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Did you notice L&M guitar prices shoot up?
| Message Board > General Chitchat > Did you notice L&M guitar prices shoot up? |
| BBJones User Info... | Case in point: One guitar I've had my eye on for about a year. Has been listed at $1450 Walk in yesterday, now it lists near $2000 Same with most other guitars it seems... up about 30% just like that. I feel sorry for anyone buying a guitar right now. - Thu, 5 Mar 2009 2:59pm | ||
| KRIEG User Info... | Blame the recession. Blame it for everything. That's what Hudson Mack has taught me. - Thu, 5 Mar 2009 3:43pm | ||
| Rubber Box User Info... | A year worth of cleaning your finger prints off the guitar has cost L&M about $550 - Thu, 5 Mar 2009 3:47pm Edited: Thu, 5 Mar 2009 3:48pm | ||
| superslacks User Info... | And then when you go to sell it you get maybe half . . . New guitars and amps have very little value to me, especially at today's prices. You can buy a new Gretsch 6120 for $3500 and it'll be worth half that in a few years, or you can buy the real deal for $5K and it'll only go up in value. Seems like a no-brainer to me . . . - Thu, 5 Mar 2009 4:03pm | ||
| ROSS B AY User Info... |  PS - Lincoln you stay out of there. - Thu, 5 Mar 2009 5:57pm | ||
| Tambo User Info... | If you're ready to spend 3500$ on a guitar, seems logical you should be willing to spend the extra 1500$ for the reason slacks stated. - Thu, 5 Mar 2009 6:34pm | ||
| andy hank User Info... | You're missing one of the biggest reasons people buy geetars from L&M: they can finance their purchase. $5k for an old Gretsch may be way outta reach, but $3500 for a reissue with payments spread out over a year or two plus you can take it home today... well, I can see why people do it. Slacks is right, but it's whole different ball game to buy old gear... unless someone trades it in at L&M of course! - Thu, 5 Mar 2009 7:01pm | ||
| Whitford St. Holmes User Info... | There's two reasons why prices have gone up: the Canadian dollar has dropped from par last year to 77 cents and most of the big companies (Fender, Gibson) and several smaller ones (Rickenbacker) have all raised their prices between 20% to 40%. Check out any retailer you'll see the same hike. - Thu, 5 Mar 2009 8:32pm | ||
| Rubber Box User Info... | So items that have been in store for a year are subject to the same price increase? Is this a cash grab or does L&M not pay suppliers for their stock until it sells? - Thu, 5 Mar 2009 8:36pm Edited: Thu, 5 Mar 2009 8:38pm | ||
| superslacks User Info... | I noticed a couple months ago you could still buy some L&M stock for way less than their 'updated' price lists. (ie. I was quoted $540 for a mic set 'old stock price' when the new price was apparently $670 - and then I went and got it for even less online, like I always do). I suspect they've finally gone through all their stock and updated everything just to be consistent. It's probably part greed and part making up for when the dollar went par and they had to sell stuff at a loss. Of course I've never been L&M's biggest fan, so I'll be leaning toward greed as the main factor . . . As for $5k guitars . . . yeah I have my share of cool old gear, and I got it by buying wisely. L&M may be useful for rentals or some staple gear you only buy new, but it's the last place I would send someone to buy an instrument. On the flip side there's still lots of great vintage gear out there, and if you stay away from the usual suspects (Fender, Gretsch, Gibson) you can get some cool stuff that will only go up. Take Mosrite for example - it wouldn't be unheard of to get a Ventures model for $2000-2500, which is in line with a new Gibson at L&M. In five years the Mosrite holds its value and you get to play something with history, whereas the shitty 5-year old Gibson you'll be flogging for $1200 on Used Victoria. Plus, new guitars have no mojo. - Thu, 5 Mar 2009 10:32pm | ||
| evilkleg User Info... | I've been trying to figure out how to buy an elctronic drum set for several months now and a couple of weeks ago went into L&M to see if I could manage financing one. All the prices had just gone up THE DAY BEFORE by several hundreds of dollars. Was a bit of a shock. Could barely make it happen before, now I'm totally screwed. The staff has always treated me well though. - Fri, 6 Mar 2009 12:47pm | ||
| evilkleg User Info... | Anyone know if it's the same over at Tom Lee? - Fri, 6 Mar 2009 12:47pm | ||
| Curmudgeon Rocker User Info... |  | ||
| _Griphin_ User Info... | $7500? Ouch! - Fri, 6 Mar 2009 9:13pm | ||
| superslacks User Info... | You'd think for that kind of coin you'd at least get all six strings . . . - Fri, 6 Mar 2009 9:17pm | ||
| TheWolf User Info... | It's the same at TOM LEE and every where. Blame the Canadian Dollar. The only reason the price might not be higher is the item is old stock. They bought warehouse stock in June when the Dollar was near par and with new models coming in this year they are clearing out the old ones...So expect 13-20% price hikes on new gear coming out for this year. This goes for Electronics too (Digital Cameras, TVs etc) Plus on top of that FENDER had a well advertised Price Hike in February on Guitars...They are "Bumping up the Quality".. That being said ask some of the older players you know, you have never been able to get so much gear for so little money as recently "Home Recording, Quality gear from overseas,...etc" - Sat, 7 Mar 2009 4:30am | ||
| Curmudgeon Rocker User Info... |  | ||
| zippgunn User Info... | In defence of L & M: when I ordered (and ended up paying for in advance due to a production delay) my Fender Bass VI I was informed BY THEM (without prompting) that they now owed me rather a large amount of money due to the fluctuations of the Canadian dollar (which was kicking ass right then). The difference bought me a new banjo!! It's all about the dollar exchange; blame the damn yankees! L & M's are honest johns in my book. - Wed, 11 Mar 2009 1:58am | ||
| superslacks User Info... | I certainly wouldn't call L&M dishonest, but I do find getting things like value, good service, etc. is like pulling teeth. Scott, to me, the most remarkable thing about your Fender Bass VI story is that you ordered it . . . and it came in! I know I SHOULDN'T be surprised by that, but based on my experience with the corporate entity I honestly am. Maybe it's because you're a long standing customer. Maybe it's because you payed for the whole thing up front (which is wrong, imo, if you can't play it before you pay, why not just buy online and skip the middle man). I've dealt with L&M off and on for 20 years now. Once or twice a year I give them the opportunity to earn my businees back, and the best they seem to do is NOT piss me off (that is to say, I walk in, I actually FIND what I'm looking for, it's not a total rip off, I pay, and then leave). However, if any level of service is required there's going to be some unhappiness. I have so many stories of extreme incompetence you'd probably think I was making things up. - Wed, 11 Mar 2009 9:31am | ||
| Lucius User Info... | Colin, Nick, Pedro, and Darcy are the only folks I enjoy dealing with in there. The recording guys don't seem too friendly and look at me like I'm going to steal something lol. I have no reason to go into the Drum/Keyboard area so can't comment on them. There are still some great deals to be had. Colin had ordered a couple of 2203KK sig heads for 1250 which is a smoking deal. The only reason I didn't grab one was because it didn't have an effects loop. Thats my $0.02 Cheers, Lucius - Wed, 11 Mar 2009 10:05am | ||
| Mike S User Info... | Never had a problem with L/M over the years, even when they had the old store and I was between jobs, Ray would call and work out a payment plan with me. Nice that over the years as their best guys moved on to run new stores or office positions etc. that they were replaced by guys just as easy to deal with in the guitar dept. and management. Just a few weeks ago I managed to get my Mesa Boogie cable (for the channel pedal) back from them, even though Id lost it a month earlier upisland in a venue, it had been returned in a pile of PA gear rented by the people who had put on the show. Saved me $50 for a replacement! I did notice yesterday that MB 6L6 pairs have jumped up about $10 since I last bought them.. - Wed, 11 Mar 2009 11:04am | ||
| superslacks User Info... | It sounds like a few of you have a good relationship with L&M and are being rewarded for your constant patronage. For myself, I give them less than %5 of my gear budget (last year I spent over $8k, and I know L&M saw less than $500 of that), so I've technically opted out of that system. Maybe it's a self-propagating thing; They give me shitty service, so I spend less, they refer me to websites instead of giving me instore info, so I buy from those websites instead, They greet me with uninformed staff so I do my own research/ avoid their staff. In the end I don't have any relationships with the staff there as all the people I used to deal with have moved on, so I guess I don't get good service in part because I'm no longer known by any of the people there. I still keep giving them chances tho, but they continually shit the bed. My last two experiences there were complete disasters. In one case I was simply converting a rental into a purchase accout, and even though I've been with them for 20 years they wanted me to fill in an credit app. So I politely pointed out the fact that I should be in the system, which prompted a page to the account manager (I was in a rush, btw, trying to avoid wasting time filling out a form), then delay, then no explanation just him reading me the questions from the form. Kinda patronizing. Kinda pissed me off. Then there was the time I had an underling there ASSURING me over and over that a relatively small piece of gear I needed for a show would be in in a matter of days because it was a store transfer. So I didn't order it from my usual source. I week before the tour I called him to check the status. "No problem" I'm told, any day. Three days later I'm a little anxious as I can no longer order it elsewhere in time. "No prob" I'm told. Two days before we leave and I CALL HIM and am told it can't be done. I lose my shit. I make some calls. I get it done. But that was WAYYY too much work. So. Prices at L&M going up? Oh well, one more reason to buy elsewhere. http://www.uniquesquared.com/servlet/StoreFront - Wed, 11 Mar 2009 12:52pm | ||
| BBJones User Info... | 100% agreed on that one slacks. I'm one more staff turnover away from taking my business elsewhere too. I luckily have a couple of people that know me in different departments so I don't get hassled with the first time buyer bullshit like I'm 16 years old. I have to say I get rather pissed off when the "new guy" asks me for a $20 deposit on some rental item or other nonsense. I also point out "hey look, I've got 20 years of history here so stop being a douche bag". The new guys need to learn how to suck up to long term customers. If I lose that level of service, I'm gone and will put the tiny bit of extra time into my own research and will buy my shit elsewhere too. - Wed, 11 Mar 2009 1:04pm | ||
| superslacks User Info... | A person can never live totally free of places like L&M, and like I said they do have their uses. But yeah, they really should treat their experienced buyers better. I mean, aside from the money I've personally pumped into the market, I'm also in a position to recommend vendors to others. Do they even care about that? No, probably not. I mean, if I have to go so far as to dial Jack Long's assistant in order to resolve a customer service issue, why is the next phone call NOT from L&M Victoria telling me exactly when where and who's going to suck my cock? - Wed, 11 Mar 2009 2:08pm | ||
| Zippgunn User Info... | Both you guys sound like high maintenance whiners; I'm betting L & M's could care less if the likes of you two never show up again. Dealing exclusively with musicians all day (especially the wannabe rock stars) must be one shitty job. Remember, L & M actually GIVES CREDIT TO MUSICIANS which is a lot like fronting smack to junkies so for that alone they get my support. A hint for the arrogant: you draw more flies with honey than with vinegar. Show up knowing what you want a least a little bit and don't expect every guy there to be an expert on everything. And for Christ's sakes remember that when your stuff doesn't show up on time it's almost always because the supplier (usually an American country which takes care of U.S. retailers first) hasn't shipped it and flipping out on the guy at this end just makes you look like a spoiled asshole. I've had problems with gear that I bought from there and I make a point of being adut and businesslike about things. I maybe do get a tiny bit of preferential treatment but that's probably because I do most of my (considerable) business there in cash money which always commands respect IMO. I have found that most other music stores in this area are far worse than L & M for all the things that you two complain about and I for one don't "do" the internet unless absolutely essential. So it's up to me and the guys I know at L & M to make it work and we make it work. Not perfect but a whole lot better than it could be. - Wed, 11 Mar 2009 4:46pm | ||
| ROSS B AY User Info... | All I know is they let somebody like me walk in there with $100 dollars and walk out with a 2 thousand dollar guitar head. A few times now. That is why I go there. - Wed, 11 Mar 2009 5:00pm | ||
| Jl User Info... | Just because they give "credit" to musicians doesn't mean they're the best store to shop at. "And for Christ's sakes remember that when your stuff doesn't show up on time it's almost always because the supplier (usually an American country which takes care of U.S. retailers first) hasn't shipped it and flipping out on the guy at this end just makes you look like a spoiled asshole" on the contrary if they promise and "assure" you it will be there, proper business minds would tell you, that IT SHOULD BE THERE. Sure, yelling at them isn't gunna make the deal any sweeter; but I can tell you that at my shop, while its a small business(not musically related), we do not make promises we cannot keep. Its bad business practice, and while the customer might only be spending 10$... its 10$ YOU dont have as a business owner if they leave. To further that, supporting big box stores WILL crush small business' which offer a)better service, rather than some young gun who thinks they know everything(when they dont) b)better pricing(generally speaking... as we, at my store, compete or beat any price if bartered with.). Though i do understand your opinion Zipp. I think you have a biased opinion as you did say that(and I know for a fact that you're well known) you know many people there; THAT certainly helps in the long run. But should that be a principal reason why YOU, and SPECIFICALLY you, get preferrential treatment? When you come in my shop, you get the same treatment if you spend 10$ or 1000$. And that's TOP NOTCH customer service, from me(the manager), the owner, or any of our employee's. My reasoning for not shopping much at L&M mostly stems from location... Im closer to gordies music, therefor that's where i shop. But I do try to support, as best I can, the smaller stores... but that's just me. And truthfully, I haven't had to buy much gear in the past 10 years so I really wouldn't count in this thread as much as the people above me. - Wed, 11 Mar 2009 5:03pm | ||
| superslacks User Info... | I disagree Scott. I believe L&M COULDN'T care less if I ever showed up again. And I reward such apathy towards customers by not shopping there. That's how I make it work. The fact is, I pretty much just leave the store without a word to anyone, given it's a pointless battle. But I do agree most other music retailers are just as bad or worse. I just happen to have more stories about L&M because I have more history there. The bottom line is, if I repeatedly get shit service anywhere I spend money, I stop going there. Do you tip your waitress after she gives you awful service? Would you call me a whiner if I didn't? MAybe L&M needs to know that, because of their poor customer service, people are spending their money elsewhere. You're welcome. - Wed, 11 Mar 2009 5:14pm | ||
| Mr. Hell User Info... | The perfect store would just give the gear to us for free. There are faults there as there are in any store, big or small. Like Zak said so eloquently, they allow most of us destitute jackasses to rock with quality gear. - Wed, 11 Mar 2009 5:18pm | ||
| _Griphin_ User Info... | Screw guitars. The price of my Apex headphones went up $12! :( - Wed, 11 Mar 2009 7:00pm | ||
| skinny ape User Info... | As a novice,yet aspiring,musician that is not 16(double that +,shit) I must say that I've had more - than + at this place. Ex # 1-bringing in a bass to get an estimate on a pick-up installed and a set-up.What I got was a "oh wow!This is gonna cost you HUNDREDS AND HUNDREDS OF DOLLARS!" Okay,it wasn't a p-bass or j-bbass pickup scenario,so I was expecting it to be more than $100.But what he did next was to grab half a p-bass pickup outta the showcase and place it in the empty rout and say this would work.I thanked him for the time,closed the case and kindly walked away. Ex-2.a year later I walk in with the intention of purchasing outright a bass .I scope the place,try out a few sweeties.When there was a staff member around he would blatantly ignore me.Oh well.I drive 10 minutes,was greeted/aknowledged when I arrived,tried out some gear,was asked some questions,asked some questions,purchased and left very happy.Still am. Ex-3 Got the bass and was in need of a better amp.Lots of research,lots of questions.I go to L&M and start browsing the gear with the intention and cash to purchase.See some stuff I like.Hear some under/over the breath groans "oh great" kinda shit from the staff.Overheard some jeers.No hellos,no help.No problem.I drive 10 minutes down the road,was greeted,was asked some questions,asked some questions,tried some shit out, and left satisfied .And when I unintentionally found a better rig I had no problem/hassle making a return.They even thanked me. I don't really have a beef with L&M,I've dealt with Vancouver's store in the past with good results,and I do know about their long history with supporting the music community by loaning/renting quality gear at more than fair terms.But I don't understand why they would discourage new/potential long term customers with snooty/arrogant service. Maybe Jack Long should consider commision for his sales staff. Just my two bits. smoke on the water - Wed, 11 Mar 2009 7:50pm Edited: Wed, 11 Mar 2009 7:54pm | ||
| Mike S User Info... | then a few nights ago my drummer finally shows up with his new bell.. the one he had warranty replacement ordered like 4-5 months earlier..that he called about a whole bunch of times and getting told it wasnt there yet, before finally finding it for sale out on the floor. But remember this.. its a busy store for musicians, staffed by.. you got it.. musicians ( for the most part..) so maybe its a little like going to a banana store run by 2 dozen monkeys and frequented by 100's of monkey customers. Hoo hoo hoo - Thu, 12 Mar 2009 11:19am | ||
| Whitford St. Holmes User Info... | Everybody has a horror story about any large retail outlet. A large staff turnover is an issue at any business. If you've ever worked retail you know- obnoxious people can be on both sides of the counter. It's not like it's any corporate policy to annoy and drive away customers. I've been buying, selling and trading gear for a long time and they're consistently a great place to go. Maybe not every transaction ever, but I've asked for stuff, they order it with no layaway. I've bought things and returned them with minimum hassle, and if it's wrong it's always been rectified. Your experience and mileage may vary. - Thu, 12 Mar 2009 5:18pm Edited: Thu, 12 Mar 2009 5:19pm | ||
| Mr. Hell User Info... | Now that everyone has mentioned it, I am still waiting on an Ernie Ball bass pick guard that I ordered two and a half years ago. - Thu, 12 Mar 2009 5:26pm | ||
| TheWolf User Info... | How does the Credit work there anyways? Is it the same as at Tom Lee's... There is only so much bad drumming and jamming in the Amp room retail staff should be able to stand before they turn to mush any ways , Kinda explains why I was looking for a "Portable Drum Machine" Staff Member #1 sent me to "The Drum Dept", The Drum Dept sent me to "Recording" and Recording sent me back to the "Front Desk"... - Thu, 12 Mar 2009 9:29pm | ||
| Jl User Info... | I think all these situations regarding the staffing at L&M CLEARLY shows that MOST musicians cant cut it on the retail level or at least the ones that work there. If you work in a specialty store(as such) you should be able to handle all the pressures of actually doing WORK. That entails making the customer feel at home and welcome; not turning them away to a different dept. etc... I also believe that, some may disagree, the younger generation wants to work but isn't willing to put in the time required or the level of committment. I think better hiring tactics or experience would help greatly; rather than sifting through employee's faster than running water, find one that WANTS to be there rather than "has to" work somewhere. I guess what im trying to say is while you may be a good musician, that doesn't make you a good or even competent sales person. Vice versa too... that's where 'they' as the employer have to find that fine line between experience and knowledge of the product and the ability to sell it. - Fri, 13 Mar 2009 2:53pm Edited: Fri, 13 Mar 2009 2:56pm | ||
| Curmudgeon Rocker User Info... | I miss Ray's toupee. - Sat, 14 Mar 2009 8:57am | ||
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