Certain brands to be raising prices again....

MGM

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It's that time of year and although not yet official if you we're planning on getting a made in Hawaii ukulele don't wait too long as prices I'm told will be increasing on some brands...
 
Which ones?
 
By the word "certain" Brands, I assume you mean "K" Brands. :)
 
C mon Mike we need a little more info. You da man wif all da scoop
 
he said made in HI ukuleles. not hard to figure out. glad I'm covered.

He must mean Maui Music, Kamoa, etc.? Kamaka and even KoAloha raised a year ago. Is it pseudo-Hawaiian, like Pono or Islander? Is is custom Hawaiian, like Moore Bettah, Mako, Kula, Reposo, A. oya, etc.?

Guess I'm not as good at the guessing game.

"They all raise prices" as a blanket statement is unfair to those that do not, frankly.

It'll be super interesting to see how the price increase plays out now as there are many Koalohas, Mya Moes and other high end ukes unsold on UUMarketplave and the uke wave of popularity takes a breather in general. Hmmm
 
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More info Mike? There are a lot of Hawaiian builders.

Strikes me as a funny time to raise prices. I'm kinda with Steve on this...there's a whole heap of unsold instruments here and on FMM that would have been snapped up in a hurry 12 months ago.
 
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He must mean Maui Music, Kamoa, etc.? Kamaka and even KoAloha raised a year ago. Is it pseudo-Hawaiian, like Pono or Islander? Is is custom Hawaiian, like Moore Bettah, Mako, Kula, Reposo, A. oya, etc.?

Guess I'm not as good at the guessing game.

"They all raise prices" as a blanket statement is unfair to those that do not, frankly.

It'll be super interesting to see how the price increase plays out now as there are many Koalohas, Mya Moes and other high end ukes unsold on UUMarketplave and the uke wave of popularity takes a breather in general. Hmmm




Hey Cool..
the UU may have slowed on "The Uke wave of popularity takes a breather in general" but
when I visit the Ukulele Site(aka HMS) I don't see it...Kamaka's are never in stock for more than a few days...Australians love the uke,,and they only buy Hawaiian brands..(if they have the Money) not to mention the Asian market...lots of ukes going to them..

if all the K brands sold just 50% of their present allotment of ukes in the USA, the rest of their monthly inventory can go to Asia with no problems,,they would even want more...haha

Kanile'a could send way more to them a month if he wanted too(to Japan)...as far as I can see the uke more popular than ever...they say maybe 10,000 people at the Ukulele Festival this year...

only my 2 cents
 
they say maybe 10,000 people at the Ukulele Festival this year...

One of these days I gotta time my trip out there and make it 10,001. We'll make sure and bring Stan...does that make it 10,002? LOL

Stagflation Sucks!
 
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Seems there are a lot of factors that could contribute to higher uke prices, even if demand for ukes has leveled out. Koa supply is limited. Health care, labor, rent, and shipping costs all going up. A modest increase is understandable.

Of course the modest cost increase gets doubled when added to MSRP.

A few months ago Mya-moe raised prices of their ukes $100-$150, and their backlog hasn't shrunk. So, a similar price increase on K-brands probably won't hurt their sales either.

Any other thoughts on this?
 
Hey Cool..
the UU may have slowed on "The Uke wave of popularity takes a breather in general" but
when I visit the Ukulele Site(aka HMS) I don't see it...Kamaka's are never in stock for more than a few days...Australians love the uke,,and they only buy Hawaiian brands..(if they have the Money) not to mention the Asian market...lots of ukes going to them..

if all the K brands sold just 50% of their present allotment of ukes in the USA, the rest of their monthly inventory can go to Asia with no problems,,they would even want more...haha

Kanile'a could send way more to them a month if he wanted too(to Japan)...as far as I can see the uke more popular than ever...they say maybe 10,000 people at the Ukulele Festival this year...

only my 2 cents
Excellent points Len. Maybe some of us can get a bit western-centric at times. Even if the US market has slowed a little, I guess the Asian market is still going gangbusters. :)
 
I saw a price increase on Kanileas at the one good Italian store of over 50%... Wow...
 
No, that's not it this time. The same uke was a lot less expensive a week ago. I think they were forced to raise prices. Even on old stock.
 
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