Well I just bought a banjo through EBAY. Paid 280.01 (260.01 + shipping) for an old Lyon and Healy open back.

This raised an interesting dilemma for me. I really like my local music store (the House of Musical Traditions in Takoma Park Maryland) and try to support it whenever I can. However, I couldn't get a banjo there for less than 4 to 5 hundred dollars. On the other hand I couldn't play the one that I bought ahead of time. I have also missed out on developing a better relationship with the local store as a result of buying an instrument through them. Interacting with them on the instrument setup etc.

Who else has bought or sold through EBAY? Would you recommend it? Did you have good results? How are you resolving in your own mind that online auctions etc. may drive local stores out of business.

JAB