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Posted

Hi all, I'm in the phase where I work on student instruments that people bring to me to get the practice, and I charge for materials plus a small amount for my time. I got an interesting one where an unfortunately naive person got a broken violin off eBay and thought it would be cheap and easy to fix it up. They were super excited that it was advertised as a quality German violin with a Stradivari label :(. It's in awful condition, and was sold with the broken neck. Below are pictures they sent to me. It needed 3 rib bouts glued, some ribs replaced on the upper bass side, and the neck reset. 

When they brought it in, I started gluing the seams back, then took a look at the neck...it looked wrong. Sure enough, it wasn't the original neck, but this awful 3/4 size neck. I broke the news to them, and they started looking for other necks. It seems like there are lots of cheap unfinished necks, but I'm not too interested in the time sink of doing a whole new neck. Long story short, this job would cost them thousands at any normal shop, and while I'm willing to do it for dirt cheap so I can practice, it will still cost more than the violin will ever be worth. 

So I guess I know the next step, is to explain that they could find a better violin for cheaper, and I could advise them on it. I'm just wondering the most tactful way to do that, or if there are other options I could explore with them. Do you usually just give a quote for a job, and then they'll decide whether it's worth repairing or not? How can you best advise someone on alternate options if a repair is too costly? 

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Posted

Good grief. :huh:

Just replace it with a similar violin and call it a day. They'll never notice!

BTW, JK.

Posted

I start by asking about sentimental value, giving them the chance to weigh what it means to them apart from the money. Then I let them know the cost of the repair isn't supported by the value of the instrument, but that a repaired violin will continue on despite such math if the work is done. Then you walk them over to look at new instruments with a nice bow.

Posted
9 hours ago, nrlewis said:

...I'm just wondering the most tactful way to...explain that they could find a better violin for cheaper...

One way to explain that a violin (or anything else) is not worth fixing is to use a wrecked car analogy.  Most people understand that insurance companies will not pay to have a car fixed if the repair cost exceed the car's value.

 

9 hours ago, nrlewis said:

...Do you usually just give a quote for a job, and then they'll decide whether it's worth repairing or not?...

Yes.

I often also give my opinion on whether the violin is worth fixing or not, and/or whether or not I would fix it if it were mine.  I also explain that some people want to have violins repaired -- even when it doesn't make sense economically -- for sentimental reasons.  But the customer is always the one who makes the decision.

Posted

Explain that it is “totaled” like a car that has been in an accident and it is damaged beyond economically-viable repair.

Many (most?) eBay sellers with a broken attic violin to sell have no idea of the cost of repairs or else they hope that a buyer doesn’t.

Posted

Thanks, makes sense. I was thinking how it related to the posts in a recent thread (below). Unfortunately the first thing I heard from this person on the phone is "we got this amazing deal on an old German violin!" I guess the main difference is in that other thread, people were just asking what they thought a violin was worth, not asking for a repair. So if I understand right, the professional thing to do when talking about repairs is to be up front that a violin isn't likely worth the cost of repair, and the totaled car analogy makes sense. 

Posted
6 hours ago, Brad Dorsey said:

I often also give my opinion on whether the violin is worth fixing or not, and/or whether or not I would fix it if it were mine.  I also explain that some people want to have violins repaired -- even when it doesn't make sense economically -- for sentimental reasons.  But the customer is always the one who makes the decision.

I worked in a furniture restoration shop a few years back, and was surprised at how many pieces of junk furniture people felt were worth restoring. A poorly constructed pine bedside table that had been painted over a dozen times and smelled like a cat had lived in it...but their grandpa had built it. Sentiment can be expensive. 

Posted
9 hours ago, GeorgeH said:

Many (most?) eBay sellers with a broken attic violin to sell have no idea of the cost of repairs or else they hope that a buyer doesn’t.

I'd be a bit more pessimistic on this: Many ebay sellers with broken attic violins have had it checked out and know exactly that their violin is not feasible to repair. They dispose of it on ebay, "knowing nothing about it".

The OP is probably well advised to explain this general situation, so their customer doesn't get taken by a treasure hunting urge and bring more write-offs.

In the case of the OP violin, one may ponder how the 3/4 neck got into the package and what the seller's ideas or motivation was...

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