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Why doesnt GC carry spector?

T

The1bassist06

Mar 24, 2007
282
33
Three Oaks, Michigan
#1
I was talking to the manager at guitar center and he said the reason they dont have them any more is because spector couldnt keep up with production because they were selling them so fast. But this guy sounded like he was talking a lot of bulltpoopie.

So what is the reason they dont carry them or was that guy right?
 
#4
but they are in business to make money if they know when they get some in stock that they are gonna fly out the door and not sit there and cost money do you really think they care if you cant get your spector this week and you gotta wait as long as you spend your money there
 
#6
I'd like a GC guy to actually come in here and tell us how Guitar Center Corporate decides which lines to carry.

I'd bet it has more to do with volume-profit margins and whether the particular brands "expand" their product selections or overlap price and market position-wise with more established, favored lines.

But that guy sounds full of BSt to me, too. "They're so popular and sell so fast that we stopped carrying them?" I don't think so.
 
#8
Ya thats the same thing I was thinking if they sell so fast why not keep selling them? But instead I just said ya and wow and nodded my head. He also told me they make most of there profit off of strings and accessories and not so much guitars and amps. He told me only 30% of there profit was off amp and guitars but i thought that sounded a little low.

And also I tried talking him down on price on a GK MB 210 and he said they couldnt come down on price anymore since of last year. He said they had set prices that werent set by them and they couldnt mess with the price.
 
#10
Dealing with GC is a lot like dealing with WalMart. You are expected to provide them with a lot of gear at prices that provide GC with a large profit margin. That means more work and less money per unit. Honestly, not every manufacturer finds it worth it. It may very well be that Spector simply doesn't want to deal with Guitar Center and not the fact that GC doesn't want to carry their stuff.
 
#11
R Baer said:
Dealing with GC is a lot like dealing with WalMart. You are expected to provide them with a lot of gear at prices that provide GC with a large profit margin. That means more work and less money per unit. Honestly, not every manufacturer finds it worth it. It may very well be that Spector simply doesn't want to deal with Guitar Center and not the fact that GC doesn't want to carry their stuff.
Click to expand...


Thats a pretty good point :smug:
 
#12
I talked to a guy about something similar to this at a GC recently... Lets say there are 500 GC stores in the US. Now lets say in order to be a GC Brand they need 10 basses on hand. That's an additional 5,000 basses they'd have to come up on top of the other demands to other companies. It very well be a production/demand issue where they just don't line up right.
 
#15
GC already deals with Spector through Musiciansfriend and Music123 both owned by GC. Why they aren't in the stores is a different matter. That was indeed a line of BS your GC salesperson fed you as its completely illogical to stop selling products that are flying off the shelves. Also, GC does not have such a huge profit margin as you would expect, their cost on Gibson or Fender guitar is the same as the smaller dealers. Same for a lot of other products like Shure microphones and Boss pedals where there is sometimes less than a %15 markup. I worked for GC for 3 years until early 2010 and know their business inside out. They are constantly trying to work smarter and offer better service.
 
#16
The1bassist06 said:
He also told me they make most of there profit off of strings and accessories and not so much guitars and amps. He told me only 30% of there profit was off amp and guitars but i thought that sounded a little low.
Click to expand...

Makes sense; I'd wager instrument and amp sales - the most expensive pieces of gear - have, for the most part, plummeted due to the vast amount of internet retailers that popped up in the last decade. Sure, I stop in to pick up strings or a headstand for my workbench, but if it comes to getting something major like a bass or amp, I can browse a much broader product selection, get lower prices, and do all the research I need on the ones I'm interested in online. Retail sales have dropped for a lot of places; a local music shop by where I live makes the majority of its money from private lessons.
 
#18
R Baer said:
Dealing with GC is a lot like dealing with WalMart. You are expected to provide them with a lot of gear at prices that provide GC with a large profit margin. That means more work and less money per unit. Honestly, not every manufacturer finds it worth it. It may very well be that Spector simply doesn't want to deal with Guitar Center and not the fact that GC doesn't want to carry their stuff.
Click to expand...

That's a most likely reason... I get wholesale offers in my biz all the time. Most expect a big discount. So there you are, working ten times harder to make more stuff and get the same amount of money you'd get selling the stuff at the prices you prefer, in smaller numbers. But of course, a large chain is never going to let on that one of their vendors dumped them.

And also... It's true... In most businesses, including the auto industry... More money is made off side stuff than the big purchases. A higher markup can be hidden in small stuff. It's all psychological as to how people respond to prices. It takes a lot more money to make a guitar than it does a pair of strings. Percentage-wise, the strings are making more money.
 

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