Klarinet Archive - Posting 000948.txt from 2003/02

From: Bill Hausmann <bhausmann1@-----.net>
Subj: Re: [kl] local store markups
Date: Thu, 27 Feb 2003 22:09:31 -0500

At 11:18 AM 2/26/2003 -0800, Kelly Abraham wrote:
>Bill,
>
>I agree about it being hard to make a profit as the local store.
>
>Question though...if other places sell for cheaper than your
>wholesale, couldn't you buy FROM THEM and resell them to save
>the extra $? I am not sure of title law, and the sort, for
>preowned vs. first ownership instrument sales.

Actually, we HAVE done that before. But once you go through all the
hassle, there still isn't much profit to be made form the endeavor.

>I was being rather specific about the cost not being relative at
>$50-100 difference for an instrument. If there is a $500 markup
>on an $1500 istrument, maybe the local store NEEDS to go... Saks
>Fifth Avenue and Neiman Marcus are finding out this hard fact
>that people don't have the money to pay for a personal shopper
>anymore, so they are adapting.

Markups are by percentage, not a set amount per instrument. Otherwise, we
would have to charge even MORE for cheaper student instruments, making the
bar for entry level that much higher.

>I supported Woodwind and Brasswind right up until the day they
>closed the New York City store, because they weren't making
>ENOUGH profit for Dennis Bamber, the owner. He now sub-rents the
>leased space for the store to someone who pays more per square
>foot for the space. I bought things from WW&BW in NYC even
>though I could get things other places. They were local ad the
>people there were great. It was one of the few alternatives to
>Sam Ash, and the only one in NYC that didn't seem to have car
>salesmen on the showroom floor. I went there for the people, not
>the prices.

Real estate in NYC is FRIGHTFULLY expensive, certainly more expensive that
it is in the industrial park in South Bend. He probably found that it was
NOT profitable to operate there with the higher overhead.

>I followed Jonathan Watkins from the old WW&BW in NYC to his new
>endeavor, Watkins Musical Instruments and Accessories, which is
>housed in The Music Store on 62nd Street here in NYC, and
>frequently buy things at a reasonable markup to cover overhead.
>They are close to comparable prices with mailorder stores, but
>slightly more. I support them because they are local. If I had
>to pay $35 a box for Vandoren V12 reeds instead of $20, I would
>have to go elsewhere. Sure, I can get the reeds at WW&BW online
>for $16, but I support the local store, so they can be here,
>plus I direct my students to the store by word of mouth AND by
>buying holiday gift certificates for the store to give to my
>students to get them to go to the store. His instrument prices
>are a little more, but not an unrealistic amount more, per
>instrument.

What you get for your extra money is service, expertise, and
availablility. Have I bought stuff mail order? Sure. But mostly when I
lived two hours AWAY from the nearest music store.

>There is a realistic markup, and then there is an unrealistic
>one that suggests that maybe that local store shouldn't carry
>that product, if they have to mark it up $500 or more. I lament
>the death of the local stores, but considering the music
>profession tends to leave most of us working multiple jobs to
>make ends meet in music, maybe stores should consider only
>selling things they can make a profit from reasonably, and
>everything else would have to be special order.

And that is largely what we do. Even then, we often get stuck with things
that sit on the shelf for years until we have to blow them out at cost or
so. We do not want to sell student instruments ONLY. That would be
wrong. And why should people special order from US when they can go mail
order and not get the middle-man markup? See how we are squeezed between
the rock and the hard place?

> A sobering thought though...no local stores.

It could happen, and HAS in many smaller communities. And I don't know HOW
school band directors would survive without traveling school services
people like me. Just today in my travels, I fixed 3 bass clarinets, 2
soprano clarinets, one flute, one alto sax, one bari sax, and 2 french
horns. Quicky jobs, the worst one being replacing one pad, but all the
instruments were inoperable on at least some notes without help. When the
big mail-order places start doing THAT (at no charge, I might add -- just
part of the service) then maybe we won't NEED the local stores so much!

Bill Hausmann

If you have to mic a saxophone, the rest of the band is TOO LOUD!

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