Smiling Strings highly discourages buying an instrument in the beginning stages (especially off the Internet) as most instruments are poor quality, not set up properly and are not covered by insurance. You are better off renting for approximately $25 a month. When your child "grows into" a larger size it is free to trade up. Eventually you can use your rental credits to offset the purchase of an instrument. Many people do not realize that instruments at this age level come in various small sizes. That means, for example, that the violin you have up in your attic from your great grandparents probably is a full-size one and way too big! It is critical that your child be measured for the appropriate sized instrument in order to learn proper technique.