Edwards Price increase

[bilinear]

Just saw that Edwards raised the price of their trombones (compared to the price I saw a month ago). Some went up several hundred. 350-CR-E has gone up to 4730 from 4025...

I've heard people talk about the backorder and I wonder whether it's the reason for the raise in price? Or they've raised the price for a while and just updated? (I didn't find a dealer that has Edwards product in stock, so I doubt those dealers have updated their price tag.)

I also checked other brands, (for example, Shires), and didn't see them doing so. I wonder if more manufactures would increase prices of their instruments (which are usually already quite high)?

Any thoughts?

[spencercarran]

If you're still employing an American workforce you need to keep wages competitive with the rising cost of living. Not sure if the Edwards/Getzen factory is unionized or not.

A stock yellow bell Bach 42B apparently runs $4k now, not sure if that's a recent hike but it is interesting to think it was (until the latest price increase you flag) nearly the same price as Edwards.

[ZacharyThornton]

This is the first price hike that Getzen/ Edwards has done post Covid. The other companies have been going up quarterly.

[harrisonreed]

https://www.hickeys.com/search/products/sku133258.php

$5499.99 for a Bach ....

[hornbuilder]

Also realise that the cost of raw materials (especially nickel silver, assuming you can even find it. There are no producers of nickel silver in the US, and it has to be imported from Europe) has increased considerably. It simply costs more to make an instrument now than it did a couple of years ago.

[elmsandr]

…
I wonder if more manufactures would increase prices of their instruments (which are usually already quite high)?

Any thoughts?

*needs citation

Compared to what? Trombones are cheap, relative to other instruments. How much does a tuba cost? A bassoon? A flute? How about string instruments? Even sticking with better comps, like trumpet… you can get a set of Thein trombones for what a Monette trumpet will cost you.

We all don’t like things going up in price, but if you want things made by people you know and want them to be able to live well…. That’s how it works. Or you buy disposable things from places that don’t pay wages that you would live on. They are fair-ish trades to live with… I intend to know the name of the person that builds the next horn pieces I buy. I know the last two and they’re both around here.

Cheers,
Andy

[Bach5G]

The last few visits to the LMS made me happy I bought my gear over the years. And that’s before any price increases. Someone local is asking $6000 (CDN) for a used Edwards Alessi. Good luck with that.

[tbonesullivan]

This has been going on Music Industry Wide for several years now. Continued material shortages have pumped up the price on everything.

[LowBrassJunkie]

Almost all of the OEMs go through an annual price increase on everything, usually around 1-5%. I can promise you the main manufacturers of trombones have all gone up since the beginning of 2021.

[ZacharyThornton]

Most have gone up over 10%

[hornbuilder]

Hmmm, I need to up my prices...

[Kbiggs]

If you're still employing an American workforce you need to keep wages competitive with the rising cost of living. Not sure if the Edwards/Getzen factory is unionized or not.

When I bought my Edwards tenor and bass (over ten years ago now), they did not run a union shop. Things may have changed since then.

[harrisonreed]

$5499.99 ..... For a Bach ....

[hornbuilder]

Getzen is not a union shop

[spencercarran]

Getzen is not a union shop

[Leanit]

Stunning. Anything over $1500 seems crazy. I feel old.

[robcat2075]

I doubt the cost of materials is a major factor. The current market price for nickel is about $10 per pound. For copper, $3 per pound. During COVID those have been as high as 3X that but still not a major component of the cost of a finished horn.

I expect that the skilled labor, facilities and promotion are most of the cost of the horn.

One market indicator that your prices are too low is... is your product selling out at the price?

If you can sell all your product at $5000 there is no reason to charge less and good reason to explore higher prices.

I don't know what the situation is with fine trombones. Is there a wait to get a horn?

$5000 for a fine instrument isn't unusual. In the cello world it isn't admitted as possible that a modern $5000 cello is a fine instrument. Likewise for the fine bow you need to play it.

[robcat2075]

My Holton TR181 cost $800 in 1982. (A similar Bach that was my other option was ~$900.) The serial number indicates it had been on the shelf for four+ years which suggests they had saturated the market and could go no higher on cost. I should have dickered!

That $800 equals about $2500 today. Online prices now for the TR181 run $4000-$5000, less than the list price for an Edwards bass but not much less... for an instrument that people dismiss as unusable.


I wonder what the labor market for instrument making is... is it harder to find a job making brass instruments or is it harder to find someone to hire for that?

I have no idea on that.

[hornbuilder]

"All" instrument manufacturers are hiring! Some shops are finding it very difficult to attract, and keep, skilled technicians.

[robcat2075]

"All" instrument manufacturers are hiring! Some shops are finding it very difficult to attract, and keep, skilled technicians.

That would explain rising labor costs.

I presume that in olden times workers were hired with near-entry-level skills and trained-on-the-job by their company in the tasks of making instruments.

I also presume that arrangement is gone and the remaining pool of already-trained workers is aging and shrinking every year?

[Kdanielsen]

One of my students was just hired by Eastman/Shires. They made him do a bench test to see if he had some basic ability to use tools without hurting himself but that was it. No previous manufacturing experience.

[Posaunus]

One of my students was just hired by Eastman/Shires. They made him do a bench test to see if he had some basic ability to use tools without hurting himself but that was it. No previous manufacturing experience.

On the job training - best way to learn this trade! Will take some time before he achieves true proficiency.