Keep in mind, this is my experience today only - Sam Ash stores everywhere may have something different going on. I visited the Sam Ash store in Columbus, OH to play a few different guitars (GAS problem) and they had three Larrys there. The sales clerk said they were getting them in from all over, b/c Sam Ash was closing out the line as unprofitable for them...
One was a new P09 Brazilian Rosewood, one was a mahogany (not sappelle) L-05 and one was an Om-03. I thought they were USED since the prices were so low!
Talk about GAS pains....I played the L-05 and fell in love all over again. My L-03 is a real keeper :nice guitar:, but this one was a beauty! :drool:
Told the clerk he wasn't helping matters.......he just grinned.
yeah,
I went in to the Sam Ash in Hollywood and saw my dream guitar a D10, good price and I know they would go lower if
I flashed the cash, but I dont have it yet,
darn, I know when I do have it , it will be gone,
anyone have 2 grand lying around? :drool:
I really want that guitar
Dave
I think Sam Ash and Larrivee parted ways at least a year ago. I think our local Sam Ash had one Larry last time i was in...if they are sending all the leftovers to Columbus from all their stores ....you may end up with a nice choice of guitars. I wasn't impressed with the close out prices here....I think I could have done better at Trinity or Notable.....
The Samash in my area parted ways with Larrivees 2ish years ago. Guitar center.....10 years ago :/.
One would think loosing national distributors like Guitar Center and now Sam ash would seriously hurt sales for Larrivee. Having said that Trinity Guitars, Guitar adoptions and a few others seem to have a thriving business on the net. Perhaps it's just a sign of the times in the new age in which we live. I wonder what Larrivee's best strategy would be going forward? any thoughts?
The smart move was no longer being carried GC or Sam Ash.Smaller stores is the right way to go.Box style store take such bad care of there stock.Smaller ones are a bit better at taking care of there stock and customers.
Quote from: mas music on January 22, 2011, 11:38:58 PM
I wonder what Larrivee's best strategy would be going forward? any thoughts?
To continue to make the best guitar possible while it be affordable for a workin musician.
:cheers
As I understand it, Sam Ash is not discontinuing the Larrivee line, they are discontinuing them in their physical stores. Sam Ash is also discontinuing a lot of their physical locations. We are down to 1 in all of Arizona and I don't have a lot of confidence they can keep that one open.
Quote from: unclrob on January 22, 2011, 11:56:05 PM
The smart move was no longer being carried GC or Sam Ash.Smaller stores is the right way to go.Box style store take such bad care of there stock.Smaller ones are a bit better at taking care of there stock and customers.
I agree with this. I have never been impressed with the top-notch guitars at my local Guitar Center (i.e. Martin, Taylor, Gibson). It seems the strings never get changed. It actually is a cure for GAS going in there to see and play what's hanging on the walls :smile:
I have never been impressed with the top-notch guitars at my local Guitar Center (i.e. Martin, Taylor, Gibson). It seems the strings never get changed. It actually is a cure for GAS going in there to see and play what's hanging on the walls :smile:
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I have to admit, my GAS pains departed for a bit after playing a few Martins, (no Taylors) apart from the Larrys they had left. Only one was good enough to take home, and I already had an L that I love....
I think it's such a pity that Sam Ash discontinued its Larrivee offering. Until that time, the store offered something unique and were the only store in comfortable driving distance from Miami that sold Larrivees. Now all we get in the store are the standard issue Martins, Taylors, and Gibsons (yawn!). Sam Ash has become as mediocre as GC in its acoustic offerings.
The Guitar Center near me never has much to speak of as far as upper scale guitars (all Taylor and Martin) and they can never be tuned properly because the strings are in such bad shape. I was however in the Chicago area at a Staybridge Hotel visiting my daughter and family before they moved to Arizona last May and right next door was a GC so I dropped in to take a look. They had a very nice assortment of new and used higher end guitars that were all in tune when you pulled one off the wall, the staff was very friendly and knowledgable. I had to complement them on my way out. So I guess not all GC's are the same.
As far as Larrivee's not being profitable at Sam Ash (which I have never been to), if their liquidation prices aren't as low as Trinity's everyday price it's no wonder they can't sell them.
While it is clear that is it too bad Larrivee's are not as present to the public as they ought to be, I always felt that GC and Sam Ash were the wrong sort of stores for them. Those stores' business is really the low end Deans, Rogues, etc. selling to non-playing dad's a guitar shaped object for their kids. The stores carry high-end Martin's, Gibson's Taylor's etc for the " WOW! it must be a good store - look at all the expensive, pretty, guitars OMG how much?! Oh look here is one for 300, 200, 100 that looks just like it." They sell some high end guitars, but ... Martin and Taylor have some really cheap foreign made gits that have their logo to sell in that market. Larrivee doesn't.
A few months back I was at a local guitar center and as I was looking at their used wall there wasnt really anything too nice but all of a sudden i saw a bright pink guitar box....???....so I moved it and behind the box was a Larrivee C-10. My eyes widened, then i realized what kind of shape it was in.....I was shocked that they didn't give it some tlc before putting it out. Good think I prefer the 03- series anyway...
I was reading from Harmony Central reviews recently where a fellow said he was told by a large retail guitar employee ( forget the name now) that they were under pressure from a big guitar manufacturer (no name necessary) to drop the Larrrivee.
FWIW
Quote from: broKen on January 28, 2011, 01:40:50 PM
I was reading from Harmony Central reviews recently where a fellow said he was told by a large retail guitar employee ( forget the name now) that they were under pressure from a big guitar manufacturer (no name necessary) to drop the Larrrivee.
FWIW
FWIW can you blame the " big guitar manufacturer" for this :? Nope not in this market. Eat or be eaten. Still don't understand tho why the more experienced players are not purchasing more Larrivees for the price quality ratio unless they are chasing the prewar Martin sound I guess. The market is down and guerrilla warfare is occurring in the industry I'm sure of it. One way for them not to lose a sale to a smaller company like Larrivee that happens to make overall better guitars. :beer
Quote from: broKen on January 28, 2011, 01:40:50 PM
I was reading from Harmony Central reviews recently where a fellow said he was told by a large retail guitar employee ( forget the name now) that they were under pressure from a big guitar manufacturer (no name necessary) to drop the Larrrivee.
FWIW
You know. I find this hard to believe. I'm not a big businees booster... but, at least Martin and Taylor both appear to me to be companies that still maintain some reasonable level of integrity. I like to think that anyway. Maybe I'm naive. Jean Larrivee is well-respected (as he should be!) and I'd find it hard to believe Chris Martin or Bob Taylor would pull something like that. I suppose there are other companies...
I'm only speculating and don't intend this to be any sort of attack on the post. Be well, C
Quote from: flagstaffcharlie on January 29, 2011, 11:43:22 PM
You know. I find this hard to believe. I'm not a big businees booster... but, at least Martin and Taylor both appear to me to be companies that still maintain some reasonable level of integrity. I like to think that anyway. Maybe I'm naive. Jean Larrivee is well-respected (as he should be!) and I'd find it hard to believe Chris Martin or Bob Taylor would pull something like that. I suppose there are other companies...
I'm only speculating and don't intend this to be any sort of attack on the post. Be well, C
Just grapevine stuff. I'm not saying I believe it. Just what I heard.
It's not unheard of, and 'good' men have tuned out to be scoundrels.
I use my rose coloured glasses only to look at my spouse. :ohmy:
BroKen, I mean no offense. You're a great member of this forum, but as someone who's been in the information business for a long time, I think we should refrain from repeating poorly sourced and unsubstantiated rumors like this one. It's just so easy to spread misinformation these days and it can do so much damage that's impossible to undo. While you certainly didn't present the rumor as fact, I think you'll agree on how easy it is to launch an unwarranted discussion on someone else's ethics on the flimsiest of "evidence," backed by speculation based on what's possible.
Quote from: leftync on January 30, 2011, 01:08:01 PM
BroKen, I mean no offense. You're a great member of this forum, but as someone who's been in the information business for a long time, I think we should refrain from repeating poorly sourced and unsubstantiated rumors like this one. It's just so easy to spread misinformation these days and it can do so much damage that's impossible to undo. While you certainly didn't present the rumor as fact, I think you'll agree on how easy it is to launch an unwarranted discussion on someone else's ethics on the flimsiest of "evidence," backed by speculation based on what's possible.
You are so right!!!!!
Hard to say what is going on. Plus one on being a bit careful about speculation.
What is more common is that a manufacturer will require dealers to carry every item in their product line -- or a certain breadth of a product line -- in order to hang onto their dealership. That can cause someone to pare back on or eliminate other vendors. Or give up their dealerships.
There are any number of tactics used by manufacturers of all types to mange their channel of distribution. Asking someone directly do drop a competing product line would be kind of difficult. Making it more and more attractive to do that ... that's more common.