Question:
Why No Used Mouthpieces?!
Is this peculiar to the UK or is it a common phenomen, that whereas once, on could obtain used mouthpieces from shops and dealers but now only via Ebay - the problem being, one cannot 'try before they buy'?
A while back, Howarths of London stopped selling used mouthpieces (I didn't know it at the time) and I wished I had because what did they do with all the old ones and did they sell them off cheaply?
There are no sax shops in my locality that stocks more than one mouthpiece and this would be just a standard student model, say a Lewington or Windcraft or with no name at all on it. If I want to try mouthpieces then I need to travel much further afield - it's not like I'm in the back of beyond though (same with the actual saxes too, no choice in my immediate vicinity!).
I don't mind old pieces - hopefully it would save me money. Have shops stopped selling used ones, due to a health and safety issue, maybe?

Answer:
I don't think all the stores in the UK have stopped carrying second hand mouthpieces. I'm in the north-west and Curly woodwind in Liverpool, Johnny Roadhouse in Manchester and Woodwind Exchange in Bradford all carry second hand mouthpieces. Large stocks in the case of the first and last. I'm not sure where you are based but it may be worth a trip.
Alastair

Answer:
It's a common problem everywhere, I'm afraid. You get more money on eBay, and you have a wider net, so to speak.

Answer:
Some larger stores have used pieces here still, but I suspect that in the past you really had little choice but to take the pittance a shop will offer you for trade in, after all what else could you do? Now there is a ready market on ebay where you can sell for closer to what you have invested in it, sometimes even more.

Answer:
One reason John Myatt and Howarths stopped selling used pieces was because it simply wasn't worth the hassle!
Although there was a percentage mark up for their trouble, it simply wasn't worth it.
I heard (but have no supporting evidence) that privately owned pieces that had been sent out on trial were comming back amatuerely modified :shock: damaged :x and even swapped! :twisted:
Who got the blame? the shop. Well that was the thin end of the wedge and trials had to stop right there. But it still proved too painful in the long run to even stock them and account for them with E Bay taking a hold.
Damn shame! and spoilt it for a lot of people. I used to enjoy the day out looking for something special and trialing a handfull of pieces :(
Saxlicker

Answer:
A good analysis, Saxlicker.
Maybe what we UK forum members should do , is arrange a get together, where we swap or buy our old mouthpieces from each other (though at the moment I haven't got anything anyone would want, only three student pieces (a B & S and two Lewingtons), a Beechler plastic, an Otto STM and a Meyer ebonite (all alto), a Berg ebonite and Yamaha (both sop) and an Otto Tone Edge and an STM (both tenor). I'd buy more than I sold!!!!
How's that sound, guys?

Answer:
Originally Posted by Saxlicker One reason John Myatt and Howarths stopped selling used pieces was because it simply wasn't worth the hassle!
Although there was a percentage mark up for their trouble, it simply wasn't worth it.
I heard (but have no supporting evidence) that privately owned pieces that had been sent out on trial were comming back amatuerely modified :shock: damaged :x and even swapped! :twisted:
Who got the blame? the shop. Well that was the thin end of the wedge and trials had to stop right there. But it still proved too painful in the long run to even stock them and account for them with E Bay taking a hold.
Damn shame! and spoilt it for a lot of people. I used to enjoy the day out looking for something special and trialing a handfull of pieces :(
Saxlicker
Speaking for Howarths - correct, it just wasn't worth the hassle. The other thing was that we had quite a few go missing! When people try out new mouthpieces, we keep the boxes behind the counter while they blow in the testing room. When the piece comes back, we clean it and sterilise it, then put it away in the box. If there are any boxes left over, we know we are looking for a mouthpiece. Used pieces didn't tend to come with boxes, so there wasn't a 'no-brainer' way of making sure they all found their way back to us in the middle of a busy shop. And of course every time one got nicked, we had to pay the customer for whom we were actually trying to sell it. Not ideal. And of course, ebay killed all the prices for that kind of thing. That's also the main reason why we won't take student horns to sell on commission - the prices are so low nowadays the commission wouldn't even cover the cost of our guarantee.
</work mode>
Hey! Can I say I did work in my lunch break? :D

Answer:
Originally Posted by Saxlicker One reason John Myatt and Howarths stopped selling used pieces was because it simply wasn't worth the hassle!
I'd have thought that attracting additional potential customers to your shop, developing relationships with them, generating aspirations for expensive new stuff, would be worth the hassle.

Answer:
It is a shame. As long as I have been going to Howarths, 20+ years, they have complained about the problems associated with selling s/h mouthpieces. I've always thought that it was because their system was too awkward for them to use, or they didin't follow it properly. The main problem seemed to be that people would just walk in and hand back the piece, the folks in the shop would say ok and off you go. Since there was a numbered carbon form with my card details on it I always expected to either get the carbon copy or see it cancelled but it rarely happened. Given that the shop could charge the borrower if it wasn't returned I was prepared to wait but seems that the problem was with follow through.
I bought and sold a couple of pieces there over the years, though I suspect that one of the ones I sold was one of those that went missing. Shame, it was a special edition silver plated Lawton that I wish I'd kept. It was a great service though and allowed me to try out a wider selection than I can expect to do now and, of course, took me to the shop more often. In fact I haven't been there in a while.
Have you stopped letting mouthpieces out on trial Sopranofreak, and if you do do you still charge insurance?

Answer:
We do still let/send out new mouthpieces on up to two weeks' trial (and sterilize them all when they get back, don't worry!) and charge insurance (for all postal approvals, and any instore for more expensive pieces). We also have a rather snazzy crosscut shredder behind the counter for those card details on the carbons...
Yeah, I know our system is a bit rubbish, awkward and hard to keep straight when there are lots of part timers etc, etc. I'm pretty new to the company so it took me rather by surprise! Unfortunately it just seems to have grown up that way over the years - stemming from a rather different culture put in place at the inception of the (oboe) shop. We are (glacially) slowly sorting out the systems (we have electronic tills now! with barcode readers! wow!) and integrating them, but it is taking forever because of the strange ways things work here - I humbly beg patience! Re-working a lot of our databases is my current project...
Hey! There I go working through lunch again! ;)

Answer:
Surely if you let people try out a new mouthpiece and they return it, even if it looks like new and is sterilised, doesn't this make it 'used' and it can't be sold for full retail value (in other words, may I have a discount please!)? :D

Answer:
I always feel it's only polite to dry and clean mouthpieces as far as possible before return, I used to return them cleaner than when I took them (this is in the old days when you sold secondhand). I expect you wouldn't mind a bit more space, I suggest annexing the oboe department, you could try the clarinets but I suspect they would put up a real fight. Anyway when you get your databases updated, and with your barcoding gizmo etc you'll be able to start selling secondhand mouthpieces again ;) :cheers:. Although I have probably saved a fair bit of money with the temptation removed.

Answer:
Oooh, you wait till I get through with the secondhand sax section... I'm workin' on it folks!
Still, the oboe department is the one that makes the money to keep the company afloat so no oboes = no saxes :shock:
Plus the director is an oboist. ;)
I know, not lunchtime any more. But this is work, right? :twisted:

Answer:
I sold a couple of handmade Guardallas through the shop when Pete was still there, a Superking tenor and a king alto. I didn't hear for ages until I rang up and after a bit they came back and said they'd been sold and I got a cheque.. I realise now they may have been nicked. Who'd've thought it on Chiltern Street too ?

Answer:
Originally Posted by Dirk Wickenden Maybe what we UK forum members should do , is arrange a get together, where we swap or buy our old mouthpieces from each other ....
How's that sound, guys?
Sounds interesting Dirk. Could turn into a regular thing. If we hire a venue maybe a gig could be arranged for the evening too?

Answer:
Sopranofreak,
If the answer is as simple as putting secondhand mouthpieces in boxes, why don't you do just that? Boxes are cheap and you can pass the small additional cost onto the customer or onto the price of the piece. Ebay may be cheaper but it's always better to go and try a piece out and I've always found Myatts to be more than helpful in that regard.
In fact (apart from receiving a really dodgy Dukoff once), the only problem I've ever had with Myatt's is their website. A lot of the mouthpieces listed as "in stock" were usually not available in the shop.
As for secondhand horns - I was thinking perhaps of bringing my YSS475 over there for you to sell for me but you mention about not taking student horns. Would you consider that a student horn?

Answer:
That sounds good to me!
You could also make it exclusive to customers who register with you in some way forming some trusting bond before offering the service?
Then, although prices may not exactly compete with E-Bay (or would they in the case of Gaurdalas?), any premium could be for the luxury of trying first!
But I'm still puzzled how you gaurentee (spelling?) no fighting over their condition once back from a loan.
Saxlicker