Posted by Jay Bertolet on July 26, 2000 at 22:03:32:
In Reply to: Re: Re: Who sells new Conn's? posted by Mark on July 26, 2000 at 20:43:12:
While I partially agree with some of the things you've said, I have to disagree with your assessment of establishments like Brasswind. Let's be honest! Before Brasswind, or any of the other large volume music shops came along, the local retailer never stocked tubas for folks to try out. In fact, they did things then the same way they do things now. I don't begrudge them this, it is a simple matter of economics. There just isn't enough money in the retail tuba trade to warrant tying up the amount of capital necessary to have a selection of professional instruments on hand for trial. But volume distributers like Brasswind had nothing to do with this, in my opinion. Actually, if any one force in the market can be blamed for this situation, I think it would be the retailer who is almost singlehandedly responsible for the high price of tubas today. But even before the prices rose dramatically, the market still didn't offer up the kind of profit margin to entice the local music store to start carrying a stock of professional line tubas. I think Brasswind should be applauded for being one of the handful of businesses that carries a substantial and varied stock of instruments on hand for trial. And they even sell their tubas at a competitive price. My only regret is that I live an impractically large distance from their shop, thus making it unlikely for me to travel there.
Now, how customers treat instruments when they try them out is a whole different story, one that I agree with you completely!
My opinion for what its worth...