Klarinet Archive - Posting 000584.txt from 2000/06

From: Roger Shilcock <roger.shilcock@-----.uk>
Subj: Re: [kl] Re: WW/BW
Date: Sat, 17 Jun 2000 04:22:08 -0400

This seems to amount to a left-handed argument for *not* buying a new
instrument, at least at pro level .....

Roger S.

On Fri, 16 Jun 2000, Edwin V. Lacy wrote:

> Date: Fri, 16 Jun 2000 17:23:17 -0500 (CDT)
> From: Edwin V. Lacy <el2@-----.edu>
> Reply-To: klarinet@-----.org
> To: klarinet@-----.org
> Subject: Re: [kl] Re: WW/BW
>
> 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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