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Specials In General

RocketMusic

RocketMusic

Gold Supporting Member
Commercial User
Oct 31, 2007
10,754
8,929
Blacksburg, VA
www.rocketmusic.net
Disclosures
Owner, Rocket Music
#1
HotSummerSpecials.jpg


We've recently starting making use of a new section on our website ("Specials") that has really just been a placeholder up until now. We've picked up several big name brands in the past year or so, and not all of those have taken off for us. We've also seen sales of a couple of formerly strong brands for us die off almost completely. Add all that up, and we've got a bunch of $$ tied up in great stuff that simply isn't moving for us.

So we've decided to aggressively price most or all of the products that we have left in stock from the following brands: Genz-Benz, PRS and Guild.

We will be replenishing our PRS inventory with fresh stock, we're really just trying to move some stale stock that has been in house for a while. With Guild and Genz-Benz, we're just letting those brands go. I'm pretty sad about the Genz-Benz move, we've enjoyed quite a bit of success with them over the years. And they're genuinely fantastic folks who make great products. However, we're simply unable to make a living selling their products when we're asked to price match some of the other Genz-Benz retailers out there. It no longer makes sense for us to carry the stuff, unfortunately.

I'm not super deep on any of the Genz-Benz products. 1 or 2 pieces of each is all I've got left in stock! So get it while it's hot!
 
#6
gearstudios said:
How does the Uber Quad match up with the GB Streamliner? Anyone had experience with the sound combination?
Click to expand...

I think it actually works pretty nicely. For anyone who might describe the Streamliner as overly thick and wooly, the UBER Quad kinda tames that a bit. It's a nice combination.
 
#7
Gens Benz was doing some cool stuff. Seems like being "bought up/taken over" hasn't been a plus for the brand.

Or maybe everyone has just moved on to the next big thing. Seems like that is a colon occurrence in this biz.

Regardless, great gear and nice prices.
 
#8
They got bought out years before the trouble started. Fender largely left them to their own devices, and honestly they were "Fender" all through their prime (I'm thinking from the launch of the first generation Shuttle onward).

I don't think we're seeing them suffer any drop off in quality or any real Fender-ification. I think we're just seeing an increasing lack of enthusiasm from many dealers because Genz-Benz is not cracking down on a few dealers who are selling their stuff at barely over cost. When a manufacturer lets that kind of activity slide, it's bad news for the brand. Their other dealers might not ditch them overnight, but it will happen eventually. My GB sales dried up almost a year ago, and I've been seriously considering doing the blowout thing for at least 3-4 months. I just finally got around to it once we settled on our approach for using the "Specials" section of our website...

It's really sad for me. Along with Bergantino, they were one of the few amp brands that I had genuine success with. And I felt good selling the stuff, the products are great... but I gotta eat, and the money I have tied up in GB gear is not working towards that goal at the moment. :hmm:
 
#10
Well, the "specials" thing is certainly working. I've shipped 4 or 5 heads in the past week, and I'm down to just 4 heads and two cabs. On the one hand, it's nice to be shipping Genz-Benz again... on the other hand, I'm not making spit at these prices. LOL. I need to keep my perspective on this.

Thanks to everyone who is taking this stuff home! Just a few more pieces to go!
 
#12
SteveC said:
Hmm. I thought it was more recent. Never the less, unfortunate for them. Fortunate for anyone looking for a good deal on some good gear.
Click to expand...

The thing that happened somewhat recently is that Genz moved from the subsidiary of Fender that originally purchased the company to the Fender parent organization (can't remember the name or the original holding company that bought them, they also make Hercules stands and a bunch of other stuff, and that entire holding company was then purchased by Fender a while back).

So, the drama started when Fender moved Genz directly into the Fender parent company about a year ago (they were pretty much left alone it seemed until then). At that time, Genz products were not present at the NAMM show, and new product development seems to have been put on hold.

So, who knows! The good news is, Fender technical support is going nowhere, so owners should be in good shape, no matter what.
 
#15
SteveC said:
Seems like that is a colon occurrence in this biz.
Click to expand...

I'm sure that's how Greg feels right about now.:mad:

RocketMusic said:
. I think we're just seeing an increasing lack of enthusiasm from many dealers because Genz-Benz is not cracking down on a few dealers who are selling their stuff at barely over cost.
Click to expand...

I often wondered about this. Seeing as guys like Jerry and Joe liked the GB products, I really wanted to have some of their stuff too.

Looking around and even reading here on TB, you hear of rock bottom pricing from CDO dealer (that one's for Jerry ;) ). But then when doods like you try sticking to the standard pre approved price model, it "appears" as though you're "taking advantage" of potential customers by charging the "fair price" agreed upon by GB. And thus the conundrum.

Straight up, I won't have the next rig I get until I can get it from Rocket Music. I'll trust that I get quality from a company that doesn't throw their smaller dealers under the proverbial bus. I can wait to do what I feel is right. Rocket is too damned concerned with people that have never bought anything to not support and see y'all succeed.

Apologies for being long winded, but this thread has now turned me from GB altogether. It appears in more ways than one, I won't sound like Jerry. :rolleyes::spit:

God Bless, Ray
 
#16
Oh, I'm not trying to turn anyone off Genz-Benz at all. What they're doing or not doing is the same thing lots of other "name brand" manufacturers do. Policing the pricing that your dealers sell at is a tall order, and it just gets harder to do the more dealers you have. I'm not mad at them, I've just come to the realization that they're no longer a good fit for my store. Not the end of the world (for them or for us).
 
#17
RocketMusic said:
Oh, I'm not trying to turn anyone off Genz-Benz at all. What they're doing or not doing is the same thing lots of other "name brand" manufacturers do. Policing the pricing that your dealers sell at is a tall order, and it just gets harder to do the more dealers you have. I'm not mad at them, I've just come to the realization that they're no longer a good fit for my store. Not the end of the world (for them or for us).
Click to expand...

Nothing you're doing Greg, It's just a matter of personal choice. I'm not mad either, nor will I not say that they don't indeed have great products and even better customer service.

For me though, it's always been about how companies treat their smaller customers. If a company can allow or sell to a mega dealer for X amount they can sell to a smaller place for the same, if that's how they wanted to do business.

No animosity, just disagreement.

God Bless, Ray
 
#20
Aside from Ray doing the world a big favor... :D :D

I've got some thoughts that I can share to help put you guys to sleep, but they can wait until this amazing special runs its course. For, now, I'll just say that I really like the GB gear I've got. It sounds good, is wonderfully lightweight, and has proven to be durable and reliable over an awful lot of gigs. The Steamer, in particular, is really something. It took me a while to find peace with that amp, but now it's my workhorse. I remain convinced it's as close as you can get to an old SVT (or new Aggie DB) without shelling out big bucks and hiring a chiropractor.
 

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