Have your wages as a working drummer risen by the same percentage as the rise in drumhead prices? The whole supply chain that contributes to the production of drumheads is involved in price gouging. Vote with your money -- don't buy USA made drumheads.

You economic nationalism aside, competition either foreign or domestic is good for the consumer.

Twenty bucks for a top quality batter head (14 inch snare) would b great. BTW -- on my last tour to Taiwan I tried some of their locally produced heads. The quality of these heads is as good or better than USA-made Remo or Evans heads. I now purchase Taiwan-made heads from the Alibaba website.

John, you're not considering the actual landing cost for products to show up on your shore and make it to your retailer's shelves. So, these cost include: import duty, freight and insurance (just to get the items in country) + wholesaler/distributor costs.

Please don't just call this corporate greed, that's just too simple and a gross oversimplification. You would have to agree that these folks are entitled to some form of profit, I mean they are not running a charity after all.

Are you based in the con-U.S.?

The reason I ask is that I don't see any really unreasonable pricing/gouging going on in the head market, and I'm not paying near that price for a 14" batter head. Let me provide an example here...

In 1985 I bought a single 14" coated Ambassador head for $5.63; adjusted for inflation that would be about $13.43 in today's dollars. At the start of 2019 I bought some heads from Cascio-Interstate Music and paid $15.48 for the same type of head. There is about a 15% difference in the two prices but of course it doesn't account for any of the "real" economic impacts for the cost of raw goods, labor, marketing, shipping etc...

Another example from 1985, I bought the following Remo drumheads from Guitar Center: (2)-13" & (2)-16" Pinstripes, and (1)-12"; (1)-13"; (1)-14"; (1)-16" Ambassadors for $56.50. In today's dollars that would be $134.82. Purchased today, from Cascio-Interstate Music, those heads would cost $138.94 - difference of about 4%. Nowadays I would make the purchase during the holidays to take advantage of the 15-20% off sales, which would put that price in that $120 neighborhood....

So I hope you can see why I say you're not getting "raped" by either the manufacturer or the retailer but actually are feeling the effects of inflation and the erosion of buying power.

I am in CONUS but I now shop for my drumheads on Alibaba.com.

The increase in drumhead prices from USA manufacturers has exceeded the increase in the consumer price index. Notably, Aquarian has held the line by sourcing an alternate supplier for polyester films used in their drumhead manufacture. Evans and Remo still doggedly cling to using Mylar (DuPont trade name for polyester film) for their first quality drumheads. The Taiwanese and Chinese manufacturers have controlled their price increases to under that of the increase in the consumer price index. Their top of the line drumheads are of comparable quality to their USA made counterparts. In short, corporate greed from DuPont to the manufacturers, the distributors, and to the big box retailers has contributed to drumhead price increases that are unacceptable to the working drummer.

I have heard this type of quality argument before in the early 1970s with regard to Japanese drum manufacturers. Many people said Star / Tama and Pearl drums were East Asian junk. They were NOT junk. Both Tama and Pearl featured robust shells and great hardware at affordable prices. This combination of affordability and quality allowed Tama and Pearl to dominate the marketplace and kill off non-responsive manufacturers like Rogers and Slingerland. Many USA manufacturers treat their customers as "captive consumers." Free trade has helped eliminate those manufacturers from the marketplace to the betterment of the consumer base as a whole. This is the essence of the free market - compete or die.

Are their workers unionized? Might play into it...I'm certainly no expert.

Wow, that's such a gross over simplification of what's going on. Do you know what DD's five-yr "net margin" is (or what the "net margin" for that sector is)?

50%, 200% ... more? Hold on to your hat.... It's a whopping 5.14% (while the sector is 11.96%).

Do you really think China is competing in a "free market" fashion? I don't think they could actually compete "ceteris paribus" or all things being equal. They still claim WTO developing nation status, despite having a GDP larger than France, U.K, Germany and Japan combined! They certainly don't have the issues we have to deal with taxation, permitting, environmental/pollution control, labor, etc... Plus they have no problem with currency manipulation, and provide a ton o internal incentives and rebates, even to the producers of Fentanyl and their precursor chemicals - that have killed more Americans than we've lost in all the military actions since WWII.

I leave this with a couple of images that for me simply represent the transfer of wealth from one part of the world to another - I personally think it's worth hanging on to... and I hope that's not just me.

Hoppy put out some facts to back up his claim. Can you provide any?

1) How much are you paying for the Taiwanese heads?

2) They are “as good as or better”? What criteria are you using?

Also if you could post a link to the heads on alibaba that would be great. Thanks.

Hoppy,

I have worked in the wholesale musical instrument & electronics industry here for over 40 years so I am more than aware of the price structures in OZ. I Have to say, many wholesalers & the ensuing retail margins down here are scandalous by any standards.

Cheers

John