If the instrument is good, does the maker matter to you?

jer

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This is just something I've been thinking and wondering about. Other than selling points of an instrument itself (materials used, workmanship, sound, playability, etc. etc.) what other things, if any, play a role in your purchase of an instrument? What could keep you from buying an instrument?
Lets put price aside too.

Here's one example:
I know of a uke company who had a politician from a certain party at their offices for an event. If you were solidly involved in the other party, would you avoid buying from this maker or would it simply not matter so long as their product was good?

Here's another example, that is a personal one:
I've e-mailed a certain ukulele manufacturer (not one of the largest ones, but not one of the custom builders either) and never even got a simple reply back. For me, if a company can't at least acknowledge and answer some simple questions with the e-mail address they've provided it's a no-go.

What if the company has religious affiliations that you strongly agree or disagree with? Does that sway you one way or the other?

These are just some examples.

This thread is not meant to be a political or religious debate, but more just asking if these types of things do indeed have an effect on you as a buyer or do you simply not care so long as you're getting a quality product?
 
This is a really good question. I am sure there are bad examples of any ukulele. In my second year of playing, I am finding that I want to buy ukuleles from people that I know. Some examples of this would be wanting to buy a Mainland from Mike IN Indiana, and my recent purchase of a Bonanza from Pete and Shelley Mai.

But I have also fallen in love with KoAloha, partially because of their sound, and partially because of the story of the company along with its outstanding customer service (stories are legendary here on UU).

I would instantly accept any Kamaka, Kaniel'a, Moore Bettah, Mya Moe, Pete Howlett, Da Silva, etc., as I would hope that anyone else would.

But what seems to happen as you play longer is that you learn what you really like and that becomes your dream ukulele or a target ukulele. You can appreciate nearly any ukulele, but have your own preference.

Sort of like riding motorcycles...you're just glad any time you see another rider on two motorized wheels.
 
Nah, it just gets in the way of the music, for me. I'll try any uke, if it sounds and plays good, I'll consider buying it. I've had the email example happen to me, kinda pissed me off, but stuff happens, and I'd still buy their uke, if I really liked it, and the price was right. If not, it's their loss, forget em. I go to ukes for peace and relaxation, and to escape all the political stuff in the media.
 
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For political or religious views? Would not matter in the slightest to me, I might debate with them, but if they make a good product I'd even go so far as to recommend them. Now, moral issues, say a rapist, or someone who sells drugs to children, or some other extreme behavior that harms another, no matter how good the product I could not finance thier behavior. Basically, anyone continuing felonious behavior, I would have to walk away.
 
Yes, the maker matters to me because I buy items with sentimental value (like ukuleles) based on relationships. When or not the maker matters enough to sway a purchase is another story, though. Even though I buy with relationships in mind, I tend to be fairly pragmatic.

That said, I'm also imperfect. :) Hopefully all of these make sense.

Regarding your examples:
Political affiliation: Wouldn't affect my decision unless the politics were extreme. If the person shoved their politics in my face when we talked about the sale, then I'd probably go elsewhere.

Religious affiliations: Wouldn't affect my decision unless the religious display was extreme. If the person shoved their religion in my face when we talked about the sale, then I'd probably go elsewhere.

Perceived skill: I hate braggarts and people with low self-esteem. If the conversation spent a majority of time about how they're way better better than KoAloha or worse, if how they aspired to be KoAloha one day, then I'd probably go elsewhere.

Customer service: If a luthier didn't respond to my email, I'd call. If they didn't respond to my call, I'd try again in a month. Some people are just disorganized, others take vacations, many think that getting back to an inquiry within a week is acceptable. Just because I live online and demand instant gratification, doesn't mean that I'll always get it. The longer they take to get back to me, the more likely they'll lose the sale. In my view, it's a ukulele, not a 911 call...y'know? :)

Trustworthy?: If the person isn't trustworthy, I'm not giving them my money.

Jerk: If the person is a jerk, I won't give them my money. If the person was a jerk to me or my family, I will encourage others to follow my example.
 
interesting question, one that I haven't considered before.

In the end though, it's an instrument. If I like an instrument I'd buy it because it's not what the maker does with the instrument, its what I do.

If the maker was, say.... anti gay. I'd buy it anyway, and make a donation to a lbgtq cause in their name, and hope that counters the karma.

As a liberal, I believe in everyone's freedom to choose what they believe.
I just don't support their need to force a belief on someone else, just as I don't believe I should force mine on someone else.
 
The knowledge I have of any of the companies or luthiers where I buy has only been about the instruments, so I have no other criteria on which to judge. I wouldn't even think about delving into their political, religious or personal details. But the way they conduct their business is another matter.

A few years ago I contacted three luthiers here in North America for feedback on a custom I wanted, two took a few days to respond and only gave me limited feedback, one did not return my contact. The only other one I contacted was Bruce Wei in Asia and he responded within hours with details about how he would do the build. I was impressed and went with him, he was also the lowest price. About 6 months later I got an email from the one who didn't respond asking if I was still interested in a build. If he took that long to respond, I figured he'd take forever to do a build (Bruce took only five months).
 
I chose my first uke because of the co-founder of the company - Yvonne de Villiers of Luna, who was still with the company at the time. Most of what I was looking at in the $150-ish price range was pretty similar (Luna, Kala, Ohana etc.) for a laminate solid top uke. I chose Luna partly because of what Ms De Villiers accomplished in a mostly male-ownership world and I admired her vision, and partly because HMS was running a deal for $139. It is a pretty nice uke that will be passed down to my granddaughter.

I have purchased because of being made in America - Zither Heaven & Outdoor Ukulele, for example. I also admire Outdoor Ukulele because they refunded my money when it was apparent that the first tenor was not going to meet expected production schedules. Many of us who were in on that first attempt offered to let them keep the money (we had pre-ordered) as seed money until they got things worked out, but they said no and refunded. That impressed me. Some also were not happy about what was perceived as slow response to emails, but it is pretty much a two person operation, and what was posted above by derbyhat on customer service was my take on it, too.
 
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Hmmm... a thread that talks about political and religious affiliations and how it may effect a ukulele purchase. I wonder how long it will take to get out of control and be locked? ...lol.

John
 
I just don't support their need to force a belief on someone else, just as I don't believe I should force mine on someone else.
:agree:
To each his own. My views are mine, the vendor's are his. We might be on the same page or not, as long as each other accepts this as a fact we could get along nicely.
The instrument trade as such has to be strictly neutral for me (apart from the usual UAS emotions :drool: :love:), otherwise I am likely to refrain from the purchase and spend my money elsewhere. If the purchase already has a bad karma this will probably stick to the ukulele...
 
The reputation of a company may to a degree affect my purchase decisions, as will customer support (reputed or first hand experience), personalities of the company representatives, and company ethics (if known).

For example, Kanile'a puts resources into reforestation efforts, which positively influences my perception of the company and makes them my first choice if I were to add a Hawaiian uke to my collection. Other examples: If a spokesperson of a company doesn't strike me as likable, it will also affect my view. Poor experiences with a company's other products, even entry ones, will definitely impact further purchase decisions even if they are for products in a higher price league (this is why I would probably not buy a Kala instrument). I choose vendors in the same way.

Political and religious, well, I can't think of political examples (unless we consider the political climate in the countries of manufacture), and religious, I think there's only KoAloha that sparked debate (the headstock and logo design being influenced by Christian symbolism), and I felt that was really minor as it was rather subtle.

So for me, it's not only the sound and craftsmanship that matter, though they are the primary criteria. There is so much choice for ukuleles now that are in the same price and quality category that these other aspects are the distinguishing factors, so I loosely (and no doubt partially subconsciously) consider them, if everything else is roughly equal.
 
I don't concern my self with the politics or religious beliefs of a ukulele maker. If in your email to them you were questioning there religious or political inclinations, I wouldn't reply back to you either.
 
Didn't Neil Young say, "it's all about the music"?
 
Customer service: If a luthier didn't respond to my email, I'd call. If they didn't respond to my call, I'd try again in a month. Some people are just disorganized, others take vacations, many think that getting back to an inquiry within a week is acceptable. Just because I live online and demand instant gratification, doesn't mean that I'll always get it. The longer they take to get back to me, the more likely they'll lose the sale. In my view, it's a ukulele, not a 911 call...y'know? :)

You are a lot more persistent and forgiving than me. :) If a manufacturer, luthier or vendor doesn't respond in a timely fashion already before I have bought something, I won't try again and buy elsewhere, unless I'm firmly set on wanting a product from them and there is no equal alternative. But even then it would give me pause. (But all my ukulele-related experiences have been positive, in most cases outstanding even, regarding customer service and responsiveness, including after purchases.)
 
If I only did business with folk who agreed with me on everything, I'd have very little of anything.
 
I would not make a decision about an ukulele based on religion or politics. If ukuleles appeal to me by how they sound, play and look I would buy from any dealer or maker. Now I would be drawn to those companies that demonstrate public service such as supporting music education and provide good customer service.
 
Politics and religion, I mean, how would one even get there in the course of buying a ukulele? I guess that if I went to a store to buy a ukulele and the sales person started talking politics or religion, I would just leave. I guess if I went in to a store to buy a ukulele and they wanted to talk about their pets instead, I would probably leave too.

I can't ever see me buying a ukulele from a luthier.

I like to buy my ukuleles from a person, even it it is just a sales person at some on line music store. I bought my first Makala from a guy named Ian at Sweetwater. I don't know Ian from Jack, and I don't know how much he knows about ukuleles, but there is an actual person at Sweetwater named Ian, and I contact him when I want to buy something. I also bought an amp later on from Ian. That is why I do not do business on Amazon.

When I bought my Mainland I liked that if there was any problem I could call and talk to Mike.

Brand does make a difference to me. But in the sense that I won't buy a brand that has a bad reputation. So for me, if it sounds good, and the company does not have a bad reputation for service or workmanship, I'm good with it, regardless.

I don't spend a lot of time agonizing over a purchase. If I contact someone and they don't get back to me in a reasonable amount of time, they lost a sale. I don't want anything exotic or hard to get. It is a competitive market out there for what I want, and there are plenty of people out there who want my money. I don't have to wait on someone to get back to me.
 
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I have no problem buying from a manufacturer or an individual luthier, regardless of political or religious views. But I would not buy from them if they were jerks.
 
Honestly, I have a hard time separating my feelings for a ukulele and its builder (just like I do with some artist's political views and their art!).

There are a couple brands of ukulele that I have no interest in buying simply because of what I have experienced (or learned) regarding the builder.

I feel the same way about music stores. I don't care how great the uke is - if the store/seller is disreputable or dislikable - I can't do it. I once called a fairly well-known uke store to ask about a G-String tenor ukulele they had in stock. During my conversation with the store owner, he began to bash Collings ukuleles. He ridiculed Bill Collings and ukuleles themselves. I happen to think very highly of Collings and I was instantly turned off. There is no way I would ever buy a ukulele from that guy.

Maybe I should be able to put that stuff aside for the sake of a great uke, but I can't. Ideally, I love finding great ukes, by respectable builders, at honorable music stores.
 
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