This is the way I see it:
A whole bunch of tubas in this length, size and appearance are being spit out of China these days - in the roughly $10,000 price range. (Maybe $7,000 used up to $13,000 new... I don't know exactly, because I'm not in the market for this stuff.)
Prior to that, the Germans and the Swiss were offering theirs up, and people were paying well above $20,000 (and this was before the early 2020s hyperinflationary shutdown years) for those.
Unless I misunderstand the situation, the Europeans had to resort to selling direct - rather than through dealers - because they were losing too many sales to the Chinese.
The problem with all of the European and Chinese models is that they're all wonky.
Compared to all of those, this is the only model (at least, that I've played - and I've played a bunch of different ones of this genre) that's really not wonky.
Adjusted for the hyperinflation (during the shutdown) that occurred with so very many things that we normally consume (including big ticket things like cars and houses), $30,000 today is sort of like $15,000 (surely no more than $18,000) back in 2020.
The level of competition for jobs - whereby people would use instruments such as these - is ridiculous.
Some people overestimate their abilities, but (for those who live in Realville) there are probably a dozen or two dozen people out there in the USA who have a shot at being hired for the few jobs that are rarely open.
It just seems to me that one of those couple dozen or so players - who are ambitious and possess enough playing prowess to have a reasonable shot at being hired for one of the rarely open full-time tuba jobs - would grab this while it's available and sell the wonky one that they already own (all the other models, whether German or Chinese).
Otherwise, some well-funded amateurs or well-funded per-service and freelance players - who plays well enough to appreciate an instrument like this - could enjoy it as well.
So the choice is c. $12,000 or so for a beautiful brand new shiny wonky one (available 24/7) or this slightly worn-looking gem, which is almost never available for sale.
Do you want the Chinese copy of the vintage Harley, or do you want the vintage Harley?
