[Harp-L] Re: Sick of it

[SONNYTONE@xxxxxxx]

Sonny Jr here. I need to get this off my chest in an appropriate manner.  
Virtually All of my amp customers do not have great mics for optimal tone and  
sound. Usually they have the bright 520DX, or a Bluesblaster or other not 100%  
strong element. Ebay is a crapshoot at best, since everyone knows where the  
elements come out of now, THEY are the ones that have driven what used to be 
$80  - $100 mics now up to $200. I want my customers to have the best mics for 
their  SJ, so I have to bid high, usually end up spending $190, the have 
beautiful  custom smaller shells with V/C made for $80, costing me $270, and I sell 
them to  my customers for $295, I spend an hour installing, testing and 
retesting. If you  factor in the probably 100 elements that were not strong enough 
for me to in my  heart sell to my customer, take that $190 loss and you can see 
I do this as a  service. There happened to be a bunch of black elements which 
I did not have in  my now few elements, so I put snipe bids on them all. So I 
get a rude, nasty  email from someone whom I outbid calling me a horder of 
elements, that I am  taking them away from guys who want to build their own 
mics. My statement was, I  have to pay top dollar, if they want it I am just 
making them pay just like I  do. I have a private source I buy my elements from, so 
now occasionally if I  want to take the risk for a rare clam for my customers 
or myself I will try  to snipe it, or try for some blackies as my customers 
do ask. Ebay is an  AUCTION, if you want something bad enough, all you harp 
players are the ones  that have made the standard pricing what it is, not me. And 
I will NOT sell an  even 9/10 strength to my customers, as I have just enough 
mics and variety that  I can do so. So in essence this is a losing 
proposition for me when you include  all the duds, it is just my commitment over the 
past 14 years to get my customer  the best they can have. For this person to 
throw in , Haven't you made enough  money on your amps. He obviously assumed I was 
buying these elements for  profit. I have lost from 50 to 60 thousand dollars 
selling the 410, as during  those 3 years of surgeries, on top of building an 
amp with the highest  build cost, I had to pay labor for things that I would 
have normally  done. Not asking for sympathy, I chose to do this, and now 
things are  looking like I could streamline the process without cutting quality an 
inch. I  am tired of being berated and held in the middle of the square to 
have stones  thrown at. I am in a good frame of mind which is reflected by my 
posts. So if  MOB posts somewhere about my "hording" mics, I know at least 50 
regular players  that were true horders and have tons of elements, did he 
contact them also? If  any of my customers who bought mics from me are out there, 
please speak up.I  hope this was not seen as a tirade from me, but none of you 
know what it is  like to have gone through what I have over this long period of 
time. Anyone  that has talked to me actually on the phone, or met me, or will 
even contact me  civilly over the phone, 7 days a week, might get to know 
just who I am and what  I am about. SJ  
PS*********************  Sugar Ray is playing Saturday night at Black  Eyed 
Sally's, not Friday.



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