Copeland Low D at 409$? WOA! How much profit?

DrRichard · Post by **DrRichard** » Thu Feb 14, 2002 11:25 pm

Yes, I would tend to agree. It's a free market in action. If you don't like the price you don't buy it... if there's a waiting list, there's an argument to up the price. It balances out eventually.

Given that there's a lengthy waiting list for many of the top whistle makers, it tends to indicate that they are not trying to gouge the market too badly; it's a bit harsh to say rip off. What's anything worth? Pretty much what the market dictates!

Richard

DrRichard · Post by **DrRichard** » Thu Feb 14, 2002 11:26 pm

Yes, I would tend to agree. It's a free market in action. If you don't like the price you don't buy it... if there's a waiting list, there's an argument to up the price. It balances out eventually.

Given that there's a lengthy waiting list for many of the top whistle makers, it tends to indicate that they are not trying to gouge the market too badly; it's a bit harsh to say rip off. What's anything worth? Pretty much what the market dictates!

Richard

Graphics Guy · Post by **Graphics Guy** » Fri Feb 15, 2002 3:19 am

, though she HAS been bugging me a little about raising my prices! Thom and I have been talking about that , too. Hey, maybe a little profit margin wouldn't be so bad!

Cmon Mack...You at least have to wait till I get mine. Wont be able to order it till at least July,maybe June at the earliest.If you raise the prices I wont be able to get the Parkhurst at the same time LOL.
Seriously though, After seeing my Hunny Bunny's new Silkstone and seeing the look on her face as she opened the package and then played it for this first time, I would have payed a couple of grand for it

Dan

StevePower · Post by **StevePower** » Fri Feb 15, 2002 4:22 am

I started another thread where I've asked if whistle making is art or craft. Maybe the arguments apply here.

After all, how much did the paint cost that went on the canvas of the Mona Lisa? It's not really about labour costs or the cost of the wood/material (as Peter raised), but more about the aethestic quality of the sound, surely? You can buy guitars that are made cheaply in the far east for £50 but a Les Paul will cost 20 times that.

The question here (or hear, maybe) is not what it cost to make but how expensive does it sound?

Steve (the devil's advocate) Power

Graphics Guy · Post by **Graphics Guy** » Fri Feb 15, 2002 4:43 am

Wouldnt that be relative to the player/listner ?

Two comparisons come to mind for me,
The first one is..I recently met David Daye
here on the island,And got a chance to hear his new "Penny Chanter" (Hes an Uilleann Pipe maker/player}. In his hands it sounded wonderfully sweet and responsive, In my hands it sounded..Well bad isnt the word I would use to describe it...Actually I think it was a good representation of a Chain Saw
cutting through Aluminum bar stock.

The second one is my Hunny Bunny's new Silkstone, In her hands its a wonderful instrument, In my hands ..Its an incredible
sonic weapon, (Only been playing the whistle a month and a half)
Dan

Jens_Hoppe · Post by **Jens_Hoppe** » Fri Feb 15, 2002 5:03 am

Weird, when I opened this thread I didn't realize it was an old one brought back to life. I had actually reached page 2, thinking that Loren had returned (and had already gotten in a fight with Peter!), and at the same time wondering why the thread sounded vaguely familiar, when I suddenly saw a post by ... myself! Imagine my surprise until I realized what was going on.

Jens

Andreas · Post by **Andreas** » Fri Feb 15, 2002 6:39 am

Actually, 400$ is a pretty fair price for a first class musical instrument. A treble recorder, for example, is hard to come by at that prize even if you are willing to dispense with the quality.

Grannymouse · Post by **Grannymouse** » Fri Feb 15, 2002 7:20 am

#$%*& Just lost my whole reply with one stroke of the backspace! Are we back to the old ways here?
As I was saying......are we starting another "It's Sickening" thread here? Seems like some of this could have just been tacked on to it.
Where a good many whistlemeisters operate out of their homes.....if any of you have visited Copelands you know it must take a lot of whistles just to pay the rent...say nothing of the craftsmanship and material.
I don't think they will be retiring on their "fortune" any time soon.

Gm

<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: Grannymouse on 2002-02-15 08:22 ]</font>

Grannymouse · Post by **Grannymouse** » Fri Feb 15, 2002 7:27 am

BTW....in case you hadn't seen the latest on that German listing of "The Ring"......the seller pulled it due to an error in the listing.Someone must have told him about this thread. LOL !

Bloomfield · Post by **Bloomfield** » Fri Feb 15, 2002 8:28 am

On 2002-02-15 07:39, Andreas wrote:
Actually, 400$ is a pretty fair price for a first class musical instrument. A treble recorder, for example, is hard to come by at that prize even if you are willing to dispense with the quality.

Interesting point, but hard to grasp. First you speak of musical instruments and then suddenly of recorders...

Andreas · Post by **Andreas** » Fri Feb 15, 2002 10:02 am

Stepped on some toes there, did I?

Are recorders banned in this forum, or just bad manners?

ndjr · Post by **ndjr** » Fri Feb 15, 2002 10:31 am

Here's a story. It may be apocryphal, but as far as I am able to determine, it is true. As always, correct me if I've got this wrong.

The city fathers of some burg out east had a new generating plant on their hands, along with a serious problem: The generator didn't generate. No-one could figure out what the problem was and eventually it was decided to hire an expert, so Tesla, I believe, was called in.

Sooo, Tesla spent about three days looking over the great big generator that wouldn't, and then called everybody in to offer his solution. When they arrived, he climbed up a ladder and put a chalk mark on an access cover. He said they should remove the access cover and take three windings off of the coil underneath. The machine would work then, he said.

Well they did, and it did, and a month or two later the city fathers got a bill from Tesla for $10,000 -- back when that was worth something. That was a bit higher than they expected, but they swallowed hard and got ready to pay. "Just one thing," they asked, "would you mind itemizing the bill so we can have the information for our records?" This is how Tesla responded:

$1.00 Chalk mark
$9,999.00 Knowing where to put chalk mark

It's true that a length of brass tubing, some O-rings, and a block of Delrin, aren't that expensive, but knowing how to put them together as well as Copeland does counts for quite a bit.

Tyghress · Post by **Tyghress** » Fri Feb 15, 2002 10:37 am

Andreas, you didn't step on toes, merely blundered into a region of conversation known for high ribbing and amusement. Kinda like admitting that you play bodhran.

There are quite a few of us who have recorders here. I just don't play mine anymore or my fingers get confused.

Bloomfield · Post by **Bloomfield** » Fri Feb 15, 2002 10:38 am

On 2002-02-15 11:02, Andreas wrote:
Stepped on some toes there, did I? Are recorders banned in this forum, or just bad manners?

Depends on who you talk to. There are even some closet recorder players here

Bloomfield · Post by **Bloomfield** » Fri Feb 15, 2002 10:40 am

Forgot: Neil, that is a great story. Funny and true. I can't really see what the problem is with Copeland charging $400, or whatever. If you think he's overcharging you, don't even start to think about potato-chips, candy, gas, jewelry, haircuts for women, etc.