Ok, that 11 year old that I mentioned before has a rented sax (Prelude?) and has been playing for a few months now. He really enjoys it; but it's hard not to be a budding musician in a family of them. I am now looking at purchasing a Yamaha YAS23, used with a few scratches and minor dings in the bell bottom. It looks like, new, they run about $1000, but I can grab onto this used one (that was used for 12 months) for about $600. I am figuring that if we get to that point where it is sitting around collecting dust, I can always resell it. Does this sound like a solid investment/ plan?

Actually. Yeah. That is a pretty good investment. I played with a used Yamaha YAS-23 for a whole year and did great with it. I ended up being one of the top players in my band =). Then eventually, I got a different saxophone. So yeah. Definitely start off with the YAS-23.

Well, it's amazing how fast things change in a day. Apparently, while discussing this via phone with my father back east, my cousin walked into his office. After a casual conversation about trying to find a sax for his grandson, my cousin offered to give him his 35 year old Conn. He said it served him well all the way through high school (it's a beginner model I'm sure), but would probably need to be reconditioned since it has sat in its case for over 30 years. I am very excited. From what I have researched, the older Conn was a pretty good brand. What are your thoughts?

I think thats still a fine choice. Although you may want to get a tune-up first.