Id be extremely careful when buying higher end instruments online, especially ebay. There can be plenty of things wrong with the violin: condition, authenticity, and most importantly sound. If you’ve never had your hands on it, you’ll never know why it sounds like, which is the most important aspect of buying an instrument. Id recommend going to your nearest luthier or violin shop and asking to try some violins at your desired price point, then you can really find something you love with the guarantee that you’re getting exactly what you paid for.

I wouldn’t spend 4k on it- that’s just my take. I would rather go to a nice shop and try things out and see how it sounds

Looks more French than German to me, though. It had some repaired cracks. Appears to be 100 - 150 y.o. nice shop instrument. If the cracks were repaired well and sound is nice, the asking price is reasonable.

The catch is, it is shipped from France, and I am not sure what is the return policy. What if you get an instrument that appears to be different from what you see in the picture? What if you don't like its sound? What if the cracks are not well-repaired? What if it gets damaged during shipping?.. Do you have a recourse?

You have to play it before deciding to buy it. 
Unless, you just want to spend the money and don't care at all what it sounds like or feels like to play

Much better off looking in person.  You can all too often by a lesser known modern makers work from someone not too long out of school for that money, and get something that is an excellent semi-pro instrument suitable for a long time and a lot of growth.

Where are you?  Maybe we can recommend fun shops to visit.

Personally, I only buy broken violins via ebay these days!

On top of all the excellent reasons not to buy it that other people have mentioned, that violin is 363mm. That’s giant. It will feel odd to play, and drastically effect resale.

If you have $4k to spend on a violin, surely you have resources and time to go and see a proper Luthier and get a really nice violin.

Hello! I'm thinking about buying this violin, that for me looks really amazing, I hope you can give me an oppinion. [https://www.ebay.com/itm/165941462311](https://www.ebay.com/itm/165941462311)

Thanks!

What do you think about this violin?