MiltyG565

And so is holding a stock of things that only one person has ever asked for.

Just because you want to buy something, that doesn't mean there is demand sufficient enough to hold a stock of that particular item.

I'm genuinely curious, because it's been mentioned a few times in this thread - Is depreciation really that big a factor in your decision to purchase a new bit of kit? Typically the way I view something like a guitar or a bass is that it's a hobby of mine, and the market value of my gear through the years is largely irrelevant, as I'm probably not going to sell it, and I don't mind spending a bit of money on something that improves my quality of life. Of course, I could get it cheaper on the second hand market, but sometimes it's nice just to have something that's truly yours, no? Am I just a neurotic fool? 😂 I've never considered the second hand value of equipment when purchasing it new.

I did a blog post recently about the local retail market, and where it's going. https://martin-graham.com/2018/06/30/the-future-of-retail/

This is something that some people really value. Not all, but definitely far from none. And I wouldn't say it was just the older generation either. I think it's really fair, and frankly what drives a lot of my purchase decisions is how I feel about the people I'm dealing with. The cold, faceless void of Amazon really doesn't do much for me. Yes, it's great if I want something cheap, and it's handy (I've just ordered some pens), but it doesn't know me, and I don't know it. The relationship I have with the likes of Amazon is very transactional. The relationship I have with other companies can be quite a bit more in-depth. In a similar way, there are people who would rather send an email or do a web chat with a company, which is fine, but I prefer to talk to somebody. That isn't because I have some kind of issue with typing or reading, it just feels cold to me. One of the reasons why my customer satisfaction was so high when I worked for BT was because I called the customer, whether it was good news or bad news, I gave my customers the respect to call them and discuss it with them. Some of my colleagues rarely spoke to customers, and only ever sent them text messages. Some people preferred the text message, but in general I think people appreciate dealing with a person. This turned into more of a rant than I had anticipated 😂

I guess one of the challenges that many shops face is being able to justify stocking higher ticket price items. Generally, people who have been playing for a while are pretty clued in on what they want next, and they'll do the research and buy it, and typically that means buying online. Unless you're a destination shop, like a specialist retailer or in an area well known for the retail offering, or some kind of boutique that has a successful online sales channel, it really is difficult to cater to anything other than the beginners and low-budget buyers. This is a group that often really values the knowledge and insight of sales reps in a local shop, who should engage with these customers in a consultative way. Rotosound are generally on the cheaper side in terms of strings, so £22 seems odd, to me. I remember buying Rotosounds for £14 about 6 years ago. It seems to me that with inflation, the price would have come up a bit in the intervening years, but not by £8. Has your local ever offered to order in your preferred string?

I think you've really hit the nail on the head there, and from what others are saying in this thread, a large part of the reason they don't go to their local shop anymore is because they aren't getting a level of service they'd expect, and that really is something that should set-apart high street retail from online retail. That's something that customers should value so highly that they will pay a little extra over online prices for it. I think the old retail method of stack 'em high, sell 'em cheap doesn't really work in today's world. People can get product online for the best price possible. Small establishments with expensive shop fronts simply can't compete with that. Even the likes of Poundworld, operating in a market that's seen phenomenal growth since the financial crisis, has gone under. Price is no motivator for people to leave the house - because they don't need to. I'm a proponent of a "shopping experience", where genuine relationships are formed with customers, and they're offered something that simply can't be bought online.

Ok, fair enough - You don't buy loads of stuff, and you don't have a shop within a handy distance from where you live. Those seem like pretty compelling factors to not go to a music shop, or maybe to only go once or twice a year as a bit of an outing. What I'm really trying to get at is exactly what you do value about high street retail as opposed to online retail, not necessarily the value of your custom. What would be something worth making the 50Km trip for? Maybe there's nothing that could be offered that would entice you?

What could that say or do that would encourage you to shop there rather than online?

I've been thinking quite a bit about retail recently, and as some of you may know I used to work in a small music shop a few years ago. I think that music shops really add something different to the standard town-centre offering of hairdressers, coffee shops, bars, and restaurants, but for them to be sustainable businesses, they rely on our custom, so I'm curious to know - What do you like about your local music shop? Why do you shop there? Would you say you're a loyal customer? What don't you like about it?

And like that, the thread was over before it had even started! Excellent suggestion, my friend! Exactly what I was going to recommend too!

Sounds like the ideal setup. Get everything loud and mushy, absolutely perfect!

Even schools do gender swaps on Romeo and Juliet, this can't be such an arcane idea If a vocalist did take issue with lyrics somewhere, I guess it would be down to them to say so, not down to everyone else to decide it's not good for them to sing because of their gender/sex.

I certainly would! How many guys are out there screeching their way through Maria Carey songs?

It seems like, as with most bands, you have a requirement for a vocalist, regardless of gender/sex. If you're really having trouble with female vocalists, maybe the problem is you and your band-mates, and not all women.

I think the thing is that at the minute, generations are being defined by their maddest outliers. The hard-brexiteers who have retired to Spain, the millennials that unironically call for safe spaces and no-platforming. The fact is most sane, normal people hold fairly reasonable views, and there's definitely an element of NIMBYism to most things - "She can be transgender if she wants, so long as it doesn't affect me", that doesn't necessarily mean somebody is for the cause, but they aren't really against it either. What we've seen a lot of over the last few years is people trying to shoe-horn their beliefs onto other people (think marriage equality referendum and similar), and they generally lose. Most people don't care enough to be against something that doesn't really impact them.

Exactly. It's a business deal, so you should know exactly who you're dealing with. Search for them online - What have they been up to? Is anyone talking about them? What are they saying? Ask around - Do any of your friends know them? Have any of your friends worked with them before? Would they recommend it? Very basic due diligence. tbh, I do this before a job interview or even a date.

The cost of bass strings is just like anything else. Certain intrinsic and extrinsic market factors determine the price. A big intrinsic factor is the market size and ability to achieve economies of scale through mass production. Extrinsic factors being wholesale prices of raw materials (steel and other metals), exchange rates, import duties, labour costs, the list goes on. The thing is that for the most part, the costs to produce a bass string are largely the same as the costs to produce a guitar string. Where they diverge is the amount of material required and the length of time it takes to make. So even though the wrap on a particular bass string may be coming off the same spool of steel as the wrap on a guitar string, the extra steel required and the extra time required for the bass string drives the price up. Let's suppose, simply for the sake of demonstration, that one of the string winding machines in a string factory can do 20 guitar strings in an hour, or 14 bass strings in an hour. By the end of an 8 hour shift, a single operator could produce 160 guitar strings, or 112 bass strings. Looking at the labour cost alone, and let's say they get the current UK minimum wage of £7.50 per hour, that's £0.38 per guitar string, or £0.54 per bass string, and in fact it's generally accepted that the wage a employee gets is only about 70% of what it actually costs to employ somebody when you factor in all other associated costs like pensions and other benefits, so in the real world that's probably going to push the labour cost up to about £0.70 for the bass string. That's before the material costs are considered. The supply chains for these things is normally massive and global. Ore mined in Australia might be refined to steel in China, then shipped to the USA where raw steel is processed into components for strings according to the specifications the manufacturer has given, then shipped to the manufacturer, perhaps halfway across the country again, made into strings in their factory, then boxed up and shipped out to probably most the countries in the world. Supply chains on this scale aren't cheap to set up and maintain, and that's why volume production yields a lower unit cost, because the high costs are spread across a higher number of units, so any reduction in the number of units that can be produced means a disproportionately higher unit cost. Hope this helps

I always found D'Addario to be the most consistent mid-level brand. High quality for the budget conscious. They do offer some more niche products which are more expensive, but I always rated their high-volume products much higher than similar brands at the same position in the market (Ernie Ball, Rotosound). And their steels just offer a different level of tone from anything else on the market IMO. Big D'Addario fan right here, as you can tell

I think the only loser here is you. Both Justin and Andy look happy. Whatever arrangement they came to, they're clearly both fine with it.

What a lovely, heartwarming story. Such a shame that Justin had his equipment stolen, and that subsequently that cost fell on you, but I feel that if nothing else can be said on the matter, we can at least say you did the right thing, and Justin looks very happy to have his bass back - as well he should!

Brilliant story Nacho! As you know, I've always felt strings were a very important part of an instrument. It's a learning curve

[quote name='hiram.k.hackenbacker' timestamp='1507532384' post='3386018'] Yeah, like that, but £800? Really? [/quote] Yeah, it's pricey, but it seems like a really powerful piece of kit. I can't imagine it was cheap to develop.

Guys. I've found it. You can all thank me later. No "What's up guys" or "like share and subscribe", just flat-out tunes being made. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qezRZpbElpY

[quote name='Musicman20' timestamp='1486376255' post='3231148'] This is what I feel has happened to me, albeit a pedal. I think it is no doubt a floor model or a previous return. I don't understand why they don't keep a closer eye on returns and make sure they come back immaculate... [/quote] Because they're selling in an online marketplace, customers can return an item for a refund for any reason up to 28 days after they're received it. Some people will use an item once before deciding to return. Some people need more time. Some people abuse the system. It happens. But companies should make sure their outgoing stock is in good condition. Sometimes they will take a hit when the returns system is abused.