1.Instrument rentals 2.Credit freeze

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thomase
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1.Instrument rentals 2.Credit freeze

Post by thomase »

Greetings fellow bogleheads, this is a 2-part somewhat related question.

Was looking for a place online that did instrument rentals for child, and found a promising one, Music & Arts. However they require a SS number which I won't give. First question is, does anyone have a suggestion for a music shop that does instrument rental (alto sax) in the south bay (i.e. San Jose, CA vicinity)? Preferably one that does not require a SS number.

Second, I've been considering for a while to freeze my credit entirely. I do get the 3 free annual credit reports each year and there is nothing amiss. I anticipate no need for credit in the near future, no need for mortgage, new credit cards, and I always pay cash for cars. Only possibility is if I shop around for insurance, which is one of the instances I've read where my credit may be run. Any experiences with freezing their credit, particularly any hassles they discovered afterwards?
livesoft
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Re: 1.Instrument rentals 2.Credit freeze

Post by livesoft »

Generally, a student who is going to rent a musical instrument will likely have a music teacher. That teacher should have several recommendations of where to rent instruments.
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epilnk
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Re: 1.Instrument rentals 2.Credit freeze

Post by epilnk »

This is one place where I feel strongly that you should always support your local music store. It will be an ongoing relationship. I believe I gave ours my drivers' license number, not my SSN.
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Mel Lindauer
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Re: 1.Instrument rentals 2.Credit freeze

Post by Mel Lindauer »

thomase wrote:Greetings fellow bogleheads, this is a 2-part somewhat related question.

Was looking for a place online that did instrument rentals for child, and found a promising one, Music & Arts. However they require a SS number which I won't give. First question is, does anyone have a suggestion for a music shop that does instrument rental (alto sax) in the south bay (i.e. San Jose, CA vicinity)? Preferably one that does not require a SS number.

Second, I've been considering for a while to freeze my credit entirely. I do get the 3 free annual credit reports each year and there is nothing amiss. I anticipate no need for credit in the near future, no need for mortgage, new credit cards, and I always pay cash for cars. Only possibility is if I shop around for insurance, which is one of the instances I've read where my credit may be run. Any experiences with freezing their credit, particularly any hassles they discovered afterwards?
Have had credit freeze in effect for a number of years without any problems. Had to open it a couple of times for a 24- or 48-hour window before it automatically refreezes, again with no problem (there is a fee involved to open; I think it was $10).
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JupiterJones
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Re: 1.Instrument rentals 2.Credit freeze

Post by JupiterJones »

I just Googled band instrument rental near san jose and found a place called Music Village. Don't know if they also require a SS, but it might be worth checking them out.

The other option is to simply buy the instrument (new or used). If your kid winds up hating playing the alto sax, or wants to upgrade, you could always sell it. You'd take a net loss, of course, but it could very well wind up being less than what renting for the equivalent amount of time would be.

(Or instead of selling it in that case, I'd recommend to just start taking lessons yourself! 8-) )

JJ
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sport
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Re: 1.Instrument rentals 2.Credit freeze

Post by sport »

For the alto sax, I would recommend shopping the local music stores. When my child started to play clarinet, I called the local stores, and found a store that had an instrument that had been rented once and returned. The store cleaned it up and it looked and played like new. They were able to offer a good price because they already had received the previous rental money. If you decide to rent, be sure the rental money applies to the purchase if you should decide to buy it. If your child will be taking the instrument to school, you may also wish to look at insurance on it. Saxophones are expensive and the insurance is cheap.

Jeff
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zzcooper123
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Re: 1.Instrument rentals 2.Credit freeze

Post by zzcooper123 »

My credit has been frozen for 5 years now. Best protection against ID thief. I paid $5 once to un-thaw it for twenty four hours to finance a new car...made the dealer knock 5 bucks off the purchase price.
SimonJester
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Re: 1.Instrument rentals 2.Credit freeze

Post by SimonJester »

I have one child playing violin and one playing trumpet. We rented for several years to allow the oldest to grow into a full size violin and see if both wanted to continue playing their instruments. My suggestion is ask your child's school band teacher (or music teacher) who they recommend. I also suggest renting at first to make sure your child will stick with it. For my rentals they required a drivers license. I will not give out my SSN to anyone....

When it is time to purchase I would check out craigs list and make an educated decision. I just bought my youngest a trumpet for the same price renting would have cost for the year. Since it looks like he will stick with it in the long term it was a good decision. I did lots of research and knew which instruments to stay away from and which ones were worth the asking price.


As to the credit freeze I have had them frozen for some time. Its free to place a freeze in my state but $10 to unfreeze. Ive had to unfreeze once or twice for various reasons. Opening up a joint savings account under my kids name required a credit check on me even though I had accounts with the bank / CU. It appears banks /CUs are using a credit check to verify identity / meet new government requirements.
"They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety." - Benjamin Franklin
jghassell
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Re: 1.Instrument rentals 2.Credit freeze

Post by jghassell »

I used to work at the place you mention. It was over 15 years ago but even then we had more than a few people who didn't want to give an SSN and in every case, when we called in the application for approval, HQ was able to find and populate the SSN themselves.
Topic Author
thomase
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Re: 1.Instrument rentals 2.Credit freeze

Post by thomase »

Wound up going to a local shop called the Starving Musician, and managed to rent a brand new sax for the kid. They did require a SSN, every local place we contacted required it.
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JupiterJones
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Re: 1.Instrument rentals 2.Credit freeze

Post by JupiterJones »

thomase wrote:Wound up going to a local shop called the Starving Musician, and managed to rent a brand new sax for the kid. They did require a SSN, every local place we contacted required it.
Glad to hear it. Learning to play an instrument was one of the best things I ever did and has continued to reward me throughout life. I hope your budding Charlie Parker finds enjoyment out of it and sticks with it!

JJ
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Fallible
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Re: 1.Instrument rentals 2.Credit freeze

Post by Fallible »

I think you were smart not to give out your SS# and I would agree with others here to shop your local music stores. As for the credit freeze, I've had one for many years ever since an identity theft experience. I've had no problems, but there are some drawbacks to be aware of. Here's the link to an article from bankrate.com regarding those: http://www.bankrate.com/finance/credit- ... -thaw.aspx
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SteveB3005
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Re: 1.Instrument rentals 2.Credit freeze

Post by SteveB3005 »

Put down a deposit on the sax equal to it's value and I bet they will drop the SSN number requirement. For them it's about having recourse to attack your credit if you skip with or damage the sax. What's a decent alto sax run these days, $1500-$1800
SimonJester
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Re: 1.Instrument rentals 2.Credit freeze

Post by SimonJester »

Again before I put down my SSN I would just goto Craig s list, I picked up a good student trumpet that sells new for $1200 slightly used for $240. Sure it has a few marks on the finish but it played just fine. My rental fee for the year would have been $230 plus tax. Again my son has been playing for two years so he knew what it should sound like and we believe he will stick with it for at least one more year.

I simply detest having to hand over my SSN. You dont hand over your SSN when renting a car (yet) and most rental cars should be valued higher then the average rental music instrument...
"They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety." - Benjamin Franklin
rjbraun
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Re: 1.Instrument rentals 2.Credit freeze

Post by rjbraun »

JupiterJones wrote:
thomase wrote:Wound up going to a local shop called the Starving Musician, and managed to rent a brand new sax for the kid. They did require a SSN, every local place we contacted required it.
Glad to hear it. Learning to play an instrument was one of the best things I ever did and has continued to reward me throughout life. I hope your budding Charlie Parker finds enjoyment out of it and sticks with it!

JJ
+1

Just had my piano lesson today. :) I have got so much pleasure after taking up the instrument again after a multi-decades long hiatus.

One, making that leap of faith to buy my dream instrument was worth it. Hard to quantify the enjoyment and satisfaction this hobby has brought me. Two, I am so grateful to my parents for having given me lessons as a kid, especially as I know they didn't have lots of discretionary income to spend.
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