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It seems the prices of brass instruments are going up very quickly. I am going to buy a new euphonium soon but the retails seem as unstable as the price of a barrel of oil . Who out knows of a reatiler that is ,so far , keeping his prices down ?

I think all of the low brass retailers are trying to hold on the price swings as best that they can. Shopping around is never a bad idea but always with the caveat that there is more to a sale than a low price.

Being comfortable with who I deal with as well as choosing a seller who will be there when a problem arises is worth quite a bit to me.

The cost of European instruments in the US is increasing due to the falling value of the dollar vs. the euro. The price for domestically made instruments is not increasing very rapidly. In fact, the price I saw on a new King 2341 at the USABTEC was about the same as what I paid for mine a couple of years ago.

The price of European instruments will depend to a certain extent on the inventory of a dealer. That is, if they have instruments in inventory purchased when the dollar was stronger they should be able to sell for a better price than those they received recently. Check with the dealers listed on the "shops" page of this site to see what they have. They usually have competitive prices. The ones I have personally dealt with with good results are Baltimore Brass, Dillon Music, and the Brasswind.