Pineapple Sundays from the team in Thailand?!

Cluze said:
Thanks for bumping it back. I can't quite understand how Mim still has all of the initial 12 she got in. I think a couple sold on HMS, but they were priced slightly lower so that might explain it?

Are people simply not interested in the Thailand built ones? I absolutely adore my Opio from them, and if I didn't already have a Pop's made Pineapple Sunday I would have immediately jumped on one of these. Heck, I am *still* considering it, as I prefer a concert scale. (But I doubt I can convince the wife that I need *another* Pineapple Sunday...)
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Yeah, it is an unfortunate and quite frustrating situation for me. They were not supposed to be priced that low. And I was shocked none were selling, and I could not figure out why, until I did a little googling and realized there was a store out there offering a "special" at $100 less than the company set price. Like a good soldier I offered them for what I was supposed to offer them for, because I normally am a staunch rule follower... and therefore none sold. So, finally after none of them moving for a month and a half, despite them being a new model, I dropped my price lower because I can not sit on that much inventory just on the principle that I will follow the rules. If nothing is done about other's blatantly ignoring the brand's wishes, then at some point, I have to fight fire with fire. I have done the "good little dealer" thing in years past and my business, therefore my family, has suffered from the drop in sales.

I will set them up and ship them out same or next day (except the weekend obviously) with a free Oasis humidifier. And my set-ups are meticulous. So I hope I will see them finally starting to move as a result.
 
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Muybien04 said:
That'd be interesting if they did. I think a spruce top version could be pretty neat.

I wonder if the second hand market plays into it though. There's two Scepters on Reverb right now at $1200 OBO so if the new Thailand ones were priced like their Sundays I could see people holding out for the "real thing."
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That's a good price for a used one.
 
Mim said:
Yeah, it is an unfortunate and quite frustrating situation for me. They were not supposed to be priced that low. And I was shocked none were selling, and I could not figure out why, until I did a little googling and realized there was a store out there offering a "special" at $100 less than the company set price. Like a good soldier I offered them for what I was supposed to offer them for, because I normally am a staunch rule follower... and therefore none sold. So, finally after none of them moving for a month and a half, despite them being a new model, I dropped my price lower because I can not sit on that much inventory just on the principle that I will follow the rules. If nothing is done about other's blatantly ignoring the brand's wishes, then at some point, I have to fight fire with fire. I have done the "good little dealer" thing in years past and my business, therefore my family, has suffered from the drop in sales.

I will set them up and ship them out same or next day (except the weekend obviously) with a free Oasis humidifier. And my set-ups are meticulous. So I hope I will see them finally starting to move as a result.
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What we have to keep in mind is that paying $100 more to keep a good dealer in business is better than financing a less reputable dealer.
 
Jerryc41 said:
What we have to keep in mind is that paying $100 more to keep a good dealer in business is better than financing a less reputable dealer.
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Is there any suggestion that the dealer selling at $100 less is disreputable? Maybe they just realised that nobody wants these ukuleles and they need to get rid of them as soon as possible.

I think KoAloha made an error of judgement releasing these. They are not comparable to the cheaper Opio models, they are more of a novelty.
 
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They arent disreputable. I am not sure if it is a miscommunication or what... but nothing changed for a month so I changed.
 
Counter said:
Is there any suggestion that the dealer selling at $100 less is disreputable? Maybe they just realised that nobody wants these ukuleles and they need to get rid of them as soon as possible.
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Well, he's selling below the price that KoAloha specified. Manufacturers often have minimum prices that dealers can charge. Look at the prices of cameras, for example. If you want a Nikon from an authorized dealer, you will pay the same price regardless where you buy it. Those who offer lower prices do not give you want they suggest you will get.

I prefer to deal with trusted sellers rather than shopping by price. Maybe "disreputable" was the wrong word.
 
I dont want to start a speculation, so lets just assume they read the pricing sheet wrong. And lets change the subject back and talk about these pretty little ukuleles.

I am setting one up now. They have a bright and lively tone with a crisp attack and they are cute and on sale ;)
 
Jerryc41 said:
Well, he's selling below the price that KoAloha specified. Manufacturers often have minimum prices that dealers can charge. Look at the prices of cameras, for example. If you want a Nikon from an authorized dealer, you will pay the same price regardless where you buy it. Those who offer lower prices do not give you want they suggest you will get.

I prefer to deal with trusted sellers rather than shopping by price. Maybe "disreputable" was the wrong word.
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Every ukulele dealer I know will buy stock to sell at the MRRP, but if it doesn't sell then after a few months they put them on sale and are free to do so. Camera dealers have to wait for Nikon to reduce the MRRP when a new camera is released, it's a different sales model.
 
Counter said:
Every ukulele dealer I know will buy stock to sell at the MRRP, but if it doesn't sell then after a few months they put them on sale and are free to do so. Camera dealers have to wait for Nikon to reduce the MRRP when a new camera is released, it's a different sales model.
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This was right out of the gate. They have not been available for 2 months yet. It is ok, all good now... I priced to match and they should start moving now. I am just trying to level the playing field. I was waiting for someone else to do it, and it didnt get done. Sometimes a gal has got to do what a gal has got to do.
 
Counter said:
Every ukulele dealer I know will buy stock to sell at the MRRP, but if it doesn't sell then after a few months they put them on sale and are free to do so. Camera dealers have to wait for Nikon to reduce the MRRP when a new camera is released, it's a different sales model.
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As Mim, suggested, let's end this price discussion.
 
Counter said:
Is there any suggestion that the dealer selling at $100 less is disreputable? Maybe they just realised that nobody wants these ukuleles and they need to get rid of them as soon as possible.

I think KoAloha made an error of judgement releasing these. They are not comparable to the cheaper Opio models, they are more of a novelty.
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I don’t believe that these are “more of a novelty” and from my playing both (KoAloha and UkeSA) side-by-side, they are exactly comparable to the Opio models and therefore, a wonderful value for anyone who wanted a Pineapple Sunday but the cost of a Koa and Hawaiian-made uke puts it out of range. They can now afford one and not sacrifice quality. The entire basis of Pop’s new venture with UkeSA is to make available the best ukulele at the most affordable price. He has done that with his Wow sopranos, and now has taken a leap to include the Pineapple Sunday. Acacia combined with lower cost of production without sacrificing quality is what Pop’s UkeSA is all about. Far from a novelty item — at least not in the minds of Moms and Pops. And now they are selling for $100 less than MSRP. If you ever wanted a Pineapple Sunday but could not afford it, I would jump on this before prices return to MSRP.
 
Counter said:
It's a mystery why they are just not selling then :)
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I believe that people are just skeptical. They think, “There must be something wrong.” It seems to go against any good business practice to take one of your leading products and make your own lower cost knock-off of it :) but having gotten to know Pops, he wants his instruments played and in the hands of people and he has found a way to make them more affordable and still have control over the quality. The KoAlanas taught them a very important lesson that they are never going to repeat. I have been trying to sell the Wow ukulele for Pops. There are always tons of questions but few takers, and quite frankly, it is one of the best, if not the best sopranos I have played. Anyone who actually plays it, agrees, but without that first hand experience of actually playing it, people are just skeptical. It will take time, I guess, as these UkeSA models become more widely known, then acceptance will follow.
 
Jerryc41 said:
Well, he's selling below the price that KoAloha specified. Manufacturers often have minimum prices that dealers can charge. Look at the prices of cameras, for example. If you want a Nikon from an authorized dealer, you will pay the same price regardless where you buy it. Those who offer lower prices do not give you want they suggest you will get.

I prefer to deal with trusted sellers rather than shopping by price. Maybe "disreputable" was the wrong word.
Click to expand...

Cameras purchased from certain large retailers sell for less than smaller ones, much less. I used to look at the ads from the big ones in NY all the time. Those retailers do NOT give less than what you are being told.
 
Counter said:
It's a mystery why they are just not selling then :)
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They WERE selling... but from the shop that had them $100 cheaper. I would not buy from me either for that kind of discount. So I price matched. I just wanted people to know I price matched so I could get some of that action.
 
AQUATOPAZ said:
Cameras purchased from certain large retailers sell for less than smaller ones, much less. I used to look at the ads from the big ones in NY all the time. Those retailers do NOT give less than what you are being told.
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Abe's of Maine always has low prices, but buyer beware. The authorized dealers are safe, but their prices are higher. If anyone is selling below B&H, Adorama, Roberts, etc., then they're not authorized, so beware.
 
Counter said:
It's a mystery why they are just not selling then :)
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Pineapple Sundays are quite beautiful, and personally, these Acacia ones aren't in the same ballpark in the beauty department. If the only difference between the models was place of origin, I think these would move. There are many great sounding ukes made in Hawaii that cost much less than the Pineapple Sundays. People were willing to pay the premium because of the look. Making less attractive ones at a lower price misses the point of why people were willing to purchase them to begin with. I say this because I would never purchase one of these new ones, but I have always liked Pineapple Sundays and if one as nice as the Hawaiian ones had been around when I purchased a low g uke, I might have bought one.
 
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