I buy, sell, collect, service, teach and play the trumpet, and have been involved with brass playing for over 37 years. These are some very basic points to consider before buying or bidding for a trumpet on ebay.

Most of the regular sellers/traders of trumpets have great feedback and as with anything on ebay don't buy from someone with poor feedback. If you know very little about trumpets I would suggest that you don't buy from someone in a similar position; a dent in the wrong position can make a horn unplayable, and just because it is shiny does not mean that it plays well.

It should go without saying that you should not buy an unbranded trumpet, one made outside UK, USA, Japan or Western Europe, or one from a seller that does not accept paypal. Paypal is your guarantee that at least it will get posted to you! Just because Bentley, Crane, Stagg, Selman or Tristar are selling from UK does not mean that their trumpets are not poorly made in India or China. NB on the latest update to this guide I have removed Virtuosi instruments from the list of things not to buy. They are getting the quality right and for a cheap starter trumpet they are good value, although I am unsure what they will age like.

Good brands for student trumpets are Yamaha, Besson, Bach, Conn, Courtois, King, Getzen, Stomvi, Benge.  Yamaha are head and shoulders above the rest but not their older models like  the T100, YTR232 or YTR1320. It is still a lottery buying one of these unless you know what to look for or the questions to ask.

Lacquer or silver plate make no difference to how a student trumpet plays, but once you've decided what finish you like your first question should be how much wear does the trumpet's finish show. Make an assessment then if its going to be too shabby for you or your child (or you) to be seen with.

All of the trumpets except specialist models have 3 valves, or as some call them 'Pistons'. The valves should press down easily and then return without any sticking. It is also a good question to ask the seller to confirm that there is no plating wear on the valves - too much air leaking from the valves really makes the trumpet unusable

The trumpet has 4 tuning slides. Ask if all 4 are free. If the seller does not know what you are talking about you should question whether or not you should be parting with your money to someone that has described something that they know nothing about. It is not acceptable for the 3 bigger slides to be stuck. The small slide really serves no purpose and commonly gets stuck. It should affect the price but certainly not the performance.

I would not advise buying anything with dents or dings in it unless the seller can describe where they are and how big they are. It should be then up to the seller to convince you that they will not have an affect on how the trumpet plays.

Ask if the trumpet is suitable for the use intended (ie 10 year old learner, or grade 5 or 8 player). If the seller lists specifications copied from a website ask what they mean! I can list specs of Appollo 13 but haven't a clue how it works.

The mouthpiece does not have to have the same manufacturer as the trumpet stamped on it. Trumpets and mouthpieces are interchangeable but make sure that the mouthpiece is a standard model and not a bigband screecher or symphonic bucket! The standard model is a 7C, or yamaha number their standard mouthpieces as 11B4 or 11C4.

The best student trumpet (or best value trumpet out of any for sale on ebay)  for build quality and playability is the Olds Ambassador. There are many of these available at bargain prices on ebay, but because they were discontinued in the 1970s the finish will look rough. They do look cool though if stripped down to completely raw brass! I know very good semi pro players who use one as their back-up trumpet.

At the end of the day be careful. Ask other sellers their advice and opinions, read feedback and if you are thinking about parting with £100s do an internet search for the trumpet and get an idea of its true status and worth. Some sellers try to make money out of the postage cost. Uk mainland standard parcels rate is less than £10 for any trumpet, insurance may be a little more. £20 is for special next day delivery. Avoid sellers that ask for £20 unless it is guaranteed next day.

My interest is mainly in trumpets but the same guidelines apply for cornets, flugel horns and larger brass instruments.