Hohner Shipping
Am I the only one that thinks it's funny that Hohner charges $9 shipping to send a $9 set of 5 tiny plastic windsavers from Virginia to Washington state?
That does seem excessive. I agree with the comment about the prices generally. It's hard to see the value in a set of reeds plates for $52 where the entire harp can be purchased for $59. Compared to Suzuki manji, similiar price for new harp ($61), replacement reed plates $30. Those are Rockin' Ron's prices last time I looked.
Re the postage especially, for some perspective on your post Taylor, RR sent me 5 harps to Australia for just $18. $9 for an envelope within country seems way OTT. I gather that's mainly Hohner's handling charge, not US Postal fees.
Dave
Yeah, all I need is one little plastic windsaver for my chromatic. They want $9 plus $9 shipping. And since there's no place else I can get them, my hands are tied. I asked if they would just put it in a standard envelope with a stamp. No dice. Absolutely ridiculous.
Maybe I should have purchased the Seydel Saxony. A bit more expensive but Rupert is definitely easier to work with and sometimes decent customer service is worth the extra cost.
And for replacement reeds on the Crossover, $63 plus $9 shipping?! Rockin' Ron sells whole, new Crossovers for $65 with free shipping. Does Hohner just think its customers can't do math? What's the point?
How do you like your Manji's compared to the Crossover? Are the holes the same spacing? I love Crossovers but Hohner is kind of leaving a bad taste in my mouth (no pun intended).
I prefer the marine band types, but there's nothing wrong with manjis. They're just a little different. I think hohner reeds are just a tiny shade easier to initiate, but it's something you adjust to quite quickly. They are pretty much a marine band made by Suzuki in terms of shape, size and sound. They are good and loud too. I think hohner have been doing really good work with gapping lately and the manji is a bit variable, but no big deal. Most of my harps last a long time though, so I'm still mainly a marine band guy. I don't plan on buying reed plates for my Hohner's though, that's for sure.
I think all of their prices are ridiculous. It seems as though it would be better just to buy new harps and keep the old ones for parts.