Consign Your Clarinet with Copeland Clarinets
Let us do the work. You get more for your instrument.
Selling a professional clarinet yourself can be time-consuming.
You have to determine the right price, advertise it, answer questions, deal with potential buyers, arrange trials, process payments, and figure out shipping — all while hoping you’re dealing with a serious buyer.
Copeland Clarinets can handle that for you.
Our consignment program gives your instrument access to our customers and clarinet community while allowing you to potentially receive more than you might through a traditional dealer trade-in.
And our fee is simple:
15% of the final selling price.
No complicated commission tiers.
No upfront consignment fee.
How It Works
To list, advertise, or market an instrument for consignment, Copeland Clarinets must have the instrument in our physical possession.
We do not create website listings or actively market instruments that remain with the owner.
Once we receive your instrument, we’ll evaluate its condition, discuss an appropriate asking price with you, and determine what service or repair work is necessary to prepare it for sale.
Any required repairs, adjustments, cleaning, or other necessary service must be completed by Copeland Clarinets before the instrument is listed for sale.
There is no upfront payment required for this work. Repair charges are recorded and deducted from your proceeds when the instrument sells.
Once the instrument is ready, we can photograph it, create its product listing, add it to our website, market it to prospective customers, answer inquiries, facilitate applicable trials, process payment, and complete the sale.
The instrument must remain in Copeland Clarinets’ possession while it is actively listed and marketed through our consignment program.
When your instrument sells, our 15% consignment fee and any outstanding repair or applicable shipping expenses are deducted from the sale proceeds. The remaining balance is paid to you.
What Could I Receive?
Consignment can often allow an owner to receive more for an instrument than selling quickly to a dealer or accepting a trade-in value.
For example, if your instrument sells for $3,000:
Selling price: $3,000
15% consignment fee: $450
Your proceeds before any repair or applicable shipping expenses: $2,550
Any outstanding repair or applicable shipping charges would then be deducted from your proceeds.
Your actual proceeds will depend on the final selling price and expenses associated with your individual instrument.
Repairs & Preparation
Every consigned instrument must be in appropriate playing condition before being offered for sale.
If repairs, adjustments, cleaning, or other service are necessary, that work will be completed by Copeland Clarinets before the instrument is listed or marketed.
Required repair work is a condition of participation in our consignment program. Instruments cannot be listed while necessary repair work remains incomplete.
The cost of this work does not have to be paid upfront.
If Copeland Clarinets sells the instrument, repair costs are simply deducted from the owner’s proceeds at the time of sale.
If the consignment ends without Copeland Clarinets selling the instrument, any outstanding repair charges become due before the instrument is returned or released.
How Long Will It Take to Sell?
There is no standard timeline for selling a used clarinet.
Some instruments may sell within a couple of weeks.
Others may take several months, a year, or potentially longer.
The amount of time depends on many factors, including the brand, model, condition, age, asking price, current market demand, and the number of buyers looking for that particular type of instrument.
Specialized or less commonly purchased instruments may naturally require more time to find the right buyer.
Copeland Clarinets cannot guarantee that an instrument will sell or guarantee a specific timeframe for a sale.
Can I Lower the Price?
Yes.
Pricing is one of the factors that can influence how quickly an instrument sells, and lowering the asking price can sometimes make an instrument more attractive to potential buyers.
However, lowering the price does not guarantee a faster sale.
A clarinet still needs the right buyer.
Our goal is to help you balance getting a strong value for your instrument with setting a price that makes sense in the current market.
Copeland Clarinets will not accept an offer below the agreed selling price without the owner’s approval.
What If I Sell the Clarinet Myself?
You remain free to find a buyer for your instrument while it is consigned with Copeland Clarinets.
If you find your own buyer while the instrument is under consignment, you do not owe Copeland Clarinets the 15% consignment fee.
You are only responsible for any outstanding repair charges and applicable shipping or other expenses already incurred in connection with the consignment.
Because the instrument must remain in our possession while actively listed, the instrument will be released or shipped as directed once those outstanding expenses have been paid.
What If I Change My Mind?
That’s okay too.
If you decide you want your instrument back or simply no longer wish to consign it, you may cancel the consignment.
There is no 15% consignment commission due if Copeland Clarinets has not sold the instrument.
You will only be responsible for any outstanding repair charges and applicable shipping expenses incurred while the instrument was consigned.
Once those expenses are paid, the instrument can be returned to you and its listing will be removed.
Trial & Shipping Expenses
Potential buyers may occasionally request to trial a consigned instrument before purchasing it.
In most cases, the prospective customer is responsible for applicable shipping charges associated with a trial.
However, Copeland Clarinets may occasionally offer free or discounted shipping promotions to customers.
If a free-shipping promotion or other shipping discount is applied to a trial involving your consigned instrument, the actual shipping expense paid by Copeland Clarinets may be deducted from your eventual proceeds or become due if the consignment is cancelled.
Return shipping to the owner after cancellation of a consignment is also the owner’s responsibility.
No Sale? No Consignment Fee.
Our 15% fee is earned when we sell your instrument.
If your instrument doesn’t sell through Copeland Clarinets, you don’t owe the 15% commission.
You are only responsible for expenses actually incurred on your instrument, including required repair work and any applicable shipping expenses.
Why Consign with Copeland Clarinets?
A dealer purchasing your instrument outright has to buy it low enough to cover the risk of owning it, servicing it, marketing it, and potentially holding it for months before finding a buyer.
Consignment works differently.
Instead of selling your clarinet immediately at a wholesale or trade-in price, you retain ownership while we professionally prepare and market it to potential buyers.
That can often mean more money back to you when the instrument sells.
Copeland Clarinets handles the work of evaluating and preparing the instrument, photographing it, creating the website listing, marketing it, communicating with prospective customers, facilitating applicable trials, processing the transaction, and completing the sale.
You get the benefit of professional representation without having to manage the selling process yourself.
Simple Consignment. Simple Fee.
15% flat consignment fee when we sell your instrument.
Your instrument must be in our possession and necessary repairs completed before it is listed or marketed.
No consignment commission if you find your own buyer.
No consignment commission if you change your mind.
Necessary repairs can be deducted when the instrument sells — nothing due upfront.
No guaranteed sale date and no pressure to continually lower your price.
You retain ownership until the instrument sells.
We handle the work of preparing, marketing, and finding the right buyer.
Ready to Consign Your Clarinet?
Contact Copeland Clarinets with the brand, model, approximate age, condition, and any other information you have about your instrument.
We’ll help you determine whether consignment is a good fit and discuss the next steps for sending your instrument to Copeland Clarinets.