Cocobolo and the Ukulele Site

[Jerryc41]

In case you hadn't heard, Cocobolo ukes are now available through The Ukulele Site (Hawaii Music Supply). I wonder how this will affect availability and pricing.

Cocobolo Baritone 5 String Package #5

This is a new Cocobolo baritone 5 string and it sounds and feels amazing! Cocobolo is made by a small group of luthiers in Nicaragua and they do an excellent clean build with beautiful appointments. The feel is great and it has a 12" radius fretboard for comfy chording. This is a really...

theukulelesite.com

 

[miqbri]

I was wondering how often do they do the lotteries but the first email I got from them was this - they will be available through TUS. Kinda sad if they are in very limited supply, the lottery idea sounded like an unusual fair approach.

 

[RafterGirl]

I'm not sure that branching out with sales through TUS/HMS means that the lottery is going away. I think this is just another avenue for Cocobolo to offer their ukuleles. Cocobolo already sells their ukes that aren't claimed in the lottery through their website store. TUS carries a limited number of ukuleles from a variety of unique builders on their website. This gets some exposure for builders and brands that folks might not have heard of before.

 

[Jerryc41]

I was wondering how often do they do the lotteries but the first email I got from them was this - they will be available through TUS. Kinda sad if they are in very limited supply, the lottery idea sounded like an unusual fair approach.

Yes, it will be interesting to see how this plays out. It's probably good for both sellers. I have enough Cocobolos, so I'm not affected. One thing I noticed was the photography. The ukes posted through his emails look better than the ones on the Uke Site.

 

[ksiegel]

I wonder if they'll go back to string through bridges? I like my string through Cocobolo so much better than my tie bridge...

 

[perep]

I too wonder about price and availably , I have several but friends are needy
I will contact Kevin and maybe know more on what’s up

 

[keenonuke]

I've purchased through the lottery twice. I wonder have they had any lotteries since getting on tus? I know as of November that they were taking private custom orders. Does anybody know if the lotteries are still a go?

 

[Jerryc41]

I've purchased through the lottery twice. I wonder have they had any lotteries since getting on tus? I know as of November that they were taking private custom orders. Does anybody know if the lotteries are still a go?

I was about to buy a used Cocobolo, but I told the seller to wait a day and see if I won a lottery. I won! I also won two months in a row. No more lotteries for me. I sold a concert to a friend, and he loves it. The one below with the fancy sound hole decoration was a custom that I think I bought from someone here.

 

[keenonuke]

I was about to buy a used Cocobolo, but I told the seller to wait a day and see if I won a lottery. I won! I also won two months in a row. No more lotteries for me. I sold a concert to a friend, and he loves it. The one below with the fancy sound hole decoration was a custom that I think I bought from someone here.

View attachment 162543 View attachment 162544

Wow that one with a cutaway.
Are they all concerts and tenors?

 

[RafterGirl]

The lottery info on their website is unchanged. I would imagine they would have removed that from the website and sent an email to those who are registered for the lottery if it was going away. They have always been good at communicating. They build ukuleles in batches, and post them to the lottery when they have a batch ready. Sometimes the intervals of lottery postings can vary.

 

[keenonuke]

Well another Cocobolo has posted to TUS. It's beginning to look like the lottery was nice while it lasted. Has anyone asked Kevin.

 

[Keith5523]

Since I’m kind late to the party, how much has the price changed by introducing a third party? $200ish?

 

[Eggs_n_Ham]

Since I’m kind late to the party, how much has the price changed by introducing a third party? $200ish?

I wonder if the price difference is offset a bit by TUS's free shipping. That cocobolo super tenor Corey from TUS plays is rather divine

 

[Keith5523]

I wonder if the price difference is offset a bit by TUS's free shipping. That cocobolo super tenor Corey from TUS plays is rather divine

And it appears it comes with an Oahu Deluxe Gig Bag, so there's that. Moving to TUS was a good move for the mfg. They make them, why not let the people that have a pretty large market influence sell them. And the customer should win in this case because now they have a well respected company to handle warranty claims, shipping, set-ups, even returns.

 

[Patty]

I was about to buy a used Cocobolo, but I told the seller to wait a day and see if I won a lottery. I won! I also won two months in a row. No more lotteries for me. I sold a concert to a friend, and he loves it. The one below with the fancy sound hole decoration was a custom that I think I bought from someone here.

View attachment 162543 View attachment 162544

Do I spy a spruce-top Cocobolo in that picture? Did not know such a thing existed.

 

[keenonuke]

The TUS unit does include a case and shipping which were adders to the lottery and obviously needed if you want the ukulele in your hands.

 

[RafterGirl]

Ok, I've sent an email to Kevin to ask about the lottery. I'll report back when I get a response.

 

[RafterGirl]

Here is the response I got from Kevin. He asked that I share this info so that everyone is up to date.

"For now, we have decided to discontinue our lottery system and sell all of our ukuleles exclusively through TUS. Assuming that it continues to go well, this will continue into the future."

"We are thrilled to be working exclusively with The Ukulele Site in Hawaii to handle the sales and marketing of our ukuleles. They do a great job with their pictures, listings, and most importantly, their live demos of each ukulele. They are an amazing group of talented people with a stellar reputation in the ukulele community. We are honored to be working with them."

"Working with TUS allows us to spend more time on the construction and quality control sides of things, which should help us keep up with demand better and ensure that we maintain a high level of quality. The only downside is that this will increase the price of our ukuleles a little bit, but as you know, our ukuleles are still an excellent value for the money. TUS has an amazing reach throughout the ukulele community, so hopefully this will help offset the price increase."

 

[Keith5523]

Here is the response I got from Kevin. He asked that I share this info so that everyone is up to date.

"For now, we have decided to discontinue our lottery system and sell all of our ukuleles exclusively through TUS. Assuming that it continues to go well, this will continue into the future.

Working with TUS allows us to spend more time on the construction and quality control sides of things, which should help us keep up with demand better and ensure that we maintain a high level of quality. The only downside is that this will increase the price of our ukuleles a little bit, but as you know, our ukuleles are still an excellent value for the money. TUS has an amazing reach throughout the ukulele community, so hopefully this will help offset the price increase."

Nice work Raftergirl! Well done. Thank you.

 

[keenonuke]

It was what some of us surmised. Thanks Raftergirl.

There is a bittersweet note to this. It's another luthier that's decided to have in some ways a wall between them and the public. Other luthiers have done the same. Oh well life goes on.