 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: JamesOrlandoGarcia
Date: 2012-03-01 05:14
I'm not sure when this happened but I was just browsing around when I saw updated prices on many websites.
R-13 Bb with Silver Plated Keys - $3285
R-13 A with Silver Plated Keys - $3910
1193 Buffet Prestige Bass - $9400
In just ten years prices have nearly doubled. Wow. I remembered calling the Woodwind and Brasswind as a middle school student in 1997 to ask how much a silver plated r-13 Bb was... $1700
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Author: Paul Aviles
Date: 2012-03-01 08:26
I remember when 'Woodwind and Brasswind' was brick and mortar store :-)
................Paul Aviles
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Author: ttay1122
Date: 2012-03-01 09:26
Wow. Glad I didn't go with buffet. I think their pricing is very brand-name based. I prefer my Yamaha CSG-H to and R13 I've ever played and it was so much more affordable. I feel bad for anyone just buying an R13 for popularity over quality...
Taylor
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Author: Liquorice
Date: 2012-03-01 12:00
The prices of Buffet clarinets haven't gone up as much as the dollar has gone down. French clarinets and reeds in Swizerland are now cheaper than they were 5 years ago. It's all tied up with the exchange rate.
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Author: SteveG_CT
Date: 2012-03-01 13:19
Liquorice wrote:
> The prices of Buffet clarinets haven't gone up as much as the
> dollar has gone down.
I'm not sure I buy that reasoning as the US dollar has actually gained value against the Euro in recent years.
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Author: Tobin
Date: 2012-03-01 14:13
In 2008 it was 1.69 Dollars for 1 Euro -- I know, I was buying pints in Ireland.
It is currently 1.33 Dollars for 1 Euro.
Although the relationship has been up and down, the dollar has improved in the past four years, as Steve points out.
I think there's more to it than the exchange rate. At the same time Buffet doesn't change their prices every year, so this may be a late course correction for them?
James
Gnothi Seauton
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Author: Liquorice
Date: 2012-03-01 22:38
James wrote that prices in the last 10 years have nearly doubled, implying that Buffet prices have gone up a ridiculous amount. I'm not a mathematician, a statistician or an economist, but I'd like to question that assumption based on common sense:
Firstly, James gives a quote on a Buffet R13, purchased in the USA in 1997. That is 15 years ago. According to James, this clarinet in 1997 would have cost 1700 USD.
The average inflation rate in the USA over the last 15 years is about 2.3%. This means that 1700 USD in 1997 would be worth about 2400 USD in 2012.
In 1997 one US dollar could purchase approximately 0.9 Euro. Today one dollar can only buy 0.75 Euro. This means that the dollar has lost 17% against the Euro since 1997. 2400 USD plus 17% comes to around 2808 USD.
So the R13 price has gone up 477 USD in the last 15 years. This increase in price is isn't much compared to the effects of the falling dollar and inflation.
I'm sure my calculations are nowhere near accurate. I haven't factored in French inflation rates. But I don't think we should be accusing Buffet of grossly increasing their prices?
What did Selmer, Leblanc and Wurlitzer clarinets cost in 1997?
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Author: Loliver
Date: 2012-03-01 22:49
The same situation exists in the UK for Buffet:
I bought an E13 Bb in August 2008 for £795 ( $1267.58)
They are now priced at £1220 ($1945.22)
Thats an increase of 53%...
I did think the prices were ridiculous when I sold it in summer 2010, even with a crack in the lower joint, for £800...
And as Tobin stated, it is an imported item, so it will be heavily influenced by currency fluctuations. The present situation with the Euro is hitting exchange rates hard, as the ECB try to stop several nations from faultering, which unfortunately means other members, such as France, have to take a hit in exports due to the poor exchange rate.
It should also be noted that most manufacturers have put up their prices, even native ones in the UK, which would not be affected so severely by exchange rates, such as Howarths, which may mean a rise in the price of materials, most likely being the actual wood.
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Author: Bob Bernardo
Date: 2012-03-02 03:38
Prices did go up, but not that bad. Some dealers still haven't reordered new horns yet, so there are some places that are honoring last years prices.
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Author: Trevor M
Date: 2012-03-02 18:20
I think all the big instrument companies are restructuring their lines and pricing structure pretty drastically. There's a new 'cheap' at the low end, Selmer and Yamaha are experimenting with their own Chinese stuff to compete with the flood of Chinese stencils. My cynical theory is that Buffet just came to the realization that clarinets have unnecessarily been the 'cheap' professional woodwind for years, and that they still have (to a degree) a monopoly. Still... I moan about the prices of new pro bass clarinets, but then I think about some poor kid who needs a contrabassoon.
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Author: Tobin
Date: 2012-03-02 18:45
I bought a sliver plated R13 in 2001 for $1800.
I believe my 1193 bass was around $6500 at that time as well.
James
Gnothi Seauton
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Author: Simon Aldrich
Date: 2012-03-02 18:50
Normally, at least here in Canada, the price of instruments/mpcs/reeds from France is *very* affected by the fluctuating dollar/euro.
But in the case of this particular Buffet price increase, I believe it was planned.
My orchestra is buying 2 new Buffet basset horns (after a decade of coaxing!) and the Buffet rep from New York has been warning me for 6 months to get the instruments sooner-than-later because of a then-upcoming Buffet price increase.
He mentioned the price increase would be sometime in the new year (2012) so it appears that time is now.
Simon
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Author: Ed Palanker
Date: 2012-03-03 03:35
I can't compare the prices of my clarinets, all except my Selmer Bb Signature were bought back in the 60s but my Selmer was purchased four years ago for $3000, just about what an R13 would cost today with the new price increase, depending on who you buy it from of course. Much of the price increase is due to the exchange rate. ESP
PS. David the 10Gs were not very good to begin with. :-)
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Author: Ed Palanker
Date: 2012-03-03 03:36
I can't compare the prices of my clarinets, all except my Selmer Bb Signature were bought back in the 60s but my Selmer was purchased four years ago for $3000, just about what an R13 would cost today with the new price increase, depending on who you buy it from of course. Much of the price increase is due to the exchange rate. ESP
PS. David the 10Gs were not very good to begin with. :-)
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Author: Lee
Date: 2012-04-11 21:31
For additional comparison, I bought my R13 new in 1954 for $296.oo.
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Author: clarnibass
Date: 2012-04-12 05:01
1992 nickel plated R13 cost 5,200 NIS here and at the time $1US was worth approx 2.5NIS, so that's about $2,080. Now an R13 is approx 10,000 NIS, about $2,600. I think it's pretty much the same price here for a few years.
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Author: Franklin Liao
Date: 2012-04-12 05:09
The price for R13 I think in the last 5 years or so have tapered off, especially considering the prodigious rise of environmental directives, the rising costs of transport, metals, and the volatility in the Euro... those of us in the manufacturing sector all feel the pinch as the market environment has no appetite for us to mitigate those costs to the consumers.
Even those in mainland China PRC are facing rising energy, manpower and land costs, especially around the coastal provinces... anyways.
The MSRP adjustment in the turn of early 2000s is, however, significant for Buffet. Then again, Buffet does have the pedigree to back this sort of move...
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