Members LynchProtoge Posted November 17, 2012 Members Share Posted November 17, 2012 Ever take a trip to a local shop that you havent visited in a while - only to find they havent stocked up any new gear since the last time you were there? Or, even worse - they have less. All the more reason I tend not to shop local retail. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Bumhucker Posted November 17, 2012 Members Share Posted November 17, 2012 That's why our local shop went out of business. The guy carried mostly Randall stuff for amps and a few Jackson and Washburn guitars. He had a Randall 2x12 combo that sat in there for at least 4 years. That and he charged list price for pack of strings. Either try to be competitive, or don't bother trying to run a business. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members xrleroyx Posted November 17, 2012 Members Share Posted November 17, 2012 Originally Posted by Bumhucker That's why our local shop went out of business. The guy carried mostly Randall stuff for amps and a few Jackson and Washburn guitars. He had a Randall 2x12 combo that sat in there for at least 4 years. That and he charged list price for pack of strings. Either try to be competitive, or don't bother trying to run a business. {censored}ing true that. My favorite store has BOGO strings. And awesome prices on stuff. It's all a little more than GC, but if you know the guys they'll usually help you out. I try to buy as much as I can from them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Grant Harding Posted November 17, 2012 Members Share Posted November 17, 2012 What you're seeing isn't them screwing it up. That business model is dead and they're just caught up in it. It's not like they can sell enough to be allowed to sell the big brands, so they either try to service the cheapo market or close up. Sad, but inevitable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Lonnie99 Posted November 18, 2012 Members Share Posted November 18, 2012 The GC in south Indy is like that with their used guitars, and so is the Sam Ash in north Indy, which happens to be a 5 minute walk from GC north. I was there the other day asking why they sell their used MIM strats and Teles for 399 while GC sells the same stuff for 249-279? You know damn well they check each other out. GC turns their stuff over fast while the same guitars hang on the wall at Sam Ash for months.c Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members stormin1155 Posted November 18, 2012 Members Share Posted November 18, 2012 We're still in a tough economy, and it's tough to compete against ebay and the online megastores. Carrying inventory is expensive. Most of the small shop owners I've talked to are just praying for a good Christmas season. Even with that, they aren't moving much of the higher end stuff. Mose people don't NEED a $2,000 guitar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members bigtorquehemi Posted November 18, 2012 Members Share Posted November 18, 2012 its hard for your local music dealer to sell high end new stuff when most working musicians are buying their gear online at the best prices. I want to support the local business with my money, but when I pay so much more for my convenience most of the time i'll wait the few days it takes to get here. Plus when you can sell 4 or 5 cheap beginner guitars in a day or 1 high end guitar in a month the math doesn't add up. My local guitar store sells most of his high end stuff on ebay and the cheaper guitars that parents will buy sit on the wall... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Bbreaker Posted November 18, 2012 Members Share Posted November 18, 2012 Many independent music stores have music lesson programs and instrument rentals to get cash flow. They usually don't sell high ticket items daily ...............maybe a few picks or sets of strings. People got to have income to feed the biz and have net take home income. It's a rough biz to be in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members LynchProtoge Posted November 18, 2012 Author Members Share Posted November 18, 2012 Originally Posted by koiwoi What you're seeing isn't them screwing it up. That business model is dead and they're just caught up in it. It's not like they can sell enough to be allowed to sell the big brands, so they either try to service the cheapo market or close up. Sad, but inevitable. I think there is alot of truth to this. I have spoken with a few guys who work retail and its clear well over half their sales are for beginners & casual hobbyists who shop for deals. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members scott944 Posted November 18, 2012 Members Share Posted November 18, 2012 I talked to an owner a couple of weeks ago who runs a small shop in a small WV town that's part of my sales territory. It's a one man show. He caters primarily to the local bluegrassers and stocks some nice stuff (Taylor, Hamer, Rivera) in addition to the usual low end junk. He was talking nonstop about the state of the biz and let it slip that he made all of $16K net profit last year. Tough business indeed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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