Have you ever heard how Jewish mothers see their kid put a coin in the mouth and say, "You don't know where that's been."    ?

The same applies to used instruments. An instrument that's been stored in the attic, garage or barn is less valuable than one that's been kept in the house, especially if the house has air conditioning and central heat.

I have a friend who tunes and sells pianos. She says that the piano tuners have a rule of thumb. If the piano's been in the garage, it's probably worthless by now.

Drbmorgan, in my opinion there is only one way you can sell the dulcimer to someone and do it ethically. You must get it into playable condition and play it for a while. Does it stay in tune? Does it buzz? You have a month. Trouble is, in that month you may fall in love with it.

A good time to play is right after breakfast on a weekend morning. Shove the coffee cups aside and play your latest tune for your sweetie. What a wonderful way to deal with the stresses of the past week.

(I play, and I have about 180 pieces on my list of things to play.)