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We founded our business on a simple philosophy of value and trust. We decided set up this blog to enable open conversation with anyone that has a passion for music and its future. Please, feel free to comment on any of the issues listed on this site.
10 comments:
I think that instrument manufacturers should be able to have dealers sell at only a particular minimum, and not any less. Take a manufacture such as Buffet, Selmer, Conn, etc.. In order to continue to afford to use the valuable and expensive materials at hand, they should be able to set a minimum price. As for whether or not one feels they are getting enough quality out of their instrument for that price, That is up to the player.
I think that since Guitar Center owns MusiciansFriend.com and others... It makes sense that the manufactures should be the ones to set prices. Unless of course we want to see the Wal-Mart-ization of the entire industry. Where a few sites or conglomerations sell their goods at near cost prices. Yes it is good for the consumer to pay lower prices. At some point local businesses have to be protected by things such as MAP pricing and minimum selling price levels. In case anyone has noticed, WWBW has posted a loaded question and hopes to use our responses in order to lower the prices from the manufactures. I think somewhere along the way to the 19 dollar guitar, sites such as this have forgotten that they are supposed to be selling instruments, not product. WWBW and other sites like musicians friend will gladly sell you something for 1 dollar above cost. for 2 dollars above cost your local music store will survive and prosper.
Doesn't Guitar Center own WWBW also....??? Hmmm.... how about WWBW step it up and not sell crap instruments, AT ALL. Band directors don't want to see them, they don't play in tune, they don't have a good sound, usually have metal shavings in them, and if anyone is endorsing them - real musicians know SOMETHING is wrong with the picture. WWBW has lost a lot of respect from real pro musicians due to things like this. But with all that being said. I can't afford to buy reeds for double at my local store. So, whats a poor musician to do. How about not only a price level at the bottom, but at the top. Why does a local store have a box of Vando.. clar., a.sax, or even for 5 t.sax reeds, on sale all for $38.50!?!?!?!?! Incredible.
I think manufacturers should not be allowed to dictate retail pricing. However, I ALSO think that all retailers should get the same deal (or nearly so) without HUGE volume discounts. It's my understanding that the big internet retailers can, for instance, sell reeds at a profit for less than the wholesale price offered to the local mom-and-pop stores.
Manufacturers do not set the price level at which dealers can sell. What they do it designate the list price that puts them into the market category (beginner, intermediate, professional)in which the wish to see their instrument.
They cannot dictate the price at which the dealer sells. If the dealer wishes, they can sell below their cost (dumb) of at the MSRP (also dumb).
I imagine that if a dealer wishes to sell a particular brand of instrument then they will have an agreement with the manufacture concerning the pricing and advertising levels. If they do not like it then they shouldn't agree to sell the instrument. If enough dealers balk at the agreements I am sure that the manufacturer will change the policy. This is how a free market works.
I believe that a retailer should be free to set his price at whatever level he wishes. The manufacturer sets a price at which he sells to the retailer, the retailer marks it up from there. So how much money a manufacturer earns is not directly linked to the price at which the retailer sells the instrument. I understand that to some extent discounters cause the impression in the public's mind that instruments can be had cheaply, and that can be seen as detrimental to the ability of the manufacturer to maintain a high price. He cuts quality and lowers a price to compete with the less expensive brand. In the same way a music store may lower its price to compete with the discounter. But these folks need to understand that a large part of what they sell is service, personalization, professionalism. What they sell is knowledge and skill. What they sell is trust and the assurance that when a customer walks into their shop they are dealing with someone who can help them immediately. They are selling the idea that when a customer deals with them, they deal with a combination craftsman/artist/teacher/shopkeeper. I appreciate that. I patronize violin shops and luthiers. I realize that as an instrumentalist these folks provide me a vital service. But there are times when I have more knowledge and skill in an area than the shopkeeper who wants to sell me an instrument at 25 or 30 percent above what I can buy it from an online retailer. I've looked at violins in a music shop and asked about the bass bar of an instrument, only to be told that this is a violin, not a bass. I've been told that a fiberglass bow is not a viable option for any student. I've been told that, "all the professional violinsts use carbon fibre bows now." I've been told that setting up a violin consists of standing up the bridge and tightening the strings. Why should I pay a premium price for substandard service and downright wrong information, then take the instrument home and make the adjustments that I just paid the retailer to make? And don't tell me that I just need to go to another store. I've lived in areas where there is one music store in a sixty mile radius. If I lived in New York City, or Philadelphia that might be an option. If I live in rural west Texas it certainly is not.
Right now money is rather tight in my houshold. I had bought a nice violin locally, and wanted a bow for it. I'd spent enough money that I had two choices. I could go to a local shop and buy the bow for $250 (Well no, I couldn't. My budget was about half that. I'd already spent that extra $125locally. The option was to buy a cheaper bow for $125.), or I could buy the same bow on sale online at $99.95. For the second purchase I had the skill and knowledge that allowed me to make the purchase from the discounter, so I did. And you'll note that the price difference was not $2, as mentioned by "anonymous," but $150.
Forcing someone to buy at an inflated price causes a musical elite to be formed, based on economics not knowledge and skill.
I run a website from which you can purchase instruments from online retailers. So you might jump on that and say that disqualifies me from making a fair judgment. But anyone who works through my site will see me advise folks over and over, "Go to a luthier." I've already told you, I do just that fairly frequently.
What about telling the instrument manufacturers, "Only sell your instruments through distributors who provide excellent service?" That way the onus is on the retailer, not the manufacturer. The retailer can still sell the quality instrument at a discount, they just have to make sure that they do a quality job. The manufacturer still makes his profit. The shyster discounter soon goes out of business...they can't get the quality instruments to begin with or they soon lose the ability to buy the quality instruments. The local store can still take their mark-up because they won't be competing with someone who just takes in a package from the manufacturer and slaps a new mailing label on it. The public gets quality instruments at a fair price and can choose the level of service they want.
Manufacturers like to say that they're "giving back" to the dealers but seem to fail to realize that without customers neither the dealer nor manufacturer would even exist. It is us, the consumers, who they should really be giving back to.
Yes, I feel that manufacturers should be able to lay down the law on how much or how little discount they allow authorized dealers for wiggle room. Even to the point of no discounts permitted whatsoever. Market value will still prevail... i.e. the consumer could well elect not to buy that Mesa amp or that Rolls Royce. The maker of the product knows full well that pricing restrictions could limit sales figures. More power to them. The bottom line is that if the product is not worth the cost to me I will not buy it.
I disagree with controls of pricing. The manufacturer cantrol pricing through the cost of the product. Price controls have never worked in the economic model that we live under in the US. If prices are held artificially low then the manufacter is hurt by lack of being able to cover cost. If prices are held high then the buyer moves on to a different product.
Wal-Marts of the world only succeeds because people demand a product & purchase it at a resonable price. If that price is too low to cover the current cost then the manufacturer needs to innovate & reduce the cost of manufacturing. There is a cost required for the quality of a Stradivarius violin but a three year old child beginning to learn music doesnt need that quality. Only a free market price will allow that 3 year old the chance to need a Stradivarius violin.
I want to thank everyone for your comments so far. It’s interesting to see the variance in everyone’s opinion on the subject. The purpose for this blog and the questions we ask are to incite conversations, not revolutions. I forget we are sometimes viewed as a “Big Faceless Money Hungry Company”, and that’s because when I come to work, I see a group of people that have a passion for music, and enjoy working in this industry by helping other musicians. At the same time I don’t want to come across as naïve. We’re not a charity. The company I work for makes money by selling instruments and for everyone to win the price of an instrument must match its value. But, does everyone win?
It’s hard to put a price tag on the value of an education in music and arts. In fact, most of the instruments we play are hand crafted works of art. With that in mind, is there a possibility we could be excluding individuals from experiencing the benefits of a music education due to the cost of entry? If families find themselves under the pangs of financial hardship, and want their children to experience an education in music and arts, why are low-priced, quality instruments a bad thing?
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