A dear friend of mine makes reeds (hi Mike!) and he’s mentioned that some people ask if they can choose reed color. (The answer is no … and really, who cares about color when you have a great reed, eh?) I just read this, which I found sort of cute (but $15 or less for a good reed? Forget it!):

Good website to order quality oboe reeds off of…?
I play the oboe, and going to the store to buy reeds constantly is seeming to be a growing hassle between my family’s busy schedule. Because of this, I have decided to start ordering online. I wanted to make sure that if i do order online, the reed will be of good quality, because honestly, who wants to pay 20 bucks for a piece of crap? I would prefer for the reed(s) to be 15$ and under (not including shipping) and if at all possible, I want to be able to pick my thread color… if you know of any good, reliable, quality websites, please let me know! Thanks!

I read it here.

Reeds will, I fear, always be the curse of the oboe player. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it right here: If someone invented a plastic reed that was wonderful I’d gladly pay a heap ‘o money for a few of ’em. Truly. Even charging $1,000 for a great reed that never died … sign me up!