Why do so many guitars come without cases?

[Philly Q]

I got into work this morning and there was a large, familiarly-shaped rectangular box sitting in reception.

I thought "Hmmmm, I don't remember buying anything.... "  :?  :?



Anyway, it turned out it wasn't mine.... a guy in our Post Room had bought a Silverburst LTD EC-1000 from GAK.  Nice!  Unfortunately, it had turned up with a massive crack in the headstock (presumably suffered in transit) so he was having to send it back.  :(

This is an £850 guitar, EMG pickups, Tonepros hardware, Earvana nut... but no case.  Not even a gigbag.  WHY??  :?

OK, it would add a bit to the price, but you can get a decent case for £50-£60, so it would cost the manufacturer a hell of a lot less than that.

I know it's all about profits, but to be fair the likes of Fender, Gibson and PRS provide some kind of case or bag with all but the cheapest models.  Why can't the far eastern manufacturers do the same?
 

[FernandoDuarte]

because the CEO and managers of that kind of company (subsidiary in other country to produce with cheaper prices) have their head in their butt, instead of over shoulder...

My company has some owners in USA and I think they spend some bad money on stupid things and hold the money on important things... my company has way more engineers and alike people than operators, go figure...

[Frank]

I'm amazed that a reputable dealer like GAK would do this but yes, it's all about pushing the headline price down by cutting corners. Just another pitfall to buying guitars over the internet I suppose, the moral of the story is support your local guitar shop because you'll miss them when they're gone.

[thisisnickpaige]

yeah its total rubbish to be honest, you pay almost 1000 dollars for a guitar they cant even give you a gig bag? Oh well that's " the economy ", right? ; ) Yeah its lame either way but that's how they do it. I dont get it personally its the least they can do after they take your money.... well you give them your money. 0=)

[MrBump]

It's a good point.  I'm "browsing" high end guitars at the moment (I know, not like me at all...), and I'm amazed at the £1000+ guitars that come "supplied with a padded gig bag".

Padded gig bad?!?!  For a grand I want it to be supplied with a nubile young latino lass who'll attend to my every middle-aged fantasy!!!

[Philly Q]

Padded gig bad?!?!  For a grand I want it to be supplied with a nubile young latino lass who'll attend to my every middle-aged fantasy!!!

Nah, you only get that with a PRS Santana II, I'm afraid.  :|

[Antag]

There's a simple answer to this problem: No case = no sale.

[MDV]

There's a simple answer to this problem: No case = no sale.

Well, yeah.

The answer is that people dont reall expect the case, its not a selling point (more of a haggling point in a shop) and not that big a deal to most buyers.

Therefore, they dont bother to add one.

And yes, they should, I agree. A hardcase should be standard with every guitar over a certain price....what that price is I dont know, I'd like to see it around 500 or so and really basic cases from 350 ish, but its not that simple from the perspective of budgeting, shipping, supply, manufacture and distribution from the guitar companies perspective. 

[Philly Q]

There's a simple answer to this problem: No case = no sale.

So you don't buy unless they throw a case in (presumably at no charge)?

Fine if you're a master haggler, or if the guitar you want is widely available at different dealers, but not so good if you can't find it anywhere else.  Most dealers won't throw in the case (and I see their point - why should they suffer the cost of a case it it doesn't come with the guitar from the distributor?).  In fact if you want the "proper" case for that particular model they'll try to sell it to you at an inflated price (the case for the EC-1000, from a quick bit of research, costs about £90!  :o ).  In that situation, I think a lot of people will feel like they're being "forced" to buy the case, so they won't bother - although they'll probably end up buying a case at a later date.

But it shouldn't be something you have to negotiate over, it should just be there as part of the package.

Of course, presumably the economics of the situation is that the cost of all those cases would be greater than the cost of however many breakages they have to replace each year.

[andi.j]

...but was the guitar bought from the store or the web?

If it was web then i had the same thing, my mid-high end jackson arrived sans case.  I'd guess this is because the 'net portal's all about overheads and keeping the prices down.
Contrary to this, Badlands guitars up the road  threw in a(n unaffiliated) bag for my sub £250 cort without even asking if i wanted one.  I know you'll get your gear cheaper online but you'd never get the same service and attention.

If the ESP was bought in person from the store I'm pretty shocked...

[Philly Q]

As far as I know it was bought online - and presumably the damage occurred in transit, not before it left the warehouse.

But as I say, my beef's not with the dealers, but with the manufacturers.  The dealer shouldn't have to make a decision whether to throw in a case/bag or not.

This is going back to an earlier discussion about the "quality of service" in shops vs. the internet, but I had an experience almost the exact opposite of yours, Andi.  Years ago I bought a Hamer Eclipse (in a Denmark Street shop).  The price was good, I said I'd buy it... but then they said the case was extra.  Which was absolute bollocks, as all Hamers come with cases and always have.  I got in a strop, refused to buy the case but (stupidly) ended up buying a cheap gig bag instead.

[jpfamps]

It's all down to bottom line.

Ultimately most punters want to pay the lowest price possible, and hence the proliferation of internet sellers driving prices on guitars down.

I think some of you might be surprised about how low the profit margins are now on some new guitars.

[Antag]

There's a simple answer to this problem: No case = no sale.

So you don't buy unless they throw a case in (presumably at no charge)?

Not necessarily at no charge, but I don't buy a guitar unless I get to take it out of the shop (or have it delivered to my doorstep) in a case.

If I have to pay extra for it, fine, but I will consider whether the total for guitar + case still makes it a worthwhile purchase.

FWIW, most guitars I'm looking at these days are >£800 (actually probably >£1200) - I agree with MDV that beyond a certain price, it's unreasonable to sell a guitar without a case simply because you want to look after such an expensive item properly.

[dave_mc]

LTDs are already overpriced here. i can't imagine what they'd cost with a case.

some thoughts:

- my house is coming down with cases. I don't gig so they just sit there. granted it's worth it to make sure it doesn't get damaged in the post, or even just to have it in case you need to go somewhere with your guitar.

- some people genuinely don't need or want them. I agree that most probably do, and the companies are using the few people who don't need or want one as an excuse not to give away cases, but it's worth bearing in mind.

this might sound like i'm on the side of the companies- i'm not. but if you ask me, you have to be careful what you wish for. Knowing what companies are like, there are good reasons why they don't give away cases free:

- they'd lose more on the cases than on repairs, as philly said.

- they make a ton of profit on selling the "matching" case, much like amps which don't come with
footswitches. if you ask me, this is a bit shortsighted- a lot more people would presumably buy the matching case if it weren't extortion.

my big concern is that, if they started giving away cases for free:

- you'd get the cheapest, cr@ppiest case possible, but have the dubious pleasure of paying as if it were a good case (see edwards, fender japan)

- knowing what they're like, they'll cut corners in other areas, and these'll be areas where it's less easy to rectify the situation. sure, it's annoying if a guitar doesn't come with a case, but at least you can buy a case. if they cheap out on the wood etc. that's a lot harder, if not impossible, to rectify.

- saying that all guitars under a certain price should have a case sounds good on the surface, but unless I'm buying a really high-end guitar, I'd probably rather that money go to buying better wood, more attention to fretwork, better electronics and hardware, etc. etc.. Even if they keep the price the same, it makes you wonder why they couldn't lower it if it came without a case.

don't get me wrong, if we could have guitars keep their same price (actually, i'd prefer a bit lower than the moment as the prices are historically quite high because of the weak pound), keep the exact same quality, and come with a decent case, then I'd agree.

Does anyone honestly think that will happen?

[tomjackson]

I already have enough gig bgs and don't want to buy another one when I get a guitar.

Also, good packaging should be just as strong as a gig bag.

Guitars just get broken in transit, even in hard cases, it just happens.