Just a note to anyone thinking of plunking down $300 or some other crazy price for a Sindt…
Not sure where the rumor that he’s no longer making whistles started, but its just that- a Rumor.
He’s still producing his fine whistles- albeit with a wait.
I ordered one of John’s whistles in October 2013 and was placed on a wait list of two years. I contacted him recently to see if my name was coming up. He responded that he was about 10 months or more behind on that original 2013 wait list backing my order up to nearly a three year wait. So, yes, John Sindt does accept orders, but promises only to put your name on a wait list by the date of your order request. After that you can expect a wait of up to three years or more. Hopefully, he does not decide to cease making whistles in the interim.
If you’re willing to wait there’s no harm in contacting him to see if he will place your order on the wait list. If you can’t or are unwilling to wait then your only option is to purchase a used Sindt at the inflated prices they currently demand.
Why would any maker sell an instrument for less than the current resale price for their work, except to honour an earlier wait-list price?
As a maker, I sell my whistles for the price that I want and need to get for them. Any buyer is free to resell them for any price they want, but I set my price based on my costs and the time it takes to make them. I’m satisfied with that and don’t feel the need to try to squeeze as much profit out of them as the market might bear. I’d personally rather have 10 people able to buy and enjoy my instruments at their normal price than only 2 people buy them at 5x the price. But that’s just me.
Very commendable viewpoint, Paul. 
And S1mon, one thing to consider is that at least some portion of the resale price inflation could be chalked up to avoiding the waiting time involved in buying a new one.
Yes it does strike one as odd when a maker is continuing to make and sell instruments for considerably less than their current market value.
I can understand a maker not paying any attention to the used market, though. He knows what he needs to charge to make it worth his while.
I saw an example of two makers meeting at a Tionol, one who had been making uilleann pipes for many years, the other a relatively new maker (but who had quickly gained a good reputation). The experienced maker was admiring the new maker’s work, and asked what he charged. When the new maker stated his price, the experienced maker said it was too low and that the new maker should raise his price to the current going rate. I don’t think the new maker was thinking in terms of a “going rate” but in terms of what hourly shop rate he needed to charge to make a living. As it happened the new maker did raise his prices yet quickly got a long queue.
Anyhow I’m not sure that Sindts are always all that inflated. I got a three-whistle Sindt set used for $300 IIRC which seems very reasonable to me.