 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: BassetHorn
Date: 2007-07-12 18:43
Buffet seems to believe that demand for its clarinets is inelastic, like gasoline.
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Author: C2thew
Date: 2007-07-12 19:00
Supply and demand. at that price level, more competition will enter the market and hopefully people will finally realize there ARE alternatives to buffet, though their production is still very good.
Our inventions are wont to be pretty toys, which distract our attention from serious things. they are but improved means to an unimproved end, an end which was already but too easy to arrive as railroads lead to Boston to New York
-Walden; Henry Thoreau
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Author: Ken Shaw ★2017
Date: 2007-07-12 19:54
I don my lawyer's hat.
The Sherman Antitrust Act outlaws "restraint of trade," which the Supreme Court quickly construed to mean "UNREASONABLE restraint of trade." "Restraint of trade" means, pretty much, "costs buyers more."
What's "unreasonable" is almost always a judgment call. However, an old Supreme Court case said that when a manufacturer tries to outlaw discounts, this so obviously increases the price that courts don't have to make the call. (In lawyer-speak, the restraint is "unreasonable per se.")
The recent decision overrules the "unreasonable per se" case. Where a seller tries to enforce a minimum price, the dealer who wants to offer a discount must now show that the minimum price restraint is "unreasonable."
The rule against unreasonable restraint of trade is still in effect. As a practical matter, though, having to take this extra step makes antitrust cases more difficult for dealers to win.
Buffet will be less vulnerable to antitrust suits, and retail prices will probably rise.
A "gray market" may spring up, for instruments bought in countries where the restriction is not in effect and imported without a U.S. warranty (as happened with cameras). Buffet has guarded against this with its Platinum Service program, in which François Kloc's group examines and touches up instruments arriving in the U.S.
Buffet will (truthfully) say that Platinum Service ensures that any Buffet bought in the U.S. will be in prime condition.
A cynic might say that Buffet ships semi-finished instruments, which have to be fixed before they're usable. A gray market instrument will probably need work, which won't be under warranty.
Business isn't pretty. It's about making as much money as you can.
Ken Shaw
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Author: tictactux ★2017
Date: 2007-07-12 20:26
> "Restraint of trade" means, pretty much, "costs buyers more."
Well, I see that every other day, where I try to mail-order something and the site says "this item cannot be shipped outside the U.S.". It is not unusual that for certain items the local price tag is twice of what it is in the U.S.
Even after Buffet's rigidity cure, an E11 costs $1023 in the U.S. and $1291 here. Before, the difference was even bigger. Of course, Buffet is not the only example, there are hundreds, from Apple to Zyxel.
Now such a manufacturer faces increased "grey market" (read: internet) activity, and/or they find out that the small resellers simply can't compete with the big shops, driving them into the arms of the competition. With the global village, "local" prices (that reflect the buying power in the individual countries) are pretty much meaningless. The "warranty" argument is moot anyway as the burden of fulfillment is often left to the reseller, and the customer usually faces substantial ship-back costs.
The rules of the marked haven't necessarily changed. But it's a global market now...
--
Ben
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Author: jbutler ★2017
Date: 2007-07-13 11:44
Omar,
I haven't received any notice from Buffet about a price increase. If there was one they left me off the list.
John Butler
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