Oh instruments on eBay. Super scary... as in, so many to choose from and a lot of the times they go for a steal. Dangerous place to go 
I've had it work out and not work out. I found if I go for the ones that are really cheap , I usually get what I pay for or they are good instruments but need work that will make them more expensive than if I had just paid a little more and gotten on that has been checked over before being listed. The piccolo came from a highly rated seller and she said it had been checked out, serviced etc. It was buy it now for what is a good "used" price. I could have gotten the same one cheaper, but this looked like it was in better shape.
I got a cheap sax a while back. It needs new everything. I think I'm going to contact the intstrument repair training program and see what it would cost to let them use it for practice. If I can't get it back, I may just donate it