And we wonder why the high street is going down the tubes...

downbytheriver

Gretsch G5655TG - really rather nice Jr sized Gretsch, centre block, black top Filtertrons, the one I was looking at is Snow Crest White with gold hardware - lovely. 

On the wall in my local shop at £819 (though oddly on their website at £779). 

I looked on on the web to gain a bit of traction for negotiation... 

various offerings (all reputable) from £799 down to £679. Already I’m thinking that I can’t ask for that price from my local... 

Thomann - £517 SHIPPED. 

I understand economies of scale and big orders attracting discounts but REALLY? Fender will have no shops to sell to at this rate. 

(My wife doesn’t like gold on white so I’m not shopping - but I would have gone Thomann - who wouldn’t?) 

prowla

I usually find I am disappointed when I go to the shops and usually end up not buying anything. 

Usually they don’t have what I want, so it’s a wasted trip. 

If they do, I am happy to pay a bit of a premium, but not be ripped off. 

Plus factor in the cost of parking...

steer

A normal local shop cannot begin to compete with the stack-em-high-sell-em-cheap website retailer. Usually it is not the case that the shop is trying to rip you off, but when you factor in staff wages, rent and all the costs associated with running a shop, they would simply lose money by selling at the same price. Thomann, with their robot ran automated warehouse can shift thousands of products every day and take a tiny margin, which builds up into a good operating profit. 

downbytheriver

I didn’t think for a moment that they were trying to rip me off - the shop is owned by an old friend to whom I try to be loyal, but this is just hopeless

prlgmnr

I think it's more going down the digital modelling route...

Paul7926

It's a tricky one because I want both the ability to go and try from a large range of guitars and potentially buy the one that has that little bit of unidentifiable mojo I like but I don't want to end up paying what can sometimes be up to a third of the price of the guitar for that ability.

In fact the selection at the above shop is already very limited so most of the time what I'm interested in isn't there to be tried anyway.

I don't know what the answer is.  I try and buy all the little things (string, cables, straps, plectrums) from the shop to at least give them some business but as the price gap widens on the actual guitars it becomes impossible to justify handing over a large extra chunk of money to buy it locally. (if they even have it).

ESBlonde

The big box shifters can hold a large and varied stock which is just not practical for a traditional high street music store. Some high street stores have evolved to do both (the likes of Andertons, GAK etc.), while others have concentrated on the small but significant rare and boutique market. The high street store seem to survive on serving a broad spectrum of musicians from beginner through to big band/orchestra type instrumentation.

Danny1969

I would use Thomann for just about everything except guitars. I have never actually brought any guitar in my whole life without playing it for a good hour or so first. 
In the summer I went with a friend to PMT who wanted a particular USA Tele in blue ... they never had a blue one in stock so we tried a yellow one which was great, very lively, harmonics ringing out everywhere, very even volume of notes all over the fingerboard. Really good guitar so ordered a blue one in which took a few days. Well the blue one was same model as the yellow one and same spec but not half as good.
I tried 11 Epiohone Les paul's before I brought one, in the end I brought a used one with no pickups for more money than a brand new one was in Nevada at the time. It was simply a better guitar and worth the extra and the cost of pickups. These things are made of wood and they are all different ... some bits of wood just sound better or go better with other bits of wood. I don't know the science behind it but some are just livelier than others. 

 I think with guitars you really do need to try them and that's where the shop beats the online guys. I know you can return them, distance selling rules and all that but what a ball ache. 

axisus

They can't compete. My uncle had an off license business that had been in the family for decades, they were killed off by supermarkets selling cheap booze.

Sassafras

I like to try instruments before I buy them.
I can't be arsed to use the box-shifters like a library.
And music shops aren't unpleasant environments.

Universal8

Sassafras said:

I like to try instruments before I buy them.
I can't be arsed to use the box-shifters like a library.
And music shops aren't unpleasant environments.

I agree but I won’t pay way over the top for the privilege.

Sassafras

Thing is you can often haggle the price down with music shops, less easy with some foreign based box shifter.
Plus, I rarely buy new so places like Thomann hold no interest for me.

impmann

Universal8 said:

Sassafras said:

I like to try instruments before I buy them.
I can't be arsed to use the box-shifters like a library.
And music shops aren't unpleasant environments.

I agree but I won’t pay way over the top for the privilege.

"Over the top"

Or do you mean

"More than I can get it for elsewhere" - and there's a massive difference between those two sentences.

Everyone likes a bargain, but there is a degree of something for nothing here. And yes, its whats killing the high street. 

If you are happy to buy a box from a warehouse, carry on. But when (not if) it goes wrong, its a world of pain to put it right.

Zoolooter

The future for the high street will be strictly entertainment - bars and restaurants. Manageable for bigger cities, but truly devastating for smaller towns. Even this is already getting oversaturated in most cities. And, anyone with a big online presence will be bought up by amazon, like Thomann.

steven70

The added value in shopping in a real store is the experience. You can (or should be able to) walk in with an idea of what you are looking for and they will advise and sell you something. You can try stuff out (new, used) and take time to decide if it feels right. 
And if there is a problem later, you can go back and they will help resolve the issue easily and effortlessly. 
And the maintenance thing- guitar setups, amp servicing etc

That's what you're paying for and it applies to anything one can buy in a high street store (sports equipment etc)

In theory...used to be the case when I was younger, these days most of the places I have visited are staffed by morons who couldn't give a toss and they don't have decent stock anyway so it's easier to research online and buy from a megastore.

downbytheriver

steven70 said:

In theory...used to be the case when I was younger, these days most of the places I have visited are staffed by morons who couldn't give a toss and they don't have decent stock anyway so it's easier to research online and buy from a megastore.

Precisely this, sadly. Doesn’t particularly apply to my local store but it is increasingly the case in most establishments. 

RaymondLin

I would have only buy pedals from Thomanns.

steven70

downbytheriver said:

steven70 said:

In theory...used to be the case when I was younger, these days most of the places I have visited are staffed by morons who couldn't give a toss and they don't have decent stock anyway so it's easier to research online and buy from a megastore.

Precisely this, sadly. Doesn’t particularly apply to my local store but it is increasingly the case in most establishments. 

Yep, not all stores...my comment did sound a bit harsh. 

Also aware there's more than one side to it, e.g. folks who might go into a store, try the gear, take the advice and then buy online anyways. I wouldn't, but...
 

BeardyAndy

steven70 said:

downbytheriver said:

steven70 said:

In theory...used to be the case when I was younger, these days most of the places I have visited are staffed by morons who couldn't give a toss and they don't have decent stock anyway so it's easier to research online and buy from a megastore.

Precisely this, sadly. Doesn’t particularly apply to my local store but it is increasingly the case in most establishments. 

Yep, not all stores...my comment did sound a bit harsh. 

Also aware there's more than one side to it, e.g. folks who might go into a store, try the gear, take the advice and then buy online anyways. I wouldn't, but...
 

When I worked in a cycle shop we genuinely had a lady come in and ask to try on some shoes "because she'd found them cheap online and wanted to know what size to order!"

My boss didn't suffer fools well and politely told her to do one!!

adamm82

BeardyAndy said:

steven70 said:

downbytheriver said:

steven70 said:

In theory...used to be the case when I was younger, these days most of the places I have visited are staffed by morons who couldn't give a toss and they don't have decent stock anyway so it's easier to research online and buy from a megastore.

Precisely this, sadly. Doesn’t particularly apply to my local store but it is increasingly the case in most establishments. 

Yep, not all stores...my comment did sound a bit harsh. 

Also aware there's more than one side to it, e.g. folks who might go into a store, try the gear, take the advice and then buy online anyways. I wouldn't, but...
 

When I worked in a cycle shop we genuinely had a lady come in and ask to try on some shoes "because she'd found them cheap online and wanted to know what size to order!"

My boss didn't suffer fools well and politely told her to do one!!

I used to play ice hockey, and obviously not that many shops for that sort of thing in the UK, So one inparticualar started to refuse to let people try on stuff as they would go online and order. However equipment is something you definately try on, I asked once to just look at some gloves and they said ok then brought out a junior size one.

I understand their viewpoint but they did rip all of us for years before the internet came along. There was only one place in London at the time to get stuff so they'd rip you off massively. Fortuantely I have half my family in Canada who'd send/bring stuff over for me.

EricTheWeary

In fairness to Thomann they do have a very large shop as well, it's not just a warehouse. 
If the pound wasn't tanking it be interesting to see how cheap those Gretsch's got. 
There is also a UK distributor for Gretsch and it may be that Thomann import directly so that's another layer of cost gone. 
And, yes, I am now thinking about buying a Gretsch. Damn them.