Last week Jason tipped me off to an eBay seller offering a bunch of impossibly cheap violins; $25 for the instrument, bow, case, and a hunk of rosin. Against my better judgement, I broke down and ordered one; at $25, what is there to lose?

The instrument arrived yesterday, and for $25 I'm pretty impressed. No one will ever mistake it for a fine instrument, but I think it will actually be playable.