What would YOU expect?

There were two different concert scale banjo ukuleles advertised. One said "Hardware: Chrome" The other said "Hardware: Antique Brass"
The walnut with chrome hardware is $380.00 , while the maple with Antique Brass is $440.00 . Why such a big price difference when everything else is the same? What really chaps my lips is that a magnet sticks to any and all metal parts ! When it is advertised as antiqued brass, that's what I expected it to be. It certainly should not cost 60.00 more to put on brass plate rather than chrome. I am not a happy chappy. This on top of having called for a shipping cost and was told $22 , but the invoice stated I was charged $39.72 !

So...am I off base to expect brass to be brass?

No, it should more correctly have been described as "brass plated" or something to distinguish it from solid brass. I've not seen solid brass tuners, but plenty of boat hardware is solid brass, and lots of antiques are brass, so "antique brass" = brass plate seems misleading.

Doesn't sound like a seller with honorable intentions.
Antique brass is antique brass, antique-brass coloured plating is not the same thing at all. And prior agreements on shipping costs are legally binding, doesn't matter if it ended up costing them more money than planned.
You should definitely raise a complaint then get a partial refund or return the instrument with all extra costs covered by the seller.

Hey Bill, the only downside to the "antique brass" is that in my experience usually means plated, the cost of solid brass would be tremendous compared to cast, however there is no reason to pay $60 for plated tuners...that is outrageous. I agree i would return it at the cost of the seller with full refund. There must be better deals out there!

Lalou said:

And prior agreements on shipping costs are legally binding, doesn't matter if it ended up costing them more money than planned.

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If the initial shipping cost was an estimate (which I know a lot of places do), then they are not obligated to keep that same price.

Well I have to agree with Kevin, "antique brass" is a description of a finish not a metal (just like "chrome" means chrome plated not solid chrome). And as OBM points out, it depends on whether the shipping was a quote or a (bad) estimate. If the latter, you might at least get them to agree to split the difference.

Yes it sucks but so do most life lessons.

Well, good hardware is expensive (as you well know, William). Beleive it or not, $15.00 apiece for plating and aging does not seem expensive to me. A good heavy plate, and proper aging, to get the "antique" look, takes some time and work.

All of that, of course, is predicated on whether it was done well. Heavy plating, proper aging, to me would be worth it. If, on the other hand, if it starts rubbing through - yes, you got ripped.

didn't they have different woods too....would that be the difference too...jus wondering why everyone is just focusing on the tuners only..

In the musical instrument world, at least, whenever they talk about hardware options they're usually talking about finish. This is even more "obviously" so when one of the choices is chrome - chrome is always a plating - so when you see "chrome" and "antique brass" or "pewter" it's natural to assume the "antique brass" or "pewter" is a finish. When something is really brass, as for example some electric guitar bridges, they will usually describe it as "solid brass," or "machined brass."

As for the difference in prices - a good antiqued brass finish is going to be much more expensive than chrome. In fact, almost anything is going to be more expensive than chrome or nickel - even "black chrome" is often close to twice as expensive as chrome or nickel.

John

The saga continues: Yes, there are different woods, but maple is far cheaper than walnut. This uke is straightgrain maple. I once talked to another company who was advertising a ukulele line made of "Portugese koa" There is no such stuff! Their ad was what was sent from the manufacturer. When they checked it out, they changed their ad. They agreed it was a misrepresentation. We can trust Bounty Music's advertising, and if we question it, they will check it out. This company says the same reason for saying what it does in its advertisement. The owner's secretarysays it is a valid concern, but the owner is in Germany for two weeks. She has a week of vacation which is concurrent with his return, so she will not be there to remind him to check the reminders left for him. If I do not hear from him by April 15th, I am to call him.
The banjo ukues come with a LIFETIME WARRANTY--so it says in the advertisements.
The strings on it are really dead. Even my salesman suggested I put on a set of Aquila strings. Thank you all for your comments. The secretary has joined the site so the company can have access to the comments about their entire ukulele offerings.
I prefer not to disclose their name until the man who signs the checks has a chance to respond.

So it's not about the metal parts then?

TheCraftedCow said:

The strings on it are really dead. Even my salesman suggested I put on a set of Aquila strings. Thank you all for your comments. The secretary has joined the site so the company can have access to the comments about their entire ukulele offerings.
I prefer not to disclose their name until the man who signs the checks has a chance to respond.

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Can't hurt to try the Aquilas but it might simply be that the top is not tensioned tightly enough - or even just not evenly. I'm not a banjo uke expert by any means but, like anything with a "skin" head, tension is critical to getting good response. Depending on the material the head is made of it might be quite sensitive to humidity and even if it's not sensitive to humidity it might have been shipped a little soft.

John