Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Tuba Exchange in the New York Times


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Posted by Rick Denney on February 18, 2002 at 12:49:25:

In Reply to: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Tuba Exchange in the New York Times posted by Lew on February 15, 2002 at 17:17:24:

I collect cameras made in the old Soviet empire. The reasons are simple: They use superior optics and I can afford them.

Translated into St. Pete-ese: They have a wonderful sound and their owners can afford them.

Therein lies the problem with the Tuba Exchange. For $1000 or 1500, a St. Pete is a great deal, and provides hobbyists of modest means the opportunity to play a good-sounding tuba that isn't already nearly worn out. The warnings are the same as the warnings for my Soviet cameras: Buy only from reputable dealers who offer a replacement warranty, because production standards are poor and you might have to look through several to find one that works. And be prepared to fiddle with them to fix their flaws. And don't expect them to be rugged like the real pro stuff. And don't pay too much for them.

But at $3200 (the price listed in the article for St. Petes), they are not a good deal, with choices that (at the very least) sound as good and are far better made at the same price.

I also have a problem with selling them to schools. It seems to me that durability and maintainability are paramount concerns in educational systems, because public officials have an obligation to be good stewards of the public's money. The St. Petes, even at $1000 purchase price, likely have higher life-cycle costs than other brands. Hobbyists will work around such weaknesses, and are responsible for good stewardship only to themselves and their families. They will also care for them like they own them (which they do). That won't happen in schools.

That said, I know more than one band director who is a qualified tuba player who really likes the St. Petes over their competitors, even at the price offered. It is therefore hard to hold anything against the Tuba Exchange--they are offering a product and people are buying it. If the markets worked as they should, the sale of St. Petes would backfire if they were truly as bad as all that, because schools would not get long-term value out of them and even those band directors who like them now would avoid them in the future. Of course, school purchases bear little resemblance to free markets. In that, though, my beef is as much (or more) with the school purchasing practices as with the salespeople who accommodate them.

Rick "who is pleasantly surprised when salespeople act like friends, but not disappointed when they don't" Denney




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