Mims Ukes

Nickie

Well-known member
Joined
Dec 31, 2010
Messages
11,197
Reaction score
3,508
Location
Tampa Bay, FL
I just saw where Mim is selling out her Kala stock, due to the company's unfair selling practices, underselling its dealers.
I expect she'll be offering up some really good deals soon!
She plans to replace the brand with Flight Ukuleles, I beleive.
 
This has been an ongoing problem. Years ago a guy I knew who sold band woodwind instruments stopping stocking those instruments. He told me that the big online dealers (in those days it was catalogues- pre internet!) got lower pricing due to their volume and his cost was higher than what they were selling them for!
 
I have visited many uke stores and Kala is definitely the brand that uses up most display space. It is odd that they would not fight to maintain their retail presence but it seems they figured they make bigger profit by selling direct rather than through dealers. I hope that more dealers will reduce exposure to Kala and instead offer larger variety of smaller and more unique brands.
 
Mim posted it on her Facebook page. I rejoined Facebook due to the amount of ukulele material that is only available there.

There's so much to say, but I won't...I just wonder if Kala has reached a point where it is too big, allowing itself to lose touch with vendors and buyers.

Which, of course, opens the doors for other companies.

I guess we'll see!
 
Mim posted it on her Facebook page. I rejoined Facebook due to the amount of ukulele material that is only available there. Hey

There's so much to say, but I won't...I just wonder if Kala has reached a point where it is too big, allowing itself to lose touch with vendors and buyers.

Which, of course, opens the doors for other companies.

I guess we'll see!
I have liked every flight uke I have tried..
 
I saw a similar concern on Boston’s Craigslist. Didn’t understand at the time, but I get it now.
 
I'm not really moved by this at all. I've never really understood the popularity of Kala anyway. In my opinion, they haven't kept up with the competition regarding their models and upgrading them. At that low to mid tier price point, there's so much competition nowadays. Brands like Flight and Snail have eclipsed Kala a couple of years ago already in my book.
 
Kala is one of the most recognized brands in ukuleles. If not THE most recognized. They advertise a lot. Support events. And donate to causes and charities.

They've earned their position by making decent quality ukuleles for affordable prices. Now, they seem to be capitalizing on their recognition by selling direct. Perhaps they've seen the writing on the wall and don't believe the small brick and mortar stores will survive the pandemic.
 
I'm not really moved by this at all. I've never really understood the popularity of Kala anyway. In my opinion, they haven't kept up with the competition regarding their models and upgrading them. At that low to mid tier price point, there's so much competition nowadays. Brands like Flight and Snail have eclipsed Kala a couple of years ago already in my book.
100% agree. I wouldn't buy a Kala uke even if they gave it to me. On those rare occasions when I shop for a uke on Ebay, I always add "-Kala" (which means EXCLUDE Kala) to my search parameters.
 
Last edited:
Perhaps they've seen the writing on the wall and don't believe the small brick and mortar stores will survive the pandemic.

Small brick and mortar stores will have a harder time surviving the pandemic with Kala undercutting them... There's a difference between natural causes and homicide.
 
And it's been going on since before the pandemic...
 
I've always wanted to like Kala, but every time I start thinking about getting one I end up with an Ohana.
 
Last edited:
@Rllink - I'm a lot like you in that respect, I give Kalas a good look but then end up buying an Ohana. Three of my five ukes are Ohanas and I'd happily buy another if I were ever in the market again.

I'm batting .500 with Kalas. I love the one I still own but never bonded with the second. Not bonding with the second is not a knock on Kala in any way. I've also not bonded with a Pono and a Romero Creations I ended up selling. If I were in the market again I wouldn't specifically look for a Kala but I certainly wouldn't rule one out either. I nearly bought one directly during their May sale but the savings wouldn't have amounted to all that much after having to pay to get it set up which is something I more than likely would have had to do. I can't say that I understand their pricing/direct sales policies but I can understand why the retailers would be pretty upset by it.
 
Last edited:
I've never been a fan of Kala. The bulk of their ukuleles are all-laminate models that sound mediocre at best. Their all-solid imported models always seemed to be noticeably worse sounding than brands like Pono or Opio. Their elite models never sounded as good as the Hawaiian brands to me. The only Kala models that I liked were were the solid-top models that sounded pretty good for under $150.

At one time, Kala was known for having the best easily-available beginner-friendly ukuleles, with good factory setups, reliable tuners, and side-fret markers on all their models. In recent years though, brands like Flight, Anuenue, and Enya are really giving Kala a run for their money.
 
Well, I only own one Kala, the KA-ASFM-T-C flame maple tenor, and it sounds wonderful now that I took off the Aquilas and put on the Uke Logic low tension, low G strings. I find myself forgetting about it sometimes, because my first instinct is to pick up the Rebel or the Kanile'a, which also sound awesome. But this uke really has a beautiful tone. It's a little pricier than many Kalas are, about the price of a better Pono, which I'm also very fond of. It's not an inexpensive laminate. The wood is beautiful, and the craftsmanship is neat and precise. No flaws here. If I didn't have UAS I honestly could have been perfectly happy with just this one uke. The couple Ohanas I tried I was not pleased with, but then again, they were lower in price. Perhaps I just haven't met the right Ohana yet. I try to keep an open mind and judge the uke on its own merits, not the brand or the price. I almost bought a Snail.
 
Last edited:
I'm not really moved by this at all. I've never really understood the popularity of Kala anyway. In my opinion, they haven't kept up with the competition regarding their models and upgrading them. At that low to mid tier price point, there's so much competition nowadays. Brands like Flight and Snail have eclipsed Kala a couple of years ago already in my book.

Bullseye. I just got a Kala a couple months ago as a cost effective option and it’s very solid. However, I have my complaints and wouldn’t get any model but this PARTICULAR model from them with the growing competition going forward. They feel like a sinking ship to me.
 
Last edited:
I just saw where Mim is selling out her Kala stock, due to the company's unfair selling practices, underselling its dealers.
I expect she'll be offering up some really good deals soon!
She plans to replace the brand with Flight Ukuleles, I beleive.

I wonder what will be the situation with the Kala sales model outside of the USA.

Selling direct to the customer and cutting out the middle man isn’t that unusual a sales model and I wish Kala well with that practice, of course they might be choosing to sell to retailers as well as selling direct to customers. Kala are a successful concern and will have their reasons; they might also offer different prices to retailers depending on the volumes that they order, that’s not so good if you’re a small shop.

I empathise with Mim and feel sure that she is making the right choice for her. Logically she needs a reasonable gap between her selling and purchase prices and if she can’t be sure of one then it’s time to do something else. A village store some miles from me complained that folk didn’t use it enough and that their was no profit in running the store. The owner also complained that their suppliers were charging the same or more for things than they could be bought for in large city supermarkets. To my mind he had the answer before him: if you want to make a profit then change your supplier or do something else with your shop.

I have and have had a few Kala brand products over the years and have always been pleased with them, Kala is my preferred brand. I’ve also had something (via eBay) that was branded Kala but probably wasn’t anything else than a poor copy. It sounded rubbish, was built out of thick laminate and ended up in the trash - in all conscience I couldn’t have sold it to anyone else ... and I’d also had the unopened box for too long to be able to return it. Perhaps Kala are limiting their sales routes for more reasons than might be obvious.

I wish Mim well and no doubt other brands will be knocking on her door seeking her as a retailer.
 
Last edited:
When I started, (about 5 years ago, I think it was), Kala & Ohana were the names to buy, but as has been said, other manufacturers have caught up, & there are many more decent players out there now.

I won't be getting rid of any of my present collection, but I won't be buying any more either. I tend to play my KoAloha Opio solid acacia & Ohana solid mahogany ukes most these days - even though I own a solid acacia Kala, it seldom gets played, it just doesn't 'feel' right, although there is nothing physically wrong with it. :music:
 
When I started, (about 5 years ago, I think it was), Kala & Ohana were the names to buy, but as has been said, other manufacturers have caught up, & there are many more decent players out there now.

I won't be getting rid of any of my present collection, but I won't be buying any more either. I tend to play my KoAloha Opio solid acacia & Ohana solid mahogany ukes most these days - even though I own a solid acacia Kala, it seldom gets played, it just doesn't 'feel' right, although there is nothing physically wrong with it. :music:

I have the same story. I think my first three ukes were Kalas and the fourth was an Ohana. As a beginner when you first start researching what ukes to buy Kala just pops up constantly since it's such a ubiquitous brand. Once you get to that mid-tier range of ukes beyond 300-400 dollars, Kala is woefully out of it's league in my opinion. Brands like Pono and the KoAloha Opio range are just way better than anything Kala can provide at that price point.

Even though I might seem to be bashing Kala I think they still have decent ukes. In my opinion, their solid top laminate body models probably represent their best value (evidenced by the fact how much people like the solid cedar models, for instance, and I don't blame them). For me the issue, again, is that there are many brands that are doing even that particular range/price point better nowadays. I'd say even Ohana have a more interesting range of models at almost every price point.
 
Top Bottom