Sam Ash is closing all stores, evidently

[HolmeBass]

Yes all prices raised and then a 40% off sales that netted about the same original price.

Very deceptive but I suppose it is entirely legal.

 

[MultiScaleMale]

Very deceptive but I suppose it is entirely legal.

It's probably legal. Like take Kohl's for example, can you buy anything that's not on sale?

 

[buldog5151bass]

I prefer to buy in person when I can.

 

[GregC]

Why? It's been reported that our economy is the best in the world.

One thing has very little to do with the other. The US economy is in fact doing well if people care to look at the actual data. But Sam Ash is not. There is never, ever a time when every single company in the entire country is doing well.

 

[ColdEye]

I see why you'd be mistaken, but they said, "Turns out the bass was at another one of their locations about 20 or 30 minutes away," their meaning another Sam Ash. Dunno why they used the word "competitor" since it's still another Sam Ash.

He mentioned San Diego, if so there is 1 Sam Ash and a Guitar Center pretty close to it (La Mesa). GC has another branch up in San Marcos that is about 30mins away from the other GC.

 

[Lowbrow]

Yeah, Guitar Center recently announced a restructuring of the level of goods sold. They are trying to up the quality and stock inventory more in line with players, not beginner hobbyists, so to speak. Times they are a changin'.

To that I say the GC local to me just got its first piece of Ampeg Venture- the 115 cab and that’s it.

 

[amper]

The Sam Ash nearest me is in the same strip mall as a Guitar Center. I've always had better luck with that Sam Ash than that GC. My last visit to that Sam Ash, I was able to get decent trade-in values on some gear and snagged a nice preowned bass (that was definitely underpriced for what I was getting). Then again, my main bass was a rescue from that Guitar Center (that was also seriously underpriced for what I was getting and I was able to negotiate lower) and I used the money I saved for mods to really make that bass my own.

Nowadays, I like this small independently owned place about halfway between my workplace and my home that has a decent selection of basses (including some very nice Spectors) but makes the bulk of their money in repairs and such (they're really good). When I was there a few days ago, a whole bunch of gigging guitarists were there needing work done. Cool to see that live music and guitar playing is still alive, as well as good mom 'n pop shops like this. Even their accessories and strings they sell are quality stuff. Good people too (many there are also gigging musicians so it's all about supporting local scenes). So, yeah, I'll be doing my part to keep them in business.

Cherry Hill? I used to live in Merchantville.

 

[amper]

where in NJ is this place? Feel free to PM if want, thanks

Probably the Cherry Hill stores, right next to the Cherry Hill Mall. The other SA locations in NJ are Edison and I think Paramus? The GC stores aren't that close for those, though they are relatively near. But, in Cherry Hill SA and GC are a couple of hundred feet from each other.

 

[Admiral Akbar]

IMO that has nothing to do with the times. I talked to an EE at the Atlanta store a while back, and they told me that their accounting ERP system is 15-20 years old. No upgrades. Not sure if that was true, but I didn't have the feeling it was just BS. At that store in particular, you could see that there was no investment in a long time.

Never said it was a result of “tough times”. I implied the “tough times” are the result of losing another music chain like Sam Ash after 100 years.

 

[Admiral Akbar]

The big Sam Ash and Guitar Center chain stores killed off most of the awesome mom-and-pop local music stores. Seems only fitting they they meet a similar demise at the hand of online stores like Sweetwater, MusiciansFriend, and others.

Honestly, every time I visit a Sam Ash or Guitar Center, their inventories are complete crap. They might have 1 or Fender Jazz or Precision Ultras, maybe some Player MIMs and Squires. The rest are crappy basses like Jacksons. They will have a half doze Gibson Les Pauls and Fender Strats, and the rest are budget guitars. At one point maybe 10 years ago, it seemed like 90% of the inventory at the Charlotte, NC Sam Ash was beat up used gear... so I quit going there all together. GC carries a handful of of poopy combo bass amps with virtually no separate heads and cabinets to be found unless they have a single used one.

Don't even get me started about their customer service.

I might go to GC to buy a cable IF I need it TODAY. Otherwise, I buy literally everything at Sweetwater. I've spent $25k? in the last two years with Sweetwater (3 basses, 4 synths, a full PA, mandolin, and tons of cables, speaker stands, mic stands, mics, etc.) I love the reps I have had there. Anytime I want to buy gear, I call or text and they get me additional discounts of 10-15%, even mark some items like $100 Mogami cables free. If it's something small that I just order without calling first, they call me the next day to thank me for the purchase and let me know when it's shipping and when I can expect it. They follow up when they ship and after delivery. They offer free 2 year warrantees (1 year beyond the typical 1 year manufacturer warrantee) on most all equipment and ship everything (even returns) for free.

Their inventories are HUGE... 100+x (probably closer to 1000x) more selection for any type of equipment than a Sam Ash or GC would ever stock. Want a Fender American Ultra jazz? They likely have multiple bases in every available color in stock. You would never see this at SA or GC. Want a Fender American Pro II jazz with Sunburst finish? Sweetwater likely has 10-20 in stock. They will show you 4 plus maybe one demo on the site with high quality pictures of each. But if you contact your rep, they will send you links to ALL of them in the warehouse not on the site. Then you can pick the one with the finish/grain you like best, tell them the serial number, and get that EXACT bass shipped to you. Get it and don't like it? They will pay to return it and issue a refund or exchange with no argument. Sweetwater has it s#!+ together.

Stores like GC and Sam Ash should have gotten with the [internet ecommerce] program a LONG time ago (just like BestBuy, Sears, and other retailers struggling now). Sweetwater has one showroom and two HUGE fulfillment centers to ship products fast. Their packing is phenomenal (even includes a bag of candy in every box), and I get my stuff fast (a few days at most typically unless backordered). GC and Sam Ash have tons of expensive brick & mortar stores in shopping centers that people rarely visit with little inventory, and have not really invested in the infrastructure to ship massive quantities of products. They would rather transfer it store-to-store using their antiquated logistics and have you pick it up at your local store.

I say good riddance. Maybe GC and Sam Ash going down the toilet will bring back some of the mom-and-pop music stores they destroyed.

I get your sentiment, but Sam Ash has been around for 100 years, and has peacefully “co-existed” with the mom and pops for decades… one thing I didn’t love, was the predatory(?) buying up of 48th street in NyC by Sam Ash, particularly Manny’s Music which REALLY was an institution for local musicians.

 

[Matt Power]

He mentioned San Diego, if so there is 1 Sam Ash and a Guitar Center pretty close to it (La Mesa). GC has another branch up in San Marcos that is about 30mins away from the other GC.

San Marcos to San Diego on the 15 is 30 minutes in light traffic, 7 weeks and a day between 4 and 6pm!

 

[waver]

It stops being insider information when it's shared publicly.

And none of this applies since there is no publicly traded Sam Ash stock.

 

[juancaminos]

One thing has very little to do with the other. The US economy is in fact doing well if people care to look at the actual data. But Sam Ash is not. There is never, ever a time when every single company in the entire country is doing well.

Sorry that was sarcasm. It's reported that our economy is good yet long time major store are closing left and right. I can't afford groceries, gas is still outrageous, car prices are thru the roof, housing is unbearable. Again just being a sarcastic twit, don't mean to bring politics into this. I will find my own way out.

 

[Thegreatzambini]

I don't support "big box" chain music stores for the sake of themselves, but it would astound the average TBer to know that locally owned joints can in fact be worse to shop at than GC or Sam Ash.

I can vouch for that I live in an industrial busy, but small northern Canadian town we only have one local music store left and they are the worst. Only stock weird off brands and their consumables like strings and such are over priced by 25%. On top off they’re ignorant if you try to get them to price match anywhere near what the current market charge is for the same thing.

 

[GregC]

Sorry that was sarcasm. It's reported that our economy is good yet long time major store are closing left and right. I can't afford groceries, gas is still outrageous, car prices are thru the roof, housing is unbearable. Again just being a sarcastic twit, don't mean to bring politics into this. I will find my own way out.

Yeah, I get that you were being sarcastic. But as I said, look at the actual economic data rather than anecdotes and personal recollections (which are often unreliable). Major stores closing left and right? Welcome to the Internet age and the rise of Amazon over the last 20+ years. Meanwhile, US GDP growth was 5% over the 12 months ended March 31, well above average. The U.S. average gas price is about $3.70, not cheap but still well below the 2008 peak of $4.11--and that's without adjusting for 16 years of inflation. Not that this has anything to do with Sam Ash, btw.

 

[daddymactx]

2 Manager friends from my San Antonio Sam Ash confirmed today on Facebook. Yes Sam Ash is Done.. Looking at June/July full closure.. Sad.. I really feel for the workers and managers..

 

[amper]

As a middle-aged musician who bought her first pedal at SA on 48th Street back in the day, I have to say that I’m surprised the company held on as long as it did. It’s been pretty obvious over the past two decades at least that SA wasn’t keeping up with the times, and the management of the company was mired in a certain way of doing things that I have experienced myself as a former purchasing manager of a family-owned art supply company in Philadelphia (which is also now defunct, for similar reasons). Shopping at GC and Mars (before they went out of business) was a breath of fresh air, by comparison. Better yet was shopping at Medley Music in Bryn Mawr (also defunct), Russo Music Center near Trenton, or other small shops in the region. Even 8th Street Music and Zapf’s, two other old local retailers now out of business, felt more welcoming than Sam Ash.

For a lot of years, from the early 1990s through the late 2000s, I lived nearby the Cherry Hill stores and visited them frequently, as well as the stores all over the Delaware Valley (PA, DE, NJ), in the course of my consulting business, and my family being originally from NYC, I would of course visit the NYC stores whenever I was in town and had time.

One thing that SA did better than GC, however, was orchestral instruments, a market that GC has effectively ignored.

 

[Minimalist]

Never said it was a result of “tough times”. I implied the “tough times” are the result of losing another music chain like Sam Ash after 100 years.

Glad you clarified. That was not at all obvious from your original post.

 

[HolmeBass]

As a middle-aged musician who bought her first pedal at SA on 48th Street back in the day, I have to say that I’m surprised the company held on as long as it did. It’s been pretty obvious over the past two decades at least that SA wasn’t keeping up with the times, and the management of the company was mired in a certain way of doing things that I have experienced myself as a former purchasing manager of a family-owned art supply company in Philadelphia (which is also now defunct, for similar reasons). Shopping at GC and Mars (before they went out of business) was a breath of fresh air, by comparison. Better yet was shopping at Medley Music in Bryn Mawr (also defunct), Russo Music Center near Trenton, or other small shops in the region. Even 8th Street Music and Zapf’s, two other old local retailers now out of business, felt more welcoming than Sam Ash.

For a lot of years, from the early 1990s through the late 2000s, I lived nearby the Cherry Hill stores and visited them frequently, as well as the stores all over the Delaware Valley (PA, DE, NJ), in the course of my consulting business, and my family being originally from NYC, I would of course visit the NYC stores whenever I was in town and had time.

One thing that SA did better than GC, however, was orchestral instruments, a market that GC has effectively ignored.

Russo Music is great. I’ve been to their Asbury Park store a number of times.

 

[Kevorargh]

It's probably legal. Like take Kohl's for example, can you buy anything that's not on sale?

When I was a college student I went to the campus store to buy a family member some swag - and the campus store did the same thing, only the 'discounted price' was higher than the presale price! No joke.