Author Topic: £50 for a guitar and amplifier (Read 8394 times)

FELINEGUITARS · « **on:** November 15, 2007, 11:37:15 PM »

What do you guys all think of the trend that is emerging for supermarkets selling guitars?

And I'm not just talking about weirdo supermarkets like Lidl where the guitar will be next to the baked beans on one side and skis on the other side

I'm talking about ASDA and TESCO and the like suddenly selling guitars, probably cheap and nasty, made in China.
The same thing is happening with Argos who will have a new exclusive Gibson in their new product lines.
Do you think it is trying to cash in on the popularity of the "Guitar Hero" game ? But will it get more people playing guitar for real?

So many normal music shops are having such a hard time that they are all on the verge of closing, and some are trying desparately to keep up with internet sellers by slashing prices till there is no profitability in it and no point in bothering to keep the shop open.
Will this latest move hurt them even further by robbing them of the beginner market, which to be fair is their biggest sector?

I'm not sure what I make of it myself - will it affect me and my guitar repair business?
Will people think that paying to have their guitar set-up, repaired or upgraded is no longer viable when they buy them for so little.
Or will there be a queue of newbies with guitars that just don't play right out of the box hoping I could breathe some magic into their axes?

Or will they just give up if they realise its a bit harder than playing Guitar Hero on their games console?

If you bought an electric guitar for under £100 (maybe a lot less) would you spend £90-£200+ on upgrades like pickups or spend £40 to have it set up?

MDV · « **Reply #1 on:** November 16, 2007, 12:55:08 AM »

Speaking of argos, you've been able to gt mail order guitars in catalogues for well over a decade now (at least)

Tescos are never going to fully cater for GAS. Fact.

Ergo, there will always be high street guitar retailers. If companies (like tesco) with massive buying power take up the low end and beginners market, then theres still intermediate, "First Real", high end and custom gear.

How many luthiers are you expecting tescos to employ, Jonathon?

I can see it now. Fresh bread and handmade super-axes in a one stop shop! The ovens next to the CNC machine. Luthiers slaving early in the morning to bring you the freshest guitars at low, low prices.

Sorry, got carried away there. :oops:

WezV · « **Reply #2 on:** November 16, 2007, 07:16:07 AM »

well you obviosuly need to allow for the money for BKP's as well - so really its a £250 guitar

38thBeatle · « **Reply #3 on:** November 16, 2007, 07:34:37 AM »

I can't see the likes of Tesco and Asda helping music shops much-as you say, the beginners guitars are going to be their main thing but I would hope that the people taking up the guitar will always be divided in two categories: the quitters and the stickers.I started learning with 7 other guys at school.After a year or so most had given up and as time went by, only two of us carried on.All had bought guitars to start but the other guy and I have carried on.Tescos and Asda are not going to be looking for the likes of me which is just as well as I never go to supermarkets anymore.

noodleplugerine · « **Reply #4 on:** November 16, 2007, 07:43:39 AM »

Quote from: 38thBeatle

I can't see the likes of Tesco and Asda helping music shops much-as you say, the beginners guitars are going to be their main thing but I would hope that the people taking up the guitar will always be divided in two categories: the quitters and the stickers.I started learning with 7 other guys at school.After a year or so most had given up and as time went by, only two of us carried on.All had bought guitars to start but the other guy and I have carried on.Tescos and Asda are not going to be looking for the likes of me which is just as well as I never go to supermarkets anymore.

+1.

Twinfan · « **Reply #5 on:** November 16, 2007, 08:50:37 AM »

As Mr Beatle says basically :D

The supermarkets will cater for the Xmas present, try it out market. The stayers will want a proper instrument soon enough, and for that they will go to a music shop.

Henk · « **Reply #6 on:** November 16, 2007, 09:04:26 AM »

Its more like guitars are becoming a consumable item more and more, but thats with everything it seems.

If someone doesnt like the guitar anymore its just dumped on ebee and they buy another one and so on.

This does affect guitarstores and the guitar builders IMO since a large part of their trade venue is from second hand gear and nowadays even Gibson is getting commercialized to the point of making 'special offers' and sticking 30% off stickers on them. All at the cost of quality offcourse.

Just look at the quality of the new Gibson LP line, if you want a decent one you actually are looking at the VOS custom shopped ones, which IMO they made as a standard in the early 90s. So demanding players get to pick up the tab for all the price competition.

If i look back at the time before ebay and such, i could just walk in any store with some trade-in gear and get a decent price for it so i could buy something else, nowadays you can just forget it, they offer lowest ebee prices if your lucky you can trade something in at all!

Still, its no use trying to ignore facts, people want that special offer, discount or whatever and thats what has to be done.

So maybe you should offer a free setup with a refret Feline?

gwEm · « **Reply #7 on:** November 16, 2007, 09:30:08 AM »

it could just be an experiment on the part of the supermarkets, lets see if they're still selling guitars in 6 months time.

Jonesy76 · « **Reply #8 on:** November 16, 2007, 10:09:49 AM »

They won't be.............but they will be at this time of the year again!

I've got friends who work in a local guitar shop here in Norwich, and a lot of their profit they make each year is on the 'Stagg' type of cheapo Chinese guitars they sell in nice little kits to parents buying that first guitar for their kid.

There's simply not the trade in high end guitars all the time to keep everything viable, hence why they've branched out to try to become the Easts biggest supplier of Bass guitars, drum equipment, and PA gear. The guitar market is getting seriously undercut.

However I have brought one of these cheapo Chinese things before to satisfy a GAS attack, and it was a complete waste of money......especially when you consider it did have a truss rod, but it wasn't attached to anything! :roll:
I'd rather buy Japanese :D

gwEm · « **Reply #9 on:** November 16, 2007, 10:16:12 AM »

i guess cheap strat copies have always existed in some form.. if you want one, you'll get one somehow. as jonesy indicates, cheap strat copies are probably the most popular guitar.

badgermark · « **Reply #10 on:** November 16, 2007, 11:20:07 AM »

A shop in Glasgow is the worst offender for cheapo Stagg gear. An entire wall is covered in sub £150 instruments, with only a handful of Fenders, the occasional Gibson and ONE PRS. Luckily that's in the minority, but still, not inspiring and they have been stocking less and less 'good' gear.

badgermark · « **Reply #11 on:** November 16, 2007, 11:20:35 AM »

A shop in Glasgow is the worst offender for cheapo Stagg gear. An entire wall is covered in sub £150 instruments, with only a handful of Fenders, the occasional Gibson and ONE PRS. Luckily that's in the minority, but still, not inspiring and they have been stocking less and less 'good' gear.

hunter · « **Reply #12 on:** November 16, 2007, 11:23:38 AM »

Good post Jonathan.

I have a rather controversial point of view on this.

First, the cheaper an entrance into guitar playing can be made, the better. There shouldn't be major hurdles. More new starters also increases your potential target group by the way

My own experience, when I started to play, I did not get very good advise from the retail, it was more of a rip-off - luckily I bought a Tokai strat against the advise of the shop guy (because it was red like the one of Mark Knopfler).

What is happening at the moment is an increasing importance of web forums and web sites, clips on youtube and other sites, as well as harmony central reviews etc.

Also it is rather easy to become a semi expert in no time with all the resources that are available on the internet. So today, if someone seriously wants to start guitar, he might go to a shop with already a narrowed down selection of what he wants, and will face a fight between the retailer's recommended models and the web recommendation.

Then the frustration will often be that the models that people want to try are not available, so they will either buy something else or go home and order online.

Probably retail is gonna be replaced by Online in the long term and only the big chains will survive - which is the trend in most businesses. There are always some retailers that stay small but are smart enough to use change for their own advantage.

For example why are delaers not charging for the ability to test an instrument or amplifier? It's degrading its value, so why not charge a fee?

Actually personally I can live with the current development, it is what the community wants, as long as there are still builders and people that repair stuff, which at least here in Brussels, there are plenty (independent from dealers).

The only way to change the development would be through government intervention, e.g. taxes or restrictions, but those are always bad for the consumer.

Jonesy76 · « **Reply #13 on:** November 16, 2007, 01:02:56 PM »

I agree in some regards to your statement Hunter, but my experience of first time guitar buyers (which is fairly considerable seeing as I'm the only guitarist in my place of work - apart from my consultant who is has only been playing for 6 weeks) is that they don't really know to go hunting through the on-line resources that we all know and use.

The problem is that a first time buyer invariably is a kid/teenager, or his or her parents. Very rarely is it an adult, or an adult with guitar experience buying for his/her offspring.

To the vast majority of parents who know nothing about guitars they will simply walk into a guitar or music store and ask them what they'd recommend for their kid; or it'll be a kid doing the same, or just asking for the same guitar his/her mate has! Very rarely will a first time buyer have the knowledge of what to look for in the big world of buying your first guitar. How many non-guitarists do you reckon would know to look on harmony-central? And if you don't know specifically what you're looking for you'll be looking on Harmony-Central for one hell of a long time!

If you're being pestered by junior to get Santa to get him/her a guitar for Christmas, and you known no better, seeing a package for sale in Tescos when you're doing the weekly shop will be too good a chance to turn down. Saves you a trip into town at the weekend to ask in a shop, and Tesco won't sell you a bum deal will they?? :roll:

Ratrod · « **Reply #14 on:** November 16, 2007, 01:11:45 PM »

Last week Lidl offered a Yamaha (Pacifica) guitar and amp package for 200 Euros. Not a bad deal IMO.

How this will all affect the business? I don't really know. The internet sure hasn't helped small shops. People come to try stuff out in a shop and buy it on the internet.

I think there is a way for shops to survive. They'll have to offer something the internet can't. So it'll come down to quality and service or find a niche. Maybe sell 'reasonably priced' guitars, properly set up with upgrades already installed. Those would be more expensive, but will offer more bang for the buck. You could do something similar in a beginners market. Close a deal with a local guitar teacher. Sell a beginner pack with an X amount of guitar lessons.