Klarinet Archive - Posting 000720.txt from 2000/03

From: "mark weinstein" <cpaok@-----.net>
Subj: Re: [kl] Buffet Clarinets
Date: Thu, 23 Mar 2000 20:02:59 -0500

Leila said:

"I just checked out the Boosey website and their list of "Authorized"
Dealers. My local music store that I have been going to for years (RDG,
Inc. in W. Hollywood, CA) wasn't on that list. I don't know why, but they
aren't."
=======================
You can't necessarily pin down every situation, where some store is not
LISTED as authorized. Ex: I understand that there are some large buying
groups/associations who work in association with retailers, some on a
franchise basis. I have heard that members of such buying groups consider
themselves to be "defacto" authorized dealers, etc. Don't know whether this
in line with B & H or other manufacturer's policy.

"Since clearly the loss of warranty protection is a major disadvantage that
might encourage a customer to do business elsewhere, I'm trying to figure
out what would influence a *reputable and honest* retailer to decide that
there's a significant advantage in selling Buffet clarinets without becoming
an authorized dealer."
=======================
Cheap prices work wonders. The proverb says "money talks, nobody walks". (I
am certainly not espousing that, but nothing surprises me anymore)

"How do stores become "authorized B&H retailers"?"
==========================
A store owner signs an agreement, allowing for a minimum ($$$) dollar amount
of goods that must be purchased annually, dropshipped from the distributor..

"If the gray market Buffet clarinet is an authentic Buffet instrument, not a
fake, then where does it come from?"
=======================
>From the same (exact) factory that a legal one comes from.

"Does Buffet want to control the retail price of the clarinet in each
market?"
=======================
You win all the cupie dolls.

I understand B & H's (every manufacturer for that matter) desire to assert
itself and exert influence on markets which it sells to. However, I can't
accept a **blanket rejection** of every clarinet's warranty when sold
through non-B & H sanctioned channels.

mw

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