Changes in availability of Weber Instruments

[Emmett Marshall]

focusing your offerings on customer demand is not a bad thing... it means you're listening to your customer.

As mentioned early on in this thread, Weber informed the planet, via their website, that customized Bitteroots were one of their "most popular" offerings. I saw it more than once with my own two eyes. Then, evidently in communications with dealers, they said they determined the most popular offerings and also that customized Bitteroots were no longer in the mix. This would seem to suggest that "profitability" has trumped "popularity" in this case. This may have been a necessary business decision, but that is what happened.

[Folkmusician.com]

This may have been a necessary business decision, but that is what happened.

Good catch!

[Marcus CA]

Supply and demand. The lowest Weber model --- the Gallatin A --- now lists for $2K. How many people are going to be in the market to buy a new mandolin in the $2-8K range this year? Meanwhile, the supply of used mandolins keeps increasing. The mandolin section alone of the Cafe Classifieds used to hover above and below the 200 level. Then, it gradually moved up to the 300 level. Now, it's at the 400 level, and there are plenty of Webers and Collings among them. New listings from just this four-day-old month cover 1.5 pages. For TOH, the business of business is business, and they need to sell Webers today if they plan to build Webers tomorrow.

[JeffD]

Its shuddering to list all the stores that now sell clothing that once were outfitters or at least exclusively outfitters

One used to be able to buy fishing tackle, canoes, and snow shoes at Eddie Bauer, and American Eagle Outfitters. And even "sporting goods" stores like Dick's and Gander Mountain sell a lot of "apparel". Heck Orvis is now known as a woman's clothing store, and I don't mean waders.

[Petrus]

Another acoustic guitar/mandolin shop went out of business in New England a few months ago (Maple Leaf Music in Brattleboro, Vt, went from a storefront to the owner's living room on a by-appointment basis, with tiny stock), and we all know of shops that have disappeared, downsized, gone electric, or whatever.

The Mandolin Store in Phoenix has gone that route, with very limited store hours and a mostly online presence where they do most of their business. Fine, though it somewhat takes away from the unique benefits of physically being able to see and play an expensive instrument before purchasing, and requires subjecting them to the uncertainties of transportation more frequently.

The combination storefront/lifestyle retailer may be what saves a lot of shops. There are a number of boutique stores of various types that have expanded just to keep their passion alive. Vintage bicycle shops have turned coffee shop/light apparel/bike shops. Maybe music stores need to serve some food, offer some boutiquey audio equipment, and depending on licensing laws, craft brews.

Those make for fun concepts but I don't see a lot of older music stores going that route. It's labor intensive, and usually requires a lot more licensing requirements. And the stores that do it successfully (TOH in Nashville notably) rely on heavy foot traffic. A store out in the boondocks (as some small music shops may be) will not succeed with a model that depends on the casual passer-by to walk in and buy something on impulse. I used to assume that small music stores could get by with sales of accessories, strings, and so forth in between big-ticket sales, but that doesn't seem to be the case.

All these business models are tough, especially cafes (thanks to Starbucks.) I'm not convinced that combining several tough models will act as much of a safety net. It's also tough to situate your store in a location where the different demographic targets of its prospective customers is easily reached. There's locations like Nashville's Broadway, Memphis' Beale Street, the Sunset Strip in L.A. (WeHo), and then there's everyplace else.

[Petrus]

I'd like to see mandolin become more popular too, maybe not as much as the ukulele (or hey, what about the guitar?) but sometimes things just have to "click" and a lot of variables have to come together at once to make something really take off. (The O Brother effect has long wore off, I suspect.)

There's a large regional used book and music store in my vicinity that has a section for used and new instruments and accessories, amps and so forth (it has a quasi-pawn shop vibe to it, though they try to hide it.) It has maybe twenty guitars, six low-end fiddles, maybe forty ukes. About once a month they might get a mandolin, usually some low-end product. They've had two Kentucky KM-140's hanging on brackets for about six months now, excellent instruments, but no takers so far. In the meantime the store has probably sold dozens of ukuleles.

I wonder if the staff is even aware that the Kentucky really is a good mandolin and if they try to play it up to potential purchasers, or if the most common thing they have to say to a customer is something like "Sorry, those two are not ukuleles, they're mandolins, they're completely different. These over here are the ukes ... "

[ekalabacos]

Hi all,

I'm a few weeks away from receiving a customized Yellowstone HT. I'm a lefty so had to go custom plus i upgraded a few things. Will let you all know how it turns out.

Eric

[seg]

Congrats! You must be psyched! There was a video of a guy opening up a new Weber but I couldn't find it but here's another!!
https://youtu.be/EP3fjptb5Dw

[DataNick]

Here's the infamous video of the Cafe's own Rod Neep getting his new Weber Yellowstone...
WARNING MAS ALERT!

[ekalabacos]

Ha. Amazing what you can find on the web these days! Maybe I'll have my kids video me opening the box when it comes and become a YouTube star!!! ;-)

[Emmett Marshall]

These "unboxing" and "unwrapping" videos that are all over "Youtube" these days totally crack me up. I mean like, 'laughing my butt off" kind of cracking up. Watching the slow, often very ceremonious "unboxing" and "unwrapping" of all kinds of items that one can imagine. Observing near drooling excitement as someone very slowly "unboxes" something like a pocket knife, or a blender, or bird seed, is some of the best comedic entertainment we have had at my home - even though these folks are taking this stuff very seriously - which is the most humorous part to me. I know one guy who did an "unboxing" video on some nutritional supplements he ordered - making a counter display in his kitchen of all the containers and packages, and then posting photos of it on "Facebook."

[Petrus]

These "unboxing" and "unwrapping" videos that are all over "Youtube" these days totally crack me up. I mean like, 'laughing my butt off" kind of cracking up. Watching the slow, often very ceremonious "unboxing" and "unwrapping" of all kinds of items that one can imagine. Observing near drooling excitement as someone very slowly "unboxes" something like a pocket knife, or a blender, or bird seed, is some of the best comedic entertainment we have had at my home - even though these folks are taking this stuff very seriously - which is the most humorous part to me.

It's even funnier when the item is a gift and the person who gave it is standing right there waiting for you to open it and you have to pretend to be all, like, pleased as punch or whatever ... "Gee, bird seed! How'd you know?"

[opie wan]

Geez...... such passion. Its amazing to me. I used to have a low end Weber Gallatin..... loved it. Wanted to get something a little better and did. I recently obtained a Weber River model signed by Bruce Weber. I absolutely love the instrument. Sounds great, plays great, and it's really aesthetically pleasing to boot. In short, I love the instrument. As far as business practices go I'd suspect TOH is a money making enterprise. I wish them the best of luck. That leaves me to my original question. Who is going to sign Weber mandolins now?

[Petrus]

Geez...... such passion. Its amazing to me. I used to have a low end Weber Gallatin..... loved it. Wanted to get something a little better and did.

The words "low end" and "Weber" do not in the same sentence belong.

But yeah all this Weber this and Weber that talk lately has got me window-shopping for one. Probably not a good idea. I might have to sacrifice my brand spankin' new Breedlove Crossover to help fund one.

[opie wan]

I stand corrected Sir!! I love Fenders, Gibsons, Martins, Taylors, Webers, Sumis, and about any other well crafted instrument that plays well and sounds good. I'm sure the luthiers at Weber believe (and are likely right) they are making mandolins that rival any in the world. The rubber hits the road on the luthier's bench. Marketing is just that. Figuring out a gimmick to maximize brand recognition and make money so the luthier's can get a raise, make good instruments, and we can pick!!!!

[Bruce D. Weber]

I'll be back.

[Emmett Marshall]

I'll be back.

[multidon]

[George R. Lane]

I'll be back.

That will be a great day.

[Ivan Kelsall]

I can't even guess what Bruce has planned,but,if it involves building his own mandolins once more,that'll be a good day.As i'm just about to have a couple of hours picking on my "Fern",today's getting better already,
Ivan

[BrianWilliam]

I'll be back.