Ever thought about opening a guitar shop?

[hunter]

I mean wouldn't it be nice to deal with the stuff you love? I think about it quite often, but then come the doubts, cost of dead stock, the slavery deals of manufacturers (you wanna have stock of that nice guitar, you gotta take also the lemons, etc.), the dudes that annoy you for hours with the latest thrash riffs and then go off and buy on ebay, low margins, high rent costs, shop lifters/theft, etc.

But still, wouldn't it be nice to make some people happy with nice guitars, amps and stuff?

[sgmypod]

Nearly gave up job I have for a job in a guitar shop...not a bad wage either

[Twinfan]

Yep, it would be nice  :)

[FernandoDuarte]

Yes, but would you really SELL the guitars?? :lol:
I believe some guys here would have troubles to sell them :D

[Antag]

No I don'tthink it would be for me.

Why? Well, as some of you know, I own rather a lot of guitars :) The downside to having such a large collection is that I'm forever changing strings, cleaning/polishing, adjusting actions etc to keep them all in playable condition.  Having to do that for a shop that may have hundreds of guitars in stock would be torture.

IMO it's a myth that shop staff spend their day sitting around playing gorgeous guitars - it's bloody hard work & might take away much of the joy I get from playing my own instruments...

[Twinfan]

I'd be happy to sell guitars that weren't mine!

Plus you get first dibs on the good ones that come in  ;)

[Philly Q]

I have a feeling that, like most things, it would become "just a job" after a while.  Not sure it would suit me, anyway, to have to deal with people all day.  I'm not very good with people...

If I had my time over, I think I would have had a go at building guitars for a living.  I get the impression that it's a career which gives job satisfaction rather than financial rewards, though.

[PhilKing]

I ran a guitar shop for about 3 years in my early 20's.  It was fun in that you got to try everything and you could play whenever you wanted, as well as getting first dibs on second hand gear.  However it was long periods of boredom when the shop was empty and everything was all set up, combined with frantic activity when the shop was full.  You also have to deal with the public and some of them are shites.  It would be a lot less hours than my job now, and I wouldn't be on call 24/7 like now - but would I go back to it?  Only if I could be 22 again  8)

[dave_mc]

yeah, but then i think of all the negatives which have been mentioned in this thread. the current financial climate would make it a pretty bad time to start one too, i'd have thought, in addition to all the other problems.

[il˙ti]

I wouldn't own and operate it, I don't have financial smarts. But I'd like to try working in one for awhile.

[hunter]

Maybe if you had a shop with only like 1,500 GBP + instruments. No cheap stuff or whatsoever. That would limit the customers to the more serious and passionate ones I suppose. Plus you could get a great relationship with custom builders and the PRSes and Gibson and Fender Custom Shops.

But then maybe you'd have huge stock cost and not enough cash turnover ...

[Matt77]

It's hard to go from a good regular wage to a low eratic one by choice.
I had a well paid 'career' job but developed a heart problem.
I'd been unable to work since Feb but have now almost recovered
I now work at a guitar school 3 days a week.
The pay is low but I've never enjoyed a job as much as this. I love going to work and often get up early just to go in to work early. It feels like a holiday
Sadly though a time will come to go back to the other career.
But it's made me realise, I could have just done this for a break for a year or so and than gone back to the less enjoyable but better paid stuff.

[Twinfan]

WOrld Guitars currently do what you suggest there Hunter.  They must have had HUGE start up costs.

[il˙ti]

Maybe if you had a shop with only like 1,500 GBP + instruments. No cheap stuff or whatsoever. That would limit the customers to the more serious and passionate ones I suppose. Plus you could get a great relationship with custom builders and the PRSes and Gibson and Fender Custom Shops.

But then maybe you'd have huge stock cost and not enough cash turnover ...

Yeah, or it would limit your clients to doctors and lawyers who play one chord a month. I think that'd be more frustrating for me than the 13-year-old thrashers.

[noodleplugerine]

Zimbloth over at SS.org just started up what could be described as a dream shop...

http://axepalace.com/