Sad News: Sam Ash Music to Shutter Doors

[tx-ogre]

On 5/8/2024 at 10:08 PM, Ceptorman said:

I was in there about a year or so ago, they had quite a bit of inventory then.

Thanks for the input.  I rarely go down to SA these days, but if do have to make a trip that way, I might check it out.

[Ceptorman]

1 hour ago, tx-ogre said:

Thanks for the input.  I rarely go down to SA these days, but if do have to make a trip that way, I might check it out.

Im in New Braunfels, the local GC here wasn't too bad when I was in there a year ago. I'm surprised how many local music stores are in NB. 

I'm sure there's a lot in Austin.

[tx-ogre]

7 minutes ago, Ceptorman said:

Im in New Braunfels, the local GC here wasn't too bad when I was in there a year ago. I'm surprised how many local music stores are in NB. 

I'm sure there's a lot in Austin.

We have, or should I say, used to have some great locally-owned guitar shops.  I bought my last two Gibson’s and some other things from Guitar Resurrection in Austin.  Great place.  It was awhile back.  Checked out their website a couple of months ago.  They closed their store and are liquidating their inventory by appointment.  Bass Emporium closed their doors several years back, but still do business online or in-person by appointment only.  There used to be some other locally-owned shops that have since closed.  It sucks.  I have always preferred supporting locally-owned businesses whenever possible, but it’s getting harder every day.

We have 3 Guitar Centers in the area: South Austin, North Austin and Round Rock.  I can’t remember the last time I was in any of them.

[Ceptorman]

2 hours ago, tx-ogre said:

We have, or should I say, used to have some great locally-owned guitar shops.  I bought my last two Gibson’s and some other things from Guitar Resurrection in Austin.  Great place.  It was awhile back.  Checked out their website a couple of months ago.  They closed their store and are liquidating their inventory by appointment.  Bass Emporium closed their doors several years back, but still do business online or in-person by appointment only.  There used to be some other locally-owned shops that have since closed.  It sucks.  I have always preferred supporting locally-owned businesses whenever possible, but it’s getting harder every day.

We have 3 Guitar Centers in the area: South Austin, North Austin and Round Rock.  I can’t remember the last time I was in any of them.

Bass Emporium? I've never heard of that one, but I've only been down here a couple years. A bass only shop? 😁

[tx-ogre]

2 hours ago, Ceptorman said:

Bass Emporium? I've never heard of that one, but I've only been down here a couple years. A bass only shop? 😁

Yep.  A great store dedicated to “bottom dwellers.”  They had a lot of dedicated, hardcore customers.   It sucked when they closed their doors to the public.  I wasn’t heavily into bass when I first moved to Austin, but when I started taking a greater interest in bass, I found their inventory, staff, etc., to be top notch.  A ‘go to” place for serious bass players.

Edited May 12 by tx-ogre

[Sgt. Pepper]

Busted a high e on the 000-18. Had a spare set, but went to GC to get a spare set. 

Not one guitar was locked up. I could go over and just grab the TM ‘59 LP relic job right off the hanger. All of them. I go into the acoustic room, same. Nothing locked up, not the 2 - J-45’s (one studio and one STD), and 5 - USA Martin’s. From a 000-15, a used HD-28. One of those weird offset ones, D-28, and a D-18.

Edited May 12 by Sgt. Pepper

[Ceptorman]

I went to the Sam Ash store in San Antonio today. The racks were about half full of guitars,  but they did have a lot of concert equipment though. I forgot how huge this store was, maybe being half full makes it look larger.

They have everything o sale, at a deep discount of 5%! 

Maybe the deals will come when the doors are closer to closing.

They had a couple Gibson Les Pauls, and I didn't see 1 Gibson acoustic. Lots of Taylors and Martins.

I was in my truck on the phone after I came out, and I noticed probably 15 people leaving, and only one of them was carrying an item they just purchased.

[PrairieDog]

34 minutes ago, Ceptorman said:

I went to the Sam Ash store in San Antonio today. The racks were about half full of guitars,  but they did have a lot of concert equipment though. I forgot how huge this store was, maybe being half full makes it look larger.

They have everything o sale, at a deep discount of 5%! 

Maybe the deals will come when the doors are closer to closing.

They had a couple Gibson Les Pauls, and I didn't see 1 Gibson acoustic. Lots of Taylors and Martins.

I was in my truck on the phone after I came out, and I noticed probably 15 people leaving, and only one of them was carrying an item they just purchased.

I don’t know if any of you guys saw it, but they got spoofed last week by a scammers who put up a fake clearance page. I got fed it on FB marketplace.  

Site had a big SAM ASH CLOSING SALE banner and photo of a SA shop front with a page of big name guitars “selling”  for less than $100.00 bucks.  

At quick glance it made you look until you realized the bane of scammers: they were too lazy to do their homework and put up “real” original prices to take the “90%” off of.    That was the biggest tell.  Last time I checked a Black Beauty LP was retailing for a bit more than $800.00.  And a J-45 custom for $700.00 was tasty enough, without the mark-down to $70. 🤣

I called the real Sam Ash to let them know.  The kid appreciated it and said they had just had another call about it that morning.  He shot a notice to their enforcer thugs as we chatted.  

Sad thing is, you know how websites have those little flags that pop out when someone buys something saying “X just bought a ES-335?” That little thing was flashing like mad.  I’m hoping that was just part of the scam, to make people think things were flying out the door. Not that real people were getting hooked and shelling out their money and credit card accounts to a computer farm in China.  

They are probably counting on that nobody is going to the hassle of reporting they were scammed for  80 bucks and by the time the victim realizes it, they’ve already cloned all the card info and sold it on the dark net.

Edited May 16 by PrairieDog

[Sheepdog1969]

Growing up north of the Mason-Dixon line, I never had a Sam-Ash store anywhere near me. I defiantly had heard of the company, and understood what they were, but I really don't know where their stores were located. Are they a Southern thing, or what? Just wondering.

[Sgt. Pepper]

Everyone just needs to get together and like when Blue Beer was bad, stop buying guitars. If they can’t sell them prices will come down, but you guys have to have a J-45 and that next Slash whatever, so keep making guitar makers $. I’m done buying stuff except strings.

[Sgt. Pepper]

Sam Ash closing affects my life 0%.

[Dub-T-123]

16 hours ago, Sgt. Pepper said:

Sam Ash closing affects my life 0%.

Think about the phone kid and his enforcer thugs. They don’t want Sam Ash Music to shutter doors.

[Dub-T-123]

17 hours ago, Sheepdog1969 said:

Growing up north of the Mason-Dixon line, I never had a Sam-Ash store anywhere near me. I defiantly had heard of the company, and understood what they were, but I really don't know where their stores were located. Are they a Southern thing, or what? Just wondering.

They’re from NY