Why do some stores hang on to basses for years?

[dangnewt]

This question was prompted by another thread where Dr. Cheese alerted us to a sweet Peavey USA Millennium Plus 4 up for auction on eBay by a independent music store.
http://cgi.ebay.com/PEAVEY-USA-MILLE...QQcmdZViewItem

The eBay starting bid is $699 and the ebay copy says they still have $1049 price tag on it in the store. TB'er Marcus Alan used to frequent the store fairly regularly and indicated that it is a cool local store that mostly sells a lot of Fenders but they do have a few basses with high tags that have hung around for awhile.

While there is a lot of love for these and other higher end Peaveys here at TB; the general bass-buying public hasn't seemed to catch on yet. And truth-be-told, I bought mine for $500 in new but very shopworn condition from a regional music chain.

I've noticed that there still are USA Millenniums being offered as new old stock on eBay by independent stores and I wondered why:

1. Go eBay at all when they may be able to get the same or better price by lowering the price in the store to what the market seems ready to bear?

2. Wait 3 or 4 or more years to go eBay or to reduce the price?

3. Have a starting bid that is at the high range of what these basses sell for on eBay?

I've heard that they are hoping for a foolish buyer, are there that many foolish buyers out there?

[tplyons]

It's business, they don't want to take a loss. Some places would rather have a bass sit on their walls not making money for years, if they paid $600, than get rid of it for $500.

Foolish buyer? Perhaps, but then again, there are the occasional buyers who insist on new, warranteed products. That warranty may come in handy, who knows.

[invader3k]

Sometimes it's lazy inventory taking, too. Easier to just let "old faithful" sit there, then to mark it down and move it.

[Marcus]

Originally Posted by tplyons

It's business, they don't want to take a loss. Some places would rather have a bass sit on their walls not making money for years, if they paid $600, than get rid of it for $500.

Foolish buyer? Perhaps, but then again, there are the occasional buyers who insist on new, warranteed products. That warranty may come in handy, who knows.

You have to take into account though that the item in question has been hanging on the same back wall for the past couple of years (appx. 4) and is in desperate need of a setup... and from what I've learned about the basses that hang in their back wall in a similar fashion, they do not age like fine wine. In fact, I don't even think the bass can qualify as "new" any more.

At this point, whatever they originally paid for the bass from Peavey should be a moot point... it should be sold.

In any case, this really is a prime example of the whole local v. online gear market. Like many of you guys, I score my gear from online outlets, such as American Musical, and obviously these boards. Simply put... there's no way that OMC can match the prices or the selection. I almost feel bad, but that's business.

[dangnewt]

Originally Posted by mb1

I can tell you that about 9 months is the longest I've ever seen anything sit on the shelf at my local store. In general, if it don't move, it ain't stocked.

Interesting, my theory was that bigger stores may be more likely to eat the loss and move on. While in smaller stores, it may be that the owner doesn't want to, in essence, admit a mistake in public. The retail equivalent of me hanging on to my shares of a stock that has tanked waiting for it to come back up so I can break even - (they seldom come back ).

But in a small store, shelf space is at a high premium and that could motivate the owners to get aggressive with pricing. Maybe it just varies depending on the store owner/manager.

I agree with Marcus - the store has already paid for the bass and the bass isn't getting any better on the wall. Better to have the $500-600 in hand so they could buy a few items that are proven sellers.