Supporting Your Local Music Store

Those are good thoughts Bill, but I'm in another little town  (on the other side of the Country) of similar size in Population (not including the University students). We are also within easy driving distance of the State Capital (35 Miles), and yet we have at last count FIVE Music Stores that sell and service Instruments.  One of those deals mostly in Pianos, Harps and Organs, and electric Keyboards, and one only deals in Electric guitars, Basses, Mandolins and Amplifiers.  Are they feeling the pinch of online stores?  OF COURSE !  They have to deal with the cost of overhead, ie:  rent, insurance, Business Licensing (at the State level only as there is no Municipal requirement for a Retail License, and it is "cheap"), Utilities, Wages and Payroll Taxes etc..  Some are good friends of mine and from time to time I do inquire as to the health of their enterprises. Generally they TRY to be competitive cutting margins as they can, trimming the hours of employees as needed, which is easier when your workforce are mostly students that don't have the free-time to devote "mega-hours" to a second job when their first "job" is getting an education. Staff Rotation is expected and manageable..... they do provide very good customer service and the slightly higher initial investment is offset by the benefits to the customer, both perceived and tangible.  Everything in inventory is inspected, defectives returned, all are tuned and properly set-up, so what you hold in your hands when "shopping" reflects the true quality mirrored in the price.  After sale service is where the "real" profit is balanced with return customers buying the little bits that support their passion..... for instance the Drums were close to the price you could pay online (with freight), but you spent a small fortune on pedals, sticks and the eight-way adjustable "throne", that lets you make your music.  The margin is a bit wider on that stuff. 

As to the "brick and mortar" vs. Online thing..... Guitar Center is the "physical" store of the parent Company of which Musician's Friend is the "online Outlet"..... Same guys, different Business Model.  Not that there's anything wrong with that, and if that is what one must do to survive in the Market, Rock On !!  Personally though, if I really wanted to drive that 35 miles to cruise through a "store" and be ignored by the overworked under staffed kids in the matching shirts...... I would.  But my sanity demands I shop local, and I do whenever possible. 

ETA: No offense intended towards either Company named above.  I have and do buy from both of them from time to time, and only use them as a familiar reference for our readers.  Your views may differ as it is not  common for one to "expect" a bad experience, but there are variables to take into account such as staff levels, number of customers in premise at any particular time, promotions running and such.  My experiences have ranged from Good to Exceptional generally with an occasional "disappointing" which reflects more on what kind of day the associate is having as opposed to Corporate Policy.

Bill does bring up an interesting point, and Joey kind of put an exclamation mark on it...... the personal level of service, and the part about all the employees being musicians in their own right.  The more successful stores in my area are owned and staffed by folks that are entrenched in the local music scene.  They actively participate in promoting events, seminars, and concerts hereabouts, and include the student community in their plans. All provide lessons, and engage the population musically, through their efforts..... including getting the music department in the University and Community Arts involved. Libraries, High Schools and other levels by providing bands and entertainment for their functions also.l. Cultivating their customer base and enriching the Community at the same time. Concerts in the Parks, jam sessions in the College Quad, Street Fairs, Farmers Markets, or even on the sidewalk outside Starbucks or at the Mall..... even the Courthouse lawn.   

Good one Bill!

The closest town to me has a pop. of around 12,000 and there are 3 private music stores just in the downtown area. The closest Big Box store is about 40 miles away. I like the small shops and do business with one of them on a regular basis.     

Sweetwater sent me an ad today and  since we were on the topic of music stores I wrote them an e-mail and invited them here. I actually pasted that invitational  mail as a post here in this thread, but took it down. The more I thought about it, the more I convinced myself I was spamming and even though I may not have been, I decided to delete it anyway. If the good folks at Sweetwater are interested - well, they're liniked here, so let's see what happens.  If nothing else, at least they got a few "mentions", and that won't hurt their feelings, I'm sure.

Bill

The rural part of Nova Scotia where I live is dotted with 4 towns of 3,000 - 6,000 people, all along a stretch of 40 miles or so. Smack dab in the middle is an excellent music store called Long & McQuade's, where the service and selection are remarkably good. The local music community, schools, etc. all support them loyally, and they seem to stay busy and prosperous. My online music shopping is limited to items that I just can't get locally.

It's odd that in our age of being environmentally conscious about greenhouse gases and the like, that so many are opting for online shopping, The cost to ship a product 100's or 1,000's of miles is far greater than me hopping over a the local place. Additionally, there's all the polyethylene bubble wrap and/or polystyrene "peanuts" used in the packing process, all which adds to disposal costs. I'm not a bonafide tree-hugger, but it doesn't hurt to make sensible consideration of these things when shopping.

A consumption-based economy is the purest democracy in existence. We vote with our $$$ where want stores, where want our products made, what services we want, and what level of quality we're willing to live with. My family has always tried to "shop local" when possible, because we want these businesses to be here when we need them, and to provide places for our children to work in the future. Third world manufacturing has boomed because we "voted" for it.

Bill ... thanks for starting this discussion ... you're the best at it, for sure!

I would say the culture is reasonable. There's usually something going on from late spring through late fall. Mostly in small, intimate venues. Winter is pretty slow as far as musical culture events.     

I love shops like this, Peatle, no matter what their merchandise. Good on ya for supporting them, and the real sense of "neighborhood" that only a shop like this can provide.