Whats up with Gibson?

[hippietim]

Re: Whats up with Gibson?

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I'm taking that three hour trip to Kennewick as well, and look through a staggering stock of Les Pauls to find my own special one...A Gold Top like yours is high on my list [img]/images/graemlins/notworthy.gif[/img] Those guys are super cool and know their sh*t backwards and forwards.

Steve E

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Enjoy your trip - it will be a great experience. I'm jealous. I'm bummed that we didn't get a chance to stop there on our cross country move - I really want one of those Jeff Beck Oxblood '54's.

[LRGman]

Re: Whats up with Gibson?

Its just a way to keep high prices so you can't just pop on line and what you need for the cheapest price. Arai Mcycle helmets did it to keep prices up-no competion, no deals.

Pretty soon there will be all kinds of Gibson ebay ads of slighty used but mint, returned..ect guitars on ebay.

[Chuckracer]

Re: Whats up with Gibson?

I agree with the reasons Arai did it.
Motorcycle helmet fit is critical and Arais are supposed to fit more exact than other brands. People were buying helmets online and just buying whatever size their last helmet was by a different manufacturer. That's not the way to properly fit an Arai helmet. An expert can show you how the different shells fit different head shapes and what to look for in proper sizing. You can only do this one on one and hands on.
A lot of folks were upset at that change of business practice, but I applaude Arai for doing it.

[jgcable]

Re: Whats up with Gibson?

Gibson is just reacting to the pressure they are getting from their largest national distributors who are tired of the "little" guys chipping away at their highly profitable business. I am in the business. Here is a simple example of how it works:
GC or Sam Ash has a meeting with Gibson and tells them they are tired of having to slash their prices because of all the internet point and click dealers who are willing to take orders for Gibsons and Epi's at next to no profit just to maintain the franchise. Gibson then looks to where their profit is coming from and meets their demands. The sad thing is that the large chains get a much steeper discount than the small guys so they are already making a nice profit. It works for Gibson because by disallowing internet advertising they can now channel the business through their preferred business partners and not have to discount their products as much to the large chains with the large overhead because they will no longer have any competition. The bottom line is that GC and other large chains are only interested in profit. Gibson is only interested in profit no matter what they state in a letter. I can't blame either one for their actions. It is how you must survive in todays business climate.

[Dreamland_Rebel]

Re: Whats up with Gibson?

****'em all - i'm gonna get a Sully!

[speed monkey]

Re: Whats up with Gibson?

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The bottom line is that GC and other large chains are only interested in profit. Gibson is only interested in profit no matter what they state in a letter. I can't blame either one for their actions. It is how you must survive in todays business climate.

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Which is why the end result will be a strong used market for Gibson products by either private party or small shops. In the end the customer is going to raise a large visible middle finger to Gibson and GC/MF/Sam Ash in regards to new instrument purchases.

Steve E

[OnlineStageGear]

Re: Whats up with Gibson?

What a major step backwards if you ask me. Now the poor sap who lives probably 200 miles from the closest music store will be SOL.

Honestly, this will do nothing but add to the NON-DEALER sellers .

[jgcable]

Re: Whats up with Gibson?

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What a major step backwards if you ask me. Now the poor sap who lives probably 200 miles from the closest music store will be SOL.

Honestly, this will do nothing but add to the NON-DEALER sellers .

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That is the saddest part of it all.

[skidd]

Re: Whats up with Gibson?

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WOW, I cant imagine a company not allowing internet sales in this day and age. Thats a strange move. I mean, the whole world is moving more towards "E business" and internet sales. I dont know how they feel they can make it go without the net. thats certainly a gutsy move. wow......

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I'm in the hockey business and it is going on there too.

[hippietim]

Re: Whats up with Gibson?

Maybe Gibson can go completely old school and have the Amish deliver guitars with horse-drawn carriages.

[speed monkey]

Re: Whats up with Gibson?

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Maybe Gibson can go completely old school and have the Amish deliver guitars with horse-drawn carriages.

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Tim -

I just spit coffee all over my keyboard [img]/images/graemlins/notworthy.gif[/img]

Nathans got a few choice morsels for me to look over out there...those guys remember you too! Also found a Darkburst 59' reissue here in town I might check out....I'm hooked [img]/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]

Steve E

[dinkyjacksonman]

Re: Whats up with Gibson?

I love Les Paul and wish to have one in the future.
Everytime when I have one, I have hard time playing it because of their frets aren't my type.
I guess next time when I buy one, I will refret the original frets for jumbo..
I want a Les Paul Custom or the Liomited Edition Standard that comes with Ebony fingerboard.
I like Ebony over Rosewood....
[img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

[tonemonster]

Re: Whats up with Gibson?

Tim ,that was f*kkin funny!! I can just picture guys with their horse and carraige pulling into GC to deliver the Guitars. [img]/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img] But if they do that, wont the dealers have to pay them with chickens or goats??? [img]/images/graemlins/scratchhead.gif[/img]

We could hear sales pitches like this:
"Hello sir, my name is Hesikia, Could I interest you in a guitar? Its a great value at only 1387 chickens." [img]/images/graemlins/what.gif[/img] [img]/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img] [img]/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img]

[fett]

Re: Whats up with Gibson?

All you have to do is check E-Bay and see 5000+ electric guitars for sale. Face it. Guitars are nothing more than commodites. Anybody can make one. There is nothing precious about the materials that are used in making a guitar, The days when a only a few guitar makers had all the market is over. IMHO, Fender and Gibson are attempting to put the "Magic" back into their products when the reality is that anyone can make a guitar as good as they can and sell it for a lot less. And to add to the problem, the big guys started to produce junk for the mass market. The days of true artistry and craftsmanship are long gone. That's why the vintage guitars sell for so much. The big guys have shot themselves in the corporate foot. You Harley guys know what I am talking about when AMF bought them out and produced junk. Fender and Gibson have to go back to their roots. Unfortunately, there is no money in it. Now, they are trying to save the local dealer. To the locals on this board, all I can say is I hope this works for you guys. I guess the best comparison is when Men's Stores got slammed buy the Walmarts of this world.

[LarryL]

Re: Whats up with Gibson?

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Well Steve E, it sounds like you got a salesman who didn't know what he was doing. He should've mentioned the price matching and the 30-day satisfaction period which includes the policy of matching advertised prices 30 days after you buy your stuff. You might think my job is a joke, and for some guys who work at GCs everywhere it is, but I work my ass off all day long to make people like you happy.

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Hey, don't let the GC critics get you down. It's like any job, take pride in what you are doing and don't worry about things beyond your control (like incompetent co-workers). Beating up on GC and Wal Mart is everyones favorite pastime. They do it as they shop there every day [img]/images/graemlins/smirk.gif[/img]

As for the Gibson policy, I personally don't like it but it's easy to see why they are doing it. Gibson isn't in business to make the best guitars, etc. Like any other business it's about profit. They know where this profit is coming from and will do whatever it takes to protect it. Many companies in different industries have developed restrictive internet sales policies. I've seen companies develop "minumum selling price" (not min. advertised price) policies to keep online retailers from undercutting brick and mortar businesses.

The Gibson policy is an inconvenience but a shop can still email pic's of inventory after a customer request. It's a pain but they aren't completely restricting online sales.