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Showrooming

Showrooming - OK or no?

  • Yes

    Votes: 30 31.3%

  • Does not matter

    Votes: 24 25.0%

  • No

    Votes: 42 43.8%
  • Total voters
    96
#81
I've tried to stay off this thread, but some of the replies have been so thought-provoking....!

One thing that seems to be emerging from the thread so far is that not all 'mom and pop' stores are the same. SOME give amazing service will only a small increase in cost. Some don't give a damn and charge crazy premiums. So I guess we have to make our own decisions: how much of a premium are we willing to put on that level of service when we buy? Will we pay another 10%? 20%? Do we find it worthwhile to pay 20% more for a bass in order to keep that store around and have the things it offers? I think it's a personal choice. Personally, I'll pay a premium on lower-value items like accessories, and a small premium - maybe 10% plus tax - for a large value item.....IF I think the service I get justifies it. For example, if I buy a $1200 bass and they give it a quick setup for me and check it over, fine: if they just hand me the cardboard packing box still sealed up, not fine!

The original question was about 'showrooming': within the limits of politeness and courtesy I generally wouldn't feel bad about it. That's because if the store meets my basic conditions over price and service I'll ALWAYS buy from them for the sake of service and convenience. If they don't meet those conditions then I have no problem passing them over.

Cool thread! :D
 
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#83
FlatwoundFunk said:
Stores are not there for our convenience to get acquainted with products or build future shopping lists. They are there to provide goods and services that they can hopefully make available to consumers at an profit.
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Stores are absolutely there for our convenience and to build future shopping lists. An example, I drink loose leaf tea and give myself a strict budget, I go into the local shop about every three months and usually buy one black, one green, one oolong, and a couple herbals. I look at probably a half dozen of each and I might find three that I want to try but since I can only get one I put the others on a list for future purchase. Same thing with if I go into a store looking for a cable or a set of strings If they have something interesting I'll pick it up and play it a bit knowing full well that I'm not going to buy it now but I might by it in the future, I also find my self looking at something online, and going into a local store to buy it, I did that with my amp I looked online to see what I could afford and what other people were saying about it and then went into the store spent an afternoon trying all the amps I could afford and bought the one I liked best.
 
#84
Sometimes grocery stores offer free samples, and I try them, with no intention whatsoever of buying that product. Once in awhile, I like one so much that I buy it.

I'm pretty sure that was the intent.

Ask any music store what their intent is when allowing people to "try" instruments. I will bet they are hoping it results in selling that instrument. Is it unethical to waste some time noodling there, with no intention to buy? If it is, many music stores are filled to the brim with unethical people.
 
#85
Will_White said:
Stores are absolutely there for our convenience and to build future shopping lists. An example, I drink loose leaf tea and give myself a strict budget, I go into the local shop about every three months and usually buy one black, one green, one oolong, and a couple herbals. I look at probably a half dozen of each and I might find three that I want to try but since I can only get one I put the others on a list for future purchase. Same thing with if I go into a store looking for a cable or a set of strings If they have something interesting I'll pick it up and play it a bit knowing full well that I'm not going to buy it now but I might by it in the future, I also find my self looking at something online, and going into a local store to buy it, I did that with my amp I looked online to see what I could afford and what other people were saying about it and then went into the store spent an afternoon trying all the amps I could afford and bought the one I liked best.
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Sounds like your saying the same thing I'm saying. But with your tea reference, that's a bit different because you are purchasing one. And you go there with the intent on purchasing at least one. And the stock is there for availability for hopeful profit. If you were going there to sample the tea and NEVER purchasing from them, that would be different. This reminds me that I haven't been to Teavana in some time.

IMO, looking on-line at products is a form of researching products. It is wise for us to do this first before anything. Once we made our minds up that we "THINK" this is what we want to purchase, we need to set estimated price range for purchase. Then we should call the retailer and ask if the are willing to come within our set range if the price is not advertised on line. It is unfair to ask a retailer to match a price that's on-line. With the obvious reasons, there's one thing that most do not know or even care to know. INVENOTRY TAX. I do not know if all states have it, but in the state if Georgia, a retailer has to pay tax on current inventory. It is unfair for us to expect a store of any size to keep inventory for our pleasure and pay for it at their expense.
FF
 
#86
mellowinman said:
Sometimes grocery stores offer free samples, and I try them, with no intention whatsoever of buying that product. Once in awhile, I like one so much that I buy it.

I'm pretty sure that was the intent.

Ask any music store what their intent is when allowing people to "try" instruments. I will bet they are hoping it results in selling that instrument. Is it unethical to waste some time noodling there, with no intention to buy? If it is, many music stores are filled to the brim with unethical people.
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Samples are advertising that is not free. Nothing is free. The cost of what it took to produce that is always accounted and recouped via tax write offs and/or upcharges to other products from either the manufacturer, distributors or retailer. But you are right when you say that it is a way of enticement. Difference is the are soliciting you to try something that they can not repackage as new or used and re-shelf for sale. In a music store, every time a bass is played by someone, it takes away from it's newness. And when it's not purchased, the workers have to try to make sure that it maintains the appearance of being new so that the next hopeful auditioner will potentially want to purchase it. How many of us will buy a bass if we accidentally scratched or dented it? Or atleast offer to cover the gap in the mark down because of? The retailer takes that lost and that's not right.
FF
 
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#87
A question I have is this,

Why does it seem like people have no problem with dealing with Guitar Center products and place in a negative manner? Maybe I'm wrong but the comments I've read and heard over the years is a bit disturbing. Can somebody please educate me? I missed a memo.
FF
 
#89
blue4 said:
It's a persistent myth. The fact is there are some internet stores with customer service that is just as professional, reasonable and timely as a regular store. I buy just about every bass, set of strings, cable, etc on line now and pretty much for the last 3 years or so. Never once a problem. Things that needed returning no questions asked. Questions about special order strings, they know more than the guy who doesn't know there is more than one gauge of bass string manufactured. Once you've got enough 34" scale 4 string Fenders there isn't much to look at in most stores anyway.

Repair and resell shops, whole other story. They're worth building relationships with. IMO of course.
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You are talking about service and return policies. I am not. I am talking about buying an instrument I play first, because individual basses are often very different from each other. This is not a myth. Yeah you can send it back. I have. But it's a pain and only once was I satisfied, a MM Stingray.
 
#90
TMARK said:
I've returned or sold four that I bought online. So is it a myth or a cautionary tale?
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I suggest you either become a more savvy internet purchaser or give up on the concept altogether.

Since my experiences are so different from yours, they are all I can speak from, and I know from experience there is a strategy to successful on-line musical instrument purchases. Perhaps your strategy and mine differ significantly.
 
#91
FlatwoundFunk said:
A question I have is this,

Why does it seem like people have no problem with dealing with Guitar Center products and place in a negative manner? Maybe I'm wrong but the comments I've read and heard over the years is a bit disturbing. Can somebody please educate me? I missed a memo.
FF
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Probably stems from the fact that GC is a large, faceless retail behemoth similar to Walmart or Target or what have you. It's a different dynamic because you're never facing the stake owners of the store in question. The top 10 principals of GC probably live in palaces behind brick walls or in gated communities that have monthly mortgage statements that look like phone numbers.

GC also doesn't care about missing out on a sale, firstly because the sale they lose from you will be made up for by the soccer moms that come in every day to buy their offspring gear before they go to the bar at the country club and bitch about it on Facebook. Secondly, if a guy goes in there and tries every Markbass rig in the store and buys it from Musician's Friend, it's still the same company anyway, and many high-ticket item buyers know this.

I only buy a bag of picks every financial quarter at GC, but I wouldn't really showroom GC out of principle. Not much I want there bass-wise anyway.
 
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#92
FlatwoundFunk said:
Fuel, employee wage, insurance and added mileage. All cost Dealership owner 1. As a consumer, we should check prices first and then check.
FF
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This happens with every customer who shops at Dealership 1 and doesn't buy a car. It's called the price of doing business.

And as a consumer, I'll do whatever the hell I need to do to get the best price, with or without the blessing of the ethics police.
 
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#95
electracoyote said:
This happens with every customer who shops at Dealership 1 and doesn't buy a car. It's called the price of doing business.

And as a consumer, I'll do whatever the hell I need to do to get the best price, with or without the blessing of the ethics police.
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Best post on the thread. The Talkbass Boyscout Squad regularly tells us why we're bad people. I'm guessing any person who tells you what a bad person you are does at least ten things you wouldn't ever dream of doing.
 
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#96
I've bought most of my gear used. Only exception was a Gibson-Epiphone acoustic electric I ordered from the Gibson rep when I was teaching lessons for a store. Didn't get to play it first, but the limited edition and solid bird's eye maple TB&S made me sure it would play and sound great.

When I am in the market I go out and play everything I can get my hands on where ever it may be. If it happens to be a brick and motar shop, so be it.
 
#98
mellowinman said:
Best post on the thread. The Talkbass Boyscout Squad regularly tells us why we're bad people. I'm guessing any person who tells you what a bad person you are does at least ten things you wouldn't ever dream of doing.
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Wow. Stuff like this is what sours healthy conversations. WE can do better. Im not going to resolve to derogatory ignorant assumptions like you just did. Let's be adults. Is that too much to ask?
FF
 
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#99
20db pad said:
Secondly, if a guy goes in there and tries every Markbass rig in the store and buys it from Musician's Friend, it's still the same company anyway, and many high-ticket item buyers know this.
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I did showroom a Squier CV Telecaster Custom at GC, not by design. If it hadn't needed new strings and been cleaned, I would have bought it right then, as it was light for an alder Tele. I bought one from MF instead. Same pocket got the money, and yes I knew it then.
 
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