What do you look for in a music store?

[will_shred]

I'm thinking about opening my own music store. I know what I like to see in a local music store. What attracts you to a local music store?

Also, I've been working in music stores since I was 16, so i'm not really interested in hearing "you know how hard it is to run a music store today?" Yes, I do.

 

[MaxOfMetal]

Customer service and knowledgeable staff. That's what separates the DGCLs and Matt's Musics from the Guitar Center down the street, which will almost always beat them on price and availability.

It's also not a bad idea to specialize. These days it's better to have a niche, whether that means being the landmark dealer of a specific brand or brand family, or a certain price bracket.

I've got decades of music retail bonifides. It's a rough, not fun industry, but if you love it and that love shows, you'll have success.

 

[jaxadam]

Cleanliness, organization, and staff that seem happy to be there.

Luckily when I was growing up the only ones were mom and pops.

I don’t need Jackson USAs or PRS Private Stocks on the wall, just some all around good options that don’t have rusting strings.

A good assortment of pedals and books were always a bonus. Also, it’s nice if the store is laid out or well setup to plug and play.

 

[ThunderUnderground]

I always like shops that are quite laid back. One thing i remember when i was young was going to the local skate shops in my area, it was different from other places because they had a couch to sit on, cool music in the background, an old TV playing skateboarding VHS that you could watch. It just made it more like a hang out spot rather than a shop.

I think if you remove the formality in some way it makes the place more friendly and your more likely to visit. Most shops are quite sterile I feel and the only thing going on is the stock displayed on the wall and a cashier waiting to take your money. I think the best shops are the ones when you don't feel under any obligation to buy stuff.

Im also a sucker for random junk, so things like cheap novelty instruments, picks, finger trainers for guitar etc. If that's at the counter as im buying my stuff, il probably pick up some random junk and buy that too providing its cheap and quirky.

 

[budda]

Do you have a backline company in town? If not, maybe also be the place that rents the cabs and *good* kit for local shows. Bonus points if you can offer rehearsal spaces.

As others have said, its more about do i feel welcome, is the staff knowledgable, can they get me what im after if its not in stock, are prices reasonable.

I just found out a local store I use for last minute parts buys charges 3x what my tech does for the same work. My buddy got hosed .

 

[BlackMastodon]

Strings or picks, usually.

 

[narad]

Whether or not they have Prime delivery...

 

[MFB]

If another dealer goes under, can I transfer my ESP custom shop to go through you to maintain my spot in the queue?

 

[Randy]

For me, it's used gear. New stuff I can order online and pit one mega-retailer after another for the best discount. Used gear, it's always gonna be unique to the store and the time that you're there.

My local store went to shit but back before that happened, I'd go there at least once a week just to make sure I didn't miss anything. A few times they ran a sale like labor day or presidents day etc with 10% to 20% off and I'd walk out the door with 4 or 5 guitars in a trip. Cost plays a factor but I'm more interested in oddball stuff you're not gonna find every day, stuff you've never played before or odd combos of features (especially used gear with upgraded parts).

Some used gear you're gonna happen across by default (people looking to unload for cash, kids with guitars they got as presents and they never took to the hobby, people looking to trade up, etc) but the real honey holes I've been to over the years had kind of a "networking for musicians" vibe to them. Actual gigging musicians would shop there, trade in stuff there, get their gear worked on there, rent equipment there, etc.

 

[Hollowway]

For me, it's used gear. New stuff I can order online and pit one mega-retailer after another for the best discount. Used gear, it's always gonna be unique to the store and the time that you're there.

My local store went to shit but back before that happened, I'd go there at least once a week just to make sure I didn't miss anything. A few times they ran a sale like labor day or presidents day etc with 10% to 20% off and I'd walk out the door with 4 or 5 guitars in a trip. Cost plays a factor but I'm more interested in oddball stuff you're not gonna find every day, stuff you've never played before or odd combos of features (especially used gear with upgraded parts).

Some used gear you're gonna happen across by default (people looking to unload for cash, kids with guitars they got as presents and they never took to the hobby, people looking to trade up, etc) but the real honey holes I've been to over the years had kind of a "networking for musicians" vibe to them. Actual gigging musicians would shop there, trade in stuff there, get their gear worked on there, rent equipment there, etc.

Same here. Cool used gear, and potentially quirky new stuff (within a niche) can be neat.

Also, one of the things that drives me nuts about small dealers is that the best sounding amp/guitar/pickups are whatever amp/guitar/pickups they’re trying to sell at the moment. Like, for instance, don’t tell me a VHT D120 sounds exactly like the VHT UL when you want me to buy the D120, and then 6 months later post online that the UL sounds nothing like the D120. Or that a MIK has just as good QC as a MIJ, and then flip a year later and tell me that the MIJ is a bargain, because of how crazy high quality it is compared to a MIK. Just be honest, so I know I can trust you, and come back for more.

 

[PuckishGuitar]

Luckily when I was growing up the only ones were mom and pops.

Growing up this is all I had, and holy fuck were they pain in the asses. As a teenager trying to figure stuff out, I really didn't need a bunch of "don't touch our shit on display" and "what kind of dumbass doesn't know how to set up an OFR" comments thrown my way. To this day I try avoid talking to salespersons at music shops unless I have a specific list of questions because I don't want to deal with a holier than thou attitude, even though logically I know that it probably won't happen now.

Anyway, don't be like that!

Other things I like though: good consignment/used market; establishing yourself as a good interface between the customer and manufacturers for orders and repairs/maintenance; good inspection and delivery process; salesperson(s) that keeps up with the trends, even if it's just knowing that the trend exists; good private room for cranking amps up; and in general have a willingness to listen to the customer and help them get what they want, even if it's not what they are asking for. Also agree with @MaxOfMetal that finding a niche and specializing in it, and marketing it out to outside your region, is great since it'll help setup a stream of consistent customers and online inquiries - just don't alienate all the other customers as a result. I'm that kind of dork that will frequent places if they just have the right kind of vibe that I'm comfortable with.

 

[will_shred]

Yeah I think I want to specialize in used gear, I'm mostly interested in cool stuff with vibe and with a story to tell. Less interested in shiny new guitars. Plus theres less red tape, and the margins are usually better.

 

[ThunderUnderground]

Do you have a backline company in town? If not, maybe also be the place that rents the cabs and *good* kit for local shows. Bonus points if you can offer rehearsal spaces.

This is a solid idea i think, it means you don't have to rely exclusively on consumerism. You could have the classics; ie: Marshall cab with V30's and you could also do quirky 2x12 cabs with curveball speaker pairings to make it interesting. Also pedal rental might work out, think about Youtubers making review videos or whatever, they don't want to buy the product and keep it but just use it to make a video for their channel. You could rent out that stuff at like $10 a week or whatever for a pedal.

Once your break even on the investment its straight profit and pedals are quite robust and easy to repair.

 

[budda]

Our national chain sells sheet music and does lessons. They are making money before you buy any gear.

 

[DoctorStoner]

Man, I would love to open a music shop too, I worked at a pretty big 'mom and pop' for about 4 years. I would want to focus on getting new people into the hobby. So quality budget gear, new and used. Good staff that listens gets the right 1st guitar into a new players hands instead of a Maestro starter pack...

It would definitely be fun to have a secondary focus on fun oddball stuff for the more seasoned guitarist too.

1) WEEKEND HOURS! Fri, Sat, Sun. I don't care if it's closed the other 4 days, 80% of people are not at work on the weekends so why be closed?! (Sorry, this just really gets me going with most small music stores only open weekdays 10-4.)
2) Friendly staff
2a) Knowledgeable also, plus a guy that can do killer set-ups.
3) Marketing: Someone who actually keeps up with online sales, social media, and interesting in store events, clinics, and promos.
4) Stuff to demo
5) Lessons

 

[crushingpetal]

Most important questions: where are you located? What's the best nearby store?

I like the idea of only used stuff, but curated with great taste.

 

[CanserDYI]

Moving inventory. I love love love when I find a shop that has new shit every time I go in. New brands, weird models, used stuff, piles of amps and pedals. Me personally, I'd take a crapshoot in a place that always has "new" stuff than to go into a clean shop that has all the same Fenders and Gibsons and Epiphones and Squiers on the wall they did last week and the week before that. Just my opinion.

What I'm really saying is I love used pawn shop style guitar shops over big name stores.

 

[TedEH]

I basically only go into music shops for a handful of reasons:
- I need something and I can assume the store has it.
- The store carries a brand or product I can't get elsewhere.
- There's a rotation of used stuff that I might find a unique piece or great deal

For the needs I'll just go to the box stores or whoever happens to be closest, so location matters. There's one shop that's a bit of a pain to get to, but I'll visit there occasionally because they carry stuff like Suhr or Two-Rock or Diezel, Friedman, etc. that for whatever reason aren't carried by any other stores around here. Then there's a used shop that has a constant rotation of random cool junk, and usually not priced too badly. That's the "I walked in, saw a cool thing, and took it home with me" shop. For a while I was visiting a more targeted drum shop, since they carried non-generic drum hardware, wider variety of cymbals, etc.

The actual pawn shops around here reaaaaaaally suck for stuff like music gear - it's mostly $20 acoustics with action high enough you could build a village between the strings and the fretboard.

 

[Crungy]

I'm in the decent used gear camp as well. I do like seeing new guitar inventory that's in between beginner stuff and very expensive.

A local shop to me surprised me recently by having just that: decent mid level new stuff, not a lot of beginner stuff, some high end stuff (an EII seven string is haunting me right now) and cool used stuff.

 

[jaxadam]

Our national chain sells sheet music and does lessons. They are making money before you buy any gear.

This.