Well that was a first

Just in case any proof was needed that buying instruments unchecked can be risky even if the retailer is completely reputable (which many of the Chinese ebay sellers probably aren't, if the lovely "leather" phone case sent from "UK" I bought last week is anything to go by.  Cardboard covered in plastic, sent from China.  But I digress.)

I got a perfectly reputable (though cheap) outfit from a perfectly reputable wholesaler.  This could have been sold online by a perfectly reputable budget price (get them in and send them straight out) shop and if so it might have been a fiver less than my price.

Only problem was the bow was not a violin bow but a cello bow!  (I did say it was a first!)

Well there was one other problem, the violin also had a terrible G string buzz which took me about half a second to fix and (as always) about 15 minutes of frustration to find.  Worth a fiver, don't you think, especially when added to the little detail of the bow ....