Little Blue Bird

String House in Rochester NY ships and offers 100% trade-in: http://www.thestringhouse.com/intermediate_instruments.asp A lot of choices for 3/4.

I realize you are not exactly going for the most practical option and maybe your financial situation can absorb this adventure. However, I still think the best thing you can do for your daughter is to gather several instruments for her to try out and let her and her teacher select one. This might mean dealing with something as mundane as Rudoulf Doetsch cellos but as your child goes through all the sizes, sometimes, you have to settle as long as she is learning what she needs to at her current stage of development.

I looked around out and could not find anything for a 1/4. The closest thing I could find was a 1/2 Mittenwald for $6,500.

That makes sense. She probably has outgrown cellos that are normally available for rent. FWIW, our daughter's 1/2 violin is a H & N and this particular one was much better than anything else we could afford. It 1) has clear and even voice across all strings that projects well, 2) is highly responsive, and 3) can give a wide range of tonal colors. We had to try a whole bunch to find this one. I'm sure after 4.5 years of lessons, your daughter would like to try out a few instruments and have a say.

We rented our daughter's first violin when she was 3. She is starting cello soon for school orchestra so we've been looking for a 1/2-size cello but we're going to rent again so I'm rather curious why you aren't interested in renting during the first year or so.

OP, I think what other posters are telling you is that violins aren't like cars and you will not find a meaningful list of "best of price category."

This just does not look right, especially the hair.