Saxophones I almost bought a Mk6 (I may still)

[VirusKiller]

But it all went south.

This silver plated Mk6 looked great, felt great, played great and had a tone that I loved above everything else in the shop. In short a great horn.

But it wasn't cheap. Think expensive, then add on 20% shop commission.

I had actually made the decision to buy it, as long as the salesman would compromise a bit on the price or sweeten the deal by throwing in a Hiscox or at least selling me the case at cost; but he wouldn't. He wouldn't move one bit on the price of the horn, and all he would concede was 20% off the case and £5 off a £20 crook pouch.

I was really taken aback by this as I've never known a salesman not to compromise in the slightest on such a big ticket sale. I was tired. I'd been playing saxes for six hours. I walked out.

My dilemma is that, although there will be similar and better Mk6s out there, I'm not sure where, when, or how I'll come by one. And worse, because I felt it was better than all of the other new horns on my shortlist (Mauriats, Yanis, Yams, Keilwerths, Selmers), I'm now feeling that that's the only horn that I'll ever be happy with. I guess I'll have a couple of sleeps and see if I'm up to making a humbling phone call on Monday...

 

[Sweet Dreamer]

Whilst you're at it how about buying me one?

I have a really cheap piece of junk. 🙂))

 

[rhysonsax]

Might be worth trying a Selmer Ref. 36 and Ref. 54 as well. I've blown both, but still prefer my MkVI. But I've also got a Buffet S2 that cost me £450 and comes extremely close to that MkVI in sound, ergonomics etc. And £450 was also what I paid for the MkVI, but that was a while ago !

I have heard good things about Woodwind Exchange in Bradford, where they always have quite a few MkVIs in stock to play back-to-back. Never been there, but it might be worth a trip for such an important purchase.

Rhys

PS If you do venture to Yorkshire, don't forget your passport and jabs.

 

[kevgermany]

Agree with Rhys. But only about the Ref series horns & the shop. If you do get up there, the Leeds brewed Tetleys used to be a completely different brew from the rest of the country, and a lot better.

 

[andyb1970]

I am very surprised you didn't get the deal you wanted, it's not as if you're bending them over for a ridiculous deal! Obviously the economy in this industry isn't as bad as everywhere else?! Well done for walking away giving yourself time to think about it even if you do end up buying it.

 

[Andrew Sanders]

Might be worth trying a Selmer Ref. 36 and Ref. 54 as well. I've blown both, but still prefer my MkVI. But I've also got a Buffet S2 that cost me £450 and comes extremely close to that MkVI in sound, ergonomics etc. And £450 was also what I paid for the MkVI, but that was a while ago !

I have heard good things about Woodwind Exchange in Bradford, where they always have quite a few MkVIs in stock to play back-to-back. Never been there, but it might be worth a trip for such an important purchase.

Rhys

PS If you do venture to Yorkshire, don't forget your passport and jabs.

We know where you live Rhys.....Grrrr

 

[VirusKiller]

Might be worth trying a Selmer Ref. 36 and Ref. 54 as well. I've blown both, but still prefer my MkVI.

I forgot to mention that I did try a Ref. 54, but thought the Mauriat Influence was better. Actually, I think ideally I'd have both a Mk6 (for absolute tone) and an Influence (for cutting edge)!

I have heard good things about Woodwind Exchange in Bradford, where they always have quite a few MkVIs in stock to play back-to-back. Never been there, but it might be worth a trip for such an important purchase.

It might be. It might be.

 

[Greywolf]

I have heard good things about Woodwind Exchange in Bradford, where they always have quite a few MkVIs in stock to play back-to-back. Never been there, but it might be worth a trip for such an important purchase.

Rhys

PS If you do venture to Yorkshire, don't forget your passport and jabs.

Quite right. Wouldn't want you bringing any bugs with you to pollute the pure clean air of the north!!

Anyone who has any dealings with Stuart at Woodwind Exchange will tell you he is absolutely square. I have dealt wih him on many occasions and know that you will get excellent service from him. Last time I was in there, about 4 weeks ago, he had about 6 or 8 mark VIs. They have about 8 practice rooms and will let you noodle about for hours. If they're not bust they might even make you a cup of tea.

Just remember that on Saturdays they only open in the afternoon.

 

[Saxlicker]

Think expensive, then add on 20% shop commission.

I'll have a couple of sleeps and see if I'm up to making a humbling phone call on Monday...

Crikey!!!

I know that choosing a horn is very personal but I really can't believe you wouldn't find one on a par with that silver one for a lot less money by biding your time.

Another thing to consider is that silver in my experience is not so sought after as brass/lacquered on MKVI's. That may affect your resale value if you decided to move on.
But what ever you decide good luck!

I think you made the right decision hands down.

 

[dooce]

Just to put this into perspective, you are gagging for this horn - what, £5k's worth? And you walk away because they won't throw in a £180 case, which would represent a 3.6% discount? I agree that the shop was surprisingly hard-line about it, especially considering that you took up one of their test booths for most of the day, but after all that grief I admire your resolve. I am pretty sure, having got that far, that I would have just rolled over and paid the man.

 

[VirusKiller]

Dooce, it wasn't really about the money. It think it was more that I needed some reassurance that the salesman had *my* best interests at heart and simply wasn't trying to screw me for everything I had. I'm not saying that he was or he wasn't, but I needed a bit of good faith and for him to throw me a bone at that point, but he didn't realize it. I suspect he was very surprised when I walked out.

 

[andyb1970]

Hiya, you think you're going to go back and buy it or make the trip North to this other place mentioned where they have several MK VI in stock? Based on all that I've read I'd go back and buy it if its a reasonable price for a MK VI even if you're not overly impressed with the shop not being flexible if you feel the sax really is that special for you.

 

[Fraser Jarvis]

Hiya, you think you're going to go back and buy it or make the trip North to this other place mentioned where they have several MK VI in stock? Based on all that I've read I'd go back and buy it if its a reasonable price for a MK VI even if you're not overly impressed with the shop not being flexible if you feel the sax really is that special for you.

Yeah absolutely, within a couple of weeks you will have forgotten all about the hastle of buying it and be to busy enjoying it! ...... on the other hand if you dont buy it and cant find one as good you will be forever kicking yourself....

 

[Col]

I'd like to offer an alternative suggestion, don't.

Personally I fed up with retaillers who fail to realise we are in post-recession, money is scarce and they have to work harder. Selling a £5k horn should not to be taken lightly, it's a major purchase and should be treated as such, i.e. a bit of give and take. Throwing in a discount for a case it the very least - when you buy a new car they throw in insurance, petrol, metallic paint, sunroofs, etc to get the sale.

How many MK VI's were made? Every week you see great examples available. Be patient, the horn with your name on is out there somewhere....probably a lot cheaper than £5k.

 

[TomMapfumo]

Or you could get a Borgani at Sax Heaven in Oxford................

 

[MMM]

In the current market, I would say £3.5K should be the max for a good solid MK6 that should just need minimum tweaking. 5K sounds a little excessive to me.
On a purely personal note, if I had that kind of cash to spend on a 6, I would want to try at least 10 of them: lacquered, unlacquered, silver plated, lacquered with silver plated keywork with, and without top F#!

Back to the original subject though, I too think the sales person was very misguided to turn down a 5K sale and I know perfectly well what you mean about tight salesmen: I come from Italy and if you are buying something fairly expensive, you don't even have to ask, they will always throw something in (or give you a discount on the sale price).
I can only think that in sales psychology, since you were keen, he thought you would go for it whatever the deal: good for you for sticking to your guns! At that price you should find plenty more Mk6s.
Cheers,
M.

 

[kevgermany]

With it being a commission sale, the shop may not have been able to negotiate on the price. But a little help on the commission would have gone a long way. Sounds like they've done themelves a disservice, as word gets around...

 

[VirusKiller]

Just to close this off, after mulling things over for a couple of days, I swallowed my pride and bought it. No regrets (they don't work ;}). It really is a lovely horn that I hope to be worthy of some day!

 

[kevgermany]

I'm too pig headed to do that. Congrats to you, hope it goes well!

 

[Lodger]

Here goes .... I'll probably get lynched after this!

I'm not in the retail trade and not in the music business, so I can only reluctantly accept that custom and practice dictates that haggling over price is the norm for many people. However in my manufacturing business we work out the cost as well as we can, add a reasonable markup and arrive at a price. This is not negotiable. If someone asks for a discount it implies that we were trying to sting them for as much as we could get out of them, without reference to the cost of the job and I regard that as mildly insulting.

In my opinion the seller is just as justified in "walking away" from an offer as the buyer if an agreement can't be made. Why should the seller automatically be called mean?

Another thought, do sax players also haggle over the cost of an instrument being serviced by a reputable person? I suspect not, because they trust them to charge a reasonable price for the job.

Personally, I will prefer to deal with sellers who I can trust and not try to beat them down to the lowest I can manage. I will gratefully accept any extras they offer, but I don't see it as a right. I know this will regarded by many as being naive - I only hope that they are not encouraging all retailers to always artficially raise their prices so that some margin is available for haggling. However I fear it is too late for such optimism.

Sorry about the rambling - I realise it is unlikely to make many converts!