Welcome back fret heads and twang queens....people read a blog expecting definitive opinions and amazing insight but this time you ain't gonna get it...oh no dear readers. Because I am perplexed and confused! Firstly we hear all this talk and commentary for better informed and higher paid men than me concerning the state of consumer spending and the "high street", but sales of guitars were up 3.4% in December according to GK market research (whatever that means right).
More tellingly those of whose involved in this guitar dealing game are seeing a very odd phenomena. Most guitar shops and dealers with premises work on a 100% markup/markdown system. You buy a guitar worth a grand from one dealer take it round the corner to another dealer and you will be offered £500 for it regardless of age condition You might be able to haggle them up to £600 if you are lucky...but there you go! So quite clearly your cash strapped guitar owner isn't going to retail stores. Now with the plethora of freeads sites across the U.K. I counted 9 in total and I am sure there are more, you would think that there would be some great deals available on there with people selling guitars at knock down in order to pay off credit card bills and the gas bill etc....once again it isnt so! So what dear readers is going on out there in second hand guitar land? A couple of guitar dealer mates I know are complaining about the problems of replenishing high end stock when you have to spend £40,000 - £50,000 a quarter to keep well in with the main distributors of the type of high end guitars we all know and love. So in turning to the second hand market they have found a dearth of good quality guitars that have been well looked after and require little setting up or any sort of repair. I had expected there shops to be awash with nearly used and never abused eye candy given the current state of the economy but sadly the reverse seems to be the case! So dear readers where are all the great guitars hiding....answers on a postcard to.....
