[What happened to the Firebird X stock]

4 minutes ago, Dub-T-123 said:

 

We didn’t just hate the electronics. We hated everything about it. You could spend a fortune replacing all the electronics, hardware, refinishing, inlaying, and have yourself a polished turd. At that point people probably wouldn’t be willing to pay even what it cost to modify the guitar, let alone an amount which would help Gibson recoup anything 

 

The problem here was not that the guitars were destroyed, it’s that they were made in the first place. It was an idiotic idea. The consumers were smart enough to not buy

 

Some of those who actually own one or two are pretty happy with them, plays well but takes some time to learn using the electronics is what they claim.

There is a problem in destroying them like it was done too, at least they could have been taken apart for recycling.

[What happened to the Firebird X stock]

3 hours ago, rct said:

 

No.  Too much inventory is a problem that isn't solved by donation.  Donation is only good in limited amounts, you can't give stuff away to success, it just doesn't happen.  To make your balance sheets right you need to "dispose" of unsold inventory to get it down.  Balance, that's what they need.  Inventory on the way and inventory on the way out, in whatever proportion fits their business.  "Disposal" helps those that own the company balance the company and recoup as much of the cost per unit as possible, which isn't much.  There is no recouping cost per unit in donations.

rct

Well, healthy businesses do just that since it only is a matter of having less inventory for when the tax bill has to be made.

They could also have done it like Peavy is doing it with their US inventory.

And as others mentioned, what a waste of resources, especially when it comes to those that are restricted, looked like perfect rosewood boards on them ES models.

[What happened to the Firebird X stock]

10 hours ago, LarryUK said:

Why couldn't they just hire someone to take the electrics out and turn them into a normal guitar?  The waste in this world in unbelievable. Especially food, while people go hungry. It makes you ashamed to be human. But profit rules in the boardroom. 

 Profit would have been the same if they had donated them away, doesn’t hurt a tax writeoff the slightest.

Only reason not to is shameful lazyness.

[What happened to the Firebird X stock]

2 hours ago, Lord Summerisle said:

The guy who just dropped huge money on a Fender Custom Shop Strat doesn't feel cheated when he looks at the MIM Fender Strat hanging around the singer's neck, and sees the words "Fender" and "Stratocaster" on the headstock; he wanted a better guitar, he paid for a better guitar, odds are that he has a better guitar.

 

 

 

He doesn’t feel cheated because he got a good guitar build upon personal preferences for as much as he could afford.

As one of the Fender customshop builders said, there goes some more time into details besides having the option to make it as custom as the customer want’s it to be.

That doesn’t mean that MIM strats are worse, the same builder was even quite surprised when he was presented with cheaper strats that got the Squier label on the headstock, and even told how these can be made more on pair with a bit of work on details.