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Dealers raising prices on Asian saxes

4K views 23 replies 12 participants last post by  Rob Dorsey 
#1 ·
Dont tell me not to buy an Asian made sax. I have owned one for seven years, play it every day, use it on gigs. It has held up prefectly, not a problem with the finish or anything falling out or off, a solid built horn.
I have owned Con, Selmer, etc and I am just as happy with my stensil. Especially on my limited income. Which brings me to the point of my post: Living on a limited income ( retired ) and what I can make on an occasional gig, I had been saving my pennies for an Asian made alto. When I finally went to the dealers website to purchase it, they had raised the price...same horn. model, etc. Dealers are saying they want to provide a good sax for a fair price. Granted, the price is still fair for what you get, as to what you pay for the top name brands which still have the same problems that some of the better made Asian horns do ( I suppose because they are copies of the brand names ). But it seems that as a dealers brand gets popular and good raves, they raise the price. Well, one dealer just lost me as a customer, as I will wait until a new dealer breaks into the market with the same horn from the same factory with a lower competitive price ( which will probably go up once the horns start selling ).

I used to promote a sports event monthly. Charged a very reasonable price. Spectators jammed in, getting a great show for the money. I took on an investor/partner who got the bright idea that if people would pay this amount for the show, then they would probably pay a little more. Well, they did for one show, so he raised the price a few dollars more! Within a few months, we were out of business! And it was too late to lower the price, the word was out that we had raised our prices for the same product, and it was a great product for the price...it was still a great product for the increased price, but in todays economy, the public can afford what it can afford. Sure, we still had customers who realized they were still getting a great show, but we lost too many customers to stay in business.
 
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#5 ·
Well, one dealer just lost me as a customer, as I will wait until a new dealer breaks into the market with the same horn from the same factory
How will you know whether it's the same horn?

But you say you are playing a Conn or Selmer stencil. As far as I know there are no recent Connor Selmer stencils. (Have there ever been Selmer stencils?)
 
#11 ·
OK, so I am just crying in my beer! I can do that, right? To answer Mr. Thomas, there is no brand name on the sax. I bought it at a music store. BUT, it LOOKS just like an Antigua, comparing it with pics of them, I have never played one...but it is a solid built horn. Came with two necks, one sounds brighter, one darker.
Yes, I could buy used, have to put in a days travel to find a music store that carries saxes, unless I can find an honest dealer, like Kessler or someone, if they have used. I bought a Bundy II on e-bay to practice with, got screwed.
 
#14 ·
Shadowman. You might consider doing alot more research here on sotw, and start asking pertinent questions about what reputable taiwanese saxophone brands you might be able to purchase from respected dealers.

It took me almost 4 months of research here on sotw before I found what I was seeking, and I never felt taken advantage of.

Okay except from Martysax. OUCH! :twisted:

B:cool:
 
#13 ·
I have always thought that the Taiwanese saxophones I purchased are worth more than I paid, and in the case of my T.K. Melody bare brass Tenor I would have paid twice what I did to get the sound, feel and quality.

As far as changing price on a customer last minute that is a different situation.

I was asking mouthpiece/saxophone seller on ebay known as G.S**al. about his saxes, and I decided to make a reasonable offer on a tenor.

He countered my offer by blocking me from bidding, raised the buy it now price by $300, and wrote me a nasty letter saying he does'nt take offers. I do notice that all of of his current auctions have an air of desperation about them now.

It makes no sense whatsoever to act as if your customers must earn the right to buy your product or services. You are there to accomodate a sale, not push people away with sleazy tactics or price manipulation.

That said, business is business and if your product is a hot commodity and demand is exceeding supply, then the price should be raised.

For example look at Mark VI supply/demand and prices.

B:cool:
 
#16 · (Edited)
I see no conspiracy or obscure messages, but I do see marketing.

As the popularity of an item increases, so too does the price. There's no better example than flexi fares in air travel. The computer program looks at demand and adjusts prices accordingly. It stimulates demand with a sweetener and increases the price as demand increases and vice versa.

It seems that your partner became just a little too greedy, too fast.

We all, well most of us, wish that prices could stay the same, but it's not reality.
 
#17 ·
What Corsair said is just a product of supply and demand. If you are doing your due diligence and providing an excellent service, or an excellent product, it is well within your right to ask someone to pay you fairly for it.

If you find that your service or product is exceedingly exceptional, it is well within your right to demand a premium for that fact.

Those companies that don't, are commended for it, those companies that do, are simply asking to be paid what they think is fair for what they are offering. If you don't agree with their assesment of a fair value, don't participate, which in essence is called a "free market"...and it works...

- Pat
 
#18 ·
Price is , of course, a product of supply and demand, but a large part of it is cost. If two identical (we have established before though that supposedly identical is not, however, IDENTICAL) products reach the market and they are marketed by different companies they can end up having pretty different prices.
Let's take the P. M. example, the horns are commissioned to other factories which may produce similar horns under other brands too (P.M. maintains than certain models are exclusive to them but that is beside my point ) but we don't know if P.M. has a selection process of the horns with many rejects, therefore probably paying more to insure that certain models are of a better quality than the run of the mill of the same factory. P.M. has now a sizeable commercial organisation with several people employed there doing all kinds of things and who go around the world to shows and other such things that adds cost too. Advertising and sponsorship are not cheap. so, this adds cost to the products. A no nane horn or a horn marketed by a one man band or a small organisation have completely different costs and these are all the costs, starting from the buying up until the shipping , to say nothing about distribution and guarantees.
Another point is market positioning, and this, I agree, is a complete fabrication of the marketing department. The way it works is that you choose a model to fit a market segment at a certain price and you build the horn around that price and not the other way around , which is you choose a horn and then you see for how much you can sell it. The choosing of the market positioning is a marketing strategy , every market can be sliced into segments and if you are the buyer of a 1000$ horn you are not the buyer of a 3000$ horn which can be very similar the 1000$ horn + all the gizmos and advertising and organisation that make the 3000$ horn a different product in the end.
 
#19 ·
To answer Mr. Thomas: OK, a question of terminology, it is not really a stencil then. It's just a no name saxophone. Not a big deal, I was just interested to find out what brand stencil it is.

It is a " Bird " brand from Nashville Music. It is an Asian made horn. A little sharp in the upper register, but I compensate.
I am about to purchase a BW alto ( 2010 model ) from a U.S.A. dealer, $899
 
#21 ·
Oh... I thought you were gonna wait. Four days, I guess. I was going to go get a beer and offer sympathy and suggest you watch Craig's List for a used sax to match your budget. O.K. I'll just go get a beer. :)
 
#22 ·
OK, I get it, he is saying the Bahaus Walstien prices have gone up - so thier alto now sells for $899. Even for a good Chinese sax, this seems steep. On another not, A local company offered me a new Antigua Winds XP series alto for $629. They claim its from Taiwan, I'm wondering if its Chinese. I got my hands on a sub $200 Weimer and it looked exactly the same as the Antigua - its all very confusing. The dealer says they are all modelled on a Yani 992 ?! - I'm new to this, its all very confusing.
 
#24 ·
Mods and Madame Administrator please forgive but Shadowman should take a look at Phil Barone's site http://philbarone.com where the best of Taiwanese saxes are sold at prices far below the P Muriat or Cannonball horns. And, they appear to be the same horns. I have 3 of Phil's horns and in my most humble opinion they are excellent.

I hope this is not to blatant or shilling or any of that. I just think the person asked a question and should get all the information that SOTW can offer.

Best,
Rob
 
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