musiciansfriend and music123 ??

[techristian]

I have seen many amazing prices at those 2 places and wondered how they could sell some of those items at such a low price.

Such as Stratocaster Electric Guitar $399 ??

Dan

[Riff1970]

Those are the Mexican Strats. Worth every penny, too. They were $349 about a year ago. Damn inflation.:mad:

[yollyp]

The result of stiff competition makes manufacturers sell their stuff at much much lower price even to the extent of "break-even" accounting. Good riddance, this is nice :eek:

[boxorox]

Maufacturers aren't selling at "break even" prices, and for the most part niether are the retailers. I'll not rehash the old Authorized Dealeship system. Today, the business as changed. Box stores and online/catalog stores do incredible volume. With extremely low overhead (compared to a stocked, staffed local establishment in town), they can offer deeper discounts off the dealers percentage. Add to this the manufacturers have taken the initiative at introducing "cadet" lines like Squier/Fender, and out of country manufacture (Fender Mexico/PacRim) to expand their product line into budget and mid-priced markets. I'd have to say the profit margin on instruments of foreign manufacture would be higher, and the cost of selling (not making) an instrument is about a third what it was when all stores were neighborhod "Mom & Pops". Not singling out Fender. Just a handy example.

[GtrGeorge!]

But please do remember:
When you buy from a local shop you get to play the instrument first. Second, these people dont want to rip you off..they know you from town..and they want to protect their reputation. Third, whatever money they make goes into your local economy. They hire people in your town to work the register, ship out the guitars etc etc
Fourth, local people often know alot more about the gear they sell. They may not have as much in stock as a BIG company..but chances are they know exactly what that amp sounds like...becuase they have more time to do that.
I PREFER local shops...I am tired of going to a BIG company and having a guy who knows less than me jive me about the features of a given product. Many times he is gone in a week, and another short timer replaces him. They are like used car salespeople, to me. Lowest price? Maybe..but then again..if you have even one problem..they cant seem to remember you.
No joke. Stick with the people who stick by you.
GtrGeorge

Maybe we should have a list of GOOD local stores (not Mega chains) here at this forum..so people will know that these companies are there and ready to help you...sound good?

[Chuck Carter]

I have seen many amazing prices at those 2 places and wondered how they could sell some of those items at such a low price.

Such as Stratocaster Electric Guitar $399 ??

Dan

They buy in large volumes and store their goods in a warehouse unlike music shops that may have one or two of a kind on the showroom floor- they have several of each type and in all available colors. When you buy direct in large quantities from the mfgr, you save bigtime. I bought my 12 string strat at Musicians Friend and am very pleased. They are good about returns too. Before I bought the strat 12, I tried the Dean Boca 12 - what a piece of junk. The body and neck were not fastened properly, the strings sat way too high, the body was too small and too light to balance against the long neck and large headstock - they took it back and I bought the strat in its place. You can feel confidant with them. I would seek out the guitar you are interested in locally and actually try it out before ordering so you know first hand what you are getting.

[jairic]

But please do remember:
When you buy from a local shop you get to play the instrument first. Second, these people dont want to rip you off..they know you from town..and they want to protect their reputation. Third, whatever money they make goes into your local economy. They hire people in your town to work the register, ship out the guitars etc etc
Fourth, local people often know alot more about the gear they sell. They may not have as much in stock as a BIG company..but chances are they know exactly what that amp sounds like...becuase they have more time to do that.
I PREFER local shops...I am tired of going to a BIG company and having a guy who knows less than me jive me about the features of a given product. Many times he is gone in a week, and another short timer replaces him. They are like used car salespeople, to me. Lowest price? Maybe..but then again..if you have even one problem..they cant seem to remember you.
No joke. Stick with the people who stick by you.
GtrGeorge

Maybe we should have a list of GOOD local stores (not Mega chains) here at this forum..so people will know that these companies are there and ready to help you...sound good?

+1

[Chuck Carter]

Dear GtrGeorge,
You are absolutely correct about buying from a local music shop generally speaking. However, when I wanted the 12 string guitar, all I could find around here in my area was offbrands, heavily used instruments, or higher costing RIC's and lets facce it, there are not many 12 strings around to begin with. All of the RIC's were out of my price range, Danelectro did not suit me, and the rest, well, did not impress me. I was not in the market for a relic.
Ordinarily I'd rather support the local economy. I was only trying to ease the fears of buying from a mail order house. Just Don't buy from China merchants.

[Chuck Carter]

in my experience you can usually get the same price local as online on most things. I bought 2 taylor guitars at a local mom-and-pop and was surprised when i checked their (unadvertised) quoted prices against MF and M123 (the local shop was a couple hundred cheaper). same thing with many of the epi's, squire and fenders you can usually get the MF price on line then shop local.

Thanks, I'll have to search out the smaller shops since the Guitar center was a bit pricy and not much on trasde ins.

Any suggestion on how to sell Chinese Rickenbackers? I got 2 of these knockoffs.
They are both labelled as 370-12's with one in blue and the other in a fireglo finish. They are both imports that cannot be listed on e-bay since they are not authorized by John Hall who owns RIC. I did not know they were copies until I tried to relist them on e-bay. found out in a hurry then.