Tom Blackshear -> RE: How does the business of selling flamenco guitars work? (Feb. 7 2013 12:09:08)
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ORIGINAL: mlau quote:
Wow! So many responses when I was out interviewing for work! 3. Currently, I'm building a classical guitar under a guy with a ridiculously good reputation in the international circle. He is a proud builder of the old tradition, and learned under Overholtzer. However, his guitars are under priced, and he has horrible business sense. Most of the time, people's reaction when they hear his name is "he's still alive? Why isn't he more famous/expensive/etc?" It's frustrating to see him struggle financially when he should be happily retired if he was in any other industry. -Matt Matt, When I first went back into building guitars in 1974, I tried to compete with the Japanese prices. I sold guitars but that was not a good way to pay my shop bills and have food on the table, so I got the idea that I would build the guitars as best I could and then charge what I needed to make a living, barely, so that worked for awhile and things started getting better. And I can tell you that in the early years I was alone in my shop with no outside influence to keep me company and this taught me a lot of patience. Also, for me, it was a faith builder in believing that things would ultimately get better, the longer I tried to produce good art. And when I finally got my building hands to a point that I could send my guitars out of state, I contacted GSI in California and they took one of my guitars and advertised the heck out it and that was the start of my reputation, which went viral for about 15 years as one of their exclusives. However, there are a few ways to advertise guitars. Bob Ruck was in a good place to sell his guitars as he placed one with a very good classical guitarist, and that guitarist traveled and did a very good job demonstrating Bob's work. And then Bob used a comfortable pricing for his guitars with options for higher pricing. It worked very well for him and he understood the mechanics of how to sell guitars at an affordable price, then add to it his higher priced instruments, which added more income. But I think the bottom line to his success was that he kept his basic instrument prices affordable and used the option tool to add to it; like higher priced tuning machines, and cases, etc. And he went in the direction of using a very well known artist to endorse his work, and kept his work consistent with his building practice, not trying to take on too much in the way of managing a higher volume with different designs but keeping close to a design that was being advertised. So, I think that trying to be a guitar maker who tries to be all things to all people will either be organized enough to build his business or suffer for building in so many directions that his art doesn't fly with most buyers due to the differences in his work. Most of the guitar buying market wants a guitar just like their peers play, and if this is consistent with a builder, then this information will ultimately get out, as his signature for what he builds, and it will add to his income.
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