by jorge » Sun Feb 10, 2013 4:57 pm
No, I think we are framing this question the wrong way, it is not about the custom conga makers at all. If you account for cost of materials, shipping materials, rent/mortgage for the workshop, accounting and office assistance, woodworking machinery and tools, welding machinery and tools, chrome plating costs, light, heat and power for the workshop, warehouse storage space, proper ventilation and respiratory protection in the workshop, medical insurance coverage for the craftsmen/women and administrative employee(s), liability insurance, fire/theft/flood/damage insurance for the physical facility and contents, telephone/internet/website costs, shipping of the finished drums, and the many other "little" costs of producing congas by hand, the $750 to $1000 per drum translates into maybe a couple hundred dollars left over to pay the craftsmen/women for making the drum. I used to argue this with Jay, telling him he should raise his prices or he would never make ends meet (then $325 for an oak conga with stainless bands and chrome hardware) and his argument was that the economic base of those who buy congas was just not strong enough to support higher prices. I asked him how much of his time it took to make one conga, he said he made about one oak conga a week on average working by himself, more when he had a helper. He stuck to his guns and refused to raise prices for many years after that. That was over 30 years ago but even at today's prices, how many of us would work a 50-60 hour week for $200 or $300? And making oak congas is seriously hard work, not to mention having to set aside time to argue with customers about all kinds of stupid things. Handmade congas are one of the few remaining items that are made here in the US and not outsourced overseas to be made by semi-slave labor in mass production factories by workers who know nothing about clave, rumba, salsa, timba, aña or ibiono, or even how to hit a drum to get a good sound. Not to mention how to pick a skin that will sound good on a particular drum. Junior (RIP), Jay and Matt all probably made/make less per year than most of us. Martin C is another story, but I wouldn't call those custom or handmade congas, and he does not make the drums himself even when he owned LP. Some of the drum dealers on this forum probably make more re-selling used drums than the guys made who actually built the drums.
I am not defending selling old custom congas at new custom conga prices. Selling "vintage" drums that cost under $150 when new at current day prices of $500-$1500 each is legal and can be highly profitable (per hour of time invested) but do you really want to pay that kind of money for a 30 year old drum with the glue decomposing in the joints that won't last as long as a recently produced drum? You are paying a lot just for the sentimental and "bragging" value of the name, and to some degree the "sound" that depends more on the skin and your technique than the drum. When it comes to function and longevity, the new handmade drums are generally a better deal.
My point here is that the cost of new handmade congas actually is not outrageous at all when you break it down. What IS outrageous is the economic system of this country that turning middle class people into poor people while the very few super rich become even richer faster than ever before. Most of us pay a ton of extra taxes to make up for the fact that huge corporations avoid paying their fair share of taxes by setting up tax shelters offshore and other unpatriotic, dishonest and outright fraudulent schemes. There is a single five story building in the Cayman Islands that is the financial headquarters for over 18,000 corporations. Corporate profits are at an all time high while more and more people we know are underemployed, unemployed or seriously underpaid. Good jobs are harder and harder to find while working conditions are rapidly getting worse and pay is going down even before you consider inflation. About one quarter of the largest corporations in this country pay no federal income tax at all, shifting their tax burdens to you and me. For example, US Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont has estimated that Apple, an exemplary "American" company that produces its iPhones, iPads, iPods and most of its other products in China, has "saved" $2.4 billion in federal taxes in 2011 alone by keeping much of its revenue overseas and slashing labor costs by using offshore production facilities with dubious labor and health and safety practices at best. And Apple is one of the least bad corporations. If, as the supreme court has judged, corporations are people too, then why should we continue to give them more welfare dollars per year than we have given all the welfare mothers in the history of welfare?
You are blaming the messenger, re-think this issue.