Fender selling direct

[Hapa]

Sounds like they are trying to get in on some of that "Carvin" money... especially the SB Basses which surely has taken a bite out of there market share these last 5 years.

LOL, no it hasn't. Not by a long shot. Ibanez is the only real competition for Fender basses. Carvin has only a handful of retail outlets, direct only, north America only, and only talkbass people even know about it. Don't get me wrong the SB is likely the best US made jazz for the price. But sales, no not even on the radar.

 

[T-MOST]

LOL, no it hasn't. Not by a long shot. Ibanez is the only real competition for Fender basses. Carvin has only a handful of retail outlets, direct only, north America only, and only talkbass people even know about it. Don't get me wrong the SB is likely the best US made jazz for the price. But sales, no not even on the radar.

They don't sell like Fender. But I'm sure they are "on the radar". With the players they have endorsing SB basses I'm positive the brand reaches far beyond Talkbass.

 

[JimmyM]

Wow. NOBODY can WIN with you guys!

You piss and moan that your store doesn't have enough options in it for you to touch and hold. But you piss and moan when it is revealed that Fender forces dealers to buy a lot of inventory. You can't have it both ways.

You piss and moan that Fender doesn't offer a Pearl Pink Tele bass with a split P at the neck and a triple J at the bridge with active/passive and a birds eye maple neck and roasted gold plated frets (cuz EVERYbody would want one, right?) And then you piss and moan because they are now offering you everything you could ever want.

Glad I don't have to sell to you guys.

Word. Like my dad says, "Some people would complain if they were hung with a new rope."

 

[metron]

Sounds like a cool idea. I hope Fender understands most if not all of the appeal in direct sales is lower price.

 

[Bert Slide]

I worked in the ski and snowboard industry for years and saw a similar scenario go down in the last few years. It starts with selling direct at MSRP, which leads to few direct sales for the manufacturer, so it doesn't piss off the dealers as badly as selling direct at MAP(Minimum Advertised Price, usually street price). Dealers don't want to drop certain brands because in some areas those brands are synonymous with the sport, like coke=cola. The end buyers who are really in the know are few and far between. Real skiers and snowboarders know there are much better competitively priced options out there just like we bassists and guitarists know there are better products than Fender from a number of smaller brands. Problem for dealers is the general public doesn't know that since their favorite riders are on Brand X and they are constantly bombarded with advertising for Brand X they just assume it's the best. So dealers try and hang onto Brand X while they get squeezed for higher minimum buys, lower margins, required purchase of accessory lines and overpriced clothing swag. I've seen Snowboard shops where 70-80% of their wall was composed of boards, boots, bindings, helmets, clothes and accessories from one vendor under several brand names.

What ultimately will cause dealers to bail is when the companies sell direct at MAP. I saw one major ski company go out of business quickly when they tried it. Another thing that happened was the opening of factory outlet stores. Imagine if you were a dealer for 20+ years for a snowboard company that was basically a garage business when you first became a dealer. Now they are not only opening new dealers across town from you but just put in a factory store down the street.

It will be interesting how this plays out in the music industry. Selling custom guitars direct is one thing, selling production guitars at MSRP is another, and if they progress to selling direct at MAP I would think most small dealers would have to drop them. Enter the factory store maybe to take the place of dealers? I dunno, it could be a brave new world.

 

[T-MOST]

Don't get me wrong. I think it is great that you can buy Fender direct now. It's a smart move to increase sales. Also, you can get what you want, try it in your own home/gigs and return it if you are not happy with it. You cant beat that! they should have done this years ago.

 

[Runnerman]

Most of the basses sold are for first time players under $500. This just so happens to be the price range where Fender makes most of their money. These players and their parents who know nothing about the instrument will continue to go to GC/SA and get their recommendations and buy the specials or they will buy on line as they already do from countless online retailers. Sweetwater and Musicians Friend have not put GC/SA out of business. Fender will survive and thrive and so will GC and SA. Those of us that are loyal will continue to go to the Mom and Pop stores and life will go on as usual. Those that want to order direct will do so. The sky is not falling.

Where is that Fender rep when we want some input anyways?

 

[Bert Slide]

One Reader Stops what he's Doing, Rises to His Feet.....and Applauds in Berts General Direction. This Discussion is better than Sex!!! Not that I'd actually REMEMBER Sex.......but you get What I Mean.

I'm glad you like it but to me it's a depressing discussion. Control of an industry by a few brands combined with easy internet purchases and the abundance of big box retailers did nothing to improve the quaility of gear or service to the customer of snowsports gear. Yeah it brought prices down for the end consumer but they are not getting better product or service. In fact, most people that buy ski/snowboard product online get ill fitting gear not ideal for their needs.

I find it disheartening that so many people these days devalue good service and advice and just shop price. I could save a few bucks on my insurance by buying online but I don't. I've had the same insurance guy since the 80's and he is a friend and will go to bat for me if necessary. You can't get that online.

 

[Bert Slide]

Where is that Fender rep when we want some input anyways?

If he's like my friends who were ski/snowboard company reps for companies who went direct he is probably busy doing damage control with his dealers. You can bet none will be happy about this development.

 

[Jheake]

That's exactly right.

What I WOULD like to see is a actual Fender brick & mortar store in every city.

I would love that too. I can imagine going to the local Fender shop to try out gear.. would be awesome!

 

[brownie_bass]

Brownie......I Have a Question. MANY Players here mention the 30 Day Return Policy of a Major Musical Instrument Retailer. They speak openly of how they buy the instrument, use it to do gigs, record, leave in their car during sub-zero weather....and then return it in 29 days and repeat the entire process over again. Tell me if you would, Where do the returned instruments go?

Well, I can't speak for that crowd, because I'm not one of them.

But to answer your question from a strictly mechanical perspective, they go back into the inventory of whoever sold them. If they are still in "like new" condition, they are sold as new. If they are not, but still in good enough condition to be accepted as a return, they are sold as second-quality (e.g. "floor models").

But I fail to see what this has to do with the distribution model... Zappos does the same thing with returned shoes that Payless does - what difference does it make that one sells online and one doesn't?

 

[SirMjac28]

Wow. NOBODY can WIN with you guys!

You piss and moan that your store doesn't have enough options in it for you to touch and hold. But you piss and moan when it is revealed that Fender forces dealers to buy a lot of inventory. You can't have it both ways.

You piss and moan that Fender doesn't offer a Pearl Pink Tele bass with a split P at the neck and a triple J at the bridge with active/passive and a birds eye maple neck and roasted gold plated frets (cuz EVERYbody would want one, right?) And then you piss and moan because they are now offering you everything you could ever want.

Glad I don't have to sell to you guys.

+1000

 

[stonewall]

Shouldnt be allowed direct.Dont the dealers sign agreements with manufacturers?.Should be offered through your dealer as an "Ordered Unit" like the Car Business....Someone should start a poll...." Would you buy a bass direct from the Manufacturer " Im curious how many people would.I personally wouldnt.

 

[Joe Louvar]

[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

Wow, thanks for the news/link.

Personally, I have mixed feelings. I like hands-on , so I really hope Fender doesn’t end up only selling online. Anyway, thanks for the info.

 

[Bert Slide]

Shouldnt be allowed direct.Dont the dealers sign agreements with manufacturers?.Should be offered through your dealer as an "Ordered Unit" like the Car Business....Someone should start a poll...." Would you buy a bass direct from the Manufacturer " Im curious how many people would.I personally wouldnt.

Dealer agreements aren't forever binding and are typically updated every year or at least every several years. There are other options to selling direct that don't cut out the retailers. Shopatron is one that several companies I repped for used. When a customer hits "buy it now" on the manufacturers website it goes out to the dealers and who gets the sale is based on who is closest, responds quickest and has the item in stock. The participating retailers must garantee they will ship in one day. For dealers with enough stock and the manpower to moniter the Shopatron site diligently this has increased their sales.

If FMIC is going to totally cut the dealers out of the loop it is because they are not worried. The customer as well as the dealer has developed an addiction to their product so they are not afraid to be brash. If they start selling direct at MSRP they may lose some dealers out of principle but most won't drop them. If they do decide to sell at MAP and compete directly with their dealers then it will get really interesting.

 

[scottiwkt]

Where is that Fender rep when we want some input anyways?

I'd bet he's negotiating a new employment contract with a highly regarded manufacturer of 10 foot poles.

 

[Deaky]

Wow. NOBODY can WIN with you guys!

You piss and moan that your store doesn't have enough options in it for you to touch and hold. But you piss and moan when it is revealed that Fender forces dealers to buy a lot of inventory. You can't have it both ways.

You piss and moan that Fender doesn't offer a Pearl Pink Tele bass with a split P at the neck and a triple J at the bridge with active/passive and a birds eye maple neck and roasted gold plated frets (cuz EVERYbody would want one, right?) And then you piss and moan because they are now offering you everything you could ever want.

Glad I don't have to sell to you guys.

+1

 

[Lownote38]

I would think that Fender would be smart enough to not alienate the dealers that sell Fender instruments. One way would be to offer exclusive products either to the dealers, or on the website only. Living in Nashville, I am pleased to see that the local shops have more than survived the GC onslaught.

 

[fusionbassed]

I find more and more small shops no longer carry Fender because of the order / inventory requirements to be a "Fender Dealer". Some shops have a parts only deal but do not / can not order Fender guitars and basses. Redlands Guitar, small store in my city is like that. A couple of years ago I was talking to the owner of another small music store who I like to buy gear from and he said they were considering dropping Fender because of the pressure Fender puts on them to order larger quantities of inventory. They were the only small store around in the Inland Empire that kept a decent stock of Fender equipment.

Fender probably went this route due to the distribution being limited to G.C. and S.A. type of stores and smaller stores dropping the Fender line.

I know one mom and pop in my area that didn't really want to drop Fender - they could move the volume Fender wanted - but felt that Fender had changed and they didn't enjoy dealing with them as much... so they've now become a G&L and Ibanez dealer with some other brands throw in. Seem to be doing well - guitars on the walls are turning over, but being in a college town they've got a lot of stuff in the 350-500 range, and then some boutique stuff on the walls that moves more slowly - but they are also a full service music store so they're not just relying on guitar/amp sales.

 

[fusionbassed]

I would think that Fender would be smart enough to not alienate the dealers that sell Fender instruments. One way would be to offer exclusive products either to the dealers, or on the website only. Living in Nashville, I am pleased to see that the local shops have more than survived the GC onslaught.

In reality, the mom and pop I like to shop at is about $50 more on the same Ibanez product than GC is - but the customer service is more than worth the difference, as you get people who really care about the instruments they sell if you need to bring one back for a readjustment.