Unusual guitar retailers

There has been some written lately about the move by big-box retailers like Wal-Mart and Target to sell beginner guitars. I read with much interest articles that described how the low end entry level instruments were being sold at these locations, without any support or sales expertise. The general idea expressed by several retailers in The Music Trades magazine was that music instrument retailers should not race these stores to the bottom. As well, an unfortunate consequence of Wal-Mart and Target selling ultra-cheap guitars to beginners is that many beginners will become frustrataed trying to play an inferior instrument and will never become more proficient at the guitar. They will never realize that it may have been mostly the fault of their $79 guitar, and not their innate music abilities.

So imagine my delight when the latest PBTeen catalog came in today’s mail. Right on the cover are a boy playing guitar and a girl playing drums. At first I thought they were encouraging musical interest and healthy enjoyment of instruments by teens. My delight evaporated when on page 4 I saw that they were selling guitars in a choice of their two favorite patterns: Navy Camo or Blue Bubble. the case, amplifier, and a drum set are also available as separate items.

Business negativity

Flushed with excitement over how smooth everything was moving along with a possible guitar store, this week I ran smack into the “What? Are you kidding?” of my daily existence. Married to an anesthesiologist, this seek I was again reminded of what a large share of everything child- and house-related I perform. And my wife’s hours, which she modified once about two years ago, aren’t going to get any better. So this week I have spent less time contacting guitar dealers or real estate agents, which were the next steps on this possible new venture.

Instead, I bought a beautiful Parker Fly guitar off e-bay. I have been bidding on Parker Flys for several months and was never the high bidder. It was my inability to locate a new Parker locally that first drew me to the idea of opening a guitar store. So buying one is something of n accomplishment. And I simply love the guitar. It is high tech, and unusual, but mostly it fits me well. And I find myself exploring new things, and letting my creativity out to make up things, which I never did on any of my other guitars. So for now, I am a very happy player.

I am also bidding on a Gibson ES-335. Its 1960’s vintage, and I am hoping to win an auction with a high bid less than $10,000. The Blue Book of guitar prices I have pegs the value of this instrument around $12,000, and the auction listing says it’s worth $12,000 in the Vintage Guitar Price Guide, also. I’m not really planning to play this guitar, if I win it. Instead, I view it as an investment, a possible guitar for the wall in a guitar store (should I ever pursue that dream to fruition). And if no store materializes, I can still sell it on e-bay some time in the future, hopefully for more than I pay this week.

e-bay PowerSeller Program

e-bay has a program to recognize high-volume sellers. Its called PowerSeller. I have purchased items from PowerSellers in the past, often electronics. But as a result of my recent sales activities for my friend, I have become a Power Seller.

When I received the e-mail inviting me into the program, I first was concerned that it was a phishing scam. I e-mailed the customer service department at e-bay, and was told that I had indeed qualified to be a Power Seller. So now I am.

In order to maintain that elite designation, I need to sell an average of $1000 per month, averaged over the prior three months, and maintain a feedback rating over 98%. I’m already plotting how I am going to maintain the rating for as long as I can. I have taylor 420 guitar that I want to sell, but I won’t sell it until November. I want to have something next month to replace the items I sold several months ago that will become off my average.

But I still don’t think I’ll be getting rich selling on e-bay anytime soon.

Assessing Future Competitive Threats

I have spent much of my free time the past several weeks assessing the current competitive landscape for music instrument retailers in my area. I still plan to make a trip into Philadelphia and visit one major store I know is located there, and which sells guitars on the internet as well.

What I also feel a need to assess is the likely future retail environment. For example, as I was returning from a visit to Accent Music, I passed a large construction zone. The site has already become home to new Target, PetSmart and Home Depot stores, and there were several more large retail stores under construction. The plaza reminded me very much of a plaza in Plymouth Meeting, PA where the Guitar Center store is located. I briefly thought that it would make a nice place to have a guitar store, being close to the expanding population in Chester County. And then I wondered if Guitar Center may already have their eyes on that plaza. And if I knew where Guitar Center was planning to open a store, it might affect where I might locate my store, and what style the store would be.

And so my thoughts for this week are on attempting to evaluate the likelihood that a chain store might locate a new store close to Media.

Naming a New Store

I was quite excited to discover how easy it was obtaining my sales tax number from the state of Pennsylvania. All I needed was a business name to operate under. Faced with the obvious, I chose Media Music. There aren’t any music stores here in Media, and the choice seemed easy, if not especially creative.

Fast forward to this weekend, as I browsed a brochure advertising the Second Saturday art event held in Media. As I perused the stores, I noticed that some stores not directly on the main street, State Street, were participating. before I could even incorporate this into broadening the geographic territory for my potential store, I noticed one store titled “Media Music”, and my pulse quickened.

I was aware of a local recording studio, that also provides music instruction, called Media Recording Studios. And their website, includes the recording studio nature of their business. But it looks like they have the name Media Music mocked up.

Perhaps this is why I was asked by my home theater friend if I had searched the database of fictional and/or business names prior to selecting my name. Of course, I had not and had already selected this name. Now I need a new name, and figure out how to change my existing name. I’m thinking something about “Guitars & More”, perhaps John’s Guitars and More, Media Guitars & More, or some other lead in word to that phrase.

Reasons guitar stores fail

Today I met with a man who used to run music stores in Media, where I am thinking of doing the same. We spent over an hour walking through town and grabbing a quick sandwich. I learned a lot about the history of music stores in my town. It wasn’t at all what I was expecting.

Media has, in the past, hosted a dedicated drum shop, several music lesson studios, a guitar store that for awhile was the leading seller of Gibsons on the East Coast, a head shop that also sold guitars located across from the court house, and a at least one other guitar store. None of them exist any more. With the exception of the store run by this man, which he closed “for personal reasons”, none of them closed because they were put out of business by competition.

Instead, what I heard were stories of owners spending their days getting drunk or high. A shop that bought old broken instruments, repaired them, and sold them as new, until they were discovered. Poorly managed stores, and stores with no inventory. What I heard were stories of businesses being run poorly.

The gentlemen wished me luck. He had a few ideas for guitars I should carry (well made Korean guitars are incredible values these days). We talked about some of the things I should look for in a location, which was especially helpful.

Over all, the meeting was another positive, and surprisingly easy, step on the path to opening a store.

Customer satisfaction – Success

It appears that I have a happy customer. Faced with a choice of paying the $40 to ship the amplifier back to me, and have nothing for his trouble, or given the offer of a $100 rebate (on a $345 amplifier) he took the check. So the check is in the mail, and we are both anticipating positive feedback from the transaction.

I did some follow up research before mailing that check. I learned from the good folks at George’s Music that amplifiers are usually shipped with the tubes already installed, as I did. They are often in cartons marked fragile, which mine wasn’t. And even with that precaution, amplifiers sometimes arrive at their store with broken/damaged tubes. He was candid enough to mention Mesa Boogie as a brand that particularly had trouble with tubes damaged during shipping, and which they no longer carry. So it made it seem reasonable that the tubes in the amp I shipped were damaged by a clumsy DHL driver or package handler.

The buyer also e-mailed to say the amplifier, when connected to an outside cabinet, lost the rattle that he thought was a cabinet rattle. It still had a tube rattle, but with new tubes, would be livable.

So I have a happy customer (I think). And I learned a lot about tube amplifiers and shipping. Fortunately, the Mexican Stratocaster I sold arrived quickly in Florida and was met with a satisfied buyer. I’m hoping for more of the same when the Gretsch Duo Jet sale closes on Sunday night.

I just hope there aren’t any more expensive lessons lurking within the Gretsch!

Entrepreneurial Doubt

I’ve never considered myself particularly entrepreneurial. Many of the personality, aptitude, and strength tests I have taken over the years (and I am a test junkie) have confirmed this opinion I have of myself. A sales aptitude test administered while investigating a franchise showed that I would be better off hiring a dedicated sales manager. But the same franchise administered a test that showed I was good at following and improving existing procedures, rather than inventing my own. For a franchiser, these were good things.

When contemplating a guitar retail store, I have found myself lacking most of the doubts that came when I looked at other franchises. Perhaps some of these can be attributed to the growing age of my daughters; the improved health and mind set of my wife; and the belief that as my daughters get older, I will eventually need to return to working outside the house. trading stocks on a daily basis is, while interesting and enjoyable, probably not in my long range future.

But perhaps the path to a guitar is smooth because it is the right thing for me. Many people have written to suggest that if you follow your interests, than things will be better. That there are no coincidences, and so fortuitous circumstances must be taken as good omens. I had one such incident this week.

On Tuesday, for one brief moment, I thought “What the heck am I doing? This will never work! My children are way too dependent on me to survive without me at home to help with homework. This will never work. This will amount to nothing, just like all those franchises I looked at three years ago.” Then I took a deep breath, and the thoughts passed.

On Wednesday, I went looking for cardboard boxes from amplifiers to use to ship statues I had sold on e-bay for my hairdresser. I learned almost immediately that the store had no spare empty amplifier boxes, but I started to chat with the Asst. Manager, with whom I have a good relationship. We talked about the stores in the area, including Swarthmore Music and Top Ten. And I mentioned that I was considering opening a guitar shop in Media. He became quite curious, and we had a nice chat about the industry and some of his thoughts about it. And he said to let him know if I did anything, since I would need people to work there. And he was interested.

And just like that, some of the questions about what I would do when my daughters need help on homework went away. Because I will have at least one good employee.

Store Location

I pursued a lead I was provided as to who owned and operated a prior store in Media. It was surprisingly easy to contact him, and he is willing to talk to me about what was in Media at one time. So far, his e-mails have referenced running more than one store, and at least one of them for more than 20 years. What was especially good to hear was that he had closed the stores for personal reasons, not because they were unprofitable.

Naturally, the competitive landscape in the 1990’s was much different than it is today. However, it was nice to know that they were making money back then, and not losing it. Through all of this I have been struck by how easy this has all been. Unlike when I was investigating franchises several years ago, and everything seemed hard work and full of obstacles to be overcome, this process has been easy and optimism producing. Yes, there is a part of me that remembers all the obstacles to entering retail. But I am persevering anyway, and the path has been smoother than almost any career path I have been on before.

Changing Competitive Landscape

I have been monitoring the competitive landscape, and have been asking everyone I know if they know anything about the history of a music store that once existed in Media, Pennsylvania, the most-likely location for me to open a store. I have contacted someone that I believe may have owned the store, having learned about him through a friend at the health club.

And I have also been asking around for information about the store I love to hate. And there have been some recent developments with that store. I have learned that three music instructors recently decided to quit suddenly, leaving the owner in a bind. I have been unable to learn, so far, why these instructors left. but the story included the phrase “[owner] is a nut!” so that might have something to do with it. I also learned that the owner makes most of his profit at his other location, and recently spends most of his time at that store.

This information led me to consider several alternatives.

1. The Swarthmore Music store, without its three instructors and not as profitable as the owner’s second location, may be available for less money than I had initially thought. This might also be an ideal time to approach the owner about selling, since he would be able to avoid the headache of hiring new instructors.
2. If Swarthmore Music is so weak, there might be less of a  need for me to consider them as strong competition for a music store located here in Media, which is only 5-10 minutes away from Swarthmore. In fact, I may be able to lure customers away from that store more easily than I thought. Although its location right near Swarthmore College can’t be overlooked as an advantage to servicing music students at the college.