FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions

1. I’m new here. What is Recorders for Sale / recordersforsale.com?

RFS was founded in July 2015 to help recorder players find a new home for instruments they no longer need and to help other players find new instruments. The recorder world lacked a proper place for recorder classifieds — at least in terms of accessibility and modern web technology. It’s in this context that I had the idea to create this website. My goal is to help sellers from all over the world (i.e. 95% of the recorders listed here do not belong to me) to find a new home for their unwanted recorders that still deserve to be played, which in turn may benefit many players looking for a new instrument. So far recordersforsale.com has proven to be a great platform to showcase —at a very reasonable price— any recorders that anyone might be willing to sell. Although my main motivation is not a lucrative one, I do ask for a small fee to post your ad, since it takes some time to post a new item here, I’m a professional player and teacher, and my time resources are limited. → Read on if you have a recorder you want to sell!

2. How much does it cost to place my ad on recordersforsale.com?

I only charge 10 € to post your ad for each recorder you wish to sell. As mentioned above, it takes some time to post a new item here, I have limited resources, and it’s not my full-time job.

3. Great. How do I get my ad listed on RFS?

Payment information is now on a separate page. Here’s how.

4. Selling a recorder consort?

The price of an ad for a recorder consort is set per instrument because the amount the seller receives is proportionally much higher than for a single instrument. Therefore, an ad for a set of 5 recorders would cost 50 € (which is again proportional to the amount generated by the sale). If you’re selling a rather cheap consort (for example, you’re asking about €2000 for 5 instruments), there’s also the possibility that the buyer pays (part of) the ad: for example, the seller could ask for 2025 € (sharing the costs) or €2050 instead of €2000, and thus the buyer would pay (part of) the ad. Not the normal procedure, but sometimes (cheap consorts with reasonable asking prices) it can be fair, and most who are willing to invest €2000 will not have much trouble with 2050 € instead.

5. Does recordersforsale.com charge a commission on instruments sold?

No. I do not charge a commission on items sold — other online services charge up to 30% of the total sale price. recordersforsale.com is much cheaper than other instrument listing services!

6. How do I pay for my listing?

My preferred method is Wise, but you can also pay with PayPal and Stripe. Here are the details.

7. I want to buy a recorder! How do I contact the owner?

Very easy. You can contact the seller directly using the contact form you’ll find below each instrument’s details – which means: messages sent through these contact forms will be addressed directly to each seller. It’s a convenient way to prevent the public display of their email addresses (which could easily be spammed), while providing greater privacy for the seller. Messages sent through contact forms (but not the subsequent email exchange) will also reach me. This has proven to be helpful if, for example, the sellers’ email spam filter settings are too aggressive, or if for some reason they don’t receive (or can’t find) messages sent through contact forms.

8. My role & responsibilities

The recorder world is small, we recorder players often know each other and you’ll often find familiar names here. However, you need to understand how recordersforsale.com works and be aware of the following:

  • I limit myself to posting the information I receive from the sellers “as is.”
  • Occasionally, you may find inaccuracies in the listings. However, I do not have the time or resources to investigate the accuracy of every detail. It is the seller’s responsibility to provide accurate information, and the buyer’s responsibility to verify it (see some recommendations below)
  • By posting their ads, sellers benefit from recordersforsale.com exposure, and can be easily contacted by the large number of potential buyers who regularly visit this site
  • I am in no way responsible for the final transaction
  • I have no way of verifying the accuracy of the information in the ads
  • I do not and will never guarantee any transaction, offer any buyer protection, or hold any deposit from any party

In short, the recorders are being sold by third parties, not by me. If you are interested in one of these instruments, please contact the seller directly using the contact form. I limit myself to providing a service to the recorder community and have no financial interest in any subsequent sale. Also, I cannot vouch for the quality or condition of any of the instruments listed on this site, as they have not passed through my hands.

9. Recommendations & Contract

10. How do “Wanted” ads work, is it the same process as posting an ad for sale?

Yes, you basically have to follow the same procedure as if you were selling a recorder, and price is the same as for a regular ad. Just follow the instructions here where applicable (for example, you don’t need to send pictures, of course). Otherwise, it’s the same procedure – don’t forget to mention details like preferred wood or pitch in the online form.

11. Are you willing to post here recorders with German fingerings?

No. In the past, I have somewhat reluctantly agreed to post some vintage recorders but, since my time resources are very limited at the moment (I’m writing a dissertation!), I should limit myself to posting modern, professional instruments. For the same reasons, plastic recorders are not welcome either, sorry. Besides, do the math: if you sell your plastic recorder for, say, 30 € and I ask you for 10 € to post it… It’s just not worth it.

12. And what about traversos or other woodwinds?

Professional modern copies of historical flutes (traversi) or other woodwinds, such as Baroque oboes, are welcome, as there are many recorder players who play the traverso and/or oboe as a second instrument, and vice-versa. So, I think there’s some interest from the RFS audience in knowing about copies of other historical woodwinds that might be for sale.

13. Who runs recordersforsale.com (RFS)?

recordersforsale.com is an original idea of Vicente Parrilla, a professional recorder player, researcher & professor.

14. Questions, Suggestions?

I’d like to hear how you think I can improve this site, so your feedback is greatly appreciated. Please let me know.

15. ♡ How you can support RFS

If you find this site useful or valuable, please help me continue by supporting my work at recordersforsale.com. recordersforsale.com is an ad-free, independent recorder resource created by Vicente Parrilla in 2015. The site receives over 5000 unique visitors per month. It’s expensive and time-consuming to run, but fortunately, with over 600 instruments sold so far (and counting), it’s proving to be a very helpful resource for recorder players. About 99.9% of the site’s visitors do not support the site financially in any way (which is fine), but if you would like to help make RFS a sustainable side project and keep the site running for years to come, here’s how you can help:

  • You are welcome to donate through Stripe or this PayPal link. Bank transfer is also possible (thanks to Wise I can now accept payments in EUR, USD, GBP, AUD and CHF without extra fees). Any amount will help. Thank you so much!
  • You can also share RFS with your friends and colleagues—this site has grown entirely by word-of-mouth, so a link on your blog or a mention on Twitter would mean the world to me

Thank you so much! —VP.

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