Kala price increase for 2010

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The prices have increased some. Examples: Kala Acacia tenor list for 2009-$410 2010 list-$449
Kala spruce top concert 2009 list-$185. 2010 list $189. Cases and some accessories have increased as well. Again those are just list prices.
The new catalog has the U-Bass in , Acacia, Mahogany
and spruce/mahogany. There is also the Reggae themed soprano and tenor.
 
Man, $410 to $450 is a big jump. I doubt it's made any better. Why would the raise the price so drastically!? Seems ridiculous to raise it that much, just bc it's a new year.
 
phanzo said:
Man, $410 to $450 is a big jump. I doubt it's made any better. Why would the raise the price so drastically!? Seems ridiculous to raise it that much, just bc it's a new year.
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I agree, 10% in one year is a steep jump. I doubt that the cost of the wood and labor went up 10%, I know my salary did not go up 10%!!! (wish it did)
 
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phanzo said:
Man, $410 to $450 is a big jump. I doubt it's made any better. Why would the raise the price so drastically!? Seems ridiculous to raise it that much, just bc it's a new year.
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Who knows. There could be many factors: Availability of wood, economy, inflation, etc... :( But maybe because of this we will see more people go with a Mainland or Ohana?
 
high demand warrants a price increase too.
 
Have any of you guys been to the grocery store lately? Everything I buy just keeps going up up up. Most other hard goods (tools, applicances, etc) I have bought in the last few years have also seen price increases. With the government borrowing and spending money we don't have like a drunken sailor, inflation is going to get a lot worse in the next decade. Most of it was caused by the increase in energy and commodity prices going up as India and China's economy really caught on fire. At least the world-wide recession has moderated that some.
 
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The good news is that non-consumable stuff (like ukes) will hold their value better, because the new ones will cost more. You can now truthfully tell your wife/husband/so that your ukes are a good investment.
 
Interesting. The european introductory price (August 2009) of the Kala acacia tenor was under 400 $. Not really a bargain, but still fair. 449 $ definetely is a lot of money for an acacia uke.:confused:
 
I looked up some more of the prices. If the information I have (off the web) is correct then the laminate mahogany and curly mango list prices are unchanged. The solid acacia and solid lacewood tenors have gone up about 9.5%. The other instruments I've looked at (spruce/mahogany, koa laminate, spruce/flame maple, and solid mahogany) have gone up about 2-4%. Those are all tenor prices. The soprano acacia and lacewood instruments went up about 11%. Actually both sopranos and tenors went up the same dollar amount, $39. Before I looked at the soprano prices I thought it looked like the increases were driven by the price of wood, but why would sopranos go up the same amount as tenors? I assume tenors use more wood.
 
Doctroid said:
...Actually both sopranos and tenors went up the same dollar amount, $39. Before I looked at the soprano prices I thought it looked like the increases were driven by the price of wood, but why would sopranos go up the same amount as tenors? I assume tenors use more wood.
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The material price is probably neglegable when considering size. I'm no luthier, but I would imagine sopranos can be actually trickier, in some repects, exactly because of their size - tighter bends, smaller working spaces, etc. Again, I'm no luthier.
 
Isn't the Kala Solid Acacia Tenor one of the most popular single models of ukulele ever? (In terms of being an instant, huge hit) Call me cynical, but they're raising prices because they can. Because if they do, they will make thousands and thousands of dollars for doing nothing. That's got to be hard to resist.
 
Does this mean I can maybe use this as an excuse to buy something I might want now? You know, 'cause the price might go up more if I wait.
 
Melissa82 said:
Who knows. There could be many factors: Availability of wood, economy, inflation, etc... :( But maybe because of this we will see more people go with a Mainland or Ohana?
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I wouldn't be surprised if all the companies soon followed. Maybe not but sure they will.
 
Hmmmmmm, seems the largest increase happened to be the most popular uke the tenor!!! Looks like the % of increase is double that of the others. Sounds like an across the board increase (no problem with that) but an added bonus (for the owners). Nice job Kala!!! This will now make potential buyers consider other brands due to the economic strains everybody is experiencing. Can you say...Mainland????
 
pulelehua said:
Isn't the Kala Solid Acacia Tenor one of the most popular single models of ukulele ever? (In terms of being an instant, huge hit)
Click to expand...

I don't know, but the lacewood is popular. With me. Who will try to refrain from pointing out the price increase to his wife and saying "See? I got a bargain!"
 
molokinirum said:
Hmmmmmm, seems the largest increase happened to be the most popular uke the tenor!!! Looks like the % of increase is double that of the others.
Click to expand...

Not from the figures I saw -- the soprano % increase was higher than the tenor (both went up the same amount, but that's a larger percentage of the soprano's price).
 
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