Display of new webers on cafe prohibited?

[steve V. johnson]

In the 'used instruments for sale' section of the Cafe Classifieds, Paul Henfield is offering a Weber Yellowstone for sale, and in the text of his ad he wrote,

"FYI, effective 6/15/07 new Webers will not be allowed to be sold or displayed on Mandolin Cafe or eBay per their rules!"

Now, that's sort of interesting. Weber mandolins are some of the most advertised instruments around. I look at a lot of acoustic stringed instrument sites that offer new and used instruments for sale (yeah, I'm a geek about it, it's true) and Webers, esp. new ones, are -everywhere-.

Can this be a bad thing?

Weber prices, at least the advertised prices, certainly don't seem depressed at all, and my experience is that there isn't much discounting of new Webers at all. All this gave me the impression that Webers are (or at least seem to be) the dominant marque in the media universe.

What's up with this, then? I'm just curious, I have no pro nor con, no particular agenda nor viewpoint about how the Weber folks should carry on their business except to admire their work and wish them well.

Thanks,

stv

[first string]

If true, I'm pretty sure such tactics won't work out to their advantage in the long run. There doesn't seem to be any apparent or compelling reason for such a policy, and dealers tend to resent being pushed around or having their hands tied (witness what happened when Gibson decided to start telling their dealers what they could not, or must do).

[allenhopkins]

If true, I'm pretty sure such tactics won't work out to their advantage in the long run. There doesn't seem to be any apparent or compelling reason for such a policy, and dealers tend to resent being pushed around or having their hands tied (witness what happened when Gibson decided to start telling their dealers what they could not, or must do).
Agree. Taylor Guitars tried the same thing, said that dealers with Taylor franchises couldn't list used Taylors on their websites or mailed bulletins. Led to all these "call us and we'll tell you about other guitars we have in stock" notations. Policy didn't last.

[PhilGE]

How 'bout simply callling them and asking about it? 888-886-7598

[Folkmusician.com]

IMHO, these things are usually brought on by the dealers. I would guess that the brick and mortar / larger mail order shops are putting pressure on Weber. When the internet is flooded with a brand, the dealers have to look at this and decide whether or not they should make this a prominent brand in their shop or even stock the instruments at all. If the local shops start abandoning the brand, the infrastructure falls apart. The internet is also price driven. Not just based on the discounts, but also the models that sell. If someone hears that a certain brand is good, they may hunt down the lowest priced instrument from that brand (regardless of model or service). Browsing around on eBay, they find the base model and it includes two free pics! The customer makes the purchase. "Most" eBay sellers have very limited service, which often leads to a bad experience. This sort of thing slowly erodes the reputation of the brand. Selling on eBay does not instantly make a dealer less reputable; however, eBay does harbor the highest concentration of bad dealers.

The internet has completely changed the market place. There is no way to ignore it and most brands are embracing online shopping. Still, an established website is a lot different that a one shot ad somewhere.

I could be totally off here. http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif

[steve V. johnson]

Robert, thanks for the good look inside the processes, very interesting stuff!

"The Mandolin Store" has been a very large presence on eBay, with up to ten or a dozen new, and a couple of used, Webers offered almost all the time. #Of course their reputation is splendid here and among all manner of players, so that's not much
of a topic for conversation, but I immediately thought that this new policy might have a big impact on how they, for one, do
business.

When I first began to use eBay, I didn't expect how vital it would be for dealers of new goods (of all kinds) and I sort of feel more relaxed when I can see used stuff from individuals. #Yeah, I'm an old-fashioned cyber-hermit. Kinda weird, isn't that...? http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/tounge.gif

Thanks,

stv

[JEStanek]

Rick B answered in this thread. (http://www.mandolincafe.net/cgi-bin/ikonboard.cgi?act=ST;f=15;t=44627;st=25;&#entry532830) #They just don't want to sell new Webers via the Café classifieds or Ebay. #Only new models. #Rick said Weber wants to maintain the relationship through the dealer. #I assume the dealers are still allowed to post photos on their web sites for web sales and we'll still be seeing new models on the Café, just not new ones for sale in the Classifieds. #That's fine.

Jamie

[Kevin Briggs]

I also think STE is trying to make sure their dealers are more capable. For example, it doesn't do much good to have a Weber mandolin in a store that otherwise has a bunch of electric guitars, keyboards, amps, and things like that. Most likely, nobody at the store knows how to set up a mandolin, so anyone who comes in and plays a poorly set up mandolin will probably think it's not very good. Maybe this new marketing strategy keeps good dealers like The Mandolin Store in an advantageous position.

[steve V. johnson]

Thanks, folks!

stv