Supply and Demand

Jerryc41

Jerryc41

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I find it puzzling that some ukulele makers seem to run out of products to sell. Take Romero, for example. A friend was looking for an XS Soprano, but couldn't find one. Romero lists several different models, but there was only one available online - a solid koa for $700.

Romero makes a dozen different models, and each one is "available" in different kinds of wood, so that's a minimum of three dozen ukuleles offered by the company. I have no idea how many dealers are selling ukuleles around the world, but you would have to be the size of General Motors to keep everyone supplied with everything.

Fortunately, my friend found a beautiful solid koa XS Soprano with Gotoh tuners for $450, sold at a uke event.

It's frustrating to want a particular uke, but no one has it available. That's happened to me quite a few times.
 
I saw a pretty good selection of Romeros at Uspace in Downtown LA when we went there last.
 
That’s like saying I want a Michelin star restaurant at every corner or without reservations at all times.. without a totally predictable way to manufacture at scale while preserving the sound.. the manufacture of quality instruments will be bottlenecked.. it happens with Pono, Pepe, 3 Ks.. not all their models are always in stock, specially when they dabble in wood variations.. the only well made instruments that are always around are the standard ones without much variation.. Martin series, magic fluke instruments
 
maki66 said:
I saw a pretty good selection of Romeros at Uspace in Downtown LA when we went there last.
Click to expand...

It's too bad they don't sell/advertise online. I looked at their site. They open at noon, which is 3:00 PM here. My friend found a uke, so I won't be phoning them. There are probably several XS Sopranos available, but if we can't find them online...
 
Jerryc41 said:
I find it puzzling that some ukulele makers seem to run out of products to sell. Take Romero, for example. A friend was looking for an XS Soprano, but couldn't find one. Romero lists several different models, but there was only one available online - a solid koa for $700.

Romero makes a dozen different models, and each one is "available" in different kinds of wood, so that's a minimum of three dozen ukuleles offered by the company. I have no idea how many dealers are selling ukuleles around the world, but you would have to be the size of General Motors to keep everyone supplied with everything.

Fortunately, my friend found a beautiful solid koa XS Soprano with Gotoh tuners for $450, sold at a uke event.

It's frustrating to want a particular uke, but no one has it available. That's happened to me quite a few times.
Click to expand...

It's not just Romero. I wanted an Ohana that came out the end of April and almost immediately ran out. Elderly mentioned they received one that immediately sold :-(
 
keenonuke said:
It's not just Romero. I wanted an Ohana that came out the end of April and almost immediately ran out. Elderly mentioned they received one that immediately sold :-(
Click to expand...

Right. With so many models, it's hard for many companies to keep the supply lines filled.
 
keenonuke said:
It's not just Romero. I wanted an Ohana that came out the end of April and almost immediately ran out. Elderly mentioned they received one that immediately sold :-(
Click to expand...
Had the same experience with Ohana and with Elderly. I was not stuck on that one so Elderly made me a great deal on a different Ohana that they had in stock. So it was a win for me, but I guess if you have to have a particular ukulele it would be frustrating.

My wife markets wine for a Napa winery and they do limited runs of some of their boutique wines. She is always dealing with people who buy a bottle and then want more after the run has sold out. She tells her customers that the limited runs go fast but they think that she is just trying to sell them more wine. People get real upset when they can't get what they want. Anyway, I was wondering if some ukulele manufacturers do limited runs of particular ukuleles. The Ohana that I ended up with from Elderly is a "Limited Edition" and it was one of the first limited edition ukuleles that they made. I wonder what that really means. They are still readily available, so they must have made a lot of them, or their limited edition means something else.
 
To complicate the supply and demand situation, we all (or most of us, anyway) have different esthetics and ideas about how we want the ukuleles to look, too.

I have been pining over a KoAloha LN Soprano for months now, but none that I’ve found for sale online have a wood selection that really speaks to me. The ones that I have seen and liked have either already sold or are from questionable online vendors. My solution was to just buy a different damn soprano and forget about hunting for “the one”.

So, supply may well be available, but if you can’t find one you like it may as well be sold out, too. Just my 2¢

Edit: Rllink’s anecdote reminded me how fortunate we are that there is no Robert Parker or Antonio Galloni out there reviewing ukuleles and driving up the cost as a result. It made collecting wine infuriating for me in the end, because invariably some small hidden gem producer would get a 100 point review on a wine and ruin it for those of us who had enjoyed the wine at modest prices. It quickly becomes insane. I used to drink GB Burlotto all the time. Then his top wine in 2013, Monvigliero Barolo, was awarded 100 points (previously had been consistently in the low 90s) and the average prices of all his wines immediately tripled, at least. A $20 Barbera soon become $65, the Dolcetto went from $18 to $50, and the Barolos (he makes four total) all vanished from the normal market, being snapped up immediately on release and sold at auction for insane prices.
 
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Rllink said:
The Ohana that I ended up with from Elderly is a "Limited Edition" and it was one of the first limited edition ukuleles that they made. I wonder what that really means. They are still readily available, so they must have made a lot of them, or their limited edition means something else.
Click to expand...

Limited edition for a bigger maker like Ohana may just mean they're only going to make it this year and not include it in their regular line up. It's a pretty loose term. For some, it may mean they're making only 100 copies (or far less) and then stopping.

YogiTom said:
I have been pining over a KoAloha LN Soprano for months now, but none that I’ve found for sale online have a wood selection that really speaks to me.
Click to expand...

Well there's your problem, KoAlohas don't come in pine. :biglaugh:
 
Wasn't Pops making a pine ukulele for a while? For all I know, he may still be making it.
 
glennerd said:
Limited edition for a bigger maker like Ohana may just mean they're only going to make it this year and not include it in their regular line up. It's a pretty loose term. For some, it may mean they're making only 100 copies (or far less) and then stopping.
Click to expand...

The Kanile‘a Platinum models fall under this definition for limited. As do the Kamaka and Kiwaya (non-season) anniversary models.

For real “limited” runs, I think of companies like The Rebel who put out a handful of higher end, semi-custom instruments and then move on to something new. And of course, hard to be more limited than a custom one-of-a-kind build from an independent luthier.

I feel like I may be diverting this thread slightly, so apologies to OP.
 
maki66 said:
I saw a pretty good selection of Romeros at Uspace in Downtown LA when we went there last.
Click to expand...

USpace always has a decent collection of Romeros. It's a tiny store with an amazing collection of ukes.
 
Jerryc41 said:
It's too bad they don't sell/advertise online. I looked at their site. They open at noon, which is 3:00 PM here. My friend found a uke, so I won't be phoning them. There are probably several XS Sopranos available, but if we can't find them online...
Click to expand...

They are a small store with limited hours, basically a labor of love. Shipping would create a whole new responsibility which I'm sure they don't want. Tip- if you ever do decide to call them make sure your phone number displays. They won't answer calls without a displayed number.
 
YogiTom said:
To complicate the supply and demand situation, we all (or most of us, anyway) have different esthetics and ideas about how we want the ukuleles to look, too.

I have been pining over a KoAloha LN Soprano for months now, but none that I’ve found for sale online have a wood selection that really speaks to me. The ones that I have seen and liked have either already sold or are from questionable online vendors. My solution was to just buy a different damn soprano and forget about hunting for “the one”.

So, supply may well be available, but if you can’t find one you like it may as well be sold out, too. Just my 2¢

Edit: Rllink’s anecdote reminded me how fortunate we are that there is no Robert Parker or Antonio Galloni out there reviewing ukuleles and driving up the cost as a result. It made collecting wine infuriating for me in the end, because invariably some small hidden gem producer would get a 100 point review on a wine and ruin it for those of us who had enjoyed the wine at modest prices. It quickly becomes insane. I used to drink GB Burlotto all the time. Then his top wine in 2013, Monvigliero Barolo, was awarded 100 points (previously had been consistently in the low 90s) and the average prices of all his wines immediately tripled, at least. A $20 Barbera soon become $65, the Dolcetto went from $18 to $50, and the Barolos (he makes four total) all vanished from the normal market, being snapped up immediately on release and sold at auction for insane prices.
Click to expand...

I'm particular about make and model, but I've never been fussy about the appearance of one particular example of a model over another example. On the other hand, if Mim has two similar ukes available, I'll pick the one one that I think looks best.

Interesting about the wine. Fortunately, I haven't experienced a big jump in ukulele prices because of a review. When I saw the Bonanza Oreo in Baz's review, I wanted one. I was hoping the review was good, and the price was reasonable. It got a good review, and the price was - and still is - reasonable. In the case of the wine, I bet it's the local stores, rather than the winery, raising the price.
 
Jerryc41 said:
Interesting about the wine. Fortunately, I haven't experienced a big jump in ukulele prices because of a review. When I saw the Bonanza Oreo in Baz's review, I wanted one. I was hoping the review was good, and the price was reasonable. It got a good review, and the price was - and still is - reasonable. In the case of the wine, I bet it's the local stores, rather than the winery, raising the price.
Click to expand...

You’re absolutely right that it is the middle men that up the price in the wine world. Poor Fabio didn’t see any real increase in what his importers were paying him for the wine, likely because the sudden demand for his wines was wholly unexpected. Domaines like DRC, however, that have had the historical demand and high quality (and high scores) garner much more from their distributors because they have the caché to do so.

I am grateful that we do have people out there like Baz reviewing ukuleles in a manner that tries to apply that same rating scale to each instrument, regardless of the MSRP. I think the difference is, you don’t see Kimo Hussey or Jake Shimabukuro out there assigning random numerical scores to ukuleles that they like to play. Could you imagine what that might do to the market for ukuleles that are given scores of 95-100 by “icons” of the ukulele world? Or ukuleles that score below 80 points (a step above garbage in the eyes of those wine reviewers I mentioned previously)? Sure, people who wanted to get their own info and form an opinion on their own will still do so, but anyone looking for the first time may be compelled to chase the scores of the “experts”.

That’s a world I’m happy to not live in, and I’m sincerely hopeful it never changes.
 
Went on the Kamaka factory tour Friday. They produce about 300 per month and make them to order, meaning every one is spoken for. Next order goes to the end of the line, including if you order directly from them. So if a store or person ordered five "Jakes", they would be ready in a month or two and be produced consecutively, and numbered so.

Interestingly, cruise Waikiki and you can find a number of Uke shops, many being small spaces in hotels. They all pretty much are well stocked with all of the 3 Ks. The ones you covet may be in an obscure shop somewhere that you cannot access online.
 
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