No Gibson Name

[DHopkins]

I probably should ask Dennis Vance this but he's a busy man. I'll ask it here cause nobody here is doing anything. We're all sitting around playing on the computer.

The Mandolin Store has a Gibson for sale here on the Cafe. The headline reads "F5 Custom Wide Nut Mandolin Store Exclusive." The picture shows the Gibson name. Nowhere, except in the picture, does the name appear in the ad. Why isn't he allowed to use the name? If I want to sell my Gibson, I have to assume I could call it a Gibson. Is this another of the idiosyncrasies of the Gibson company where you have to sign a contract in blood, give up your first-born son and promise not to cross against the light?

(Dennis knows that serious mandolin pickers are smart enough to recognize it in spite Gibson.)

[MikeEdgerton]

Going back a few years Gibson limited the number of dealers that can sell Gibson mandolins online. Dennis isn't one of those. There are obviously guidelines he has to follow and as he likes selling mandolins, I'm sure he follows them. You however are not an authorized Gibson dealer so you can do whatever you want to.

An old thread on the policy with input from a now former, then current Gibson employee can be found here (http://www.mandolincafe.com/forum/showthread.php?70675-Why-is-Gibson-playing-hardball-with-some-of-their-dealers).

[DHopkins]

Thanks, Mike. I understand. Well, I understand your explanation. I don't understand Gibson's rationale. They seem to have unusual marketing techniques. Take, for instance, the Sam Bush strings.......... Never mind.

[MikeEdgerton]

We didn't understand it back in 04 either :)

[Br1ck]

Gibson does some strange things. I just happened to go into a store where there was a Gibson factory event going on in the acoustic guitar room. There were custom this and special addition that guitars everywhere. I asked the Gibson rep why they didn't have a plain old J 45 anywhere. He said the store was funny. They ordered all the customs instead of the standard models. Weeks earlier, the acoustic guitar manager told me Gibson crammed the special edition guitars down their throat in order to maintain their dealership status.

In the meantime he couldn't keep stocked with J 45s.