Gibson not selling to Mom and Pop shops?

[two4motion]

I was in my local shop the other day talking to my guitar teacher from years ago and asked him why the no longer seem to sell Gibson guitars (I own an early 90's les paul studio lite). He said that's kind of sore subject, but then proceeded to tell me that they placed a large (for them anyway, $50,000+) order from Gibson that never arrived. When they finally got ahold of Gibson (or more accurately, probably their rep), they said they were going to be concentrating only on bigger shops like Guitar Center/Musician's Friend. I noticed Sweetwater also made a deal to be the "exclusive online dealer" of the Gibson HD.6X-PRO Digital Guitar, which is something I couldn't ever justify paying that much money for, nor am I interested anyway.

So I looked around at some of the other "Mom and Pop shops" around town and noticed that they don't seem to carry Gibsons anymore either. However, Guitar Center has a whole wall of them.

I guess my question is: Is this just contained to my area (Northern California)? Maybe we have a really bad Gibson rep or something... Or is this the case all over?

[dagosto]

Gibson is always doing these sorts of things. They make fine guitars but their business tactics are a bit questionable. They only distribute with places that promise ridiculously sized orders. I think I read on another forum that at one point they were requiring something ridiculous like $80,000-$100,000 per store before they would consider a wholesale order. Not even the big stores could make that money back and many distributors pulled out. GC stayed in even though they were losing money on the deal just so they would be one of the few carrying Gibson. I believe they lowered the price in the last few years but smaller stores still cannot afford it.

If I can find the forum thread I picked up all this info on I'll post. It is actually a pretty interesting read.

[two4motion]

Wow... I had no idea. That's so bizarre. Thanks for the info, I really appreciate it.

[dolivas]

Gibson has a bad reputation of trying to sell their items or make it seem that their items are worth more than they are. Guitar collectors and guitarists really buy into their whole aesthetic which is you are paying extra for symbolic stuff that comes attached to the guitars they sell. They do have a good legacy of making great instruments but the price for which they overprice their own instruments is exceedingly becoming more and more apparent.

They seem to want to create exclusivity of their product to a) control more of the stock at inflated higher prices they create through their retailers b) generate some inflated sense of self-worth that prevents them from really introducing anything new to musicians, just reissues of same stuff or a different flavor of the same old stuff. The inflated self-worth both drives up prices for their guitars and for used guitars people would sell to other people.

Great guitars. Sucky business practices as dagosto said.

[two4motion]

Gibson has a bad reputation of trying to sell their items or make it seem that their items are worth more than they are. Guitar collectors and guitarists really buy into their whole aesthetic which is you are paying extra for symbolic stuff that comes attached to the guitars they sell. They do have a good legacy of making great instruments but the price for which they overprice their own instruments is exceedingly becoming more and more apparent.

They seem to want to create exclusivity of their product to a) control more of the stock at inflated higher prices they create through their retailers b) generate some inflated sense of self-worth that prevents them from really introducing anything new to musicians, just reissues of same stuff or a different flavor of the same old stuff. The inflated self-worth both drives up prices for their guitars and for used guitars people would sell to other people.

Great guitars. Sucky business practices as dagosto said.

Great points, well said.

[SorenP]

yeah very. Gibson is one of those names when people think sexy classic guitar.. like what a guitar really SHOULD be.. they think Les Paul. Gibson knows this, and I'm sure that mystique is part of thier sales and marketing. It's Rolls Royce in guitar form, you see someone on stage with a Les Paul, you automatically assume they can shred.

[two4motion]

Originally Posted by SorenP

you see someone on stage with a Les Paul, you automatically assume they can shred.

Well, I own one (an early 90's Gibson Les Paul Studio Lite), and I only wish that were true.

I must say that there are some reasonable priced Gibsons (Les Paul Studios) at Guitar Center. I played the update to my guitar a few days ago and really dug it.

[smopo24]

Originally Posted by dolivas

Gibson has a bad reputation of trying to sell their items or make it seem that their items are worth more than they are. Guitar collectors and guitarists really buy into their whole aesthetic which is you are paying extra for symbolic stuff that comes attached to the guitars they sell. They do have a good legacy of making great instruments but the price for which they overprice their own instruments is exceedingly becoming more and more apparent.

They seem to want to create exclusivity of their product to a) control more of the stock at inflated higher prices they create through their retailers b) generate some inflated sense of self-worth that prevents them from really introducing anything new to musicians, just reissues of same stuff or a different flavor of the same old stuff. The inflated self-worth both drives up prices for their guitars and for used guitars people would sell to other people.

Great guitars. Sucky business practices as dagosto said.

Pricing things out of reach for smaller stores gives the bigger guys a foothold on the market. They can kick the mom and pops out of the way with cheaper deals; much like WalMart (though WalMart strong arms the manufacturers into cutting costs to keep their products in their stores - sometimes driving competing shops and the manufacturers out of business). It's too bad, as dolivas said, that they artificially inflate the value of their instruments, because they really are great (I cherish my SG '61 Reissue). It kind of reminds me of Rickenbacker's intent; keep production low, demand will build, charge more, increase profits, and sue anyone with a similar design (*cough* PRS Single-Cut *cough*).

[two4motion]

Originally Posted by smopo24

It kind of reminds me of Rickenbacker's intent; keep production low, demand will build, charge more, increase profits, and sue anyone with a similar design (*cough* PRS Single-Cut *cough*).

Seriously, is that Rickenbacker's unofficial business model? No wonder I never see their stuff in stores.