#46
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Pre-Reverb, our friends at Ebay we’re charging 10% for most guitar sales (I believe it was a sliding scale). Now, Ebay is at 3.5% like Reverb....that’s certainly a good thing for sellers. So, ya gotta give em credit. They’ve provided a great tool for those of us who love buying and selling guitars!
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Jeff 2004 John Osthoff AS-C 1992 Taylor (DCSM)Dan Crary Signature Model |
#47
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I did not read all of the post here. With that said I believe that I got the gist of the OP.
IMO, CME has rigged the whole Reverb.com system in their own favor. I have a small hobbyist type store on reverb.com with 600 or so transactions. I'm getting out of it. Two examples: CME would sell b stock or mint pedals which were in fact new, for less than I would have my used pedals listed. Was this intentional aimed at me or other small stores....IDK? It seems once my pedals were sold their price would go back up CME bought a used vintage Martin at a fair price from me. They came back at me with multiple unsubstantiated clains of problems wanting a partial refund. I said no, send it back for a full refund, no problem. The next week the guitar was offered by CME for $700 more than they had paid me. I'm not complaining. Maybe it's all in my imagination, but it's not the game that I want to play in. |
#48
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The train has left the station and it's affected some folks in a good way and some in a bad way.
My fav guitar store (Gryphon) has a phenomenal repair department and service is second to none. Their selection of guitars is also fantastic. To support all of that, their prices are considerably higher than what anyone can buy a nice guitar for online. The fact that I can afford to pay Gryphon's prices doesn't mean I'm into wasting money. Occasionally I buy online, but mostly I buy at the store. Gryphon saw the train leaving the online station years ago and hopped on. They do a brisk internet business as well as sell locally at their shop. It's a tough time for many smaller dealers to be in the guitar business. I wish all of them well. |
#49
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The guitars I own were purchased from small shops, specifically -
https://www.yellowpages.com/louisvil...sales-21382725 and - https://www.cornerstoneguitars.com/ and maintained by this place - http://www.guitarfactory.us/ I don't buy online. I'd rather schedule a little time and make a road trip than order online. I bought from Dan Becker when I lived in Kentucky, then moved to central Florida and bought from Cornerstone Music. The Guitar Factory is an icon of a place where celebrities are known to haunt. Great people, all three places. |
#50
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He closed his store. He had already cut his margins to the bone. So have 2-3 other good B&Ms that use to be in the area when I moved here in 2001 are also gone.
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Sorry to hear that part...really. There have been several comments on this thread going something like this: "Well, if the particular B&M couldn't make it it's because they blah blah blah, blah" Not necessarily. You can be a supremely astute business person and still lose your business. I know.
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The internet has been a disruptive force but as others have mentioned, that train has left the station. I'm willing to pay a little bit more for the privilege of buying local, but not 15%+ more for the same item. These days, I'm mostly into the boutiques anyway, and don't have time for road trips with work and family obligations. It's hard enough to find shops that carry a decent selection of high end Martins, even more difficult to try Santa Cruz, Goodall, and Collings without getting on a plane, and as I mentioned I just don't have time for that. The other thing for me, is that I'm super picky about neck profiles and only certain shops around the country often have the things I'm looking for in a custom offering. So buying online from a B&M in another state with an internet presence that offers a return privilege is a great option.
I do agree with another poster about sales tax arbitrage being a major factor in lost sales for local B&Ms. Sales tax should be collected on all online purchases, period.
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Merrill | Martin | Collings | Gibson For Sale: 2023 Collings D2H 1 3/4 Nut, Adi Bracing, NTB -- $4100 shipped |
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Sales tax should be collected on all online purchases, period.
Bought in last year here in Australia.
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Brucebubs 1972 - Takamine D-70 2014 - Alvarez ABT60 Baritone 2015 - Kittis RBJ-195 Jumbo 2012 - Dan Dubowski#61 2018 - Rickenbacker 4003 Fireglo 2020 - Gibson Custom Shop Historic 1957 SJ-200 2021 - Epiphone 'IBG' Hummingbird |