In case anyone is interested, there is a Patrick Olwell African Blackwood Keyless D flute available on e-bay. Auction ends on May 6.
For those who are interested but also lazy, it can be accessed directly via this link.
Steven
For the lazier, here’s a picture of the seller and the flute against a yellowish background:
Can’t go wrong with an Olwell. I bid retail to get it going. I’m sure I’ll be outbid.
Now was that really necessary 6 days before the close of auction?
It looks warped. Does that effect the price?
The warp should lower the price, definitely.
Also what’s that green slime oozing out the end?
Huh? People SHOULD bid early.
I think the warp is the photo and not the flute.
will you say why?
Ships to: Canada, United States
The flute isn’t warped in the other pictures.
Being a flubber powered whistle should enhance its value.
Hm. Jessie. Have you bought yourself another flute?
The slime oozing from the flute’s foot
is not really green–that’s an
artifact of the lighting, I think.
Purple.
Not that I have the money or the need for this flute, but this I’ll never understand. Not ordering from abroad is reasonable for customs and payment hassle, but not shipping there? Just writing down a different address? What is so difficult there?
Anyway. Good luck to the bidders, flutes are cool.
Sonja
Several years ago ~ before I knew any better, I sold an inexpensive flute to a person in Germany.
They had asked that I pay shipping, and of course insure the flute, so (knowing nothing) I agreed.
I went to MailBoxes etc. and ended up paying almost half the price of the flute to ship it there.
Then, a few days later, I received an e-mail stating that the family went to pick it up and were angry that I declared the flute’s value, since they had to pay customs… Well, of course I declared the value, I insured it!!
Then I had to phone and state that the flute was a “gift”
I try REALLY REALLY HARD not to send anything overseas any more.
YMMV, and I am sure I’ll get a few responses saying I should have known better, here is what I should have done, etc etc. but that WAS my experience. I wouldn’t blame anybody for not shipping overseas, if their experience has been similar to mine.
Mary
Me too, Nasty and expensive experiences.
Need to go about it just right.
I was (silently) assuming that it is self-evident that the buyer pays shipping and customs anyway. At least that is what I expect when I order stuff from outside the EU (and why I prefer buying from EU countries in general). Also, this can usually be stated in the auction description on ebay.
Doesn’t really matter, though. Have fun, make music 
Sonja
I once returned a flute I had tried and didn’t want
to a UK maker, payed insurance
and postage. Brit customs decided to charge him 125 pounds.
He refused. The flute was therefore shipped back to me,
it was lost in transit for several months (it was supposed
to be airmailed but they sent it by sea); so I went through
the process of trying to collect insurance; required
forms to be filled out on both sides of the Atlantic.
Dealing with the post office here was nasty.
Finally it showed up here. Then went about trying
to find out how to ship it so that no customs would
be charged. Again dealing with the post office here
was unpleasant and unhelpful. Finally got the info and shipped.
Success. Only 90 bucks to ship a flute to UK, total, counting
both efforts. Much good fun.
Yes, international shipping is a HUGE PAIN. The only thing that’s easy to ship is pipes to the US, since they’ve been specifically excluded from import duties. Otherwise, you’re S.O.L.
About the only subterfuge that ever works is to say something along the lines of, “Returning to maker for repair,” or, “Returning to customer after repair.” No matter what anyone tells you, not that I even usually make blanket statements but it applies here, if you undervalue the flute you nullify extra insurance. Period. You can only insure an instrument for the declared value, no more.
Eh! And so much for North American Free Trade . . . I’ve had the worst experiences sending stuff from the US to Canada.
Stuart