PRS dealers tend to be on the good side on pricing

[Drpcr]

Hi folks, just wanted to know people's opinion on this subject. As I buy more guitars, I just notice that PRS dealers stick to the 30-40% off list rule, and sometimes more for NOS or good customers. Now that I have bought several non-PRS guitars, this doesn't seem to be the case. I have bought a few gorgeous taylors recently, and the pricing is all over the place. Some PRS dealers that carry Taylor give 40% off list, but others who only carry Taylor typically only give 10-20% off list and if its a LTD edition Taylor, they ask even more than list sometimes. Now how is this so? Is competition between PRS dealers more fierce? I was just in Atlanta (buckhead) this past long wknd, and I went to an upscale acoustic place. The guitars I was interested there were 10% off list as compared to the 40% off list the same guitar that was being sold by a dealer that carried that brand and PRS. Have people noticed this also?

[psxguru]

Do acoustic makers like Taylor produce comparable volumes to PRS?

Does Taylor have as many dealers? I think PRS have about 400 dealers in the USA?

Maybe other brands don't offer as big a margin between cost and list price?

[Andrew Chen]

Do acoustic makers like Taylor produce comparable volumes to PRS?

Does Taylor have as many dealers? I think PRS have about 400 dealers in the USA?

Maybe other brands don't offer as big a margin between cost and list price?
From what I've heard, there is less of a wholesale discount for dealers with Taylors than other brands.

[Drpcr]

From what I've heard, there is less of a wholesale discount for dealers with Taylors than other brands.
Oh ok, thanks Andrew.

Ummm Taylor sells more than double the amount of PRS guitars and in dollar amounts. It has many more dealers than PRS. Haven't you played a Taylor accross the pond?

[psxguru]

I've actually got a couple of Taylors. In the UK they're still a bit pricey but I think they're more realistically priced than PRS are over here.

[-CM-]

Taylor has very strict controls on advertising. It wasn't until last year that dealers could state that they are Taylor dealers on their websites! Even now, they can't list any new Taylor guitars - only used ones. This keeps competition in check. With PRS and other brands, it's easy to shop around, and easier to find good prices.

It seems a bit counter-intuitive to me to have such a sales model in these Internet-driven times, but it appears to be successful for them.

[JMintzer]

Taylor did, however, manage to sell some 72-73 thousand guitars last year...

Jamie

[Elgreco]

Taylor did, however, manage to sell some 72-73 thousand guitars last year...

Jamie
Do you know how many PRS sold last year?

[JMintzer]

Do you know how many PRS sold last year?
Why did I know that question was coming? ;)

I think it was in the neighborhood of 18K.

Jamie

[John Cowan]

Wow, 18k must be including the Korean models. I thought the goal was more like 12-13k made in USA guitars. Just basing this on information from the tour.

[JMintzer]

Wow, 18k must be including the Korean models. I thought the goal was more like 12-13k made in USA guitars. Just basing this on information from the tour.
Nope, US made only. They were making 12-13K 3-4 years ago. They really ramped up production in the last 2 years. They did like 15K in 2002 and 18K last year.

Jamie

[Elgreco]

I bet they sell boatloads of SE's!

[Brian D]

Maybe it's because we keep 'em honest by posting the prices online! ;)

[Chun13]

Waow, 18.000 guitars A YEAR ?? :eek:

Are there that many PRS players :D

[JMintzer]

Hell, thay sell half of them to the lunatics on this board! :D

Jamie

[93octane]

At my local dealer..I bought an acoustic for $249.99 and everywhere online they had them for $299. Same guitar same everything. How they are able to sell it for $50 cheaper??? Don't know just know I always get a better deal locally then online stores.

[Dan Desy]

Hell, thay sell half of them to the lunatics on this board! :D

Jamie
And half of those to Jamie alone! ;)

[Chun13]

And half of those to Jamie alone! ;)
:D:D :D

[Christopher Wade]

Maybe it's because we keep 'em honest by posting the prices online! ;)
We're also devaluing the line. There are dealers who are selling at over 40% off and are cutting the throats of some long-time high volume dealers. If it keeps up, you'll see PRS move to a model similar to MESA, where the price is the price is the price.

What I don't understand is why the dealers do it? You can make the same amount selling 200 guitars at 33% as you can selling 325 at 40% (give or take). But selling 325 takes more work to make the same dollars. From a dealer end, I don't understand. Is it just to crow "we're #1"?

[LeifK]

Over here in San Diego, we have a dealer that claims they have the largest stock and sell the most Taylors in the US. They usually have excellent prices on Taylor guitars...they probably get a better deal from Taylor since they have so many in stock.


They also sell PRS guitars and are way expensive...you just have to shop around I guess.

[TRandy16]

Folks...you have to make money to stay in business. I have been selling guitars for 27 years and you cannot stay in business selling at 40% off on an "A" item. An "A" item means it costs the dealer half of the retail price. Selling at retail would be great except that nobody, of course, pays full retail; for anything anymore....everybody willingly discounts their guitars....including me. But you cannot keep things floating when you pay $1500.00 for a guitar and sell it for $1800.00. You could afford it if you were selling out of your house and didn't have fixed expenses....but when you have employees to pay, health insurance, fire insurance, rent or mortgage payments for your building, taxes. etc...it just can't be done. When you do see stores selling PRS constantly at 40% off, you can bet the farm that they're making it up somewhere else.

When you run into a GC, Sam Ash, etc....you can get a fairly low price....but what aren't you getting? Usually meaningful service when you have a problem. This is not a slam at those businesses in general, rather an acceptance of how their business model works. With the possible exception of managers, those outfits really don't pay a high enough salary to attract true pro guitar salesmen...and before everybody jumps on me I KNOW that there are exceptions to this...but in general most of these jobs pay $8.00 to $10.00 an hour and if you poll the salesmen...well....they're usually not there for the long haul. Trust me, Jack Gretz and Brian Meader do NOT work for $8.00 to $10.00 per hour. When you see Brian "The Pusher" Meader ask him how I would know this (Hiya Brian..)...we've known each other for a very long time and used to work together in the "old" days. BTW...one of the original and ultimate "pushers" is Eddie Berman at www.indoorstorm.com (http://www.indoorstorm.com)... he also does not work for those kind of wages. These guys are stone-cold pros who know the business and will give you the service and advice that you need, and they are worth every nickel they get paid.

We usually quote PRS at 30% off and feel that the guys at PRS deserve not to have their wonderful product devalued and lumped in with some of the other "throw away" lines that are out there. I would wholehartedly endorse PRS following the Mesa Boogie model...the price, is the price, is the price. Then we could start talking about the guitars and stop all this oneupmanship between the dealers, which is really counterproductive not to mention a very dumb business move.

[Brian D]

My comment about "keeping 'em honest" was meant to be tongue-in-cheek, making a lame reference to the price-posting furor at the old site of course. I agree that I have always received a fair price quote when looking at a PRS, and I bought my present McCarty for 30% off list and was very pleased with that.

I'm not sure why some companies are willing or able to go 40% off or more, but no doubt it does upset the apple cart. I can understand how it would cause problems for a dealer, and I am all for a fair selling price that still allows a seller to make a profit. It must be challenging enough competing with the larger chain music stores as it is. I wouldn't even mind a stock selling price on them as long as it was a fair one.

[JMintzer]

And half of those to Jamie alone! ;)
I'll have you know I only bought ONE PRS last year. Granted, I ordered 4, cancelled one and the one I did buy was a BRW Santana, but don't try to lump me in with those other... Oh hell, never mind! GUILTY AS CHARGED! :D

Jamie

P.S. Tim... Excellent post! Dude!

[TRandy16]

S'OK Jamie......I'm also a very guilty party. I bought a PRS Archtop this past fall. (just had to be the $6000.00 one , right?)...fell in love with it...and ordered ANOTHER ONE (different finish...) before the closing dates for orders on 12-31-03. This was in addition to a new Telly, a new Fender Limited Edition Lacquered Tweed Blues Junior, a THD head, and a new Fender Vibro-King cabinet with Celestion 30's in it, ad infinitum... I work in the music business should REALLY know better...but I still have massive GAS problems!




I'll have you know I only bought ONE PRS last year. Granted, I ordered 4, cancelled one and the one I did buy was a BRW Santana, but don't try to lump me in with those other... Oh hell, never mind! GUILTY AS CHARGED! :D

Jamie

P.S. Tim... Excellent post! Dude!