Consignment is great, provided you don't mind waiting for awhile. Especially in this market.
I've mentioned this before: the model instrument that takes the biggest percentage hit over new is the beginner/intermediate horn. Case in point. A YAS-23 (Yamaha student alto sax) is $1759 new. On eBay, the highest price for a used one was $750, with an average of around $400 (the cheapest non-parts horn was $185). Pro? A new YAS-82Z is $3435. The highest one has recently sold on eBay is $2100 -- and around $2000 is the average price they're selling for.
If you're looking to maintain value, you need to by pro.
Now, there are a lot of "not well-known" pro horns that are out there that can be considered to be undervalued. I could tell you what they are, but I think that'd eat into my eBay profit margin .
I've mentioned this before: the model instrument that takes the biggest percentage hit over new is the beginner/intermediate horn. Case in point. A YAS-23 (Yamaha student alto sax) is $1759 new. On eBay, the highest price for a used one was $750, with an average of around $400 (the cheapest non-parts horn was $185). Pro? A new YAS-82Z is $3435. The highest one has recently sold on eBay is $2100 -- and around $2000 is the average price they're selling for.
If you're looking to maintain value, you need to by pro.
Now, there are a lot of "not well-known" pro horns that are out there that can be considered to be undervalued. I could tell you what they are, but I think that'd eat into my eBay profit margin .