Eleuke
M. Gerarda
Waikiki
Click here for Waikiki Ukuleles
Site Map > Services, Downloads, News, Info > News > Price Updates
Buffet-Crampon clarinets, Besson brass and Schreiber bassoons: new price lists released!
Click on the brand name to go to the products in question. Recommended Retail Prices in Australia are set by Groupe Buffet-Crampon through their Australian office.
Prices have come down due to improved exchange rates.
Vancore tympani prices decreased! Click here for details.
New prices for Kanstul instruments: please check the relevant pages of all instruments before ordering. Some items have gone down in price, others up......click on the links for Cornets, Euphoniums, Flugelbone, Flugelhorns, Tenor Horns, Orchestral Trumpets, Piccolo Trumpets, Pocket Trumpets, Bb Trumpets, Trombones, Tubas.
Super pricing on JH guitar straps and Trueline drum sticks
Price decreases for Humes & Berg mutes and Tuxedo cases. Go to Humes & Berg Mutes page for details.
Please note that due to a previous error the prices of these items were incorrectly listed. New prices are shown below:
| 03-2973001 | SONOR MG MOUSE GLOCKENSPIEL | c - c' |
$65.00 |
| 03-27803001 | SONOR GS CHILD'S GLOCKENSPIEL | g - c' |
$45.00 |
Sorry for the confusion - we have bought a new calculator with a "divide" button on it!! :
July 2008: AUD (Australian dollar) peaks against USD (US dollar) at 97.15c (i.e. $1.00AUD = $0.9715USD). Over a period of nearly two years, we had been absorbing our suppliers’ ex-factory price increases on the back of the increasing value of the AUD.
By October 2008, the AUD had fallen to USD$0.6211 at its lowest point. This is a change in value of 35.04 cents (US) per $1AUD, or -36.07%, a massive drop in buying power. To regain the entire value of this loss, our Recommended Retail prices would have had to increase by approximately 56.5%. Instead, we kept our heads and raised prices across the board by only 15%.
This was the first time in the 72-year history of Kurt Jacob and Co that this step had been taken. Usually, prices are set based on the exchange rates and freight costs at the time of a particular shipment from an individual supplier, and this usually remains stable for most of a given year. Our suppliers set their ex-factory prices in conjunction with the fiscal year of the country of origin and release their new price-lists at the relevant trade shows: NAMM (January) for the USA, Frankfurt Musikmesse (late March) for Europe and Shanghai Music China (October) for China. This means that we release our new prices after a short time-lag (usually a couple of months) for goods originating in those regions once shipments of new products start to arrive. The circumstances of the sustained decrease in the value of the AUD forced us (and most of our competitors) to revise prices around October 2008.
After several months of minor fluctuation, the AUD was still at USD$0.6348 in March 2009.
Since that time, the AUD has strengthened against most other currencies. This is due in part to the recent increases in the Australian Reserve Bank interest rates and some other favourable figures, e.g. CPI, growth of the economy in general and lower than expected unemployment.
It remains to be seen whether or not the AUD will maintain current exchange rates in the longer term.
The RRPs of some products may be decreased over the next few months as shipments arrive. In fact, prices of some items have already been decreased. Any price decreases are dependent on the exchange rates at the time we pay the invoice. So, while we are seeing some advantageous rates at the moment, if no shipments are arriving, there is no real decrease in costs.
Our suppliers are now paying more for their raw materials, particularly if they are buying in AUD. There are always price increases ex-factory due to increases in costs for materials, wages, taxes etc.
There have also been many extra fees and charges associated with freight and customs clearance introduced during the last several months. These factors maintain upward pressure on prices.
We will continue to monitor our prices and will endeavour to keep them as competitive as possible, both locally and internationally. Keep an eye on our web page www.kurtjacob.com.au/PriceUpdates.html for details as they are released.
NB: Recommended Retail Prices for the following products are set by their respective Australian agents, not by KJ Music: