New York Times Article About Fender

  • Thread starter Thread starter Len Rabinowitz
  • Start date Start date
Interesting though. GC is roughly 20% of their business. They are locked together.
 
Thanks for posting the article.

There just seems like a myriad of things all hitting at the same time. Some things they can control, others they can't.
Can't control the economy, can't control the stock market.

But they probably can control volume and production. I always thought Fender spread itself too thin; they have too many models and too many options. I mean I just got on the site and they offer 88 different variations of the Strat, and that doesn't include the colors. Not to say that scaling it back would solve their problems, but it might be a step in the right direction. And when you finally DO find the right model, it's way overpriced. A basic American Standard should go for no more than $750.00 street.

This also puts a little different spin on the patent infringment threats they came out with a few years back. They wanted to stop everyone from selling the Strat- and Tele-style body guitars so they could be exclusive. Part of me doesn't blame them. What do you think PRS would do if everyone started cloning his guitar body and selling it with a different headstock? But the Strat body and headstock shapes are so well known and copied that it's almost public domain, so I see the other side, too...

I think a big problem is the advent of the Internet and national (and global) accessibility like never before. Why buy a new one at GC when you can get one on eBay
shipped for $200 less and NOT pay taxes? GC will not survive in the end. They ran every Mom 'n' Pop store out of business, but they, too, are spread too thin, and their day of reckoning is coming, just like MARS's did. About 98% of the guitar retail business is Moms & Dads asking the sales clerk, "What's a good cheap (or used) guitar for my kid who thinks he wants to play guitar?" I'd be shocked if that percentage is any lower than that. Think about it...who's buying all the Fender Masterbuilt and high-line stuff? Nobody I know. Experienced guys are informed and they either buy used (there's a huge surplus of used Fender gear on Craigslist at any given moment) or they go big with someone like Anderson or Suhr, etc. -- and why not, they can do it cheaper than buying a Masterbuilt and they are a step-up (intrinsically) to an American Standard.

It's a buyers' market on guitars and the Strats and Teles in many players' arsenals are the expendable guitars. The ones that live or die with Fender buy used. It's no wonder nobody's buying anything over $500 from them. But I don't know...I got out of that game a loooong time ago when the margins got squashed.
 
GC is a good idea that was based on a time when we had much more disposable income. Seems like nowadays you cant lower the price fast enough on gear.
 
GC is changing their model to a more services-based offering and it just might work. The new GC by my house is quite small, stocked with instruments mostly under $500, and with only one or two employees in the store. However, there are a TON of teaching, practice,and rehearsal rooms in the back. Anything the store doesn't have, they can order. Margin on services is much higher than it is on product, so keep local inventory low and sell the crap out of high-margin services.

Of course, this means you won't be able to go into GC and try out a '59 reissue or a 60's strat, but you can order it, and if you don't like it, send it back. I sent back two LP Limited Edition guitars before I got one that was good. Waste of my time? Sure. However, if it keeps prices down I'll take the hit.

Thoughts?
 
racerevlon":3p82cmf5 said:
GC is changing their model to a more services-based offering and it just might work. The new GC by my house is quite small, stocked with instruments mostly under $500, and with only one or two employees in the store. However, there are a TON of teaching, practice,and rehearsal rooms in the back. Anything the store doesn't have, they can order. Margin on services is much higher than it is on product, so keep local inventory low and sell the crap out of high-margin services.

Of course, this means you won't be able to go into GC and try out a '59 reissue or a 60's strat, but you can order it, and if you don't like it, send it back. I sent back two LP Limited Edition guitars before I got one that was good. Waste of my time? Sure. However, if it keeps prices down I'll take the hit.

Thoughts?
Click to expand...

There are two GC stores here. I feel sure there will only be one soon.

The stores here have many young kids that don't know much about gear. It is a buyer beware shopping venture. The one in Marrietta I was trying out an amp, there were 2 sales peeps, guy and chic. I felt like my playing was interfering with their paid date at work.



They should resize and go smaller with more knowledgable employees.
 
It has to be very hard for any store these days- everyone competes all over the world with everyone else. I just bought a new external hard drive. I could have gone to the local Staples- But I don't need it this second, and it was thirty dollars cheaper with no sales tax and no shipping over eBay. But that doesn't work for everything. I've sold guitars over eBay, but I don't think I would ever buy one without trying it. I bought a Rebel 30 over eBay and it wasn't a happy experience.
 
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