Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: perceptions


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Posted by Rick Denney on March 09, 2000 at 22:16:10:

In Reply to: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: perceptions posted by Chuck on March 09, 2000 at 16:54:46:

One has to be careful about possibly simplistic application of the laws of supply and demand to things like orchestral BAT's. They are handmade, and therefore the supply is inelastic to the point where it takes more makers, not more BAT's per maker, to increase the supply. If everyone decides that one maker's instruments are the ones to have, and the others are second-best, and the maker was unwilling to increase production, the prices will rise.

I've seen exactly this in the high-end bicycle market, which is one of my other pursuits. A few revered framebuilders get astronomical prices for their products, and they refuse to increase production. If they did increase production, they'd only be able to do it by lowering quality, or by doing it more gradually than the increase in demand. It takes a long time to train an artisan at that level. Just to give you an idea: You can buy a damn fine tuba for what the most expensive bicycles cost, and they require considerably less work to build.

The more likely scenario is that amateurs content themselves with very good stuff, while pros, who can justify the astronomical prices even if it makes them sick, will go for the best stuff. Wait a minute... that's exactly what we have. The cost is the arbiter of who gets them and who doesn't.


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