Klarinet Archive - Posting 000636.txt from 1999/07
From: "Pegrem, David" <David.Pegrem@-----.au>
Subj: RE: [kl] consumers vs. sellers
Date: Tue, 20 Jul 1999 01:05:31 -0400
Hi, just coming from a different perspective.
I live in a northern suburb of Sydney and work in the City.
I can't find a local store that has quality instruments, wide selection of
music and gives good lessons. As a result I take lessons in one suburb, buy
sheet music and music books from a city store (that doesn't give lessons or
sell pro woodwind instruments) and if I were to chose to buy a quality horn,
I'll have to go to another store.
It's not that I don't want to form a relationship with a local store, it's
that local stores themselves are tending to specialise in one fragment of
the market. The place where I get lessons really concentrates on the kids
band instruments so they carry mostly student instruments. The best known
Buffet and Besson store carry a top selection of quality instruments both in
Brass and Woodwind but almost no music.
As to repairers, I have no experience to speak of but from an economic
viewpoint it appears to me they have hidden the value of their quality
workmanship by cross subsidising it against instrument purchase price. This
is a real shame because the ability to see the difference between quality
workmanship which may be evident to professionals is difficult to parents
and less experienced users. As a consequence they are more likely to
undervalue it.
cheers
David Pegrem
Sydney,Australia
-----Original Message-----
From: Ed Wojtowicz [mailto:ewoj@-----.net]
Subject: Re: [kl] consumers vs. sellers
At least as a consumer we have the option of looking elsewhere. If the music
dealer cannot get a price from the manufacturer which allows them to compete
with the big guys, they have no other option. The playing field is not a
level one for them.
My repairman had a retail shop, doing all of the usual school business,
sheet music, etc. as well as pro repairs. He is top notch repairman, and one
of the most honest guys I have ever dealt with. He recently got out of the
retail end and is only doing repairs.
He had always stocked a good supply of R13's ( often as many as a dozen). A
few years back I called him looking for a horn for a student. He replied
that he was no longer stocking them. When I inquired about this, he replied
that he could not compete, as the big catalogue guys were selling them for
virtually the same price he was paying from the manufacturer. This was a
contributing factor to his frustration with the retail trade.
I realize that there are stores out there without any integrity or knowledge
who might as well be selling toasters and blenders. At the same time there
are those who are doing their best to provide a good service at honest
prices that enable them to make a reasonable living. No different than any
of us would hope for ourselves; fair price for our services. Performers who
contract their own ensembles (weddings, parties, etc) know that often the
consumer is happy to find someone to play for less money. But you know what
is fair for your services.
I for one do value the service and convenience a quality local shop can
supply. They are looking to keep you coming back. Note that I realize that
not all businesses are quality, but I will patronize those that are good. I
do sometimes pay a little more, but feel that there is more at stake than
just money. For that reason,I generally shop at my local hardware store, who
has excellent service, great stock and interest in the customer rather than
go to Home Depot.
Ed
----------
>From: Bill Hausmann <bhausman@-----.com>
> At 11:37 AM 7/17/1999 -0400, gtgallant wrote:
>>All this talk of the pros and cons of catalog and
>>store buying boils down to a simple matter. Most
>>people will and cannot afford to spend $200 to $400
>>more dollars on an instrument, whether from a store or
>>catalog. It's too bad that the local business cannot
>>compete with the bigshots, but that's capitalism for
>>you!
>
> No, that is OVERHEAD for you. It costs money to buy/rent that store, pay
> the staff, electricity phone, etc. We have THREE such stores and three
> road people servicing schools, and even with the volume that generates, we
> cannot get the best discounts from the manufacturers except on a few
lines.
> As I have said before, WW & BW sells Farkas french horns for less that we
> can buy them direct from the company! The only thing we can offer that
> they can't is personal service right in your own backyard. If that is not
> worth anything to you, fine. But when the market consolidates down to
just
> a few superstores in the major cities (NOT the one you live in, of
course),
> don't complain about the lack of local availablility of products and
> services. We don't make any more per transaction than the big boys do; it
> just cost us more to do it.
>
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Unsubscribe from Klarinet, e-mail: klarinet-unsubscribe@-----.org
Subscribe to the Digest: klarinet-digest-subscribe@-----.org
Additional commands: klarinet-help@-----.org
Other problems: klarinet-owner@-----.org
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Unsubscribe from Klarinet, e-mail: klarinet-unsubscribe@-----.org
Subscribe to the Digest: klarinet-digest-subscribe@-----.org
Additional commands: klarinet-help@-----.org
Other problems: klarinet-owner@-----.org
