Cash Converters Price Shocker

[Simon.]

[quote name='Big_Stu' timestamp='1442445152' post='2867098']
Mev Taylors was a cracking shop when it was on Morrison St, turned to crap when they moved in with Sound Control.
Rikki's was usually over-priced, one of them with about 20 guitars all the same apart from colour. [/quote]

Agree with you about Mev Taylor's and the subsequent drop-off in quality. Was it Mev's that used to be on Morrison Street at Haymarket? I remember it being an awesome place back in my youth, but possibly that's just the foggy effects of distant memory. I also recall being scared witless as a naive 14-year old in Bostons. What happened in the end?

I didn't know Rikki's was still going. Although indeed usually over-priced, I distinctly remember my mate getting an Epiphone Les Paul from them which was stunning piece of work. We did blind tests with another friends Gibson LP, and no-one could tell the difference. It was a thing of beauty.

[Jambo63]

The music shop that used to be at Tollcross in Edinburgh was Grant's Music - just down from the Kings and Bennetts bar

Edited September 18, 2015 by Jambo63

[kodiakblair]

Cheers for clearing that up Jambo63.

[Beer of the Bass]

[quote name='Simon.' timestamp='1442573179' post='2867879']
I also recall being scared witless as a naive 14-year old in Bostons. What happened in the end?
[/quote]

It was run by this guy:
[url="http://www.theguardian.com/uk/2004/feb/15/drugsandalcohol.ukcrime"]http://www.theguardian.com/uk/2004/feb/15/drugsandalcohol.ukcrime[/url]

[ivansc]

FWIW Many years ago I worked for a local franchisor and was involved with training a bunch of the franchisees in the art of running a pawn shop and second hand shop, which of course is what CC is/was.

The vast majority of them didnt have a clue about buying selling or anything else.
As I have a background in Jewellery AND musical instruments, I became "the chap to call" on both jewellery and musical instruments for many of these franchisees.
Sadly I don't think CC have that many knowledgeable people working for them these days.
And of course, the harsh reality of any second hand business is that in order to make an actual after tax profit, you really DO need to strive for a "keystone" or cost+150% inclusive of 20% VAT.
Sounds a huge margin but by the time you take out for stolen goods returned to their rightful owners - no matter how hard you try to avoid the scum, you WILL get caught occasionally - duff gear that the buyer forgot to check out properly when it came in, warranty repairs or refunds or replacements. (CC used to give 90 days on everything they sold) and of course the actual overhead of running the business you really dont see that much in the way of an actual profit.
The part that used to bemuse me was that the franchisees HAD to have succeeded in amassing at least 500k pounds in order to buy into the franchise and actually set up & stock a shop.
If it were me I would just carry on doing what I was doing that left me with half a mil going spare....

[Big_Stu]

[quote name='Beer of the Bass' timestamp='1442587475' post='2868038']
It was run by this guy:
[url="http://www.theguardian.com/uk/2004/feb/15/drugsandalcohol.ukcrime"]http://www.theguardi...alcohol.ukcrime[/url]
[/quote]

I was stunned at the time; I'd always got on well with Roddy Jnr. but only saw his Dad a couple of times. He knew a fair bit about gear & guitars and told me he looked forward to stuff coming in. It was the same at that shop as some CCs on a Monday morning, desperate, ill looking guys with bulky carrier bags waiting for the door to open, but I had no idea of the reach they had.
I saw Roddy Jnr in Chambers St. 10+ years later, jail-time had really taken it's toll.

[LukeFRC]

[quote name='Meddle' timestamp='1442440611' post='2867067']
Not sure there is such a thing left really. I can only think of Backtracks Records Tollcross and Chariot Express in Newington. Neither seems to be a source of rough diamonds, sadly.
[/quote] I would avoid le chariot express at all costs. Would rather throw my money in the sea than give it to him....
anyway...

[quote name='Big_Stu' timestamp='1442445152' post='2867098']
Mev Taylors was a cracking shop when it was on Morrison St, turned to crap when they moved in with Sound Control.
Rikki's was usually over-priced, one of them with about 20 guitars all the same apart from colour.
[/quote]
Mev's a lovely fella but I from talking to him I think he got royally screwed with the sound control shambles.

[Bigwan]

I would usually agree about CC, but last time I was in the Belfast store they had an SWR Triad for £135... They also had a Workingmans 15 combo for a pretty reasonable £199.