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What happened to Rickenbacker?

#82
ajkula66 said:
This. If I were shopping for a non-vintage Rickenbacker, that would be the very first call I'd be making.

Good luck.
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I just bought my first Rickenbacker 4003 from Wildwood. The customer service from Bruce Beard was amazing. On a day he was not in the store he had one of the other salesman check out the three I was looking at and report back on which they thought was best. They packed it up perfectly, set it up according to my specs and answered all of my questions. Plus I got a great price. I was wary about ordering without playing but it was a great process and result.
 
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#83
Gizmot said:
Sorry - I think it’s a joke. What it communicates is that Rickenbacker doesn’t want to invest to create a good image of the brand and its products. By the way, “vintage” and “website” don’t go together. If they want to evoke the 50s and 60s (since that is when their products were introduced), that’s fine, but they should make the products look good and show all the finishes available.
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But they don't need to, according to the market, since demand is so high. It's time and money that they simply don't need to expend. Simple economics. Marketing is only necessary if you need to boost sales.
 
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#84
IanStephenson said:
SmartDoll (a Japanse doll company... don't ask how I know...) have an expect policy of discouraging customers! They believe in their product and they know people want them. I believe they treat their customers very well but they are happy doing what they're doing, and won't chase a bigger market or deal with customer demands for cheaper, or increased volume of products for the very reasons you mention.

[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]
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They are very helpful there, I must say!
"Oxidation effects can be reduced by moving to Mars, where oxygen levels are 0.13%" :)
 
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#86
daveman50 said:
But they don't need to, according to the market, since demand is so high. It's time and money that they simply don't need to expend. Simple economics. Marketing is only necessary if you need to boost sales.
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Rickenbacker is doing absolutely the worst job at marketing of any guitar maker I’m aware of. Marketing isn’t simply about selling more stuff, it’s also about brand building. If they want to keep selling instruments in the $3K - $5K range, they need more brand esteem.
 
#87
Gizmot said:
Rickenbacker is doing absolutely the worst job at marketing of any guitar maker I’m aware of. Marketing isn’t simply about selling more stuff, it’s also about brand building. If they want to keep selling instruments in the $3K - $5K range, they need more brand esteem.
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The brand is very well-established. Again, it's simple economics. If their brand was weak, they wouldn't be able to sell at those prices and the resale market would reflect that as well. Time will tell. Maybe they'll slip.
 
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#88
daveman50 said:
The brand is very well-established. Again, it's simple economics. If their brand was weak, they wouldn't be able to sell at those prices and the resale market would reflect that as well. Time will tell. Maybe they'll slip.
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Everyone in the 60s and 70s knew Rickenbacker - but that was 50 years ago. Younger players don’t know them because very few of their guitar and bass heroes play them. Ric is still hanging in there but their market share will keep slipping unless they do something to keep themselves viable.
 
#89
Gizmot said:
Everyone in the 60s and 70s knew Rickenbacker - but that was 50 years ago. Younger players don’t know them because very few of their guitar and bass heroes play them. Ric is still hanging in there but their market share will keep slipping unless they do something to keep themselves viable.
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Look at Ric’s website - they have instruments on it that have been discontinued for years; they don’t even have a photo of the 4003/5! I own two Rics that I love and would be open to buying more, but they haven’t given me any reasons to spend money with them
 
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#90
Reminds me of the old theory that a bumblebee can't fly. But the bumblebee doesn't know that, so it just keeps flying. RIC isn't "slipping" and it isn't worried about expanding its market. There are plenty of "younger" players who have figured out that these old classics work just fine. RIC makes thousands of instruments each year and sells every one of them. They have resisted expansion (such as adding a line of foreign-made instruments ala Fender, Gibson, Höfner, etc), pay their SoCal employees well, streamlined production with CNC, maintained their awareness of environmental impact by selecting abundant woods and lower VOC finishes, while improving (slowly and steadily) the reliability of the products with more modern components. So why fix something that isn't broken?
 
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#91
PaulBoyer said:
Reminds me of the old theory that a bumblebee can't fly. But the bumblebee doesn't know that, so it just keeps flying. RIC isn't "slipping" and it isn't worried about expanding its market. There are plenty of "younger" players who have figured out that these old classics work just fine. RIC makes thousands of instruments each year and sells every one of them. They have resisted expansion (such as adding a line of foreign-made instruments ala Fender, Gibson, Höfner, etc), pay their SoCal employees well, streamlined production with CNC, maintained their awareness of environmental impact by selecting abundant woods and lower VOC finishes, while improving (slowly and steadily) the reliability of the products with more modern components. So why fix something that isn't broken?
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I agree with you! I'm one of those younger bassists and my 2 main basses are 4003s. However, Ric should bring back the 4004.

The company is doing everything the way they see fit and it's working beautifully! Ric is actually one of the only guitar manufacturers who still does everything the way it was done in the 1950s and 60s, but with more modern technology of course.
 
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#92
Gizmot said:
Everyone in the 60s and 70s knew Rickenbacker - but that was 50 years ago. Younger players don’t know them because very few of their guitar and bass heroes play them. Ric is still hanging in there but their market share will keep slipping unless they do something to keep themselves viable.
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Not all younger players! I'm 29 and I've been playing a 4003 as my main bass for over 10 years now.
 
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#93
I started this thread because 10 years ago Rickenbacker were easy to find in brick and mortar shops here in the Netherlands.
I was wondering why this is not the case anymore: Pandemic? Demand exceeding supply? Shortage of components? Bankruptcy?
The official webpage being unfortunately no help I asked the question here.

Thank you all for the feedback
 
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#94
Opps, het spijt me zo, I was reading your avatar horizontally not vertically, NL not F.

> wondering [...] The official webpage being unfortunately no help

Yes, and you can now find solace, that you are not alone in this world after consulting it ;) .

Groetjes,
-Henry
 
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#96
CheckBass said:
I started this thread because 10 years ago Rickenbacker were easy to find in brick and mortar shops here in the Netherlands.
I was wondering why this is not the case anymore: Pandemic? Demand exceeding supply? Shortage of components? Bankruptcy?
The official webpage being unfortunately no help I asked the question here.

Thank you all for the feedback
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Online shopping has made a difference for me in the past 3 years. Right now, I can find several dozen new Ric basses for sale on reverb.com, Andy Babiuks fabgear, Willcutt Guitars, Chicago Music Exchange. I have bought Rics from all of these with 100% perfect service. I'm sure there are others out there.
 
#98
HHudson said:
Lol, geen problem, ik kom eigenlijk uit New Amsterdam, maar woon in duitsland ;) [mijn frans is helaas niet te verstaan, so I won't attempt that :( ]
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I may as well join in the conversation..after all I live in New Holland lolll...
New Holland (Australia) - Wikipedia
Rippa chin wag my bonza Rickenbacker cobbers from afar lol (good Aussie language)
 
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#99
Giffro said:
I may as well join in the conversation..after all I live in New Holland lolll...
New Holland (Australia) - Wikipedia
Rippa chin wag my bonza Rickenbacker cobbers from afar lol (good Aussie language)
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ROTFL, I'm actually from the other one, now called Nu Yauwk (I will leave out further use of my mother tongue or I will get banned).
 
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