Out of curiousity i checked my mail conversation with John, and i payed $152 incl. postage. I reckon it would be in the same ballpark for the UK.benhall.1 wrote:If you live in the UK and ordered a Sindt high D now, how much would it end up costing you? I'm just curious, really. I don't even know what John Sindt's new whistle prices are.
Did that include import duty, VAT and handling charges? How long ago was it?Lars Larry Mór Mott wrote:Out of curiousity i checked my mail conversation with John, and i payed $152 incl. postage. I reckon it would be in the same ballpark for the UK.benhall.1 wrote:If you live in the UK and ordered a Sindt high D now, how much would it end up costing you? I'm just curious, really. I don't even know what John Sindt's new whistle prices are.
Cheers.
) December 2012, and the quoted price was grand total.benhall.1 wrote:Did that include import duty, VAT and handling charges? How long ago was it?Lars Larry Mór Mott wrote:Out of curiousity i checked my mail conversation with John, and i payed $152 incl. postage. I reckon it would be in the same ballpark for the UK.benhall.1 wrote:If you live in the UK and ordered a Sindt high D now, how much would it end up costing you? I'm just curious, really. I don't even know what John Sindt's new whistle prices are.
Cheers.
(I'm cheating, you'll notice - I want to find out without actually committing myself.
ytliek wrote:Its a matter of value.
What item someone is willing to part with for how much money, and what someone else is willing to pay for that item. Simple.
All I can say is there are an awful lot of Sindt owners... a whole lot!
I don't think anyone is suggesting otherwise (although I'd suggest maybe I'd have more empathy with Sindt players).All I can say is there are an awful lot of Sindt owners... a whole lot!
So with the extra postage, administration fees (for going through customs), import duty, and VAT, and exchange rate loss through paypal or however you pay, i would think one would be looking at over £150 in the UK.Lars Larry Mór Mott wrote:Out of curiousity i checked my mail conversation with John, and i payed $152 incl. postage. I reckon it would be in the same ballpark for the UK.
Cheers.
I would say that that is a completely subjective opinion. How much is anyone willing to spend to own the whistle that they find is perfect for them, and they enjoy playing the most?Mr.Gumby wrote:You do have to wonder if the price is now outstripping the value from a player's perspective.
It's the law of diminishing returns. Or a version of it anyway. You reach a point where one whistle fetches ten, twenty times the price of another while it only gives you a marginal increase in quality, playing comfort or pleasure or what have you. Until the increase in price outstrips the gain in benefits. I think we're way beyond that point objectively. Subjectively people who want want want still keep throwing money at it. Silly money. But if that's what they want to do, that is ofcourse their business. It is worth reflecting on the consequences though, I have seen the same happen in the piping world maybe a decade ago when pipes sold by the maker for around €3000 started fetching 12 to 15 K on ebay. It sets in motion a development that will affect everybody and will eventually leave instruments out of reach for a lot of people, especially young players.I would say that that is a completely subjective opinion.
I accept your point of diminishing returns, one can only make a whistle so good. But, if there's a whistle that someone absolutely wants to play, above all others, and there's no waiting list because it's shut, and they have no idea when they can ever buy a new one, then the market price will increase.Mr.Gumby wrote:It's the law of diminishing returns. Or a version of it anyway. You reach a point where one whistle fetches ten, twenty times the price of another while it only gives you a marginal increase in quality, playing comfort or pleasure or what have you. Until the increase in price outstrips the gain in benefits. I think we're way beyond that point objectively.
No one has to buy a Sindt, there will always be other really good whistles out there to buy at lower prices. But those of us who love them will place a value on them that we feel they deserve.Mr.Gumby wrote:It is worth reflecting on the consequences though, I have seen the same happen in the piping world maybe a decade ago when pipes sold by the maker for around €3000 started fetching 12 to 15 K on ebay. It sets in motion a development that will affect everybody and will eventually leave instruments out of reach for a lot of people, especially young players.
That argument is always trotted out here but it is a ridiculous one. I know you'd pay more for a good set of pipes, a cello, a violin or a piano. Those instruments take more work than the few hours it takes to make a whistle like a Sindt and are way way more complex. It's apples and oranges in the extreme.Look at the price of other musical instruments, $300 is cheap as chips for a top quality instrument.