Sketchy...yes or no?

A number of the companies mentioned had a high end and then created a budget line It may be more of a challenge to have a lower end instrument and try to establish a presence in the higher end market. Of course anything is possible, and as many here have found, the quality of the instrument is what matters.
 
You can buy whatever you want. A cheap aNueNue is different from a $1,000 aNueNue - same with Kala. KoAloha has ukes selling for a few hundred, and others selling for a few thousand.

Of course it is. I was being sarcastic / facetious in regards to the comment I quoted.
 
It looks like the serial number has not been written over, it looks more like the number was written onto a wet label.

Maybe it was a Friday afternoon uke, last one for the week?

I would go along with a wet/damp label, except the model number is sharp and crisp. On my Kala Elite, they look like they were written at the same time. Plus, there aren't any wrinkles in the label.

The Kala Elites are nice instruments. I think the "Elite" was the branding that Kala felt they could use to differentiate their High-end line from their mass-produced standard line.

Having a Luxury/Premium; Mid-level/Standard; Budget/No Frills separate lines of products only works if the public can readily identify each. Cadillac/Buick/Chevrolet. When the differentiation gets blurred and overlap ensues, the public gets confused and chaos ensues. Like Oldsmobile. "Not your father's Oldsmobile." Except it was.

Perhaps Kala would have done better to market the line as: Elite by Kala. With "Elite" on the headstock and "Kala" only appearing on the label inside. If you are going to position it as an "Elite" instrument, then it should look like an elite, high-quality instrument. They are selling the image as well as the sound and playability.

I would never have bought a Kala Elite if I hadn't seen a used one in Spruce and Myrtle for a very good price. I have a lot of cognitive dissonance with the idea of the Kala brand and high-end, luthier-designed and individually built instruments.
 
I was watching a new 2019 1KOA-T online, it was $999.00, then was reduced to $699.00, still no takers, now it's back up to $999.00. They are not too far from me. I wonder what price they'd take if I walked in the door with cash? (Assuming of course, that I liked it,). Especially since they've probably been sitting on it since 2019.

It could be worth it to make an offer. You never know!
 
I agree with you. Aside from the serial number, the trim on the front looks terrible. Everyone has their own tastes; maybe some people like it. I love aesthetic tattoos that look cool. When I was 13 years old, I had a cool photo that I loved immediately. I went to a friend who drew a sketch based on this picture. And when I was 18 years old, I still tattooed it on my left hand. My dream came true; I dreamed about it for 5 years. Now every day, I admire the tattoo. I think I never want to remove it from my hand.
 
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