Re: [Harp-L] RE: Hohner Price Increase
For the U.S. customers in particular, don't take it personally, it's just a food for thought.
I think that the newly updated prices are not a fair deal for everyone, but I must say that living in a relatively poor country I'm used to pay these prices for the past 10 years. And now you talk about the price increase?:) What about 40-50 US dollars for a GM or SP20 5 years ago in Ukraine where people sacrifice their other hobbies/needs but pay the price - people earning 300 USD per month with the prices in stores higher than in the U.S. It's just a different take/give balance - a hobby not for everyone. I should add that there are a few volunteers though, that's why I switched to purchasing harp-related stuff from the U.S. - just imagine it comes from Germany to the U.S. and then in my case to Ukraine (I pay from 34 to 42 US dollars for shipping some 6 harps - because Ukraine is not located in Europe but somewhere in Africa:), at least according to the U.S. Postal breakdown) and it is still cheaper to buy harps from the U.S. than in local stores or in Germany. That ridiculous situation is going to end someday I see.
And you know what, there's another aspect to this, people will continue to order from the U.S. even if the price is the same or even higher just for the reasons of quality - as for the 50-dollar harmonica in Ukraine you get a 10-dollar quality (sometimes reeds are stuck in slots, air leakage is the brandy feature for almost every Hohner harmonica, and plus .... we don't have a respective health-care law saying that once you put your lips on the harp, it's yours, that is, there could be germs of 50 people who tried it before you bought - and that's for 50 bucks!) - I don't know why, maybe because harmonicas are not properly transported or maybe a 2nd-sort instruments that didn't come through the quality control for the better country happen to arrive instead of the real ones. But the quality is bad at the same and / or higher price you guys enjoy in the States. I know that's our problem and actually nobody should follow the bad examples, but you still have some intangible things to enjoy like quality.
That's painful if you are used to lower prices and introduced with the higher ones overnight, but in general, that had to happen some 10 years ago. The only justification for the low price could be a relatively massive demand for the instruments and profit based on sales volume revenues, which ceased to be true after the economic crisis. So, the basic law of demand and supply, in combination with the inflated prices for the resources, dictates the logical price increase, which is inevitable, and as a consequence - proper pricing approach resting on a per unit basis. That is, for instance, if you buy 2 harps per month instead of 10 as years ago, please face the music. And I address this to myself as well as I've been buying harps from the U.S. for our club needs for some 10 years.
In fine, I would like to everybody to look at things at a different angle - maybe to appreciate what is good and push for things that should improve along with the increase of prices.
Best,
Alex
Help save paper! Do you really need to print this email?
>>> <pdxharpdog@xxxxxxxxxxx> 21/01/2010 05:58 >>>
What Bill said!! Hohner doesn't get it. On so many levels this is just wrong. I will not buy Hohner harps in a blister card.
Ross Macdonald
----- Original Message -----
From: "Bill Kumpe" <bkumpe@xxxxxxx>
To: harp-l@xxxxxxxxxx
Sent: Wednesday, January 20, 2010 6:45:36 PM GMT -08:00 US/Canada Pacific
Subject: [Harp-L] RE: Hohner Price Increase
WARNING, RANT FOLLOWS .....
"Also Hohner is has decided to market their products in blister card
packs now to have them out on a rack rather then behind glass in a case.
They want product visibility. Word from the rep is vendors aren't
happy with that move."
Packaging is not cheap. They had to re-tool to do all of that crap and
added another totally unnecessary layer of packaging to their product. That
move gave zero consideration to environmental concerns and shows a level of
environmental insensitivity that is disturbing. IMHO the cost of tooling up
for that new second level of packaging and the the new display units it
required is what has to recovered and the rest of the explanation is just so
much marketing BS. I do not care for the new packaging. I just don't like
buying thirty and forty dollar units in a blister pack. It devalues them in
my estimation. Makes what it supposed to be a quality instrument look like
a cheap toy. And, I like to test my new harps with the squeeze box before I
buy them. I want to hear the harp and choose the one with the sweet tone
that Hans the good tech who has been there thirty years tuned on a good day
... same way I would choose any other instrument. I certainly wouldn't buy
a guitar in a blister pack. Why should I have to buy a harp that way,
especially if we are talking about an increasingly expensive product? Also,
we already have retailers charging nearly forty bucks for mid line Hohner
harps. With this price increase, that will soon be fifty. That's just too
much money to justify, especially in a depressed economy. Other brands
provide very good harps for less money.
Bill Kumpe
Tulsa, OK
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