Re: [Harp-L] Harp Price increases



Ok, I'll sell you a brand new bicycle. Now, once you get it home you'll need to call/pay someone to tweak it so it will work the way its supposed to.

----- Original Message ----- From: "Vern" <jevern@xxxxxxx>
To: "Michael Easton" <diachrome@xxxxxxxxxxx>
Cc: <harp-l@xxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Saturday, July 02, 2011 3:13 PM
Subject: Re: [Harp-L] Harp Price increases



Michael has it right.

You can't complain about low quality and cheapness at the same time. For people who are willing and capable of tweaking a new harp, a cheap one can be a great buy for the money. It took 20+ years but asian competition has improved the quality of US-made autos.

Seydel has stepped up to the challenge and has done the one most important thing to improve the longevity of harmonicas, SS reeds! Because SS is a much harder and tougher metal than brass/bronze, the reeds are much more difficult to make. If you play chromatic, their Saxony also has a more precisely made slide. A metal comb (powder-coated aluminum, I think) is also high quality. Their harps come well-tuned and responsive out of the box.

They are listening to what to what customers say they want. e.g. special tunings from the factory.

Cherished myths about the tonal effects of comb and reed materials actually impede quality improvements. Hohner keeps selling abominable wooden combs with nailed-on reedplates because buyers still think that "wood sounds warm."

Seydel diatonic and chromatic harps are arguably better and lower-priced than other top-of-the-line offerings with copper-alloy reeds, fancy covers, and silver plating .

Seydel appears to be really offering a better product at a reasonable price. They deserve our support.

I have no financial interest in Seydel success. I hope that they do succeed financially because that will keep their products available. Seydel flexibility and willingness to try new things is something that the Harmonica community should not lose.

Vern



On Jul 2, 2011, at 6:21 AM, Michael Easton wrote:

Not sure there is an easy answer to any of it.

I sell Hohner's, Seydel's and Suzuki's. Repair them too.

Some wholesale suppliers have cut back on the Hohner's they stock for dealers because they are too expensive to keep in inventory.
I had to switch off 3 different Hohner suppliers because they stopped carrying or refused to order certain chromatics that my customers wanted.


Suzuki sells direct to the dealer so there is no middleman price hike. I lost recent business because of their extreme price increase. Hohner's pales to it.
A Suzuki Sirius chromatic is now close to $200 more at dealer cost then last December. Other mid to high priced Suzuki's also jumped $200 in price at the wholesale level. As the product prices increase the insurance value costs increase to ship them. I cover customers shipping costs so I have to eat the extra cost.
In this case only the mfg and Feds are making extra money. Dealers have to absorb the costs trying to bring in customers.
Those of us that are harp playing dealers aren't too happy to see these price increases. It doesn't mean we reap extra income.


Seydel has seemed to maintain it's grasp on reality and what players can afford. I switched over to playing 1847's in 2006. At the time they seemed expensive.
I figured with the cost being roughly 4x more then a Marine Band or Special 20 they better last 4x as long. I know milage varies for different players with regards to reed life but I'm still playing the first C and A 1847 I bought in 2006. Still with the same reeds. My play mostly in the Cotton/Butterfield style so I do play them hard with heavy vibrato. I put away all my customs after the first year and only play 1847's out of the box.


Being a repair tech I don't have time to mess with my own harps. I want them ready to play when I need them and not breaking down every 4 months to be repaired.

Invest now in good quality built harps and when the price increases do occur you can ride the wave a bit longer instead of drowning in replacement costs every couple of months.


Michael Easton www.harmonicarepair.com










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