Dealers retailers etc...

[thegatekeeper]

Recently at an emergency stop at my local friendly guitar center , I was in need of some cables for my monitors. Everyone mentions mogami, so I thought what the hell, let's give it a try. So I ask the guy for a 15' trs-xlr m mogami cable. The dude shows up with a 10' cable and a price tag of 39.99 plus tax!!! Holy shit, 40 bucks for a 10' foot cable. So I told him it was too much, and requested a cheaper cable. He then stepped away from the computer and picked up some livewire cables, but he had to go in the back to get the exact ones I needed. I took this chance to take a look at the screen, and to my freakin surprise, the base cost of a 10' mogami trs - xlr m cable is 13.62!!!!! HOLY SHIT WHAT A FREAKIN MARKUP. My question to all you gear fanatics, how can I get these prices. If I wanted to one day open up a little music store, what I would need to do to go about having these prices?

[JoeBannon]

Wrong forum, but thanks for posting -lol.

BTW, you don't have to pay sales tax if you use the cables to perform live or in the studio.

[gordone]

I'm not too sure about the sales tax thing - I'm sure it varies by state (of course, it's state sales tax) but I believe in Pennsylvania, to be exempt for sales tax you have to
-Be buying for a non-profit organization (and accredited by the IRS as such!)
-Be buying for resale (which probably wouldn't apply to GC anyway)

If you are using them to make money (ie you are a business) then I'm pretty sure you'd have to pay Sales/Use Tax (I mean you are "using" the stuff) but you'd be able to write off the expenses (either that year, or amortized over a certain number of years) towards your taxable income.

[thegatekeeper]

but how do they get these prices? mogami cable for 13.02. Thats .13 cents a foot!!!

[tbone36109]

umm dont you mean $1.30 per foot because it was only a 10 foot cable

[DavidK]

Originally Posted by thegatekeeper

but how do they get these prices? mogami cable for 13.02. Thats .13 cents a foot!!!

Ummmmmmmmm Your math is a bit off. Its $1.30 a foot.

Nobody said that the $13 price is ACTUALLY what they paid. Could be more and could be less. Its not rocket science, its wires. I got hundreds of yards of em.

Look at it this way: The employees need paid, the store needs a profit, there are distributors ( gas money), advertising, storage, insurance. shoplifting. It sounds about right to me. I am not gonna pay 40 bucks for a wire but the markup rate is probably typical.

[DavidK]

Originally Posted by tbone36109

umm dont you mean $1.30 per foot because it was only a 10 foot cable

You beat me.

[tbone36109]

hahah i think i deserve my third rep point for that

[thegatekeeper]

sorry for the bad math, but again, how would someone go about getting gear at dealer prices. Like lets say I wanted to open my own music store, I would have to apply for dealership to each and every manufacturer?

[Cyanide-Depende]

Originally Posted by thegatekeeper

I took this chance to take a look at the screen, and to my freakin surprise, the base cost of a 10' mogami trs - xlr m cable is 13.62!!!!! HOLY SHIT WHAT A FREAKIN MARKUP. My question to all you gear fanatics, how can I get these prices. If I wanted to one day open up a little music store, what I would need to do to go about having these prices?

Yea, markup on all the gear is insaine, thats why you can get sales guys to cut 20-30% off the tagged price and still make profit, I used to work at a GC in nashua (#1 in north east for sales) hte problem with mogami and monster cables, is the markup is huge, but they also have a hard minumum, By contract GC cant sell their products for less than they say or they lose their sales contract and NO gc store can carry them, its stupid, but thats they way mnogami and monster do business.

BTW, If you want to see crazy markup, walk over and check out how much a PRS Custom 22 costs tagged price, vs cost, its about a 75-80% markup on guitars, strings? A set of elixer 5-string nanoweb bass strings, sells for 49.99, cost... 5.23 <-- thats insane! (great for the sales guys GP #'s though)

-C$

[DavidK]

Originally Posted by tbone36109

hahah i think i deserve my third rep point for that

Your wish has been granted.

[DavidK]

Originally Posted by thegatekeeper

sorry for the bad math, but again, how would someone go about getting gear at dealer prices. Like lets say I wanted to open my own music store, I would have to apply for dealership to each and every manufacturer?

No. You would go to business school and learn how to run a business. Seriously.

It's a very difficult thing to do, and as you see the mom and pop stores are closing, Guitar Center is a musical Walmart. My local music store sells stuff for 200 bucks that you can get at GC for $75, its very difficult to run a music store unless its a specialty store like sheet music or woodwind repair etc.

In general, a small store wont carry mogami cables, Korg Tritons or M-audio soundcards, they cant compete with chains. They carry music stands, Yamaha PSR keyboards and trumpets. A brand like mogami is a certain Status symbol, you are buying a name ( like Monster cable).

I am not sure if you are saying " I want to open a store" or " I want cheap gear". For the first, you become a businessman. For the second, you learn to dicker or get a job at GC or become a frequent customer. MY GC will match any price. If I see mogami cables for 15 bucks on the net, I print out the page and bring it to GC, they have always matched it. My J-Station was 99 bucks, I ALWAYS know the price of something before I buy.

[tbone36109]

Originally Posted by DavidK

Your wish has been granted.

HAHAH BAD ASS! thanks

[mjr]

Originally Posted by JoeBannon

Wrong forum, but thanks for posting -lol.

BTW, you don't have to pay sales tax if you use the cables to perform live or in the studio.

I bought a $1,000 Takamine (GB-7C) & case tax-free once from a Guitar Center. I found it on MusiciansFriend.com, and I went to GC and asked the guy if they had one, and he said they didn't, but he'd give me the MusiciansFriend price for it, without tax if I'd buy it from him.

[djhead]

I worked in GC in Phoenix, and can second the markups. Used to love it when the big companies would come in and buy 800 bucks worth of cables. Pure GP there.
Same with cruddy Yamaha speakers.
Staton Turntables
AKG Mics
Korg stuff

Yeah, sure, Ill eat tax for yah, no sweat man, you my best customer.
(Pocketing 200 bucks in comission)

[djhead]

Hey while Im on GC, here's a tip when buying stuff from them. Go near the end of the month, when all their salesmen are sweating to cap off their comission checks. Sometimes all it takes is a large dollar no profit sale to push them over.

They have a minimum to make in sales, or its hourly wages for them. And its not much.

Especially susceptable are Pro Audio and Keyboard guys.

[mjr]

Originally Posted by djhead

Hey while Im on GC, here's a tip when buying stuff from them. Go near the end of the month, when all their salesmen are sweating to cap off their comission checks. Sometimes all it takes is a large dollar no profit sale to push them over.

They have a minimum to make in sales, or its hourly wages for them. And its not much.

Especially susceptable are Pro Audio and Keyboard guys.

A guy at a GC tried to sell me a guitar once by telling me that Don Henley bought one just the day before (The Eagles were in town).

Although, I did buy a Crate Pack (guitar, cable, amp, etc.), a Yamaha bass, and a used 4-track for $250.

[djhead]

Originally Posted by mjr

A guy at a GC tried to sell me a guitar once by telling me that Don Henley bought one just the day before (The Eagles were in town).

Although, I did buy a Crate Pack (guitar, cable, amp, etc.), a Yamaha bass, and a used 4-track for $250.

That 4 track just netted him some serious GP

[mjr]

Originally Posted by djhead

That 4 track just netted him some serious GP

Oh, I bought all that stuff from a different sales guy, on a different day. I think the 4-track was only $40.

I've discovered another good time to go is when GC has their "mega sales" like Memorial Day Weekend & such. The one where you have to get there at 4 or 5 in the morning and wait in line to get in so you can get the "best" deals. My wife bought a $50 bass guitar that way, and she walked out of the store with a Cowboy III Martin (a $1000 guitar) for $175.

[tbone36109]

Originally Posted by mjr

Oh, I bought all that stuff from a different sales guy, on a different day. I think the 4-track was only $40.

I've discovered another good time to go is when GC has their "mega sales" like Memorial Day Weekend & such. The one where you have to get there at 4 or 5 in the morning and wait in line to get in so you can get the "best" deals. My wife bought a $50 bass guitar that way, and she walked out of the store with a Cowboy III Martin (a $1000 guitar) for $175.

175!!!! nice

[thegatekeeper]

If you work at guitar center can you buy the gear at cost? All the gear from high end down, can you get them at cost?

[DavidK]

No, they get an employee discount like most retail jobs. If they got stuff at cost they could sell it outside of work.

[Raw-Tracks]

Originally Posted by gordone

I'm not too sure about the sales tax thing - I'm sure it varies by state (of course, it's state sales tax) but I believe in Pennsylvania, to be exempt for sales tax you have to
-Be buying for a non-profit organization (and accredited by the IRS as such!)
-Be buying for resale (which probably wouldn't apply to GC anyway)

That's been my experience with state tax as well. If you are using the item in your business, you pay tax. If the item is for resale, or to be used in the manufacture of a product, then no sales tax. You can claim the sales tax as a deduction as part of the purchase price on your income taxes (at least in my state).

[Cyanide-Depende]

Originally Posted by thegatekeeper

If you work at guitar center can you buy the gear at cost? All the gear from high end down, can you get them at cost?

Not, its cost + pack on everything except monster and mogami cables

Originally Posted by mjr

I've discovered another good time to go is when GC has their "mega sales" like Memorial Day Weekend & such.

Thats the BEST day to make GP, honestly, go a few days before and tell the sales guy you cant make it on that day for some reason, they'll usually sell you stuff for the sale prices. Or you can do what i do "I want this, but Im only paying this much for it, because your cost is only this much" That usually works every time.


-C$
EX-GC store 510

[djhead]

Yep, couldn't have said it better. I loved working there.