onewilyfool Posted October 3, 2013 Share Posted October 3, 2013 This is REALLY a bummer. Hard demands from Gibson have forced him to drop his dealership after many, many years. Contrary to what one of the Gibson boosters commented in a long ago post, Gibson's marketing division is NOT doing what they can to protect "Mom and Pop" and "Brick and Mortar" stores. Even stores with a LONG relationship to Gibson going back to Norlin times. This is the second small dealer who has had to drop the line in our area, because of unreasonable demands from Gibson. This particular dealership was being forced to purchase and try to sell a lot of guitars that just don't fly in our area. Here is where a blanket approach to marketing does NOT allow for regional differences. They were forced to sell these guitars at cost or below cost, or as the manager told me, "Give them away"......I'm sure the Gang of Four will pounce on this with their usual vehemence, but really it is sad when these long time dealers can't make it with the demands of the corporate office. I won't go into the newest forced requirements, but they are draconian for a small dealer. Get ready boys, the days of having to go to Sam Ash, and Guitar Center for your Gibson acoustics are just over the horizon. I think Nodehopper had to get his new J-35 at Guitar Center in Auburn, CA. , because the local brick and mortar place where he bought two other Gibsons, had to drop their dealership for the same reasons. The fan boys can defend this policy till the cows come home, I really don't care, they are all on ignore anyway, but it is a REAL shame that this has happened. The good news is that I can still go to this local store and try out all their Ren F. Designed Guilds and Custom Guilds (for some reason, they don't carry the custom line of Fenders, although they carry their asian made acoustics)They also carry Breedlove guitars as their OTHER upper end American made guitar. It's sad, I used to go over there all the time to try out the new Gibsons, end of an era I guess, and a sign of the times. Another one bites the dust....They now carry ONLY Gibson Custom Electrics, as the quality of the production line electrics has really dropped off. Just FYI, they have a J-200 Standard, and a J-45 Standard still hanging on the wall, that they are selling for cost. I'm not sure if the lifetime warranty applies for this one, since they lost that part of their dealership. PM me if you want their contact info. It's on the Peninsula in N. California. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jerry K Posted October 3, 2013 Share Posted October 3, 2013 It's possible that they have changed the requirements recently, I don't know. I was shown and read the dealer agreement package Gibson was using a year or two back. What I saw was not for a tiny shop - they require you to cover products from various Gibson divisions - but it was a very reasonable arrangement for a decent sized music store. Wily, by the way, is full of shidt, always trying to put down Gibson for something, and that Gang of Four stuff is hate speech. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sitedrifter Posted October 3, 2013 Share Posted October 3, 2013 This is REALLY a bummer. Hard demands from Gibson have forced him to drop his dealership after many, many years. Contrary to what one of the Gibson boosters commented in a long ago post, Gibson's marketing division is NOT doing what they can to protect "Mom and Pop" and "Brick and Mortar" stores. Even stores with a LONG relationship to Gibson going back to Norlin times. This is the second small dealer who has had to drop the line in our area, because of unreasonable demands from Gibson. This particular dealership was being forced to purchase and try to sell a lot of guitars that just don't fly in our area. Here is where a blanket approach to marketing does NOT allow for regional differences. They were forced to sell these guitars at cost or below cost, or as the manager told me, "Give them away"......I'm sure the Gang of Four with pounce on this with their usual vehemence, but really it is sad when these long time dealers can't make it with the demands of the corporate office. I won't go into the newest forced requirements, but they are draconian for a small dealer. Get ready boys, the days of having to go to Sam Ash, and Guitar Center for your Gibson acoustics are just over the horizon. I think Nodehopper had to get his new J-35 at Guitar Center in Auburn, CA. , because the local brick and mortar place where he bought two other Gibsons, had to drop their dealership for the same reasons. The fan boys can defend this policy till the cows come home, I really don't care, they are all on ignore anyway, but it is a REAL shame that this has happened. The good news is that I can still go to this local store and try out all their Ren F. Designed Guilds and Custom Guilds (for some reason, they don't carry the custom line of Fenders, although they carry their asian made acoustics)They also carry Breedlove guitars as their OTHER upper end American made guitar. It's sad, I used to go over there all the time to try out the new Gibsons, end of an era I guess, and a sign of the times. Another one bites the dust....They now carry ONLY Gibson Custom Electrics, as the quality of the production line electrics has really dropped off. Just FYI, they have a J-200 Standard, and a J-45 Standard still hanging on the wall, that they are selling for cost. I'm not sure if the lifetime warranty applies for this one, since they lost that part of their dealership. PM me if you want their contact info. It's on the Peninsula in N. California. Taylor seems to have started this new wave of marketing. A few months back a good amount of high quality dealers lost their Taylor distributorship. While no one (but them) knows exactly why it is highly speculated that Taylor requires a decent sized inventory to be kept on hand. This means the Mom and Pop shops can't afford it and they lose their Taylor business. I guess Gibson felt this was a good thing to follow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buc McMaster Posted October 3, 2013 Share Posted October 3, 2013 True story, that. Had the same experience first-hand many years back at a family owned retailer. Made us angry, to be honest. Unfortunate that it still goes on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MissouriPicker Posted October 3, 2013 Share Posted October 3, 2013 Doesn't sound good. There are already few enough places to see a good on-the-wall display of Gibsons. There's also similar info on the AGF of Taylor doing this. I don't know if this is a good business plan in an economy that is either stagnant and/or shrinking. I really like Gibsons, but here in my area, aside from GC (which only has 3 currently) there are no Gibson dealers. It seems to be going from bad to worse. Might be something we need to get used to, because this is how it's going to be. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobouz Posted October 3, 2013 Share Posted October 3, 2013 Taylor seems to have started this new wave of marketing. A few months back a good amount of high quality dealers lost their Taylor distributorship. While no one (but them) knows exactly why it is highly speculated that Taylor requires a decent sized inventory to be kept on hand. This means the Mom and Pop shops can't afford it and they lose their Taylor business. I guess Gibson felt this was a good thing to follow. It was actually Gibson that spearheaded this trend back in 2001, when they renewed a relationship with Guitar Center & Musician's Friend that had been dormant for a number of years. The marketing plan was clearly aimed at moving heavily towards big box stores & volume sales. At that time, the small local shop where I had purchased many Gibsons could not afford to meet the new stocking requirements. Having visited the Bozeman plant, the owner was a very strong supporter of Gibson instruments with his customers, and created enormous good will for their products. I wrote a letter to Gibson in support of this dealer, but the new policy was set and not negotiable. Most other local dealers, some who had been Gibson dealers for over thirty years, were also unable to meet the new requirements. When the dust settled, only one local independent Gibson dealer remained, along with Guitar Center. A number of years later, my preferred local dealer was able to renew his relationship with Gibson, but only in the selling of Epiphones. This change created an unfortunate set of circumstances that exist to this day. Depending on where you live, the customer's ability to actually play many Gibson models first hand is often limited to Guitar Center's choice of what to stock - and it's usually a fairly narrow range of models. I greatly prefer to try before I buy, and many times have paid more for the right instrument being held in hand. But last Friday I received a new LG-2 AE, delivered by the big brown truck. Yes, it has turned out to be a wonderful instrument, and I have posted my praise and appreciation to the team that built it. Since it's introduction, this model unfortunately has not been available in local stores, so the purchase was reluctantly made online, on a leap of faith. For better or for worse, this scenario has been playing itself out for many of us since 2001. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ParlourMan Posted October 3, 2013 Share Posted October 3, 2013 ...and that Gang of Four stuff is hate speech. You might need to look up the definition of Hate Speech, Jerry. or post in tags < dramatic_hyperbole > < / dramatic_hyperbole > Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bram99 Posted October 3, 2013 Share Posted October 3, 2013 I have bought two guitars from the store Wily mentions. Both Gibsons, but both electric (ES-330VOS and Les Paul Studio). This is a friendly store staffed with folks that are really into and knowledgable about guitars. It is almost like a short vacation when I head south from the city and go check out the shop.....When I first heard about the ES-330VOS, the staff were great and tracked down the info, ordered it for me (at as good a price as the big stores) and then gave me regular updates about its arrival. I remember I was in D.C. when Jordan (the guy I have always dealt with there) called me to tell me the 330 was in the shop...he was as excited about it as I was. Then when I came in to pick it up, they were all huddled around....oh you're the guy that got the 330...cool. It was really quite fun because several behind the guitar counter took pause to celebrate in this moment of me completing this guitar quest. I walked out of the store and around the corner when another guy walking toward the store and carrying two guitar cases saw me loading the Gibson Custom case into my car....he walked up to me and said.."is that the 330?"...yep...we stood there talking for 20 mins about 330s, how to get different sounds out of them, how they have changed over time etc.... These kinds of small shops seem to have a greater understanding of what a particular guitar means to a person who comes to own it. They treated it more as a new relationship than as a new product. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobF_ Posted October 3, 2013 Share Posted October 3, 2013 One size fits all marketing makes as much sense as centralized power in DC ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blindboygrunt Posted October 3, 2013 Share Posted October 3, 2013 They treated it more as a new relationship than as a new product. This is the part of trading that separates shopping into the sections. People who do the job because they enjoy what they do , they chose a livelihood that they have an interest in , both in the products and the service. And the other side where people care about nothing except the profit and are totally guided by figures on a page. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ol fred Posted October 3, 2013 Share Posted October 3, 2013 Not sure if the info I got from my local dealer is correct but I was told that Gibson required the purchase of sixteen electrics for every acoustic they ordered. End result, they dropped the line after only having it for about six months. Just a bit out of hand for any mom and pop business. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobF_ Posted October 3, 2013 Share Posted October 3, 2013 The story I got recently from a local shop is that they would be required to take $X (he told me the number and it's big) of inventory within the first quarter - from whatever stock Gibson had on hand. The big number plus the requirement to take models that might not sell in the area fed the decision to drop Gibson. They are selling the crap out of Taylor, Martin, Ibanez, Fender, ESP, Schecter ... whatever they have. Part of their success despite dropping Gibson is that the upcoming generations aren't hooked on Gibson. A shame, because with time the lack of exposure to Gibson as an option will exacerbate the situation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jerry K Posted October 3, 2013 Share Posted October 3, 2013 Most of these third-hand tales from music stores supposedly abused by Gibson are reports of a divorce from the point of view of one side only. I had a long discussion about this with Hogeye once. Suffice it to say that some of the rumors started by music stores are dishonest accounts which cover up things that the dealer did which broke their contract. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobF_ Posted October 3, 2013 Share Posted October 3, 2013 Most of these third-hand tales from music stores supposedly abused by Gibson are reports of a divorce from the point of view of one side only. I had a long discussion about this with Hogeye once. Suffice it to say that some of the rumors started by music stores are dishonest accounts which cover up things that the dealer did which broke their contract. Interesting they use very similar cover stories. I agree that there are always two sides to be heard before passing final judgment. It also makes me wonder what the problem is with so many stores potentially breaking contracts to the point of enforcement action on the part of Gibson ... ... and regardless of who is to blame, what will the impact of a shrunken marketplace for Gibson be in the long run. Maybe their contract terms are problematic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ParlourMan Posted October 3, 2013 Share Posted October 3, 2013 Interesting they use very similar cover stories. I agree that there are always two sides to be heard before passing final judgment. It also makes me wonder what the problem is with so many stores potentially breaking contracts to the point of enforcement action on the part of Gibson ... ... and regardless of who is to blame, what will the impact of a shrunken marketplace for Gibson be in the long run. Maybe their contract terms are problematic. < deadpan face > Thing is, Jerry nose his sh&t, if he says their all liars, crooks and story peddlers you can take that to the bank. < / deadpan face > Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GuitarLight Posted October 3, 2013 Share Posted October 3, 2013 My local Guitar Center carries no Gibson acoustics in the store itself, except for the hummingbird pro model which was made for GC. And they told me it is because of Gibsons rules of sales. Gibson is shutting itself out of the market except for internet sales. Disappointing to say the least. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billdraper Posted October 3, 2013 Share Posted October 3, 2013 Yeah thats a pain. Large corporations are not very creative in there marketing at times. What would you do as shop owner? I don't know much about it really....but I think I would expand my 'used/new to you' section in my little music shop.....grab some choice used gibsons from craigslist....get em for a good price.....there got my gibsons in shop.... Bill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JuanCarlosVejar Posted October 3, 2013 Share Posted October 3, 2013 I'm not going to judge but if it's true it's sad . 16 electrics for 1 acoustic isn't fair IMHO . I can only hope things start getting better for gibson and for the small stores even if they don't carry gibsons . I guess it's complicated when you make electric guitars, acoustic guitars , mandolins and banjos . JC Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
onewilyfool Posted October 3, 2013 Author Share Posted October 3, 2013 The store did not ratchet up the rhetoric or bad mouth Gibson, just that they could not get along with the new requirements and large quantities of cheap Epiphones that they were required to stock and display (They just don't sell in this area for some reason.(There is a lot of competition from Guitar Center for these el cheapo's Epi's, so they just don't sell at this location), and, oh yeah, that there was NO room for negotiation. I'm guessing that Gibson has a better rate of return on off shore made items than their American made acoustics.This store is very happy with the new offerings from Guild, and feel that they will be fine in the higher end acoustic offerings for their clients.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blindboygrunt Posted October 3, 2013 Share Posted October 3, 2013 My local Guitar Center carries no Gibson acoustics in the store itself, except for the hummingbird pro model which was made for GC. And they told me it is because of Gibsons rules of sales. Gibson is shutting itself out of the market except for internet sales. Disappointing to say the least. That can't be true , surely. Sounds more like your local GC has a load of old stock they need shifted . and they're not gonna admit that. Same could be said of a lot of these 'butter wouldn't melt' local stores I would guess. I'm on the side of forming a relationship with your local shop and supporting the community you may be in , but people will tell a customer any old thing rather than put themselves in a bad light. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BobF_ Posted October 3, 2013 Share Posted October 3, 2013 In the end it matters not who said what, did what, or what not. Bottom line is that Gibson guitars are available new retail in fewer places. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zombywoof Posted October 3, 2013 Share Posted October 3, 2013 If I recall even Dave's stopped being an authorized Gibson dealer for a while. While only hearsay, I have been told by guys who own stores that they would love to sell new Gibsons but cannot make the commitment in terms of the amount of stock they have to carry to swing it. Putting all the image nonsense aside, you have to be pretty well heeled to become an authorized Gibson dealer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blindboygrunt Posted October 3, 2013 Share Posted October 3, 2013 If I recall even Dave's stopped being an authorized Gibson dealer for a while. While only hearsay, I have been told by guys who own stores that they would love to sell new Gibsons but cannot make the commitment in terms of the amount of stock they have to carry to swing it. Putting all the image nonsense aside, you have to be pretty well heeled to become an authorized Gibson dealer. I have no problem with that approach either, makes no long term sense to let any old tom,**** or harry to be an agent for a quality product. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blindboygrunt Posted October 3, 2013 Share Posted October 3, 2013 I'm finding it half funny half sad that the world has got itself into a position where I can't use the shortened version of Richard for fear someone may get offended. More funny than sad though. I'm remaining optimistic Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ParlourMan Posted October 3, 2013 Share Posted October 3, 2013 I'm finding it half funny half sad that the world has got itself into a position where I can't use the shortened version of Richard for fear someone may get offended. More funny than sad though. I'm remaining optimistic Yes but if we keep pandering to the easily offended there will be nothing left, about time the delicate sorts dried their eyes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.