Taylor's loss is The Podium's gain

[Guitar Rodeo]

James and I are sad this has happened, yet, we are blessed to have had a new opportunity arise just before Taylor decided to move in a different direction with their dealer group. The Podium is focused on the higher end guitar/small maker premium instruments. We have much more store traffic and are busy stocking a selection of better amps and instruments, as well as a comprehensive selection of accessories. We are striving to become the store of choice for the serious player and the professional alike. We may not be big, but we can be better. Hopefully, the standard for customer service and integrity that we have established through the years will bring us continued good fortune. We will miss the many good friends we have made at Taylor Guitars and in the Taylor guitar community, and should any of our customers decide they are ready to step up, we hope they will think of us. Thanks to all of you for your support. Jim

[Fire]

Wishing you all the best Jim and the Guitar Rodeo/ThePodium team. I've had a great customer experience with you and will definitely consider you in future purchases. Thanks.

[terrypl]

I, too, have had great experiences buying from Jim Tordoff. Therefore, I would consider him at the top of my list if I were to consider buying another guitar. As much as I really like my Taylors, I also own other brands and would take a serious look at whatever Jim is offering. I would not exclude Taylors from future consideration, but would broaden my view into other brands because I'm sure Jim will continue to offer great guitars at appealing prices, with loads of knowledge thrown in, as he always has.

[Herb Hunter]

Well I will say that I bought my last Taylor. 

While Jim is an internet dealer he is also my local dealer.  I've spent hours in his shop and bought a lot of Taylor's from him.   These will be the last.  Sad day.

-Dave

I don’t choose the guitars I buy based on the the brand’s internet sales policy or dealership rules. I choose guitars based on quality, tone, playability and, lastly, esthetics. As long as Taylor makes quality guitars whose tone and playability suit me, I will buy Taylors. Taylor’s environmental policy, their efforts to ensure wood sustainability, their customer service and their regard for their employees make choosing Taylors all the more easy for me.

You yourself have listed several non-guitar factors relating to how you feel about Taylor, and Dave has mentioned several others. It's not totally just about the guitar, but everyone's "other factors" are different. For those of us who know Jim personally, this "other factor" isn't shared by those who don't. That's all.

Yes, but the non-guitar factors were unknown to me when I bought most of my Taylor guitars. They add to my satisfaction of ownership but they weren’t considered when I made my decision to buy Taylor guitars.

[PureTone]

I wonder if the super retailers (online) have anything to do with this?

Wouldn't surprise me in the least. They're the ones that have to match prices because they advertise 'Guaranteed Lowest Price'.
Taylor obviously doesn't feel allowing certain relationships to lapse as being a loss because in the grand scheme of things it's little more than a drop in a bucket. In order for a dealer to sell 1% of the guitars Taylor produces in a year, they'd have to sell over a thousand of them. I believe that one could compile a list of the Top 25 independent Taylor dealers and between them they do not account for 25,000 guitars in a year.

It is likely to Taylor's benefit in that it means one less place to ship, one less account to track, one less address to send documents to, etc. If it were possible to have a distributorship-style network in the US, not unlike those overseas, that would simplify operations immensely. Only having to fill large purchase orders and letting the distributor handle the details for the shipment of the guitars, rather than sending 6 guitars here or a dozen there.

A company with many store fronts might be able to accomplish this goal and it may work, unless something happens to that company which would have a significant impact to any of the manufacturer that are dealing with, and highly dependent on, that company.

Take all of the 'non-guitar' factors out and it doesn't make any difference where one purchases a guitar because 'Support local business.' is taken out of the equation. Might as well punch in a credit card number over the internet to 'Music Mart Depot Emporium' and wait for the brown truck.

So much for enforcement of MAP.
http://www.musiciansfriend.com/deal-center?N=500001&nN=true&tandt_rdir=1#N=500001+100802+700007+202088&Nao=0&recsPerPage=20&v=g&Ns=pLH&profileCountryCode=US&profileCurrencyCode=USD&profileCountryCode=US&profileCurrencyCode=USD

[Cindy]

In the past Taylor, has implemented excellent strategies (such as using the striped ebony as their regular ebony now), but I gotta say I don't like this decision. I'm very sorry to hear this, Jim.

[M19]

Well I will say that I bought my last Taylor. 

While Jim is an internet dealer he is also my local dealer.  I've spent hours in his shop and bought a lot of Taylor's from him.   These will be the last.  Sad day.

-Dave

I don’t choose the guitars I buy based on the the brand’s internet sales policy or dealership rules. I choose guitars based on quality, tone, playability and, lastly, esthetics. As long as Taylor makes quality guitars whose tone and playability suit me, I will buy Taylors. Taylor’s environmental policy, their efforts to ensure wood sustainability, their customer service and their regard for their employees make choosing Taylors all the more easy for me.

You yourself have listed several non-guitar factors relating to how you feel about Taylor, and Dave has mentioned several others. It's not totally just about the guitar, but everyone's "other factors" are different. For those of us who know Jim personally, this "other factor" isn't shared by those who don't. That's all.

Yes, but the non-guitar factors were unknown to me when I bought most of my Taylor guitars. They add to my satisfaction of ownership but they weren’t considered when I made my decision to buy Taylor guitars.

Well then I guess you're just purer than the rest of us. Enjoy.

[MR XXXXX]

I wonder if the super retailers (online) have anything to do with this?

So much for enforcement of MAP.
http://www.musiciansfriend.com/deal-center?N=500001&nN=true&tandt_rdir=1#N=500001+100802+700007+202088&Nao=0&recsPerPage=20&v=g&Ns=pLH&profileCountryCode=US&profileCurrencyCode=USD&profileCountryCode=US&profileCurrencyCode=USD

Looks like all of those guitars are old models no longer be made....

[Herb Hunter]

Well I will say that I bought my last Taylor. 

While Jim is an internet dealer he is also my local dealer.  I've spent hours in his shop and bought a lot of Taylor's from him.   These will be the last.  Sad day.

-Dave

I don’t choose the guitars I buy based on the the brand’s internet sales policy or dealership rules. I choose guitars based on quality, tone, playability and, lastly, esthetics. As long as Taylor makes quality guitars whose tone and playability suit me, I will buy Taylors. Taylor’s environmental policy, their efforts to ensure wood sustainability, their customer service and their regard for their employees make choosing Taylors all the more easy for me.

You yourself have listed several non-guitar factors relating to how you feel about Taylor, and Dave has mentioned several others. It's not totally just about the guitar, but everyone's "other factors" are different. For those of us who know Jim personally, this "other factor" isn't shared by those who don't. That's all.

Yes, but the non-guitar factors were unknown to me when I bought most of my Taylor guitars. They add to my satisfaction of ownership but they weren’t considered when I made my decision to buy Taylor guitars.

Well then I guess you're just purer than the rest of us. Enjoy.

Hardly, I just use different factors to arrive at my guitar purchasing decisions than some people yet the same as some other people.


Incidentally, when I bought my first Taylor I had never even heard of the brand. I went in to a small guitar shop in the Fort Lauderdale area intending to buy a Santa Cruz guitar having tried a few examples at that very store a year before and walked out with a Taylor 510. That was in 1992.

[etzeppy]

A dealer in my area recently told me that they too just parted ways with Taylor. This was after they had previously boasted of being one of Taylor's largest independent dealers. They had a wall of Taylors a few months ago ranging from 100 - 900 series. That it is now down to small section with the Taylor wall replaced by Seagull/Godin.

[darylcrisp]

i've been away from most of the forums for the past 2 months-study time for two major tests and full time work-agh..............

i log on to see whats going on and find this. so if i read this right, Jon (MFG) and Jim(GR), have lost the Taylor brand?

has any of the other big taylor stores been effected likewise(LA Guitars, Fullers, wildwood in ohio, wildwood in Co, daves)?

i've bought and traded taylors with Jim Tordorff since i first found the brand. Developed a friendship early on that went beyond just dealing in guitars. Oft times when i'd call, Jim and i would meander about on what was going on in each others lives-laughing at the jest of what just happens to a guy sometimes. Within the past 4 years we both got married, and spoke to each other about those adventures as well.
i've trusted jim many times with hooking me up with the right GAS fix at that moment-he never disappointed.
anyone with a taylor question could call him up and get a clear answer. the man was just solid.
all my family and friends in Virginia know who "jim" is. Jim has been the talk of many table discussions. none of them have talked to him, none of them have met him-but they knew who Jim was-thru me. Many winter days/nights have been spent enjoying the company of a new/used instrument just arriving from Minnehaha Street in Mn.
and it just wasn't a thing of finding the cheapest price on a taylor-Jim had excellent prices, but pretty much the same as most other taylor dealers once you start dealing and they know you are serious-in fact, there was a time or two i found the same model i was looking for a few hundred cheaper, but i stayed with Jim because of the customer service aspect after the sale-and our friendship. heck, my most close local dealer(1.5 hours away) who only stocks about 8 taylors at a time(standard models, never a Ltd or BTO), will match any price-and they check online to give you a quote.

i find this really hard to accept-Taylor and GuitarRodeo go hand in hand-well, they did.


d

[PureTone]

There are a few theories and some speculation going on.
http://www.acousticguitarforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=303200
I found something rather interesting. Punch GR's zip code (55406) into Taylor dealer search bar.
http://www.taylorguitars.com/dealers?location=55406
The results are a repair center, 4 GCs and 1 dealer within 14 miles of each other.
American Guitar And Band claims to be a Gibson dealer, but shows no new Gibson acoustics in stock. Their Taylor inventory.
http://www.agandb.zoovy.com/category/shop_by_brand.Taylor.taylor_acoustics/

MFG's zip code (34112)
http://www.taylorguitars.com/dealers?location=34112
1 repair center and a GC over 30 miles away.
Martin allows non-stock guitars to be advertised at the actual selling price, but these are not guitars GC will have. By eliminating the one independent dealer from that area means that only parts need to be shipped to the repair center.

I doubt that American Guitar and Band outsold MFG on Taylors, I wouldn't think that AGB being a Gibson dealer is a factor or Martin being the closest 'competitor' for Taylor would have any bearing on it. I'd think that GC would be pleased as punch to sell as many solid top Taylors at MAP as they could get their hands on and not being troubled with having to take the time or the attention to detail required for BTO orders.

As other indy dealers fall by the wayside (undoubtedly, there will be more), it will be obvious which shops fall into the 'on-line' category, even though they have a 'brick-and-mortar' location, that are no longer 'a part of the plan'. I guess 'on-line' could mean a dealer that sells more to out-of-state  clientele than local customers ?

There are people that are brand loyal and people that will continue to support the dealer they feel most comfortable with. I've seen those that stopped buying a product because their dealer closed up (not due to poor performance) and I've seen those that stopped buying a product because the company's quality control dropped significantly. If pulling dealer status from shops that represent the company well, move product and have great customer service is now 'the norm', then I wonder what will happen with the dealer network that's left, especially if the 'tail' stops wagging.

[Cindy]

This would be an ideal topic for 'Ask Bob.'

 

[The Wink]

I'm shocked. Jim has reprinted the Taylor brand as well as any of their dealers. He has promoted the brand and helped it grow and added nothing but positivity to Taylor. When I think of Taylor guitars I think of Jim and Guitar Rodeo. I to am now done. I love Taylor guitars, but for me it's about the whole experience. I love in Minnesota. I visit Jim's shop often and I love the relationship I have built with him. That is way more important to me then tHe brand name. There are a lot of great guitars being made and Jim will now have some of those me I will support him, not a company that seems to have lost its direction and its ability to remember who helped them become who they are today.

I can't wait to see what guitars will be in his shop so I can plan my next purchase.

It's such a shame when companies loose their way and that's what has happened here, but aim will survive and I he he does better then ever.

By the way, if you live in Minneapolis you can always visit that great store Guitar Center for a Taylor. They really represent he brand well-what a joke!

[MR XXXXX]

I think your strong reaction without knowing all sides is sort of sad/funny.  Business is a tricky thing.... Who really knows what was going on?  Why do so many assume that "Taylor has lost it way?"  or has turned evil somehow by not dealing with a certain dealer?  What if a dealer totally took care of customers, sold them guitars at great prices but broke a manufacturers policies?  Or didn't pay their bills?  NOT implying GR did any of those things.... BUT how do we know they didn't?  Or maybe you are just a friend of the store and on here to vent for them...  It all seems so reactionary...  We also will likely never know, as a company as big as Taylor probably will never let out details on their business dealings....