Can’t afford a Taylor

The other day I was perusing Facebook and came across a post advertising a trumpet for sale. It was made by a fellow with the last name Taylor, hence the brand name. And for those not in the know, these are considered top of the line, creme de la creme instruments. Mr. Taylor has an excellent reputation within the trumpet community for good reason. He simply makes great instruments, as well as instrument parts that are used on other trumpet brands.

So take that in context when I share this story. It’s not a reflection on Taylor at all, rather the person who was attempting to sell one of his trumpets.

This person had the standard post with pictures, saying the instrument price is $3500, along with the comment: “Everyone wants this horn, but no one is willing to pay a fair price for it.”

Now I took a look at the photos and was immediately turned off. Some trumpet makers like to get quite artistic with the engraving on their instruments, engraving things like flowers, music notes, all sorts of things. This one had all that and more, to the point that every possible part of the instrument had some sort of engraving on it.

Me? I prefer a minimalist design. Maybe the name of the manufacturer engraved on the end of the bell, and nothing more. That’s just my personal preference. If someone wants to engrave the Eiffel Tower on their instrument, it won’t hurt me and I’ll wish them well. It’s just nothing I would ever allow myself to even get near to it.

So I told this frustrated trumpet seller words to the effect of: “For what it’s worth, I wouldn’t be caught dead even holding that thing.”

His reply: “That’s probably because you can’t afford a Taylor.”

Nice. And why are you selling yours again?

This person obviously missed this week’s podcast about the need to be likable, along with 6 other psychological “hooks” to make one’s self attractive when making offers to prospective buyers.

And upon engaging in a bit of a dialogue with this person, it turns out he owns somewhere in the neighborhood of $20-25k in high-end instruments. At least with the original purchase price. So he’s revealed himself to be kind of a fool in my opinion. These mediocre players get all caught up in aesthetics, thinking because it looks cool, it makes them a good trumpet player. That type of thinking is no different from buying a sports car because a model in a bikini is used as advertising bait for it.

Meanwhile a great player can play circles around him and his ilk with a 1950’s era Olds Ambassador purchased for $200 on eBay.

I’m just trying to help the guy. He’s obviously frustrated that he’s not getting what he thinks are fair offers. Maybe a reminder that the real value of any item is what people are willing to pay for it is in order. Also a reminder that some people are turned off by all that fancy stuff. It detracts from the true art made by the instrument, which is the music that comes out of it.

Maybe our subject will come around and accept the best offer he receives. Maybe he’ll hold on to it and try again when the market is more optimal for such extravagances. I guess I’ll never know.

But it makes for good radio.