i have been thinking for a long time, and i mean long, to get a Copeland. i am a wood guy, but i am also a collector. Copelands are just so expensive though, and so are the low whistles. i know the sound is great, and they are beautiful, but i bet if he lowered his prices 50$ he could probably double his orders. Copeland is the brand that i am going to buy a used one.
As far as I know, the people at Copeland woodwinds are not hurting for work. If they lowered prices, they’d have to lower quality, which would please neither the makers nor the customers. Thing is, there’s not another whistle remotely like a Copeland.
I can honestly tell you that even though I moved away from a Copeland High D, it was worth every penny I paid for it. It’s the one whistle sale I regret. Honestly, someday I’ll get one of his Silver High D’s and be very happy.
My Copeland Low D will never be replaced. It’s literally all that and a bag of chips. The ONLY complaint I have about it is that it came in a corduroy sleeve and I have a serious aversion to the feel of that fabric. It was like some cruel joke that my whistle was there…in reach, and I couldn’t touch it until I found gloves to open the damned bag.
KHAAAAAAAAAANNNNNNNN!
Anyway, I don’t see the prices going down on these. Remember that he’s also a pretty high class flutemaker. I think the shop has more than enough to do already.
NICE TRY -THEY AINT HURTING FOR BUISNESS-------HAND OVER FIST
Have you even seen used Copelands going for much less?
I think Mr. Copeland’s hit on the market price. If he went any
lower, he would have a long waiting list, and then it would be
the same situation as we have with O’Riordans (used whistles
sold for >$800).
I feel your pain, though. I want one too, but am too frugal to
part with that sum of cash.
I don’t believe they are over priced. When you just hold one in your hand you realize that it is a fine instrument. Of course when you play one and then play another quality whistle that is priced more to your liking, you will probably see why the Copeland is not over priced.
It would be a good thing if one could play a whistle before one purchased a whistle. Then it would be so much easier justifying the price. I recently purchased a new Copeland brass soprano D and an Overton soprano D. Each has unique characteristics.
I am a player, not a collector. I do not want to afford them both. so, I am going to assess which instrument produces the sound I want and supports my playing technique.
Years ago when I began playing flamenco guitar, I knew what sound I wanted and to my dismay, I learned that to produce that sound it would cost a bundle. Well I bellied up to the bar and paid the price and have never regretted it. In fact, it has become one of my rare good investments.
Overpriced is a subjective term. There are pretty few professional quality musical instruments that can be had for the price of a top-end whistle. Priced a Steinway lately? A Stradivarius? 
It’s a simple matter of economics- supply, demand, and equilibrium price. Set the price to low, you have a shortage. Set the price too high, you have a surplus. Seems to me that Mr Copeland has found fairly close to his market equilibrium price, meeting supply and demand. We might not like the price, but to change it to much would throw the market out of equilibrium. Economics is economics.
(Sorry, I’m studying for my micro final at the moment… 
)
I bought my Copeland Low D used in 2002. When I moved to the UK in 2004 and needed to reduce belongings and raise money, I sold it. After a year or so I greatly regretted that decision.
Fortunately as I was starting to regret it, the person who bought it from me put it up for sale again, and I was able to buy it back. I now know that I will never sell it again if I can help it!
Copelands are not overpriced IMHO. It’s a top shelf whistle with a top shelf price.
i have been thinking for a long time, and i mean long, to get a Copeland.
If this is true, why didn’t you buy one when they were priced $50 or $100 less? Copeland’s price has moved with the market as have the prices of all whistles worth owning.
There are many reasons to buy a particular whistle. I have said this before, the Copeland has a unique sound. If you are a professional player and you need that sound or your audience expects that sound, the price of the whistle is not material. If you are a collector you should relish ever increasing prices because the value of your collection moves with it, hopefully outpacing inflation. Otherwise, play what you own and own what you’ll play.
Looking for a bargain? Try these:
or
On that last one at least you can say, as a collector, that you own a genuine Copeland whistle.
Feadoggie
there you go again 
so howd it go you got the copland already -----i think you said your getting the overton friday---------how is it do you like it-is it heavy -is it warm or bright--------very loud-----------cave, 
i meant save me from myself tell me tell me 
Overpriced is a subjective term. There are pretty few professional quality musical instruments that can be had for the price of a top-end whistle. Priced a Steinway lately? A Stradivarius?
Ever compared the complexity of a Steinway or as Strad with that of a whistle? Well, there should be something there to explain why this argument, which gets dragged up over and over in these discussions, is a false one.
I’m not a collector, or a pro player…but whistle for meditation/personal enjoyment/fun. I play only Lows, and among them are a Copeland Low D and a Copeland Low F. Being on a fixed income, I saved up for these whistles. They are powerful and beautiful players. The money could have been spent on ANYTHING, of course…but ANYTHING couldn’t bring me the joy of owning and playing these great instruments. When it comes to A-Musing…I try to find whistles that bring me the highest personal returns. (Rather than seeking a “deal.”)
Everyone finds their own way.
(And, of course, I still wish there were such a thing as a Generation Low D, that would knock my socks off…and make all further whistle purchases preposterous…)
A good Copeland is a great whistle. By ‘good’ I mean one that is just exactly right for you. I currently have three, a high and low D and a low G, all second hand. You might persuade me to part with the high D for roughly what I paid for it. But I probably wouldn’t sell the low G or D for twice what I paid for them. I’d want to replace them immediately and how could I be sure I’d find one as good?
For some items the reverse might be true. If they doubled their price demand might go up, as they become more exclusive. For those at the very top end of the price curve, moving up is often the smarter move, instead of than moving down. It is a tougher decision for those in the middle range in price.
I’ve owned five Copelands.
Two brass and one nickel soprano high D’s. These were all great, and the nickel was aboslutely sublime. I sold all of them for monetary purposes…one when I was out of work, one to help fund moving to Dallas for new work, one to help fund a lathe for my budding whistle making endeavor.
I’ve owned two brass low D’s (and had a silver one on order when I lost my job in 2000). These were also both great. Different chracteristics in terms of breath, and reediness, but both unmistakably Copeland.
I think they’ve all been worth the money and if this were a perfect world (and if they didn’t retain such retail value) I would have kept them all
I play mandolin and guitar seriously, and to approach a the fretted string instrument at the level that Copelands hold in the whistle world can involve more than 10 times the price. Whistle players are very lucky to be able to even consider getting the top of the line for under $400. That will buy an entry level guitar or mandolin. I know Mike and have played music with him. He is not only a first class whistle and flute maker but a great guy. I’m not a wealthy man, but if I had the talent on the whistle to make it worthwhile, I’d have a Copeland tomorrow.
Try making one. Then get back to us.
Better yet, when you can finally make a whistle that’s just as good as a Copeland, and made just as well, then get back to us and tell us what you think they are worth.
Okay, well, you won’t need to buy one at that point, however at that point you’ll have spent about $10,000., and a number of years, learning that Copeland probably doesn’t charge enough…
Loren
Loren…I’d bet that you don’t get invited to parties much… 