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.
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.