So here’s a thing. When is a guitar shop like a business? Not very often, imho.
One of the shops in London’s Denmark Street has had a nice Strat on the wall for a long time, an expensive custom shop vintage repro.
It dropped the price by a desultory 10% for a while but seems to put it back up from time to time, and the instrument still hasn’t sold. It’s been sitting there for over a year, taking up space, rent, heat and light and not earning its keep. But will they entertain a lower but still reasonable offer on it?
WILL THEY FUCK.
Instead the resident cretins (sorry, sales professionals) want to bang on about how beautiful it is, how great the pickups are, beautiful plumage, this parrot is dead etc.
Could someone please tell me how businesses like this run, let alone survive?
The shop simply doesn’t seem to be at all interested in moving what is obviously a piece of sticky stock. Could it be that it’s on sale or return or that the distributor doesn’t expect payment until it’s sold? Either explanation sounds pretty conkers to me.
No wonder I spend so much with Germans (Thomann) and Americans. They earn their custom, whereas most of Denmark Street’s inhabitants only serve to crystallize their terrible reputation.
Hence the title of this post – C***s 3.