MIMF

I'm convinced that most luthiers actually believe that if they put some effort into trying to market their product properly, they might see some success, and that's nowhere near as exciting as complaining about how difficult things can be. That's a little harsh, Perry. While some (many?) fail at ma...

Now..we have to face it...how many households NEED a guitar...seriously...there are so many builders out there...and not so many guitarists...but anyway... Not many guitarists out there?!?! Reality check; if you spent the same amount of time learning some marketing techniques, rather than building ...

My first thought was actually - should a small luthier trying to build a business (opposed to build for fun and pleasure) try to sell finished guitars, or try to use finished guitars to get custom orders? I think with finished guitars for sale on a stand, your competition is Taylor, Martin, Gibson ...

Ryan, they havent paid for your guitars. They have nothing to lose by not rushing to put them up. That one taylor a month they sell, has been prepurchased, and those bills need to be covered. So when it comes to the crunch.... does the sales guy sell yours, and then imediately cut a cheque for 80% (...

Perry I have to admire your power of positive thinking but in my case the guitar sat for nearly a year and never sold at the over inflated price. I'd hoped to sell it quickly and turn that capital into something useful for my budding company. I ended up giving the instrument away because it was tra...

And my point was "who cares"? David thinking he's getting scammed, when ultimately he gets the dollars he was after, and the dealer gets a higher percentage, meaning he is more excited to sell more, is a win win. You want dealers, either on wholesale or consignment basis, to be excited, en...

We have a dealer that buys at full price, and adds 30-50%. This doesn't sound like consignment - it sounds like you sell him the product for a price (he buys it - he owns it), and then he can market it however he likes, without payment to you being contingent on sale. Correct, it was a reply to Dav...

So what? If the retailer gets more money, he will sell more product... We have a dealer that buys at full price, and adds 30-50%. People still buy them. At 20%, there isnt much skin in the game for a retailer. If they arent outlaying their hard earnt dollars to stock your guitars, they prioritise al...

Why do they choose a big brand? 1. Brand recognition. They cant buy yours if they dont know you. Also, years of built up lust and desire for a brand is a huge thing. 2. Perceived company quality. Some believe the big boys have more of a chance to get it right, because they do it so often. Also inclu...

Ive literally never had any guitars for people to try for 12 years. They need to take a leap of faith, or find an owner. I guess we had each guitar that we did finish, but you'd have to visit the day it was completed or it was shipped out... We finally managed to build some spares for NAMM this year...

Marked off three locations!

Ultimately, unless you're looking for dealers, it's a hefty expense. And to be looking for dealers, you'll be doing volume. Whilst the general public arent officially invited, they do get in. But its far from a public show. Smallest booth is $3600. Then all the add ons. Power, tables, carpet, etc et...

^^^ I have two early 60's Gibsons in my shop, been here for five years now. No work was done, because we were going to hammer out all the details via email... Which of course never happened. Two years ago he turned up, begging me to hold onto them and complete full restorations on both. I agreed on ...

You can make a good living. I'm at a guitar makers festival this weekend and half the guys here are positive and optimistic. Half are pessimistic and negative about the money side. I had everyone, including luthiers, tell me there is no living to be made. Never tell me something can't be done. In th...

I had a guy cancel his $4500 order, two weeks prior to completion (14 month build time) with $340 owing. The excuse was he wouldn't be able to find the $340 any time soon. Quick check of his FB profile showed his priorities were all wrong. Half the money got refunded and half credited towards anothe...

Pricing is easy. A: Work out what you want to purchase in the year as a goal. Work out your overheads for the year. What are your wages for the year? Calculate materials, and stock. Superannuation and health. Loan payments, rent, etc etc etc etc. Add a buffer!! Dont forget about tax, insurance, adve...

Electrics. We have teamed up with KSR Amplification for amps, and Positive Grid for ipad based (headphones) setups.

Just signed a Euro dealer, another Aussie dealer, and a USA dealer. Things are moving along nicely!

That's what we are looking for Simon, mass production distribution via stores. 450 sold since April, but none through dealers. It's time to step up :) Hoping to have 10 dealers pre-NAMM, 30 by end of 2016. USA, EURO, JAPAN. I went with a double booth, but after measuring it out, might have been a bi...

We are attending Winter NAMM 2016. Double booth booked, hopefully Hall D. Would love some feedback, tips, and comments from those that have attended. Do's and Don't's. What should we expect? Preparations? We have a couple joint ventures locked in with boutique amplifier companies and hardware suppli...

Its not a rickenbacher. It looks to be cobbled together from bits and pieces. The front of the headstock has a couple pipes or tubes over it, and the tuner buttons are spark plugs. Hardtail strat bridge and three singles on the guitar side. If I had known a guitar was needed for this movie, I would ...