Unofficial Taylor Guitar Forum - UTGF
Marketplace: Buy, Sell, Trade => Marketplace: Buy, Sell, Trade => Topic started by: guitarsrsoawesome on January 26, 2015, 05:44:26 PM
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Hey guys,
Saw this on craigslist today and thought I'd share. He's wanting to clear some space for his next Taylor shipment and seems willing to do some deals.
http://charlotte.craigslist.org/msg/4864487851.html
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The lister writes "Call me if you're serious".
I would think if he was "serious" about selling them he would've included a phone number.
Checking Taylor's website, the closest dealer to Mooresville, NC is in Concord, which is over 15 miles away.
An unauthorized dealer, maybe?
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Nope, he gave me his mooresville,nc address and phone number when I emailed him through craigslist... I think they have to be careful with how they advertise discounts on craigslist and that's why that info is not there...he said he's trying to make way for the next shipment...invited me to come to his store on exit 36 (a mooresville address off I-77). Think it's legit.
Modification: I get what you're saying now, that he's not on the list of authorized dealers...well, I guess I don't know that...I could find out...
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Modification: I get what you're saying now, that he's not on the list of authorized dealers...well, I guess I don't know that...I could find out...
Well, there's definitely no authorized dealer, with a Mooresville address, listed on Taylor's webpage.
I would be wary. If he's not an authorized dealer, if I understand it correctly, then the warranty may not be honored by Taylor.
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That would be correct, Harley. No warranty if bought through unauthorized dealers - essentially the same as buying used in Taylor's eyes.
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I emailed with the question and replied that Music N More is ABSOLUTELY AN AUTHORIZED DEALER. Maybe the list isn't updated or something. He was pretty emphatic.
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Looks like Music N More opened another store in Mooresville, NC and that their initial store was in Concorde...same dealer as Concorde...
Music N More
706 Church St.
Concord, NC 28025
704-786-2314
EDIT: A quick look at their website, http://www.mnmshop.com/index.php?storecookie=1 , shows three stores, one in Concorde, a second in Mooresville and the third in Ablemarle...Breedlove and Taylor proudly displayed on the home page...
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Well, the caveat was sound.
That said, I don't know of too many dealers who have to resort to Craig's List to move product. It's a signal to me that there could be a problem.
YMMV.
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Well, the caveat was sound.
That said, I don't know of too many dealers who have to resort to Craig's List to move product. It's a signal to me that there could be a problem.
YMMV.
You may be right about that, but I find it a little cavalier to besmirch a store's character without knowing for sure. That's sort of unfair to them, especially if they are above board. I guess I would want to be sure before throwing those kinds of accusations out there.
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Well, the caveat was sound.
That said, I don't know of too many dealers who have to resort to Craig's List to move product. It's a signal to me that there could be a problem.
YMMV.
You may be right about that, but I find it a little cavalier to besmirch a store's character without knowing for sure. That's sort of unfair to them, especially if they are above board. I guess I would want to be sure before throwing those kinds of accusations out there.
I didn't mean to besmirch anything, and certainly not anyone.
I remember many years ago, dealers couldn't sell on the internet. A friend of mine who had a store in New York once told me that dealers couldn't sell on eBay or Craig's List. That may have changed, or it might not have. If it hasn't, and he's breaking the rules, is that "above board"?
But that wasn't even what I was speaking to. As someone who's cirrently considering the purchase of a Taylor, what I was speaking to was how effective a dealer could he be if he has to blow stock out in order to bring in new stock? If the guitars aren't selling, and he has to sell them on Craig's List, the question I would have would be "Why?".
That's all I was trying to say.
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What I've seen in this area's craiglist is the "mom and pops" in the surrounding areas using it to try to drive traffic out of the metropolitan area and into their shops. One in particular would buy higher level LTD's and have a hard time moving them from their small town because of the demographics, but when they would use craigslist to attract the "big city folk," they could get some sales of their higher end guitars. So that was one angle for the small town store to attract business from the city.
The store we're talking about in this post is also outside the city and up by this area's major lake where a lot of wealthy city folks have summer places and aren't there as much in the winter, so it's possible he could have had a tougher time getting rid of his winter inventory and now is trying to reach out to the city dwellers to thin the herd.
But to your point, I think there's something to the rules of advertising that prevents him from posting his store's name and number in the ad, which is why you have to contact him to get more info. Maybe he's doing a bit of line walking on that front, that is, advertising on craigslist to begin with, but he's definitely not the only one in my area that I've seen do it. But that still doesn't make it right if it's against the rules. They all should not do it at all if that's the case.
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But that wasn't even what I was speaking to. As someone who's cirrently considering the purchase of a Taylor, what I was speaking to was how effective a dealer could he be if he has to blow stock out in order to bring in new stock? If the guitars aren't selling, and he has to sell them on Craig's List, the question I would have would be "Why?".
Has to be a demograpics/economics thing. Taylor guitars are too consistently reliable to be "damaged goods".
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But that wasn't even what I was speaking to. As someone who's currently considering the purchase of a Taylor, what I was speaking to was how effective a dealer could he be if he has to blow stock out in order to bring in new stock? If the guitars aren't selling, and he has to sell them on Craig's List, the question I would have would be "Why?".
Has to be a demograpics/economics thing. Taylor guitars are too consistently reliable to be "damaged goods".
Hmmmm. I don't know.
It would be interesting to know if other area dealers are doing it, as well.
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Two posts up I just reported that they were...
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Two posts up I just reported that they were...
Oh, it wasn't obvious; apologies.
If I'm the business owner, I know that if a particular product isn't selling well or at a reasonable margin, and I have to blow it out in a manner which may not align with the vendor's rules, I would have to consider whether it's a product I should be stocking in the first place.
It may be a fantastic product (and, let's face it, Taylors are definitely that), but I would need to have products that are actually turning at a decent profit and heading out the front door, so I can bring in new product through the loading dock.
If it's a demographics/economics thing, it wouldn't make a lot of sense to bring in fresh examples of a product that, a year from now, I'll be forced to put on Craig's List.
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Two posts up I just reported that they were...
Oh, it wasn't obvious; apologies.
If I'm the business owner, I know that if a particular product isn't selling well or at a reasonable margin, and I have to blow it out in a manner which may not align with the vendor's rules, I would have to consider whether it's a product I should be stocking in the first place.
It may be a fantastic product (and, let's face it, Taylors are definitely that), but I would need to have products that are actually turning at a decent profit and heading out the front door, so I can bring in new product through the loading dock.
If it's a demographics/economics thing, it wouldn't make a lot of sense to bring in fresh examples of a product that, a year from now, I'll be forced to put on Craig's List.
I think you're still assuming it's against the rules to do this type of advertising on craigslist...I'm not sure that's the case, at least in the way he's doing it. I would like to see Taylor's guidelines about this.
Definitely understand from an inventory planning perspective that these stores have to makes wise decisions as to what their local markets will bear. As for this particular store, I explained above that it's in close proximity to a very wealthy summer home community, so perhaps they have rather seasonal demand. But Taylor, as well as the other guitar makers, have minimum purchase requirements each year and perhaps each fall and spring, so they have to best gauge what to buy within those requirements. One can never know why those guitars he has left weren't moved. I've been in many stores with many high end Taylors that are still hanging around after a couple of years, New Old Stock they call it. Just because they put the guitar in their inventory doesn't guarantee a sale, especially in this economy where people are having to address their money to needs more than wants.
I think your lack of empathy toward these guys and other vendors is a little harsh. And I'm getting perplexed by the conversation, so I digress.
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I think your lack of empathy toward these guys and other vendors is a little harsh. And I'm getting perplexed by the conversation, so I digress.
Well, having empathy towards them would make as much sense as having disdain, really, since almost everything here is conjecture.
What's not conjecture, though, is that this dealer has enough older stock that he has to resort to listing it on Craig's List. Also what's not conjecture, and what a phone call to Taylor this morning confirmed, is that dealers selling at deep discounts on Craig's List is not allowed.
So, yeah, there's that.
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I once got a really good deal on a Taylor guitar from a small dealer I knew well - a new guitar at basically a used price. It was held on layaway by a teenager, who then broke his wrist and arm skateboarding. With multiple pins holding several bones together, it was going to be a year or more before he could play guitar again. The dealer didn't want to hold it that long. But he also asked me not to reveal the price I had paid when registering the guitar, so he wouldn't get in trouble with the Mother Ship.