Buying a violin in Romania
My sister's going to be in Bucharest, Romania, for about six weeks this spring and we've considered the possibility of her purchasing a violin for me or my brother. Has anyone had any experience with this?
A few years back my Dad and I bought an old violin in a little shop in Moscow for $400. After spending a little under $200 for repairs, the instrument was appraised for $2,500. We had a little trouble getting it out of the country, but finally did.
I don't know what it would be like in Romania, though. Any thoughts or general international purchasing tips would be greatly appreciated!
Laura
Replies (8)
and avoid people with funny teeth.
If you avoided buying from people with funny teeth, the Violin industry of England would never have any customers.
Greetings,
trust me, Japan is worse.
Cheers,
Buri
Never seen a Romanian with funny teeth actually, and I know quite a few...
quite a few instruments are imported from Eastern Europe so it there should be some nice stuff there if you find it.
As for Japan...my first violin was bought in Japan and it was the biggest ripoff EVER >__<
2 words: caveat emptor
I actually bought a viola off the internet from Romania. I wasn't looking to spend a lot of money, it cost me 350 dollars. The bow that came with it was horrible but the viola has the most beautiful sound. We had several proffessional that wanted to buy it when they heard it: her school orchestra teacher and some at LSU. It is appraised at over 2500 dollars. All that to say, whoever made this viola did a beautiful job, nothing like the laminated ones you would normally get for the price I paid for it. I would like to find a violin for that price that would sound as good!
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February 2, 2006 at 07:43 AM · Make sure you go with someone who knows about violins. They might try to sell you a shoe and say it's a really great violin. You have to be careful there.