I've mentioned in a couple places that buying a Japanese horn from Japan is possibly the best idea, but other horns are cheap, too. Here are a couple comparisons of new pro tenors:
WWBW, YTS-62 III. Lacquer. $3341.99.
Rakuten Global, YTS-62. New. Lacquer. $2303.26 + $100ish shipping. (Rakuten mentions the new Yamaha necks, so I think this is a YTS-62 III.)
Kessler & Sons Music, Yanagisawa T-W01. Lacquer. $3489.
Rakuten Global, Yanagisawa T-W01. Lacquer. $2262.84 + $100ish shipping.
Kessler & Sons Music. Selmer S80 Serie II Jubilee. Lacquer. $6989.
Rakuten Global. Selmer S80 Serie II Jubilee. Lacquer. $4512.
Kessler & Sons Music. Keilwerth SX-90R. Black Nickel. $6107 (out of stock)
SoundFuga. Keilwerth SX-90R Black Nickel. 468,000 Yen ($3891 US). $120 worldwide; US shipping is $120 or free, depending on item. (I chose black nickel only because SoundFuga doesn't have a new lacquer one for sale.)
There may be customs charges, but that's only around 6% -- and custom charges are for items that have a value over $2000, so, $0 most non-pro horns. For kicks, I checked how much a round-trip ticket to Tokyo from Los Angeles, CA is, with hotel, for a 1-day stay, broke a month in advance. $714. I could fly out, pick up a horn and come back for less than the price differences between the US/Japanese prices I've mentioned. Finally, I didn't search hard for low prices, just places I knew had the horns.
Anyone see any problems with ordering from Japan and having them send to the US and/or flying out, buying a horn and coming back? Those are some pretty big savings.
WWBW, YTS-62 III. Lacquer. $3341.99.
Rakuten Global, YTS-62. New. Lacquer. $2303.26 + $100ish shipping. (Rakuten mentions the new Yamaha necks, so I think this is a YTS-62 III.)
Kessler & Sons Music, Yanagisawa T-W01. Lacquer. $3489.
Rakuten Global, Yanagisawa T-W01. Lacquer. $2262.84 + $100ish shipping.
Kessler & Sons Music. Selmer S80 Serie II Jubilee. Lacquer. $6989.
Rakuten Global. Selmer S80 Serie II Jubilee. Lacquer. $4512.
Kessler & Sons Music. Keilwerth SX-90R. Black Nickel. $6107 (out of stock)
SoundFuga. Keilwerth SX-90R Black Nickel. 468,000 Yen ($3891 US). $120 worldwide; US shipping is $120 or free, depending on item. (I chose black nickel only because SoundFuga doesn't have a new lacquer one for sale.)
There may be customs charges, but that's only around 6% -- and custom charges are for items that have a value over $2000, so, $0 most non-pro horns. For kicks, I checked how much a round-trip ticket to Tokyo from Los Angeles, CA is, with hotel, for a 1-day stay, broke a month in advance. $714. I could fly out, pick up a horn and come back for less than the price differences between the US/Japanese prices I've mentioned. Finally, I didn't search hard for low prices, just places I knew had the horns.
Anyone see any problems with ordering from Japan and having them send to the US and/or flying out, buying a horn and coming back? Those are some pretty big savings.