Buy your horns here, not there!

[administrator]

Please make a list of great places to buy trumpets, cornets, flugelhorns, accessories, etc. Also, if you feel the need to warn potential readers of a shady seller, this would be the place for that (defamation will be removed, please just leave legitimate experiences).

List so far:

Online (or in-person; ask the shop):
Austin Custom Brass (ACB)
Wichita Band Instrument Co.
Woodwind Brasswind
Dillon Music
The Brass Cellar
Washington Music
Baltimore Brass
themoosehorns (eBay store)
Carl's Pro Band
Thompson Music
The Horn Trader
Quinn The Eskimo

In-person:
Hornucopia, 1549 Laurel St, San Carlos, CA 94070 | (650) 593-3050

[Kehaulani]

Well, I give a vote for the following. I have used them all.
Austin Custom Brass (ACB) https://www.austincustombrass.biz/
Wichita Band Instrument Co. http://www.wichitaband.com/
Woodwind and Brasswind https://www.wwbw.com/

p.s.come to think if it, there's also:
Chuck Levin's Washington Music
https://www.chucklevins.com/

[Newell Post]

Please add Hornucopia, 1549 Laurel St, San Carlos, CA 94070. I know it is not one of the "usual suspects", and they don't have an online store (to my knowledge). But everybody in the San Francisco Bay area knows the place. Sandy has the most amazing inventory of professional trumpets and trumpet stuff I have ever seen, except for Dillon.

[Shifty]

@Kehaulani said in Buy your horns here, not there!:

Well, I give a vote for the following. I have used them all.
Austin Custom Brass (ACB) https://www.austincustombrass.biz/
Wichita Band Instrument Co. http://www.wichitaband.com/
Woodwind and Brasswind https://www.wwbw.com/

Another vote for Austin Custom Brass. And I'll also recommend Dillon Music https://www.dillonmusic.com/

[administrator]

@Newell-Post said in Buy your horns here, not there!:

Please add Hornucopia, 1549 Laurel St, San Carlos, CA 94070. I know it is not one of the "usual suspects", and they don't have an online store (to my knowledge). But everybody in the San Francisco Bay area knows the place. Sandy has the most amazing inventory of professional trumpets and trumpet stuff I have ever seen, except for Dillon.

A phone number or email would probably help potential buyers. Thanks!

[Newell Post]

@administrator. Thanks.

(650) 593-3050 is the phone for Hornucopia, 1549 Laurel St, San Carlos, CA 94070.

In Silicon Valley, you might expect every business to have a web presence and online store, but they don't. (I don't think.) It's very old fashioned, but that's one of the things I like about it.

[BigDub]

Dillon's has an amazing customer base range. I am about 40 minutes away but I have heard stories of people traveling from much farther away. If you judged it by its outward appearance you would turn around and leave. That would be a mistake. The inside is full of brassy goodness.

[bobmiller1969]

Yet another vote for ACB! I bought my Selmer K-Mod from them at a very fair price, and in great condition, along with quite a few mouthpieces.

New eBay seller themoosehorns, based in Bayonne, NJ. Bought my Holton Stratodyne Cornet from them several months ago. Immaculate condition, and great price. All original as near as I can tell. They have quite the collection of vintage horns in their eBay store. Good communication from them after the sale. I would buy from them again.
https://www.ebay.com/usr/themooseshorns?_trksid=p2047675.l2559

I picked up my Couesnon Flugel from Carl's Pro Band, Bloomington, IL. a few years ago. Fantastic shape, and had a brand new valve job. Plays like a new horn. Not sure how much of the valve work they do in house, but got it for a very fair price, and they were very friendly with following up after the sale. Found them on Reverb. I have them saved on my daily feed (along with ACB) and they often have some interesting horns come through their shop. I would buy from them again.
https://reverb.com/shop/carls-pro-band

I've bought plenty of things over the years from WWBW. Never had an issue, and their shipping is very quick. No hassle with returns (I've only made a few), and great sales from time to time. I don't see myself as ever being in the market for a "new" horn, but as far as picking up certain expendable items, they've been my go to for many years. (Although, I will likely be picking up my supplies from ACB going forward.)

I've picked up a few things over the years from Dillon's as well. I live in South Jersey, about 2.5 hours from them, and haven't gotten up there. I've been meaning to check them out in person, but haven't had a chance.

[J. Jericho]

My experiences with Dillon Music, Mouthpiece Express, and WWBW have been exemplary.

I have had one less-than-satisfactory experience (which got resolved in a relatively short period of time, but not without drama) in fourteen years of buying and selling instruments, accessories, and parts on eBay.

I would also like to thank A.N.A. Mendez for his help and especially adc for his generosity in providing me hard-to-find parts.

I never had a bad experience with Musician's Friend, but this was a while ago, and this company has become one to be avoided at all cost, according to many, many buyers who have had the misfortune of dealing with them.

[Shepherds_Crook]

I’ve never had any issues buying horns via the Internet and have had solid experiences purchasing anywhere from 1-4 horns from each of the following:

• Austin Custom Brass:
  https://www.austincustombrass.biz/

  • I’ve purchased the most horns from Trent + had him handle the build on my bespoke Adams A4 LT-S = always a great experience.

• Josh Landress Brass:
  http://www.jlandressbrass.com/our-store.htm

• Baltimore Brass:
  https://www.baltimorebrass.net/index.php?cat=1

• Thompson Music:
  https://thompsonmusic.com/

• The Horn Trader:
  http://www.horntrader.com/11-bb-trumpets

Some offer ‘trial’ periods, which I’ve really appreciated ... though I’ve never not liked a horn or returned one.

I know that consignment services are also offered by most, which is a huge headache saver.

1 other shop that I’ve viewed often, but never purchased from is Schmitt Music’s Trumpet Shop. Anyone have experience with them?
https://www.schmittmusic.com/trumpet-shop/

[tjcombo]

Have purchased a dozen or so horns via ebay from the US, shipped to Australia with (touch wood) no problems. USPS has been very reliable.

Direct transactions both single sample only with Hornucopia on a visit to the US and an online purchase from The Horn Trader indicates that they are both good to deal with.

[GeorgeB]

Definitely Austin Custom Brass. I've bought 5 horns from Trent and Company in the past three years: 2 new and 3 used. I live a long way from them so trust was an important consideration for me and they give that to me in spades.

[Kehaulani]

I know the aim of this thread is personal (hence credible?) experience-based recommendations, but I was wondering if anyone's seen this list. It's a little dated and I can' endorse some, but this list might help someone:
https://www.trumpetherald.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=77366

[flugelgirl]

I’m surprised my workplace hasn’t showed up on this list, but we offer a 30 day return on most stuff, and have some great horns come through the shop! Ever have questions about any specific horn I’m happy to answer them - I go through all the brass personally!
https://www.brassandwinds.com/

[administrator]

@flugelgirl said in Buy your horns here, not there!:

I’m surprised my workplace hasn’t showed up on this list, but we offer a 30 day return on most stuff, and have some great horns come through the shop! Ever have questions about any specific horn I’m happy to answer them - I go through all the brass personally!
https://www.brassandwinds.com/

Quinn's? I have had a positive experience shopping there.

[administrator]

I, myself, have been tempted to start a "buy low, sell high" horn company. I doubt there is much profit to be had, though.

[flugelgirl]

We just got a huge shipment of new B&S, Schertzer, Besson and Meinl Weston Brass - awesome stuff! Most has listed now, and we’ve already sold a few.

[Zman]

@administrator said in Buy your horns here, not there!:

I, myself, have been tempted to start a "buy low, sell high" horn company. I doubt there is much profit to be had, though.

The learning curve is steep and the road is long.
There are no quick dollars to be had doing this, and it takes time to build credibility with customers and suppliers.
(It's even worse if you are outside the US as shipping items around adds to costs)

I only keep doing it as I love it and get to connect with like-minded people.

[Trumpetsplus]

People buy Jaeger trumpets from me.

[administrator]

@Trumpetsplus said in Buy your horns here, not there!:

People buy Jaeger trumpets from me.

And I have heard many good things.