Klarinet Archive - Posting 000578.txt from 2000/06

From: "Edwin V. Lacy" <el2@-----.edu>
Subj: Re: [kl] Re: WW/BW
Date: Fri, 16 Jun 2000 18:23:17 -0400

On Fri, 16 Jun 2000 peter.stoll@-----.ca wrote:

> I also called up Muncy Winds when I had a great pro bass for sale, was
> offered such a ridiculously low price I laughed! It was like talking
> to a used car lot, I think they would have understood "Bundy" better
> than Selmer 33.

I don't find that surprising. Like any other retailer, they are in the
business of selling instruments, not buying them. And, when you take into
account their overhead, including taxes, salaries and benefits, utilities,
facilities, and much, much more, they couldn't possibly make a profit on
an instrument unless they could sell it for something like 30% to 50% more
than they paid for it. And, don't forget that they have to sell the
instrument at a price that is lower than the price for a comparable new
instrument, or no one would be interested in buying a used one.

What we are getting at here is the *value* of an instrument to the player,
which is not always the same thing as the price of the instrument in
dollars. I have a few instruments which are in the higher-level
professional category. For example, I have a Fox model 601 bassoon. The
list price of that instrument, according to the factory, is somewhere
around $19,000 or $20,000. Naturally, I paid quite a bit less than that
for it, but it has a very high value to me, because it is part of what
determines my livelihood. If I wanted to sell it through a dealer, I
would expect that the dealer would in turn have to sell it for less than I
paid for it. Otherwise, why would a buyer want to buy mine rather than a
new one at a similar discounted price? I expect a dealer would put such
an instrument on the market for something in the $10,000 - $12,000 range.
And, I wouldn't expect to be offered much more than half of that by the
dealer. So, I would be in the position of having to decide whether to
sell an instrument which in my mind is worth something around $20,000 or
more, for an offered price of maybe $5,000 or $6,000. If I were a dealer,
that is the most I would expect that I could offer someone for a
professional quality instrument. In other words, the value of the
instrument to me, the dealer, would be very different from the value to
me, the performer.

But, if I wanted to sell that instrument for something more nearly
equating with what I regard the value of it to be, I would have to try to
find a potential buyer who would have a conception more nearly like my
own about the value of the instrument. In other words, I would have to
find out how to get in touch with another professional player or teacher
or a student who wanted to upgrade to an instrument in that category.
That's a lot of work, but it isn't really reasonable to expect a dealer to
do that work for me.

I should add that a dealer who has public relations in mind is placed in a
very difficult situation when a professional offers to sell a high-quality
instrument. It's almost impossible for them to offer a price that will
satisfy someone who has what they regard as a high-end instrument. And,
most often, the potential seller won't understand why the price they are
offered is so low. What the dealer probably won't do is say what I have
said in this message - "We're in the business of selling instruments, not
buying them." But, that's probably what they are thinking.

Ed Lacy
*****************************************************************
Dr. Edwin Lacy University of Evansville
Professor of Music 1800 Lincoln Avenue
Evansville, IN 47722
el2@-----.edu (812)479-2754
*****************************************************************

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