The deal is you guarantee the instrument you sell is exactly what you described and as described, and on the buyers part he guarantees he will commit to buy the instrument if everything you said and guarantee is correct. That is a fair deal.

/Tom

Come to think of it, I have a big band gig next month on 4th part. I used to play lead in that band. I don’t have a horn with an F attachment. If I could borrow one with an F attachment, I will return it after the gig. I promise!

Sounds like that!

Part of the "used horn parade cycle" that some of us keep alive here means that folks buy horns, play them, and sell them along. Not trying to make profit, just trying to play a range of horns, often selling at a loss. I have several horns for sale now that I've bought on that premise. Several people here I think do the same thing. We don't have a librarian who allows us to borrow horns, we have to buy them, then hold on or not. If you get a horn you don't want to keep, just sell it. You don't have to commit for life to a horn you buy used on the forum.

I've had buyers on local Craigslist insist I drop the price substantially, or I must deliver, or some other such thing. I tell them I don't need to sell it, my terms are my terms. That said, in your case, if the buyer is willing to pay return shipping, maybe. If not, fuggetaboutit!

Department of Redundancy Department... Sorry!

The buyer should not have assumed the horn was returnable. In private sales, that is almost never the case. A retail shop? Sure, but their prices reflect that.

The buyer can simply sell the horn if it turns out they don't like it. That is how it works.