Fender now selling direct

[Fumble fingers]

looks like Fender is going to direct sales like Carvin guitars ( now called Kiesel guitars ) ..... this news has a lot of mom and pop dealers worried about direct sales cutting them out and music stores going out of buisness .....

is this a new trend with guitar makers ??

could this be a great opportunity for G&L to get into the doors of mom and pop music stores ??

http://swtimes.com/business/fender-move ... -musicians

[sam]

This is fact for one of my local shops. They used to carry Fender but not anymore, they can't compete price wise with the direct model.

I would like to hope this could be an opportunity for G&L to get into more stores. But then again, we don't want the secret sauce out too much....

[KenC]

I'm sure it would be good for G&L to pick up a few more good dealers around the US. I wonder if it wouldn't be an even better opportunity to pick up some international dealers, in countries that haven't been dominated by Fender and Gibson brand loyalty for years.

I would never consider buying a Fender without inspecting and playing it first. Bu then again, a lot of that e-business will probably be with customers who are more concerned with brand identity than with quality.

Ken

[darwinohm]

There was a similar article about Fender going direct in the St Paul business section this weekend. It was an interesting read and had several opposing opinions. It is a fact of life in this age that M&P stores have to compete with the big boys such as GC,Sam Ash and many others. Keep in mind that allof these advertise at MAP and most will go below that. GC will give at least 10% if you ask. Those of us in large metro areas have a decent stock of guitars to look at and feel. Those in large rural areas of the country do not have that that luxury. If they happen to have a M&P that has something they want, it is a plus. So Fender is selling direct at MAP, no negotiating, no touchy feel. I believe that otheres are going to MAP pricing as a norm. Advertised Retail is only to make the consumer think they are getting a big discount anyway.

Lets talk about the G&L model as I see it. All their guitars are dealer ordered, sometimes customer speced from a standard cookbook of options. Sometimes different woods are offered. Again, all dealers advertise MAP pricing and you can generally do better if you ask. Even though the dealerships are limited and finding one to play is difficult for many, they have no choice but too order from a dealer on line. As usual there are great dealers and some not so great. There are some that are stellar. I was surprised to see that the demos shown from the Namm timeframe are ging to one dealer, Music Live I believe. Probably a great stocking dealer or are they an online store. I don't know. So it becomes a quest5ion if you have a reputable dealer available to look at products. I would order through a dealer if I wanted something they didn't have and have some who could handle any warranty issues if needed. That would exclude me as direct purchaser.

But I ask the question of those who do not have a dealer anywhere in close proximity, what would be the advantage of ordering from an online dealer if you are paying the MAP price? What would be wrong with G&L having the On Line builder to build your guitar, and being able to order that directly from G&L. As a business model, G&L would would sell at MAP, higher than wholesale to a dealer, and direct ship to the customer. That would also reduce an extra shipping cost in this particular situation. It could help their bottom line as the dealer would not get this order anyway.

I have had over 25 G&L's in recent years and have only ordered 2 of them. In my own case I like to feel and see before buying. Again, keep in mind that Fender makes cookie cutter guitars by the thousands unless you order from their custom shop at a very high cost. G&L makes guitars from a selectable choice of cookbook options selected by dealers. I see that as a big difference. I am not sure this would be a detriment to G&L. My aged mind could be way off! What do you think? -- Darwin

[Fumble fingers]

it would be nice to see G&L at the M/P and big chain stores in abundance , hopefully this situation will help G&L get a bigger dealer network

[Case24]

I tend to buy mostly used gear so no advantage to selling direct to me. I can find used guitars in like new condition for about 40% off the original selling price. I'm too cheap to buy new.

[Boogie Bill]

I've bought all but my first G&L used, too. If I were going to buy new, I'd prefer to buy from a dealer, even if I had to custom order. And Fender makes very little that interests me, so I really don't care if they sell direct--I'm not buying.

Bill

[Metalmechanic]

The Musicstorelive guys do offer free return shipping on their stuff. Wish more online dealers would offer something like this.

One of the small dealers here just started selling G&L's and mentioned they were going to see how they did and may replace a lot of their Fender stuff with G&L. Was nice to see a rack full of new G&L's out in the wild, even if they were just Tributes.