all as mentioned ... and IMHO it only applies to used flatwounds ..
... price: .... a very affordable way to experience hundreds of dollars worth of strings, at usually less than half price, and if you find they are not of interest, you can move them along and generally recoup your 'investment'
... string 'life': ... generally many that use flats do NOT want a fresh set as it can sometimes take a while to get them to their 'broken in' state .. this gives you the opportunity to eliminate the break in process and to expedite the evaluation ... you try them new, you have to guess what they will be like a couple months/years/decades down the road and may be erroneous in your evaluation ...
.. generally you buy used strings, you ask questions ... as mentioned, top loaded or STB, what body type were they cut for, # of windings at the post, etc. ...
... if you find they are cut a tad short, there are ways around that, and if you find you really like them, you can certainly then spend the $$ on a new set, cut them properly, etc .. as you will have a very good idea of what you have down the road ..
.. buying/selling used flats has allowed me to sample probably 15-20 brands/sets over the last year or so ... a very inexpensive education, and a greatly expedited process compared to what it would have been purchasing new .. JMHO
