Violins intrinsically hold their value, however to do so they must be kept in good condition through regular servicing and replacement of some components. As a repair and often refurbish old instruments for new families I often have to manage the expectations of people looking to sell or trade in an instrument and wondering how much their violin is worth
Student violins
If you are wondering how much you student violin is worth, you can look for how much it costs to buy currently, and then look at around 50% of that if its in good condition. This is what you might be able to sell it on facebook for. While you may think it’s worth more keep in mind the buyer is buying something without warranty and facebook marketplace shoppers are generally looking for a bargain. depending on the time of year (start of the school year) it might sell quickly or take quite a while to sell at other times
If you hope to sell it to a music store (I’m always looking) keep in mind most stores buy wholesale and so what you are hoping to sell-it on facebook is likely close to their buy price for something that is brand new, albeit this doesn’t include setup costs.
Things that devalue a violins sale price include the condition of the case, the bow (how much hair is on it), how long have the strings been on the instrument (quality strings lose their timbre after about a year). Are the pegs sticking (they need to be serviced) and what is the condition of the bridge – many student violins have bent or warped bridges. When I take a trade in instrument or a secondhand instrument I find these things when replaced are close to the value of the instrument.
Grandmas violin (old violins)
A lot of people have a family violin that has been handed down and sat in a cupboard for many years. There is a notion that because it’s old it must be valuable, esp. if it bears the label Stradavarius (or other spelling variant ) and a date from the 1700, 1800’s. Many of these violins were made in factories in the date, the label often being a way to inflate its value or at best is telling the customer that this is the style of instrument it was made in.
Older instruments generally need quite a bit of restoration work to get them playable usually include peg replacement , nut replacement, new bridge, new sound post, new tail piece and of course strings. A bow is a certainty and usually a case replacement (despite the fact the old case could be beautiful it usually requires los of work…and isn’t very protective). Then there is attention to any open seams, cracks and often a neck reset is needed. oft time the cost of repair approaches the value of a new good quality student instrument.
There are telltale signs of quality instruments , but often it’s only after it’s strung up and played that you can really know. Labels by makers can give a good indication (thought there are plenty of fake labels available for the unscrupulous). The carving of the scroll gives a clue to the attention to detail by the make, the grade of the timbers used and the methods of construction are another clue as well as the condition it presents in.