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Lakland Owners Group #58

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#962
Texan said:
Hey Doug,

Next time you talk to the guys at Lakland, ask this question for me. Why does a $1200+ bass get shipped in $2 worth of Fender Squier style packaging? I understand wanting to keep costs down, but their Skyline packaging is ridiculous. Personally, I would be fine paying $120 more on the list price for a bass of that quality so that is shipped in a case or a gig bag even. A less expensive Fender ships in a case and IMO is a lesser bass. Am I just being picky?
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I totally agree with ya Texan.
Lakland built a very strong rep on the quality of their USA Basses.
Now it looks like they are leaning towards the mass produced Skylines as their Bread n Butter.
And doing small volume on custom order US basses.

If they are charging $1,200 and higher for import basses, I think they should have at least a cheap gig bag made with the skyline logo on it to include with the purchase and protect the bass during transit from scratches and blems.
Plus it just "finishes" the sale with a token logo bag.
MUCH better than tossing it in a box nekkid :)

Competition is stiff out there.
G&L & Musicman put out one heck of an American made bass for under $1,400 (Very close to Import Skyline prices).
Lakland will need to address little things like this to remain competitive in the under $1,500 marketplace IMO.
 
#963
macribas said:
Yes. :)

Hey Clay, seriously, cases just take space (imagine the bump in shipping costs?) and I would not want my Lakland in the gig bags they send with Fenders. :)
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Marcel,
I disagree:D, the bump in shipping would not inflate the cost of shipping too much. If they increased the cost of the bass $120 and included a basic case which can have a base cost as low as $35 depending on the supplier and shipping would go up about $10 per bass, there is still $75 in pure profit. A decent gig bag would be even less. I worked for GC for a number of years in operations and management in the past so I'm very familiar with corporate shipping costs and case/gig bag cost. You would be surprised what the cost is on some of the high dollar cases and gig bags. To stay competitive in the market for a foreign made bass that is more expensive than an American bass, this may need to be considered.
 
#964
Texan said:
Marcel,
I disagree:D, the bump in shipping would not inflate the cost of shipping too much. If they increased the cost of the bass $120 and included a basic case which can have a base cost as low as $35 depending on the supplier and shipping would go up about $10 per bass, there is still $75 in pure profit. A decent gig bag would be even less. I worked for GC for a number of years in operations and management in the past so I'm very familiar with corporate shipping costs and case/gig bag cost. You would be surprised what the cost is on some of the high dollar cases and gig bags. To stay competitive in the market for a foreign made bass that is more expensive than an American bass, this may need to be considered.
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+1 :D
 
#965
Mrfstop said:
I totally agree with ya Texan.
Lakland built a very strong rep on the quality of their USA Basses.
Now it looks like they are leaning towards the mass produced Skylines as their Bread n Butter.
And doing small volume on custom order US basses.

If they are charging $1,200 and higher for import basses, I think they should have at least a cheap gig bag made with the skyline logo on it to include with the purchase and protect the bass during transit from scratches and blems.
Plus it just "finishes" the sale with a token logo bag.
MUCH better than tossing it in a box nekkid :)

Competition is stiff out there.
G&L & Musicman put out one heck of an American made bass for under $1,400 (Very close to Import Skyline prices).
Lakland will need to address little things like this to remain competitive in the under $1,500 marketplace IMO.
Click to expand...

Totally agreed. These days even Fender is putting out rock-solid American Standards with flight cases at a price point that's in the ballpark of The Skyline price. My P5 was $1250. The LOG bass I'd given up waiting on eventually sold for $1100 after the early-adopter price, didn't it?
 
#967
Well, I think lesser brands need to make up for their inferior product by including these accessories. :)
I am just half joking here. If Fender didn't need to pay SKB, couldn't they use that money to improve the quality of the main thing? Or sell it for less? That's where Lakland spends their money - the bass.
Don't get me wrong, I love a gig bag, so I just buy one from Lakland (or from everyone else) separately if I need one. I would rather have that choice than to have to pay for a lesser bass with a shiny case.
I would challenge that the majority of Lakland US owners leave their hard shell cases at home all the time. Just check the classifieds: all Lakland US basses for sale, some even 10+ years old, have their cases in excellent shape. In the end, they just take space at home and will be used only to "add value" in case of a sale.
 
#969
macribas said:
Well, I think lesser brands need to make up for their inferior product by including these accessories. :)
I am just half joking here. If Fender didn't need to pay SKB, couldn't they use that money to improve the quality of the main thing? Or sell it for less? That's where Lakland spends their money - the bass.
Don't get me wrong, I love a gig bag, so I just buy one from Lakland (or from everyone else) separately if I need one. I would rather have that choice than to have to pay for a lesser bass with a shiny case.
I would challenge that the majority of Lakland US owners leave their hard shell cases at home all the time. Just check the classifieds: all Lakland US basses for sale, some even 10+ years old, have their cases in excellent shape. In the end, they just take space at home and will be used only to "add value" in case of a sale.
Click to expand...

You have to consider that Fender is a conglomerate and their volume is many times greater than that of Lakland. By that fact alone your quality control will suffer because there is no longer a balance of quality vs quantity. Fender does not ship the American series gear with a case because its has a lesser product, they do it because it is the best way to protect the high dollar, pro level gear when in transit. In fact, many retailers actually sell the guitar and case separately because some people do not want a case. Fender knows this but still ships them in the case simply to protect them better. A case does not just add value and take up space at home, it is the vault that protects the instrument. Would you rather ride in car with no seat belts in case of a crash or would you prefer to have a seat belt? It's the same situation for a bass in transit, choose the case/seat belt every time.

I'm not trying attack Lakland in any way, they make the best basses on the market and have the best customer service I have ever dealt with aside from Genz. I do however think that regardless of whether the bass is a Skyline or a US model, a bass with the superb quality of a Lakland deserves to be presented as the gem that it is...and in a case from the factory.
 
#970
Texan said:
You have to consider that Fender is a conglomerate and their volume is many times greater than that of Lakland. By that fact alone your quality control will suffer because there is no longer a balance of quality vs quantity. Fender does not ship the American series gear with a case because its has a lesser product, they do it because it is the best way to protect the high dollar, pro level gear when in transit. In fact, many retailers actually sell the guitar and case separately because some people do not want a case. Fender knows this but still ships them in the case simply to protect them better. A case does not just add value and take up space at home, it is the vault that protects the instrument. Would you rather ride in car with no seat belts in case of a crash or would you prefer to have a seat belt? It's the same situation for a bass in transit, choose the case/seat belt every time.

I'm not trying attack Lakland in any way, they make the best basses on the market and have the best customer service I have ever dealt with aside from Genz. I do however think that regardless of whether the bass is a Skyline or a US model, a bass with the superb quality of a Lakland deserves to be presented as the gem that it is...and in a case from the factory.
Click to expand...

+1 Texan...all good points
 
#971
Texan said:
You have to consider that Fender is a conglomerate and their volume is many times greater than that of Lakland. By that fact alone your quality control will suffer because there is no longer a balance of quality vs quantity. Fender does not ship the American series gear with a case because its has a lesser product, they do it because it is the best way to protect the high dollar, pro level gear when in transit. In fact, many retailers actually sell the guitar and case separately because some people do not want a case. Fender knows this but still ships them in the case simply to protect them better. A case does not just add value and take up space at home, it is the vault that protects the instrument. Would you rather ride in car with no seat belts in case of a crash or would you prefer to have a seat belt? It's the same situation for a bass in transit, choose the case/seat belt every time.

I'm not trying attack Lakland in any way, they make the best basses on the market and have the best customer service I have ever dealt with aside from Genz. I do however think that regardless of whether the bass is a Skyline or a US model, a bass with the superb quality of a Lakland deserves to be presented as the gem that it is...and in a case from the factory.
Click to expand...

I think this November I will vote for TEXAN for president :)
+1 to all :bassist:
 
#972
Mrfstop said:
I think this November I will vote for TEXAN for president :)
+1 to all :bassist:
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Thanks, but I would never belong to a club that would have me as a member...:D

I do quality control and manufacturing for a living and I'm passionate about every aspect of the two from design to the final product, packaging and product presentation. I make oilfield tools, but every item we ship out of my factory is clean, shiny and well protected. It says a whole lot to the customer, i.e. we take pride in our product!
 
#974
About cases... I'm a little confused. I've always gotten a HSC with my Skylines. Granted, you have to add it to the order but it's always there as an option. If what people are saying is that they want a HSC standard (with the price reflecting it), that's cool. Maybe add gig bags and cases to the online shop as well?
 
#975
ModuMan said:
About cases... I'm a little confused. I've always gotten a HSC with my Skylines. Granted, you have to add it to the order but it's always there as an option. If what people are saying is that they want a HSC standard (with the price reflecting it), that's cool. Maybe add gig bags and cases to the online shop as well?
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If you order from Bass Central or BassNW and add a case, they unpack the bass, place it in the case and ship the bass in the case.

If you order from Amazon, Musicians Friend, etc and add the case, you will receive two boxes, one with the bass, one with the case. That's like ordering a ham sandwich and getting the bread on a different plate than the ham.:rollno:
 
#978
Texan said:
If you order from Amazon, Musicians Friend, etc and add the case, you will receive two boxes, one with the bass, one with the case. That's like ordering a ham sandwich and getting the bread on a different plate than the ham.:rollno:
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My boss just ordered a Carvin kit guitar, with a case.
They did the same thing. Stupid :rollno::rollno:
 
#979
Gecko 5 said:
My boss just ordered a Carvin kit guitar, with a case.
They did the same thing. Stupid :rollno::rollno:
Click to expand...

Yup, happened to me on more than one occasion when ordering a bass from a big box store - guess that's why they call them that :D Not to digress too much, but it really gets me when I order a small cable and it comes in a 20x12x14 box filled with peanuts.
 
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