Factory Tour/Shop vs Friends/Family Sale

[ColinWright]

OK, so this is gonna probably come out as a dumb question... won't be my first, nor my last!  :-)

In December, Taylor held a friends and family sale, and someone mentioned hoping they'd do that again this year.  How is this different from the "company store" experience at the factory?

I really wanna tour the Taylor factory, and I know me well enough to know that I'll wanna do a little shopping for something to ship home.  I guess the real question is whether I should wait for a potential F&F event toward the end of the year.

Probably a ditzy line of thinking, but that's just me, early in the morning, without coffee (yet).

[jalbert]

The factory tour and the Friends & Family sale are completely different. If they do have a sale in 2012 (they did not in 2010), then it will probably be on a Saturday morning, as the last two have been. For the sale, they have demonstrator, prototype and overstock guitars. You never know exactly what will be there, and they don't post a list of the guitars available. But in my experience there's a fair selection from across the spectrum of what they make. Taylor employees are given the first dibs the day before the sale, so the really interesting items are usually gone by Saturday morning. Nice employee benefit, eh?

The tour, on the other hand, is only done during weekdays, starting at 1 o'clock sharp. You'll spend about 90 minutes on a guided tour, which touches many areas of the shop. I haven't been on the tour in a few years, so I can't comment on exactly what's in the "company store" (as you say it) but I doubt the selection is anywhere near as vast.

I would say it's entirely feasible to, if they hold a public sale in 2012, take the Tour on a Friday, enjoy some great Mexican food, then Saturday morning sample the sale. (The last two have been public, but in earlier years you had to have an invite. I guess Taylor's circle of friends just keeps growing!)

[ColinWright]

Excellent!  That's exactly the kind of info I was looking for -- thanks!

For me, it's a long drive -- about 1800 miles -- but I love roadtrips, and I'm sure this one would be well worth it!!!

[Edward]

What James said 

The F&F really is a sale ...like a giant garage sale, held literally in their warehouse.  Lots of Taylor staff running around to help you, but all geared toward moving the product; no "instruction" per se and nothing "to see" except an eclectic assortment of what they have "left over," so to speak.  It's a great gig if you're looking to bring something home.  And that's the point: you go to look (if you have such self restraint), but most go to buy.  The checkout line (wow!) was testament to that latter point

The Factory tour is just that: a tour that is informative, gets you into the belly to see the guts of the factory, and seriously educational.  "Fun" is an inadequate descriptor as it is very much that, but you also fill your head with great info (and desires ) .  It's a very cool behind the scenes look at how our beauties come to be.   But the "store" is just a store, stocked with guitars and gear, but not candy-store-like extensive.

The tour is superb; it's always there and I'd go to that if you can.  That the FF sale will happen is not a "given," nor is it well publicized (for obvious reasons) if it does happen.   James's suggestion of going on a tour on Fri or Mon of the FF sale is an excellent one!  If you see the FF announced (1st/2nd week of December, typically), schedule yourself a weekend in beautiful San Diego and attend both.

Edward

[ColinWright]

Thanks for all the info!

I've been trying to talk the wife into going to San Diego for a vacation, and that's why I wanted to see if there was a substantial difference in the two "events".  Sounds like there is, and we should plan our vacation with the tour in mind.

Then, when/if an F&F event comes up, I'll just travel out on my own!  :-)

[RichM752]

The service center has guitars for sale on a constant basis. That's where I scored my JMSM. It was one of those "I can't pass it up" things. I need no other nylon string guitar.

[jalbert]

One other thing to consider: in the past, for the years that there was a Sale, it wasn't announced until about a week beforehand. I certainly wouldn't purchase airfare in advance speculating on dates... there are plenty of other great reasons to visit San Diego.

[Greenheart]

The F&F sale used to be open only to employees (family) and their friends but this year they opened it to anyone and advertised it like crazy which really upset some Taylor dealers (rightfully so imo) so I wouldn't count on it being open to the public next year. A lot of the guitars were bought up by resellers below wholesale and ended up on eBay and craigslist. I saw at least a half dozen ads in the local Craigslist for "new" Taylors and R Taylors advertised as "purchased at the factory".

 

[Steve]

Some previous sales have been open to the public. They just weren't advertised as heavily.

I've been to several of the sales. I can remember seeing area dealers in the past (one Carlsbad dealer in particular) loading up with, sometimes, up to 20 guitars. They sure weren't upset about the deals they were getting.

Guitars bought at the factory sale are, very often, used or repaired instruments. They're artist loaners. They're prototypes. They're guitars that a dealer isn't going to be able to order from his sales rep. In the case of "production" guitars, I can remember some (if not all) being sold without warranty, as well.

If area dealers were buying and selling more Taylors, maybe Taylor wouldn't feel compelled to hold these sales.

There's nothing for area dealers to get upset about.

[ColinWright]

One other thing to consider: in the past, for the years that there was a Sale, it wasn't announced until about a week beforehand. I certainly wouldn't purchase airfare in advance speculating on dates... there are plenty of other great reasons to visit San Diego.

Agreed!  With a week's notice, I can get out there pretty easily... either via air or roadtrip.  And if the wife comes along, we'll be doing plenty of things out there.

I visited relatives in SD around 1977 or so (I was but a lad), and I remember seeing the zoo, SeaWorld, a naval vessel tour, and a trip up to Mt. Palomar observatory.  I'm sure some of those will hit the list again!

[dkoloff]

OK, so this is gonna probably come out as a dumb question... won't be my first, nor my last!  :-)

In December, Taylor held a friends and family sale, and someone mentioned hoping they'd do that again this year.  How is this different from the "company store" experience at the factory?

I really wanna tour the Taylor factory, and I know me well enough to know that I'll wanna do a little shopping for something to ship home.  I guess the real question is whether I should wait for a potential F&F event toward the end of the year.

Probably a ditzy line of thinking, but that's just me, early in the morning, without coffee (yet).

I missed the friends and family by about 2 weeks....I was there the day before their anniversary day that they were closed. For the friends and family they took in a batch of the road show stock for cleance as far as i were aware.