Weber City Va, music store

[johnM]

I really have a question, i was in a music store in weber city va the other day and talked to the "owner". He was telling me that he has "no interest" in carrying any instruments that are hand made. He prefers to carry the pacrim models, he was so unknowledable about instruments that I'm wondering how in the world he makes a living. The extent of his product line were Monroe Morgon and Johnson mandolins-guitars and a bunch of other really really cheap guitars, most of which I never heard of.

It doesnt seem like he turns a lot of insturments over and maybe his clients are not all Thili students but it would seem to me that he at least would know where a Michael Kelly mandolin was made, which It seems he hade never heard of.

Its just suprising to me that there are people in the buisiness that don't want to know about the vast majority of products out there for the consumer. I don't think he should carry every cool mandolin or guitar that every builder makes but I think they should at least have an idea whats out there. And the thing that really got to me was that he really was bad mouthing the high end "hand made" instruments. I assume that he really was ignorant about most instruments.

I should state that this store really caters to the country and bluegrass market, not surpising being in southern va.

I'm just really happy we have a forum like the cafe to discuss new instruments and equipment. If we all had to deal with "stores" like this pickin' parlor we would all be playing the banjo.

[JEStanek]

A guy who has a shop in "Weber" City ought to be strung up with J-74s for not wanting hand carved instruments! #I hope his name isn't Bruce.

There are so many good places to get quality instruments and thanks to the Cafe, I know who and where they are.

Jamie

[DryBones]

should have asked him about the difference between a right and left hand bridge or nut....then stand back and watch his head explode! http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif

[SurebetVA]

Being in that part of the state I think it would make more sense to go by the builders home and skip the store entirely unless you need some strings, there's a bunch of builders in that part of Virginia ranging from expensive to pretty reasonable. Then not only do you get a US product but one made in Virginia ( or Tennessee if you go over the line to eastern TN. Just my two cents. If you are interested check this page Virginia Luthiers (http://www.vabluegrass.com/Luthiers.html). Or you could check for Virginia Builders on mandolincafe database.

[John M. Riley]

John M
I believe you are talking about pickin parlor. Im only about an hour away over in Pound Va. I always get a kick ut of going by that guys store. I do alot of swapping and tradin with him on little stuff. He would much rather have something cheap and than anything good....

[johnM]

yup thats the place, i've been in there twice and once was by accident. I know plenty of people to trade with him but its always on cheap stuff.

SurebetVA, your exactly right. There are plenty of builders in that area that will sell quality instruments for under a grand, so why pay $640 for a pacrim. That guy actually told me a story about someone having a Ratliff and could'nt get rid of it. He finally sold it to someone over the mountian for, get this ($150)(so he said) and came to his shop and plunked down $600 on a Morgon Monroe................is it me? I just don't get it......

jm

[John M. Riley]

man, the old guy is so full of it. Theres no way someone sold a ratliff for 150 to get a morgan monroe. Haha, its the great stories like that which make me want to go back to his store!!

[John M. Riley]

I gotta give the guy some credit though.....He sold me my first mandolin EVER.... Which was a morgan monroe... i thought it was the stuff back then....I now realize the difference that american made and hand built makes..

[junksuph]

These very "experienced" music shop owners aren't limited to Va. I live in Pa. and this bluegrass "Personality", (a disc jockey who appears on Rhonda Vincents new live CD), also owns a local music store/instrument shop here in central Pa.
When I got interested in buying a mandolin, I did the usual internet research and went to his shop to look around. He sells the Saga line, (blueridge guitars and Kentucky mandolins). He also sells Deering banjo's.

Not wanting to buy my first good mandolin over the internet, I decided to buy locally. Now this guy has been in the business for decades. He swore by the Kentucky line of mandolins and had nothing but criticism for any other brand, pac-rim or good ole USA hand made, even Gibson's line. Like a fool, I bought a Kentucky 630. It's a good beginner model, but it didn't take me long to learn that this guy is a joke, and now, I take my scratch built custom built F-bodied mandolins to concerts where he's usually lurking.

This past weekend, Jason Roberts of the Kenny and Amanda Smith Band gave my latest creation a test run while this "expert" was looking on. Sweet revenge.....One of my next mandolins will be built for Jason. He played it, he loved it, he wanted one.

The bottom line is, do your own research, spend alot of time on this site, and you will learn more than any music store expert can ever learn.

[bluegrassjack2]

That place ur talking about does have a nice place to pick in the back room though. I remember stopping by there one time to look at what he had. I think he showed me a guitar that was made out of titanium or something like that. Seemed real nice guy though. Also he had the first guitar called an 'Indiana' I think. been a long time.
Jack

[Big Joe]

I cannot speak about this store since I've never been there. However, there are a lot of smaller stores that cater only to the lower end market. They find the profit in lower end instruments is better for them. They cannot afford to buy or stock high end instruments and they may not have the credit to be able to purchase the kind of inventory it takes to have a great music store. They can come up with enough to purchase entry to low mid range instruments and keep in business much easier than purchasing and selling higher end stuff. Those guys will bad mouth better products in order to sell what they have. If they told their consumers the product they were selling was not as good as another stores, how long would someone buy from them? Just like mandolin players, music stores are not all the same. Some are ok, some are good, and some are great. Which any store is to you at the moment is depending upon your need and desire.

[Santiago]

I used to edit a business magazine for music stores. It's tough for a small shop to stay in business. They have limited capital, and have to choose between buying one F5 that might not sell for a few years or 200 pacrim models that will see quick turnover and develop a market of young players who may one day aspire to better quality. It is a business feeding his or her family and those little accessories can help keep the lights on while they slowly develop a business that thrives with handcarved items. I'm not saying this individual is a genius. I don't know him. But he may be focused on other disciplines.

[Joe Parker]

Big Joe is right,some retailers know that the profit margins are better in the lower end merchandise and build a customer base around that merchandise. If you want to see better quality stuff in there why not make it a point to buy your strings and things from them and don't "expect" a discount.When the proprietor starts to see your loyalty I bet he might be more open to stocking some things you're interested in. As Big Joe stated, you have to be pretty well heeled and established to be able to showcase high end instruments,but even the stores that do probably make the bulk of their profit from accessories,repairs, and lessons. I say support your local retailers rather than disparage them. One day they might not be there,and that would be a shame. http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif

Joe Parker

[junksuph]

As a small business owner myself, I know all about trying to stay afloat, however , being honest with a potential customer is usually the best road to take because somewhere down the road this customer will learn more and more about his/her instrument of choice, and realize that the guy that sold you that first instrument was full of more stuff than a christmas turkey, and at the expense of other builders and manufacturers, not to mention insulting ones intelligence. That kind of way will eventually lose you business. I'll never spend another cent in his store again.

[Santiago]

JPP -- As a general rule, you sell more units in the low end at a lower profit margin and you sell less units in the high end at a higher profit margin. Therefore it's more profitable to sell high-end mandolins, but a small store may not generate enough cash flow to stay in business that way. So a small store needs to move a lot of low-end merchandise and accessories until its traffic builds to a critical mass that enables them to kick in with the more expensive stuff. If you get too classy too soon, you don't stay in business... or if you lie to your customers and lose, rather than build, your base.

[AmosMoses]

I live in Thunder Bay, Ontario. I sure WISH we had a high-end music store. I have to travel 500 miles to Minneapolis to buy anything decent.

There's nothing wrong with selling lesser quality instruments. Just don't try selling me a cubic zirconia and tell me it's a diamond.

[Joe Parker]

Santiago-Profit margin is the ratio of cost of goods vs retail price. Most of the low end instruments,or PacRim if you will,tend to have a better overall margin than higher priced American made instruments,in particular custom shop instruments.GMROI or gross margin return on investment is the actual dollar amount made on the goods.A PacRim that costs $250 and retails for $500 has a better profit margin than an instrument that costs $1000 and retails for $1600.Even if you discount each instrument 10% you still made a better profit margin,ie percentage,on the PacRim.Sure,you have to sell more of them,but my original point is the smaller retailer can afford to stock more pieces of inventory for less dollars invested and make a better profit margin with the lower end goods.Walmart comes to mind.When was the last time you saw any thing custom made in a Walmart? They are certainly big enough to do that but their market,or customer base,prefers the bargains. We have been spoiled by the availabilty of a vast array of musical goodies via the internet. It's harder to produce the same selection and quality in real time at the local level. #http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/coffee.gif

JPP

[harleymando]

Howdy!, i can say that i have bought everything i have mando from here,my mk, eastman, all my strings, case,strap,picks, books, etc. all the shops here in jacksonville have nothing mando or next to nothing or i can get a better deal here, a good example is gianna violins, seems small, but their up with the times. without the internet mando to me would be dead! thanks to this site and others im a happy mando player!.now i have my eye on the gison F9 burst, and ill get it from.......the internet shops, not locally. thanks