Thinking of opening a guitar business - suggestions?

[Twinfan]

Interesting idea Hunter - like a "classic rock" music shop?  Selling Les Pauls, Marshalls, Cry Babys, Tubescreamers etc.  Could have special demos each month:  Clapton month, 'DC month etc showing off the gear the stars use/used?

Hmmmmm....

[Philly Q]

perhaps build a second hand section where you take £30 for hanging up the guitars and getting people to see them.

Or sell on a % commission - that way you make more on high-value guitars, and it gives you an incentive to try to get the best price for them.

[plastercaster]

I'd say a band of the month is a much better idea than an AC/DC shop; I just don't think theres a large enough market for it to be sustainable.

[noodleplugerine]

Not everyone is as big a fan as Twinfan when it comes to ACDC.

Many people learn the songs - But normal people prefer playing ACDC on their guitars - Not Angus's guitar.

[indysmith]

the shop idea i wanted to persue was a kind of warmoth idea, but in more of an actual shop format than an online thing, where people can come and have a look at the 'showcase' of variations on bodies, necks, colours, styles, and choose what they like and have it all assembled for them there and then in-store. Ideal for those who want a custom guitar of high-quality parts, but aren't prepared for the wait. - and also it'd be a lot more of a hands-on experience, which i believe makes a lot of difference to seeing something and purchasing it off of a screen. People could actually feel the pre-made necks, and see the finishes for real.
Also - companies like Warmoth and Allparts etc. lack set-neck models, so I'd like to sell Les Paul blanks with the neck already glued in, and then let people choose the blank with the finish they like, choose the pups and electronics, tuners etc...

[plastercaster]

perhaps build a second hand section where you take £30 for hanging up the guitars and getting people to see them.

Or sell on a % commission - that way you make more on high-value guitars, and it gives you an incentive to try to get the best price for them.

not too much though- thats what drives people to ebay.
If you use a 20% commision, the kind you need to make worthwhile profit, people will go elsewhere to sell. If you charge a low enough fee to encorage people to choose you over the bay/ small ads, you will build a good second hand section, which will draw people in, giving you passing trade and brand loyalty.

[dave_mc]

first off, i have no idea about business. just so you've been warned...  :lol: (i've read through the first page, i'll go back and read through page 2 and 3)

coffee shop sounds like a good idea; however, you'd want to be careful that people aren't eating a greasy sandwich, and then going straight to try the guitars. That couldn't help the condition of the guitars.

i agree with less well known, but good (and good value) brands. Gordon Smith, Japanese Tokais, etc.

problem is, a lot of the gear that more experienced players deem "rubbish", sells extremely well to beginners.

i agree about finding a niche. and tom had some good ideas about after-sales service.

EDIT: ok, read through most of the rest:

(a) With my cynical hat on, I'd say if you want something different in a guitar shop employ staff who aren't arseholes  :| .  Goes without saying if you run it yourself of course, Dave  8) .

(b) If you specialise in amps (or even just guitars), get some proper soundproof rooms!  If you're a donkey of a player like me, it's terribly inhibiting trying out gear in the main showroom - and you can't actually hear anything properly anyway.  Result - no sale, even if the money's burning a hole in your pocket.

(a) +1. Far from every music shop worker is a tool, but there are enough that having a nice guy (or guys, or girls) in the shop could make all the difference.

(b) agreed, a soundproof room is awesome. And far too few shops have them.

I think having liquids and guitars in the same place will lead to sticky guitars.

haha, beaten to it.

Some new ideas:

Could you sell second hand stuff on commission? that might be an idea. A lot of people (myself included) are wary of selling something to a shop for, say, £200, and then going in the next day to see it marked for £400. It would mean no money up front for the seller, but at least they'd know how much they were paying for the service.

Kids: I dunno. My thinking (could be way off) that they're only kids for a few years. If you make friends when they're 16, you could have a customer for life. Soundproof rooms could come in handy here if you want to avoid it annoying other more mature customers. Though having several soundproof rooms will doubtless get expensive very, very quickly.

Oh, and have a pedalboard set up at all times. I'm not a big pedal guy, but when i realise that a lot of the time the guy in the shop has to run looking a lead, a battery, an amp, and then you realise you can only try one pedal at a time etc.... more often than not i don't even try the thing. which means i definitely won't buy...

[PhilKing]

I  used to work in music retail and still have quite a few friends in the business and I can tell you that in the UK 2 things killed the trade in/secondhand market.  The initial one was free ads in guitar magazines, and then ebay was the nail in the coffin.

I had an idea that perhaps you might want to think about.  It is a pre/post production studio with instrument and outboard rentals.  There are so many people doing home recording but who don't realy have the gear to get a good sound.  If you had a place with several different size rooms you could set up workstations with good mics, outboard gear and even a studio with amps.  I know that there are a lot of different packages/hardware used, but if you have pro-tools, cubase and sonar, I would think you have most people covered.  You can send them home with the project on DVD, and this will make them more likely to come back for more mixing/tweaking.

If you have CD duplication too, that would probably bring in a decent extra income.  Add in repairs and hire and I think you might have a decent business model.

[Ted]

I  used to work in music retail and still have quite a few friends in the business and I can tell you that in the UK 2 things killed the trade in/secondhand market.  The initial one was free ads in guitar magazines, and then ebay was the nail in the coffin.

I had an idea that perhaps you might want to think about.  It is a pre/post production studio with instrument and outboard rentals.  There are so many people doing home recording but who don't realy have the gear to get a good sound.  If you had a place with several different size rooms you could set up workstations with good mics, outboard gear and even a studio with amps.  I know that there are a lot of different packages/hardware used, but if you have pro-tools, cubase and sonar, I would think you have most people covered.  You can send them home with the project on DVD, and this will make them more likely to come back for more mixing/tweaking.

If you have CD duplication too, that would probably bring in a decent extra income.  Add in repairs and hire and I think you might have a decent business model.

Sounds awesome! Studio with an amp and effects you could use / hire.

[Twinfan]

Got to admit Phil, that sounds good to me too.  Not a full on studio for pros, and the cost associated with it, but a decent "home" recording studio.  Couple of laptops, good mics, amps and guitars for hire if required, drum kit.

Cheap demo emporium????

[Kilby]

I would suggest making friends with the local recording studios, if you are thinking of doing a bit of equipment hire (local TV and radio companys too)

One of the hinks I have noticed around here (and elsewhere) is the rise of the small valve amp. Yet apart from the Tiny Terror (and zvex Nanohead to an extent) there seems to be nowhere to try the bloody things out.

As for the ruse of EBay make use of it for yourself, and do EBay selling for those who are too lazy (or afraid to do it themselves), have an additional charge for setting the instrument up properly.

Rob...

[hunter]

I  used to work in music retail and still have quite a few friends in the business and I can tell you that in the UK 2 things killed the trade in/secondhand market.  The initial one was free ads in guitar magazines, and then ebay was the nail in the coffin.

I had an idea that perhaps you might want to think about.  It is a pre/post production studio with instrument and outboard rentals.  There are so many people doing home recording but who don't realy have the gear to get a good sound.  If you had a place with several different size rooms you could set up workstations with good mics, outboard gear and even a studio with amps.  I know that there are a lot of different packages/hardware used, but if you have pro-tools, cubase and sonar, I would think you have most people covered.  You can send them home with the project on DVD, and this will make them more likely to come back for more mixing/tweaking.

If you have CD duplication too, that would probably bring in a decent extra income.  Add in repairs and hire and I think you might have a decent business model.

Hmmm, reading this I though what would be great: a place where I can crank my gear as much as I like ... and maybe record  

[ToneMonkey]

How about talking to some custom builders and showcasing their work.  I live in the same village as a bloke who makes custom resonators to order. Problem is that when people come and try his stock models, they always end up buying them instead  :roll:

You could have a wall with some examples of very small builders work (my mates reso's, Patrick Eggle acoustics etc - you're in a much better situation than me to say who's good).  You could either sell some of the one's on the wall or act on behalf of the builder and take a cut of custom orders.

Imagine having 20 hand built instruments to play with.  Hand built pedels etc - all the real top notch stuff.  Obviously more to set up.

Speaking of reso's, the London Reso Centre has closed down and I don't think there's anywhere that has a really good collection.

[HTH AMPS]

^ +1

I think if you source some custom builders of guitars and effects then build your stock round that you'll have a much more exclusive feel than if you stock all the usual names everyone else does.  Also, you're never gonna beat the big dealers on price, so why bother stocking that stuff.

 :twisted:

[ToneMonkey]

I completely agree with that.  I was in sound control the other week and they had new tele copies for £55.  Obviously not the best axe in the world, but how the hell can you compete with a £55 guitar.

They actually seemed like a hell of a good guitar for the money too.  Not too shabby at all.