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  #31  
Old 01-13-2020, 03:20 PM
llew llew is offline
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I've never purchased a guitar from Jon @ My Favorite Guitars https://www.myfavoriteguitars.com, a longtime AGF Sponsor; but I wonder if he'll be sharpening his pencil even more given that he's announced that he's retiring from the business...
Having done a lot of business with Jon over the years I can tell you he'll do the very best he can on any deal when selling (or for that fact trading or consigning) a guitar...especially a new Martin.
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  #32  
Old 01-13-2020, 03:24 PM
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I’m curious from any UK users - is this an American thing? I haggle but have never had anywhere close to 40%. Best price offered was £1900 (retail £2300) on a D18 as it had been returned to the factory for a finish issue previously.
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  #33  
Old 01-13-2020, 03:31 PM
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Originally Posted by lowrider View Post
Yes, I can't speak for the dealers but you will most likely get the 40% discount on the 15 series.

Maury's will and they discount the Road series about 35%, but they don't discount the X or Junior guitars.
Maury's told me the 40% discount is only for Standard Series and up. 35% for the 15 Series. Perhaps it has changed.
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  #34  
Old 01-13-2020, 04:00 PM
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Originally Posted by foxo View Post
I’m curious from any UK users - is this an American thing? I haggle but have never had anywhere close to 40%. Best price offered was £1900 (retail £2300) on a D18 as it had been returned to the factory for a finish issue previously.
Yes foxo, it’s an American thing - I’ve never come across a UK dealer who will give more than a few percent discount. But many of the US online dealers will ship outside the US and give the full 35-40% discount. I know that MFG ship to the U.K., but Maury doesn’t. You do have to remember the shipping cost, import duty (~4%) and import VAT (20%), but when the X-Rate is favourable, there are good savings to be made.

My last three Martins all came from MFG, and I got 40% off. The X-Rates were very favourable back then but, since the Brexit Referendum, they’ve been very poor, so those savings are unlikely to be so good. You’d need to do the maths.

The usual disclaimers apply......IMHO, YMMV etc.
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  #35  
Old 01-13-2020, 04:06 PM
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Originally Posted by JayBee1404 View Post
Yes foxo, it’s an American thing - I’ve never come across a UK dealer who will give more than a few percent discount. But many of the US online dealers will ship outside the US and give the full 35-40% discount. I know that MFG ship to the U.K., but Maury doesn’t. You do have to remember the shipping cost, import duty (~4%) and import VAT (20%), but when the X-Rate is favourable, there are good savings to be made.

My last three Martins all came from MFG, and I got 40% off. The X-Rates were very favourable back then but, since the Brexit Referendum, they’ve been very poor, so those savings are unlikely to be so good. You’d need to do the maths.

The usual disclaimers apply......IMHO, YMMV etc.
Cheers, I figured as much. Not looking for a new guitar anyway but in future at least I will know 40% is a pipe dream.
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  #36  
Old 01-13-2020, 05:32 PM
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Originally Posted by JayBee1404 View Post
Yes foxo, it’s an American thing - I’ve never come across a UK dealer who will give more than a few percent discount. But many of the US online dealers will ship outside the US and give the full 35-40% discount. I know that MFG ship to the U.K., but Maury doesn’t. You do have to remember the shipping cost, import duty (~4%) and import VAT (20%), but when the X-Rate is favourable, there are good savings to be made.

My last three Martins all came from MFG, and I got 40% off. The X-Rates were very favourable back then but, since the Brexit Referendum, they’ve been very poor, so those savings are unlikely to be so good. You’d need to do the maths.

The usual disclaimers apply......IMHO, YMMV etc.
I don’t thing American Martin dealers can ship out of the US anymore. I remember reading that recently. Maybe someone can confirm.
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  #37  
Old 01-13-2020, 06:30 PM
llew llew is offline
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I don’t thing American Martin dealers can ship out of the US anymore. I remember reading that recently. Maybe someone can confirm.
Yep...I heard this too. Evidently Martin is cracking down on US dealers "exporting" Martin's abroad. I'm sure there were some dealers who used to but I believe it's come to a grinding halt?
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Last edited by llew; 01-13-2020 at 06:38 PM.
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  #38  
Old 01-13-2020, 07:15 PM
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Originally Posted by Neil K Walk View Post
Exactly. I consider a guitar to be a "big ticket purchase" so I expect that the manufacturer is going to want each of its dealers to be competitive.

Do music store salespeople get commissions though?
In the major box stores the sales staff work on commission. For independent shops and mom and pop operations it’s anyones guess.
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  #39  
Old 01-13-2020, 07:29 PM
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I would not be surprised that the 40 per cent off the full list price will become a thing of the past.
With the departure of My Favorite Guitars, there won't be anyone left who will be willing to give us a really good "deal" on a new Martin.I'm glad I was able to benefit with MFG's great service and prices...

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  #40  
Old 01-13-2020, 09:39 PM
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Originally Posted by guitargabor View Post
I would not be surprised that the 40 per cent off the full list price will become a thing of the past.
With the departure of My Favorite Guitars, there won't be anyone left who will be willing to give us a really good "deal" on a new Martin.I'm glad I was able to benefit with MFG's great service and prices...

Gabe
There are a number of shops that routinely offer 40% off MSRP. My Favorite Guitars was just one of them...
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  #41  
Old 01-13-2020, 10:27 PM
HodgdonExtreme HodgdonExtreme is offline
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Originally Posted by guitargabor View Post
I would not be surprised that the 40 per cent off the full list price will become a thing of the past.
With the departure of My Favorite Guitars, there won't be anyone left who will be willing to give us a really good "deal" on a new Martin.I'm glad I was able to benefit with MFG's great service and prices...
I've heard nothing but great feedback about MFG, and it's a bummer for the community to lose such a great dealer - but there are still other great dealers that do right by us guitar geeks!

Just a month ago I bought a new D28 from Maury's Music! Great price, great service!
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  #42  
Old 01-13-2020, 11:57 PM
ManyMartinMan ManyMartinMan is offline
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To the OP - Martin's pricing is just the same as almost every product in the world. There is an MSRP - suggested retail price by the manufacturer. Then, there's the MAP - which is the minimum price a product can be ADVERTISED for. That's all. Beyond that you can ask any dealer what their "unadvertised price" is. Pricing is this simple (in general) MSRP = 100% price, MAP = 75% of retail. About the cheapest you'll purchase a new guitar is 60% of retail which you'll have to ask for. My suggestion is simple; if you find a guitar you are interested in buying figure your price from the above numbers and call one of our sponsors and ask them for a price.
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  #43  
Old 01-14-2020, 03:13 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by UncleJesse View Post
I don’t thing American Martin dealers can ship out of the US anymore. I remember reading that recently. Maybe someone can confirm.
Quote:
Originally Posted by llew View Post
Yep...I heard this too. Evidently Martin is cracking down on US dealers "exporting" Martin's abroad. I'm sure there were some dealers who used to but I believe it's come to a grinding halt?
I haven’t purchased a guitar from the US since 2012 so I’m a bit ‘out of date’, but I did hear that. I assumed it was something to do with CITES - looks like my assumption was wrong and it was a business decision?
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  #44  
Old 01-14-2020, 04:07 AM
wattsy wattsy is offline
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Originally Posted by JayBee1404 View Post
I haven’t purchased a guitar from the US since 2012 so I’m a bit ‘out of date’, but I did hear that. I assumed it was something to do with CITES - looks like my assumption was wrong and it was a business decision?
Yes, I think the rule came into force last February. Pressure to introduce it probably came from Martin's overseas distributors who had most to lose from the freedom of overseas buyers to buy from the US dealers at a big discount to the local price. In the UK, Martin distribution is handled by Westside and they effectively set the pricing in the UK which dealers seem to adhere to quite closely. It's a different game buying a Martin here than it seems to be in the US. Overseas buyers also miss out on the lifetime warranty and factory service. I'm happy with my D-28 but can't help feel that buying a Martin here is a bit of a mug's game. I'm not into collecting guitars or buying them for the sake of it, so I'm unlikely to be buying a new guitar any time soon but if I do I think I'll consider something produced more locally. An Atkin, something like that.
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  #45  
Old 01-14-2020, 05:19 AM
bbatko bbatko is offline
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Originally Posted by Wade Hampton View Post
With large volume dealers like Elderly Instruments 40% off the manufacturer's recommended list price seems to be pretty standard for Martin guitars. You might be better off spending just a bit more and getting the guitar locally, though, because it's much simpler getting them worked on at a dealership within easy driving distance if any problems or warranty issues come up.



Just a thought.......





whm


Agreed. Especially if you’ve gone in and played their guitars and that helped in your decision. Price isn’t everything.
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