2003 Session ????

[slowsaab13]

Will there be any new upgrades to the 2003 session custom?
jeff porcaro is the best

[JEFFa.k.a.ANIMAL]

no new colors or upgrades that i know of, just a $200 list price increase effective march 1, 2003. buy now and save.

[slowsaab13]

hey thanks for your response.......but it that 200 increase on everydrum...........and who told you this.........(just wondering)?

Thanks

Jeff Porcaro is the best!

[JEFFa.k.a.ANIMAL]

slowsaab13, sorry I wasn't more specific about the price increases. The Pearl sales rep for my area, Barry Miller(great guy), was in town Tuesday and I spent some time at the drum shop talking to him and actually got to look at some of the new 2003 literature that isn't out yet. That's how i know what little I do know. The 200 dollar increase is on the complete kits and shell packs, but I'm sure individual drum prices went up across the board as well. Just a rough calculation, but that equates to about a 6-7% increase from last years price. The export kits went up $100, forum $50, and i think Masters custom went up $600. I hope this helps.

[dude78787]

It's all an issue of supply and demand. You see, Pearl is now one of the top percussion manufacturers in the world. Since so many people have been buy the sets, they feel that they can add an extra $200 to one set, $100 to another set, $50 to another, and even $600 to another (that just seems crazy). The people Demand Pearl drums, and Pearl is obviously the only manufacturer of pearl drums (duh), so they control the market of pearl drums. This means that they are free to add a certain percentage to the cost of each set every year.

The problem with this you ask? Well, besides us as drummers paying more for gear, my theory is that all companies that use this specific marketing strategy will eventually screw themselves in the *** hole (pardon my french). If Pearl continues like this, the bigginers just looking for a descent set, or the more advanced drummers looking for a new set will realize that pearl is asking for more than the competitors (yamaha, tama, and even DW as compared to the masterworks series) and it just isn't worth it to have the pearl name on the bass head when all those other companies can supply you with a set that sounds equally as great, just for less money. But then, the tables may turn. People will flock to another company and the process will repeat, where pearl will not be able to move their prices up anymore without losing too many customers. It will keep repeating in a cycle until it has eventually come back to pearl (if they are still around by then) and keep going yet again until pearl starts asking for too much money.

Yes, the world is a crule place.

This is what manufacturers claim is simply the cost of living going up. I have a theory for that too. I call it the peso theory. As we know, a peso (spelling unknown) is a spanish unit of money that is now worth only a fraction of a penny. I think that as the cost of living goes up in the united states as well as the rest of the world (which is caused entirely by theory I just went over with pearl drums) our penny will someday be worth so little that there will be really no use for it (like there really is today anyway). But the term "cost of living" is just a manufacturer's term for justifying the raising of their prices.

So basically now the world we live in is made up of supply and demand, as it has a huge impact on everyday life.

Mark and the Lucky Numbers (http://markandtheluckynumbers.cjb.net)

[new drummer]

uh oh.... i sure do hope that Pacific doesn't increase their prices on their LX and CX series...because i think they are in popular demand too due to their all maple shells for under a grand...:(

[dude78787]

But they might not have too because they (drum workshop) already makes a very expensive line of drums (collectors series) so I always figured that they kept the prices down on all of their pacific drum series (formerally the workshop series) just so that they can get the business from people with less money that are still looking for a descent set.

It is possible though, it is a very common marketting strategy and if they get enough demand for the drums they will definately raise the prices.

[Tabla_Man]

Seems like the big upgrades came on the Masters and Export series. The only new feature I can find of the SRX is the new UV coating that comes on all 2003 SRX and ELX kits.

The ELX has incorporated two SRX finishes in Autumn Fade (http://www.pearldrum.com/03_wnamm/293elx.jpg) and Ruby Fade (http://www.pearldrum.com/03_wnamm/295elx.jpg)

At lest those who bought the 2002 SE ELX Vintage Fade kits can now add on drums to those kits with the Autumn Fade series.

[new drummer]

OMG! i am officially now in love with the ELX's AUTUMN FADE! GAWDDDDD THAT FINISH IS JUST SO GORGEOUS!

[Smoke N Drums]

dude is right!

It's mucho expensive.

Thus I spend a lot of time in hardware stores for screws and such. Example: I can get 100 stainless washers for tuning lugs for a couple of bucks(or so) but they sell them for WAY more in the music store (and they aren't stainless.)

I tend to buy used. I got killer deals on both a Mapex Birdseye Orion and a DW Collectors paying a fraction of new. Both kits were so close to new that you couldn't tell the difference.

But if you want those Masterworks.....save your pennies!

Chant with me:

LOTTO....LOTTO....LOTTO......LOTTO................ .

PS: I still think Masterworks are worth it.

[Tabla_Man]

Originally posted by new drummer
OMG! i am officially now in love with the ELX's AUTUMN FADE! GAWDDDDD THAT FINISH IS JUST SO GORGEOUS!

It is beautiful isn't it. Someone had a thread on what Pearls response to the Pacific CX and LX sereis, and from what we've seen of NAMM 2003, I think we have our answer. I haven't seen another company match the quality and precision that the new ELX seems to have.

[drummerboy223]

so with the uv protection, will that look much different then the 2002 sessions colours?

[Raymond Massey]

Hi Dude 78787,

It's no secret that we want drummers to play Pearl and that we are working to create a demand for our products. After all - we are in business to be successful. We try to accomplish these goals by making the best product possible at a great price coupled with providing attentive caring customer service that gets results when needed.

Unfortunately, it's just not that easy to raise prices, this is done to compensate our rising cost of materials, labor, and in addition to the day to day cost running the company. Do we want to make a profit? Yes! We have to - to remain alive. However, we always try to stay competitive in both price and spec while maintaining prices as long as possible - even if we have to lower them.
Take for example the 5pc EX825 Export kit in; 1998 & 99 it listed at $1,199.00 / in 2000 & 01 at $ 1,099.00, in 2002 at $1,099.00
This year was the first price increase in three years. It's list now at $1,149.00. Which is still lower than the 98 or 99 list.

When it comes to spec, some features are more important to some than others are, however we feel we offer more than just a name on the head. We are constantly reevaluating the features and quality of our products since this is what a name or reputation is built on.

I agree the core of trading is supply and demand, and that also transcends to every aspect of life!

[DED]

Dude, your grasp of economics is almost as impressive as your spelling skills. Next time you decide to rant about something, try doing a little research first.

So, according to Dudeconiomics 101, when a company enjoys a lion's share of the market, they decide that they can just arbitrarily raise prices, pad their pockets and sit by the pool drinking cocktails with little umbrellas in them and all those poor drummers will just have to buy those products and pay out the extra dough. Bad drum company, no dinner for you!

Yup, that's a real solid business model. Raise your prices until your customers flock to your competitors, then lower your prices to get them back. Hang on, I think I'll give Enron and WorldCom a call.

Of course, nowhere in your dissertation did you mention the cost of raw materials (you know, wood & steel), employee insurance (those pesky workers always want good looking teeth), transportation costs (got a lot of stuff to move around the world) and packaging costs (and we'd better put the stuff in boxes before we ship 'em), to name just a few things that have seen substantial price increases in the past 12-18 months. Those increases in the cost of doing business eventually end up reflected in the price of the products.

If you want to really get worked up over cost increases, take a look at the cost of health insurance over the past few years. Double digit increases, one on top of another. Gee, I wonder if Pearl offers health insurance for their employees?

Get well soon.


PS: That Peso theory is a gem. I wonder if Greenspan knows about it?

[Session Drummer]

Originally posted by drummerboy223
so with the uv protection, will that look much different then the 2002 sessions colours? I don't think it's UV protection like you are thinking. It is UV curing of the paint which not only dries the paint faster but it is safer for the enviroment than the solvents used in some of the other finishes. And also cheaper I suppose.

[drummerboy223]

oh. ok thanks a lot session drummer i was kind of confused thanks a lot.


-rich

[Massmusic.net]

Ded,

Ray did address that issue, here is the copy:
Unfortunately, it's just not that easy to raise prices, this is done to compensate our rising cost of materials, labor, and in addition to the day to day cost running the company.

Pearl is not a company to raise prices because they can. The main reason we choose to promote Pearl over most companies is the service level they hand down to their, and the customers.

I won't mention some of the other companies name, but a simple warranty issue could be a serious pain in the rear. We had a customer order a 10 piece high end kit of another brand name, and all the drums showed up bubbled, and we're still having issues getting it resolved. That's ridicilous, because any business is all about the customer.

If it was a Pearl kit, call tags would have already arrived, as well as the new kit on the way.

I think you just misinterpreted it a little; however, if Pearl sold out of a kit and were backordered several hundred, it does make sense to raise the price to compensate for manufacturing and demand.

Thanks
Brad

[JMaxey79]

Pearl Is Awsome!!

[Raymond Massey]

Hi Massmusic.net,

Thank you comment- however , Ded was speaking to "Dude 78787" about his post .

[Massmusic.net]

Thanks.... I was wondering about that after I posted.

[Raymond Massey]

No worries - it's all good.

[DED]

Wha? Huh? Hmm?

I re-read my post and it's obvious I was in a lousy mood that day. Having said that though I will admit that it irks me when someone tries to pass off their poorly thought out 'concepts' as fact.

I can usually ignore silly posts but every now and then ya just gotta point at ignorance and say "Stupidity not acceptable, now go off and think, young person!"

And learn how to spell.

[dude78787]

So what if I am ignorant, you are quite arrogant. I like your "Stupidity not acceptable, now go off and think, young person!" Here's one for ya. "Arrogance not acceptable, now go off and calm down, older person!"

I understand you were having a lousy day when you wrote that. I was a little angry when I wrote my post. Why? Well, I just don't care why. I put a post up that was not thought-out. So what? Don't **** a brick over it. If you knew you would get pissed off then just don't post to something like that next time. But I understand why you did it, because you wanted to express your feelings, just like I did.

Personally, I just really don't care. It's an internet message forum, lighten up a little! Spelling doesn't have to be perfect, and we can type what we want! So come, join me with a laugh

hahaha

Ok, I don't know what that was about.....but I'm hungry so I have to go.

later

[agulbrandson]

dude,

I would like to point out that the spanish monetary Unit WAS the Peseta, not the Peso. The Peso is from Mexico. The current spanish monetary unit is the Euro

cheers

[dude78787]

I got confused there. I meant to say mexican, but spanish came out. The change from the peseta to the euro was also like the peso thing. All of the countries that now use the Euro (Germany, Europe, Spain, and I forgot the rest), used to have units of money that was worth too little, so they all adopted the Euro to have a fresh start. Of course, there were other reasons why they adopted the Euro. Now, you can travel through all of those countries without having to exchange currencies.

But that's about all I can remember right now.

later

[DED]

Dude, you'll just have to trust me when I say I wasn't ****ting a brick over your post. I was simply killing some time.

And you are absolutely correct about this being an Internet forum. But it’s a forum that you used to babble on about something you either know very little about or hadn’t thought out very well. And since you decided to share your ideas on a public forum, it’s fair game for other people to reply and disagree.

Sorry if my tone was a little derogatory, but if you didn’t come off like such a know-it-all then I may have been a little less reactionary. The words “in my opinion” or “I think” would qualify your comments a little better. If you really want to come off like an expert on business economics and world currencies, (first the Peso and now the Euro) I can suggest some great reading material, the story (still ongoing) behind the Euro is very interesting.

As to the “go off and think” comment. It was a smart-*** comment with a grain of truth. You might be an intelligent person but it would be very hard to determine that based on your writing. People do judge you by your communication skills. I suppose that’s no big deal on the Internet, but if you’re willing to accept substandard spelling from yourself, then it’s possible that some folks might wonder what else you’re willing to accept as “good enough”. You know, people like future employers and business associates. People like me.

But Dude, you made one very good point: it’s time for me to lighten up! I sincerely apologize for blowing this out of proportion.
:)