a question for you fine folks....

random effect

random effect

New member
I know you guys know a lot about what you like and I'm working at a music store right now trying to find out what brands we should carry. It's kinda hard for us right now because we're a mom and pop store and guitar center is right down the road, so when we start to carry more brands, I want them to be sellable. I know what i like but i need to get opinions outside of my own brain. let me know some good guitar and amp companies that you guys would be looking for and ill be eternally grateful.

thanks, Paul
 
That's kind of a vague question in a way... What do you currently carry? What do YOU like? A lot of different people on here like a lot of different things. Personally, if you had Fender amps and guitars, some Vox and Gibson amps, maybe a few Gibson guitars on the wall, I'd go there... But, I can't speak for everyone. :cool:

Also, Larivee acoustic guitars... Yeah, forgot that one... Sorry...
 
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from a personal point

Guild
Taylor acoustics
Fenders amps & axes
Gibsons (as mentioned)
Gretsch


I dunno Marshall, Laney, Trace Elliot, Vox, Line 6

SWR
EBS
HARTKE those 3 for bass man I'd buy from your shop if you had them
 
WHAT'S YOUR CLIENTELE?
That'll dictate what you should carry
Ask your customers what they would like to see in the store
 
your Clientele can/will express a need for something they don't really want just because you don't have it. It may not always happen, but it happened to one of the local music stores here.

People constantly pestered them about getting PRS in. So, eventually they did. They ended up basically giving them away for cost because no one wanted them once they were in the store. I think most went to ebay.
 
an independent store just opened up in my town. finally, one in my end of the city. i love just having strings and picks and cords just around the corner. but the first thing i wanted to know when i heard about it was who they were going to carry.

we have a semi big store called thorold music that is a well established peavey dealer. they also carry ibanez, behringer pa stuff, tons of drums, and crate amps too. plus used stuff.

the other "big" store in town sells marshall, fender, gibson, line 6, jackson. you get the picture. they got the big names first, and probably make tons of money of it.

when this store opened up,i heard the guy wanted new stuff that no one else was selling. for amps, he chose hiwatt, and genz benz. bonehead move imho. this is a small canadian town with about 150000 people. the main clientel is going to be kids like me looking for some nice low end tube amps, and everyonce in a while, somebody might be looking for a recto or a dsl or something. maybe some vox's too. btw he chose hamer as his main guitar brand. he has alot of slammers too, made by hamer.

but ya, mostly due to the amps, i expect him to either go under, or buy in to something bigger and more popular, or a lower end brand like crate, peavey, epiphone amps (i wish), etc.

the cheapest new amp he has, excluding little practice amps, is atleast 1800 bucks canadian. so from a 16 year olds expert point of view, DO NOT GET A BOUTIQUE BRAND.

i suggest boogie, marshall, fender, peavey, vox, crate, laney, anyone that doesnt scare off the regular customer with astronomical price tags. but dont waste time on line 6, because, well...you know.

Adam
 
I'm not in the retail biz, but my guess is that you'll be fairly limited on what you can carry because of GCs vendor agreements. I'm guessing Gibson won't deal with you, but I dunno. Hope I'm wrong.

I think you need to decide what kind of store it's going to be. Is your target beginning players? If so, you might carry lower end stuff. Or is it boutique stuff for experienced players? Do people around there like country or metal?

As marshall409 said, selling boutique stuff in a low budget market is difficult. OTOH, competing with GC on low end stuff is probably pretty darn tough too.

As a consumer, one thing I appreciate about small stores is when they have the guitars well set up and a comfortable place to test them. GC is the worst for this and has definitely lost my business in the past for it.

Sorry I didn't offer any specific wisdom, but it really does depend on your market IMO.
 
Sign up with Rickenbacker would be something I'd look into ...they have a 18month back order in Austin, and they refused to make cheap mass produced stuff so their deal with Guitar Mart Center dropped.

then I'd carry some good cheap guitars...like the by "Indiana company" (made in China) and the best damn cheap guitar I played. They have a acoustic for $89 for example....and if their stuff is like I ran across its almost amazing they can have such a nice product for so cheap.
Cheap beginner line, but the best quality you can find...cheaper than Wal Mart. yet, they design them in the states then do a QC and setup for free...
that kind of line.

and I'd have a couple known Fender Squires the exact price or lower than GC...just for the comparison shopper mentality.

I'd look at Guitar Mart Center and realize what their stocking and what their selling and offer things they don't carry too....some of the smaller things. different brands, well known brands, well known marketing brands...like sponsored by big names..

again if you carry a couple things they carry, same brand, sell it at cost just to allow the comparison shoppers to see "hey its the same price!"

if you don't for example, if I see a Fender Strat STandard for $800 at GC and you have one on the shelf for $899... it doesn't look good for the whole store.
A shopper thinks "ah! everything in here is priced higher!"
You could even post a "we'll match price sign -within in reason to cover this.

carry brand names GC doesn't. Like Rickenbacker. Read what Paul Reed Smith did, read how Arnold Morgan Music in TX stayed open a 100yrs... etc..

maybe even grab special deals off the Craigslist and sell a few US Strats for $400 that you bought on Craigslist for $400!! That will keep the shoppers always checking in your store, even if they are going to GC. The mystery shelf stuff!! Thats why I go to Pawn Shops!! Where else will you see a 1988 Big Muff..theyy're like a museum sometimes...and they have stuff GC doesn't want...old rack mount gear etc..

And remember your GC down the street is your FREE advertisement, you have done very well in being physically close to them!! Think about it!

I mean if I'm fhkng about on a Saturday as customer Joe GEarAddict,
and I go to GC to fart around and see the big sale they advertised, and there's another guitar shop right down the street...that always has a few things GC doesn't and a few used items that are just cool to see because I'm a gearaddict and too lazy to go fiushing and camping...
of course I'll stop by!!! its only right down the street!!



Burger King made a point to build wherever McD's did for many years....overflow, competition, location.
They made millions being #2

Like the VP of the HDTV DLP said "3rd place is fine with me!"
in acknowledgment LCD and other technologys are selling more HDTV's than DLP......

but even 3rd place of a $14 billion dollar a year and growing industry is a lot of money!!

good luck. give em hell.
 
ez_willis said:
My suggestion would be to go for the high end clientele. You'll never beat the GC at their own game.
Click to expand...

Same thing happened in Peoria (of all places), GC moved in and locked up the teeny-boppers and bargain-shoppers. You can't compete with their pricing, so don't try. Carry high end and give the kind of service that GC won't. Set-ups, pickup replacement, hire a great amp tech. I know what I like and my hobby/profession is worth all the money I can afford to put up. The store here that survived the best carries Mesa, PRS, they dropped Marshall and Fender. Go boutique, man. There's always Ebay if you need to move merchandise.
I'd look at Fulltone, Bruno Amps, Divided by 13, Fuchs, Savage, Carr, and Mesa.

Hmm, what do I want when I go into a music store? I want someone to hand me a cup of coffee and ask me who I'm playing with, what kind of music I dig, and what tools do I use to achieve my sound. The best salesmen I ever met never asked me what he could do for me, he asked what I could do for him. I'd like to swap licks and chat, I'd like to feel part of the scene, not like some customer. Make me feel like that and my wallet's wide open.
 
what to stock

If I were you, I'd seriously choose your target customer and stick with it. Spend some serious time making the decision too. Otherwise it's going to be a too broad market and I don't thing you would do well against the big stores.
What would help additionally is to offer good service. Something I hardly ever find from any music store these days.
Mike.
 
No matter what brands of guitars and amps you sell, be prepaired to service what you sell. The big stores like GC are all about mass sales, and offer little or no service after the sale. If you can't fix it, hook up with someone who you trust and can recomend to customers. Never sell "super cheapo, piece of crap" guitars, not even to the Christmas shopper who just wants to shut up a screaming 10 year old. Don't try to use any pressure sales, sell quality instruments and let that quality be the sales pitch. Remember, not everyone wants a Strat, or a Marshall stack. Try to carry a variety of styles for different players. Devote a section of the store to used instruments, check them over carefully and price them accordingly. These are some of the things I'd look for if I came into your shop, hope it helps a little.
 
Yeah, what I check in the local shop is mostly their USED gear, since I can get bargains from the net. The local shop gives good prices, but carries weird labels like Godin....
The Schecters, Deans etc. they've had have been used and decently priced, those are nice.
Usually it's the strings, picks, cables and that stuff that gets me in, the conversation and their opinions keeps me browsing the shelves.
 
+1 on Larrivee and Guild acoustics
Consider G&Ls Tribute series

But mostly, ask your customers what they play (not what they wish they played) and make your decisions based on those answers. Stock a variety of publications and make note of which ones your customers buy. Gear that's aggressively advertised in those can be good choices.
 
random effect said:
I know you guys know a lot about what you like and I'm working at a music store right now trying to find out what brands we should carry. It's kinda hard for us right now because we're a mom and pop store and guitar center is right down the road, so when we start to carry more brands, I want them to be sellable. I know what i like but i need to get opinions outside of my own brain. let me know some good guitar and amp companies that you guys would be looking for and ill be eternally grateful.

thanks, Paul
Click to expand...

Well, if you want to compete, stock only stuff GC does'nt.

You may have to go upscale to survive. People will always go to you if you have stuff they can't get from GC. If you mirror GC, you can't win no way, no how.
 
Another one for the upscale route. I used to work at a store that was bought out by GC, then a Sam Ash opened up right across the street. The other owners of the original store moved down the street and offered nothing but high end stuff. You also must have a strong online presence. No way GC will carry Suhr, Anderson, Carr, Matchless, etc. IMO, thats the only way to go when directly dealing with GC.
 
Another vote for at least partly upscale stuff - as long as there are some more affluent folks in yoru area.

If Gibson won't deal with you, maybe try to become a registered Heritage dealer - their guitars are IMO better bang for the buck - new H575 archtop is about 3k, but with far better wood and the construction is very well done.

You might also consider building a sound proof booth in the store that fits a few people (sans drummer, but you can go bigger if ya want), set up some mics and a compy with interface, and run a "Make your own record" kind of thing, like could be seen in the 50s / 60s. Doesn't have to be a full-fledged studio, but I'm sure you would get decent business from acoustic acts looking to spend a couple 100 to record a couple songs live, and that would get you more foot traffic - so that even if you sell the same or similar tuff as Banjo mart, you'll still be attracting shoppers.
 
I know many will scoff at the idea of the in-store recording since home recording gear is so inexpensive, but let's be honest - I've met a significant number of musicians (mostly acoustic players), who like to play, might even have a couple original tunes, but don't have th facilities or cash to do any sort of recording, nor do they care to learn.

But at the same time, they don't want to spend the bucks a studio will cost, so where's the inbetween? There's me or anyone else who has a little home studio if they want to do that, but the acoustics aren't great in my apartment. Investing a little bit in an area for proper sound recording and either hiring a staffer to work the recording system during business hours, or scheduling groups during off-peak hours / closed for business time might just attract people to come in to do some quick work.

I know when I was in high school / college, I didn't have the money or the interest in learning to record, but I had plenty of material I wanted to work with, and since it was just me and guitar, it would've been easy to plunk down, play through the songs, and get a CD handed to me a few days later when I came back to pay for services rendered.

Just my .02 as usual :D
 
Looks like the high-end stuff is getting most nods. I tend to agree.

We have a very successful store in town (Fazio's Frets and Friends - he's on the web also) and he has take a pretty cool route - and competes with the 3 GCs in the St. Louis metro area.

1. Carry higher end stuff in general - but still have "affordable" stuff for beginners/kids.

2. Build a respectable lessons department. I mean a serious, focused department. This place has lots of teachers... and about 800 students (@ $17/30 minutes).

3. Offer workshops from touring musicians. Some are free, some cost $. But really builds a solid rep for actually catering to musicianship and not just sales.

4. Put his store in a well-healed part of town on one of the busiest roads in the St. Louis area.

5. Be a real nice, approachable guy. Only one of his sales team is the "no you can't play this guitar until after you buy" type.

6. Don't worry about competing on price - you'll never win against GC. Just be reasonable... and be aware of what GC is asking for stuff and be prepared to respond to customers comments about it.

Good luck with your store!
 
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