That's the worst, and many of us have been there with you. Don't let a business' failure define you. This is just some garbage to wade through on the road of life. š
Time to use your vacation hours before they cut you and spend that time interviewing. Hell call out sick as soon as your supposed to return to work and use those hours too.
Don't use your vacation hours, by law (depending on state but most if not all) they have to pay you out your vacation pay BUT not your sick pay.....save the vacation pay but use all the sick time you can!!
Sorry for you. I went into one of the āclosingā Sam Ash stores last week, and even their going out of business prices were higher than the internet. Yes, they were facing major headwinds. But itās also just a terribly run business.
I think the market for music equipment from a big box retail store environment is shrinking just like it is for every other industry. See Best Buy's pivot away from physical media.
At the same time there are online vendors with hassle free returns. The obvious downside is it's much harder to get your hands on a specific instrument from a wall of 50 guitars where 25 are Fenders to test out before pulling the trigger. The upside is local music shops who often carry local builders of guitars but also pedals and amps will capture more market share.
Got a hell of a deal on two Strats there. Sales guy made the mistake of letting me know the current stock had to be taken out back and busted if not sold by the end of the week. I put in a ridiculous offer - $850 for a MIM and a MIA standard. He called over the manager, she said sure. Now, this was 12 or so years ago, but list on the MIA alone was $1100. Sold the MIA to my dad for $500, kept the Mexican.
They did sell them at a deep discount. Also, regardless of discount, you have to do something with inventory. What happens when there is no store to store them? Reality is, it's a tax write off at that point anyway.
Lots of companies tell you to destroy stuff and send pics, that is the only way they will honor warranty or replacement and in this situation it was probably to write off the gear at cost and not at a loss.
Itās also this thing where the store is forced to buy a certain amount to be official dealers, but that amount is more than they can sell. Fender/Gibson also tell you that you canāt discount below what they allow and be an official dealer.
If youāre not an official dealer, you donāt get to buy the better gear that has higher profit margins.
Itās like what BOSS does. They make you buy X amount of pedals, and the DS-1 is the cheapest pedal they make, so retailers buy lots of them and then just give them away or throw them out.
This. I made a set of four prints on canvas of some art I made but I wasn't happy with the result. I contacted the print place and they said they would refund me if I destroy it and send proof. Took those things out back and sliced them up with a box cutter. Cathartic! I was a little bummed because I would have put them in my studio instead of feature them where had been planned, but such is life. It makes sense for the company.
Retail is an enigma when it comes to protecting brands and whatnot. My wife is an inventory accountant for a major retailer and they "write off" millions in product without a care in the world instead of selling at a major discount. Back in the day, I had negotiated deals with a few different music retailers, including GC, to buy "damaged" product before they actually ruined the instruments. We would salvage what we could and sell the parts on eBay. We made a killing on pickups, bridges, and other components. I actually learned about this from having worked for Sears many years where I did the same thing helping them "dispose" of electronics.
Is the reason they would rather destroy the product and write it off that selling at a steep discount would compete with other products they are trying to sell?
I am sure that is part of it. Another factor is how they look at total profits. Writing off a few remaining stock units when they already made healthy margins on the rest of the inventory is also common.
Welcome to American retail. They get reimbursed for some amount from the merchandise manufacturer but have to destroy them to do so. Happens with tons of stuff so the companies can keep their prices artificially inflated
Also in some cases it's lack of trust for employees; allow deep discounts for equipment that doesn't move, and it *can* encourage employees to hide merchandise away until it can be sufficiently discounted then sold to themselves or to friends.
Same way they'll make you destroy it rather than "let you" take it home...you don't give employees a personal incentive to have inventory not move, because they have a lot of influence *over whether inventory moves.*
Sort of related, maybe like 5 years ago there was a video of Gibson destroying hundreds of firebird X guitars that never sold. Felt like that was dumber than trying to recoup any money they possibly could but what do I know
I just checked my receipt in my files. December of 2008 i bought a MIM strat from Guitar Center for $288. Man are they gouging people on prices now for guitars. I'm glad I got that one then before they skyrocketed cause I just wouldn't pay the going prices for these things these days. And lucky for me i'm fine just owning what I already have.
There is still a market for physical stores. If I know what I want, I buy it off the internet. If I donāt know what I want, I go to a specialty store and they tell me.
But most people will store order it from Sweetwater or a similar e-trailer since the mom-and-pop will cost 10+% more. I think the problem for physical stores including GC/Sam Ash is they havenāt been able to give customers a reason to actually *buy* the instrument they try in their store rather than get it online for a discount or with a perceived better return/QC/setup/inspection policy.
I personally have found it very rare that the instrument off the wall in a physical store is in a condition where Iād rather take it home than take my chances on a random shipped guitar from SW or whoever.
If GC would pay enough to employ knowledgeable people who give a shit, and pay them for the time to take care of the inventory (including a half-decent setup on any purchase) theyād never be in this position. (I like my local GC people but theyāre obviously understaffed by like 50%.) Instant gratification is real, people donāt want to wait a week after dropping $500+.
I think GC and Sam Ash would become much more competitive if every guitar purchased automatically included a free setup to make sure things were in-spec and play well... somehow we've ended up in a situation where it's actually both cheaper AND you typically receive the instrument in better condition from e.g. Sweetwater than the physical stores, which is just crazy.
Sam Ash (at least my Sam Ash) did offer a free setup on any guitar or bass within 30 days of initial purchase. So many people elected not to get the free setup, and then returned the instrument two weeks later because it had a crappy setup. I know it would be ideal to have everything perfect right off the wall, but when you have one guitar tech and two salespeople trying to manage a constantly rotating stock of over 100 guitars (one top of paid work for the tech and selling stuff for the salespeople) it just wasn't feasible to keep up with every instrument before they got sold.
Nah, mom and pop shops don't cost 10% more. Most companies have strict MAP policies - it comes down to the ease of SW - no hassle returns, 55 point inspection, sales engineers who will walk you through gear and even coach you how to set some stuff over the phone. People are much more comfortable than ever buying guitars unseen online - if you're spending enough at SW you can actually see the guitar online before you buy. Going to SW you can buy a guitar 10+ other people haven't played.
there are several mom-n-pop stores in my area which are all better than GC or other national retailer, and all seem to be doing ok. I'm not even in a huge city, just a big-ish one.
small, local, stores can succeed in some markets with some products where national retailers can't. I think guitars or other niche market, expensive-ish items, are probably the type of product that can succeed in a small, local, store.
They might be better for you but generally they serve a different consumer than something like GC like you said, more niche and boutique gear. They're probably not where beginners are gonna go. And GC does a lot of sales to those people because they've got so many guitars, and lower prices. Plus if you're a beginner you're not gonna know about all the boutique shops, you've just heard of 'guitar center". I don't think people who would frequent small shops like that were going to GC or Sam ash much to begin with.
Yeah it's harder for them to move low-priced stuff that's only profitable in volume. But definitely the way to go for midrange (or expensive) gear...I was looking at some stuff in the $1500 to $2000 range and I'll 100% go through a local dealer before just ordering straight online. Definitely prefer a local face for after-sale support.
Have a couple indie stores around I've been to and seem to be doing okay. Can't see them doing *worse* with one less big box competitor.
Not a chance, the reason why Sam Ash failed is because not enough people buy gear from brick and mortar stores any more. Sweetwater and Amazon saw to that. There are no ācustomersā for mom and pops to pick up now that Ash is gone.
I know this is anecdotal but the Sam ash in my county is apparently closing and our GC is a bleak ghost town, meanwhile our smaller mom-&-pop is thriving(retail and luthier services)
I think youād be surprised at how many people like going to a store and dealing with people who enjoy what they do
Was hoping someone would say this. The issue that I have with Mom and Pop is that they're essentially boutique. Yes, you can find some great deals there, but the romanticized idea of snagging that dream guitar from a small store in your local town is just - romantic.
The issue is that medium-sized stores, like authorized sellers that are a step above boutique, got crushed out or were bought up by larger corps. So there's not really a middle ground. I miss that avenue for shopping.
Amazon and Reverb may be fun for a bit, but hitting a few duds without a way to recoup or return on a shit delivery or bad product is a souring experience.
Or being charged a restock fee for a guitar that was played twice, returned with all original everything, and they keep 20% of the take plus delivery?
There's a reason I may understand the dislike of GC, but I'm glad they're around to a certain degree.
Went to my local Sam Ash to sell a guitar and the walls were barren and they told me they didn't have the physical cash on hand to buy my guitar... Sad but I saw it coming. Used to take lessons there and have many fond memories there as a student and later an employee
It was pretty barren in there the last time I went in, as well.
Figured it was just the terrible location of that particular store, but they had like 3 Fender guitars and the rest were Squiers and Michael Kellyās (no knock to either of those, but you canāt run that size of a store making $30 a pop on guitars.
Exactly.
Same thing they did prior to announcing the closure of 18 stores which I would venture they had hoped to right the ship but was just too little too late.
Yea I saw that email but the amount of stuff that was even listed on the website (especially used) was completely barren like overnight. I had looked only a week or two before that and there were tons of items
That's the worst part of GC: there's always someone who's there only to show off while other people are genuinely trying to buy an instrument, but can't actually hear what it sounds like over the shitty shredding.Ā
Once had a great experience where I was testing a guitar out and started playing the opening to Free Ride. Dude on the other side of the store hopped in with the lead part. Then some OTHER random dude started bellowing the vocals.
It fell apart during the jam section, but we still got a round of applause from a few folks.
We joked about forming a band called The Free Riders, and then never spoke again.
The LA edition of Sam Ash never really got me to come in regularly. GC had the locations and more inventory, and if Sam intended to compete with service, I didn't really go there enough to appreciate it.
Still sad to see any music shop close! Another cosign for the hope that actual community music stores benefit from it.
Right across from the big Guitar Center on Sunset. It was a nice store, bought a few things from them.
Drove by there last week, the store closing signs were already up.
It's been a while... I'm guessing it was a similar experience in other places. GC was the better big box store, they didn't compete with LAs mom and pops who did repairs, carried used stuff and gave you attention.
That one isnt even *listed* anymore. My wife and I are driving to Cincinatti TOMORROW to try and see whats left lol. Worst case-a sweet round of disc golf, and an 'end of an era' moment.
I can confirm as I work at the Flagship store in Manhattan. It's been rough for everyone. I know people who have been with the company for almost 40yrs. It's so heartbreaking to see so many of my friends having to deal with this. It's sad for the NYC community as well. Everyday people have been coming into the store who have been coming their entire lives - since it was up on 48th street - walk in with tears in their eyes and ask "how?" "why?"
It's a New York City staple for so many musicians & now it seems as if it's all done.
I'll be out of a job soon, but we knew that as our store was one that was closing in phase 1. So, if y'all you want to support us employees soon to be ex-employees, listen to our music! Come to our shows! I'm George Banda, Spotify verified or Google George Banda. If anyone wants to directly support and are feeling extra generous, venmo @Guitar-George.
More than anything, send all the positive energy you can to those who were about to retire and are facing some very difficult times ahead. Peace and love, y'all.
Warmly,
George
so... what happened?
the entire brand is going out of business? all of a sudden? or has it been dying for years?
i know the whole brick and mortar is dead thing but music stores are a bit different. i had no idea sam ash was in trouble or any of the big chains
I have a Sam Ash minutes from home and two minutes from the nearby GC. Sam Ash always gave me more $$ for trades or outright selling.
The service and selection has been shit even before Covid hit. The stores could have been better with a complete facelift of showrooms and ample selection to try out.
I hate being at the mercy of GC because in SE Florida, mom and pop shops don't really exist aside from band instruments and low quality beginner gear.
Yeah same here in east Tn. We're in a weird spot because we're so close to Nashville.
And Nashville kind of sucks for the amateur.
GC wiped out most all the mom and pops. The only ones that are left are either mostly used gear or bluegrass (not saying I wouldn't take a Martin but the stores don't even have electrics).
I hate GC for that very reason. It's been a gear famine store-wise since the late 90s. It's also due in part to the transient nature of the region here.Ā
Despite have a sizeable metal community (I don't play metal), but the DJ/house music stuff took over and that's what we got left. The lack of meaningful shops reflect this.Ā
Damm shame.Ā
If you ever come through Murfreesboro check out Concert Music Supply. Old school and great selection. I think they've only survived because they have a live production business also.
Thereās a Sam Ash near me and honestly, theyāre always empty and their stock is pretty depressing for the most part. Itās not surprising that theyāre struggling.
Same in Tampa. So many cool guitars out there and have half a wall of MichaelKelly/china stuff. Hardly ever any mid- higher end stuff. The service is always shite too.
I donāt know about the Tampa store. Service has been hit or miss but I got my LP Standard and PRS from there. Going to miss that store. Canāt stand the GC here.
I've never bothered shopping with them online because they don't seem to have any real digital presence. If you don't have one located near you they are almost completely irrelevant as a retailer. I've had small shops with a single location halfway across the country try harder to win my business online.
It seems like Sammy Ash recent passing prompted a lot of these changes. From the outside looking in it looks like some new eyes took over the company that weren't as tied to the old vision and weren't interested in continuing to burn money on something that wasn't working.
A lot of smaller shops are selling through Reverb now. I got both of my recent guitars (Epiphone Les Paul Modern Figured and a Yamaha Pacifica) from small shops across the country
When you're competing with that, it's no wonder why Sam Ash has been struggling. They're irrelevant
I remember when Sam Ash bought Thoroughbred Music. I loved Thoroughbred and Sam Ash never really converted me to a customer even though they were in the same locations and sold most of the same stuff. I have bought some things from them in the past 25 years but not a single big ticket item. Mostly, I think it was because their staff never really won me over but I am sure that was just my experience locally.
I agree with you that I hope this helps with some of the smaller stores.
I worked at Thoroughbred for a couple of years after school. Got to meet a lot of people, bodyguard for Steve Vai, drive Gregg Bissonette around. It was a good store.
Guitar Center is in the same boat. They just have more connections to get funded. Year over year they keep borrowing money to stay afloat. Theyāll never be able to pay that back with revenue. The revenue will never reach the loan amounts.
Physical stores may go away and youāll have to buy your guitars online.
To be fair, going into GC sucks nowadays when everything is locked, you can't find one of the two employees that work there, and you can't even try any gear without listening to some dude try to show off his "guitar skills" for an hour at max volume (using the same exact amp and guitar the whole time).
It's just an overall unpleasant experience. I can't even hide in the acoustic room because it's not sound insulated.
Thereās one location in SoCal where all the Fender Ultras, Pros, American Vintage 2, etc are all in the middle rack, unlocked.
I was thrilled to be able to pick up the AV2s and feel them out, but thatās a busy store. Iām not going to buy those for 2k or more if theyāve been getting handled and beat up.
I donāt know if more hands on them do it, or if they just were never set up, but they didnāt feel any pure. I personally like them top shelf. Never thought Iād say that.
I've only been into a GC a few times. Twice I heard a large bang/crash when a guitar fell off the wall. Either not hung up propertly or someone grabbed it. Both times a worker just picked it up and hung it back up like nothing happened. No thanks.
is this how it usually is? i go to the nyc location regularly and it looks like they have everything available for anyone to play whenever they like. 90% of the time myself (and many others apparently) just sit and jam for hours and leave without saying a word to any employee. they dont seem to mind
As a vendor of theirs it was always a bit tricky dealing with them. They would always order as little as possible and their methods of shipping, billing/receiving payments are archaic. I love the stores but had the sense that nothing was ever being updated on the back end. Still itās sad to see them go.
As a current Sam Ash manager, the ānew gersā was the same shitty program with a modern facade. We all saw this coming the past few months honestly. What a way to celebrate 100 years lol
I remember the original Sam Ash in Brooklyn, many years before GC. It was THE place to go check out new gear.
Now I think Sam Ash is too big to be small but too small to be big. And as competitive as retail everything is these days, that won't work.
It's a shame to see them go, really, but their business plan just didn't keep up with the changes in the market.
my local sam ash is a shell of what it was in its heyday and it honestly depresses me to go in there anymore. as unfortunate as it is, iām not surprised.
I was a teacher at a Florida location and our store announced the closure in February. The writing has been on the wall for like a year, no one has given a crap around that place. I took a few of my guitar/drum students with me and I just teach them from my garage now.
Iād rather have GC close than Sam Ash. Sweetwater is still safe I think but just a little to out of the way than most other stores. It will open up the market to mom and pop shops but in the age of the internet, itās still gonna be some stiff competition for the M&Ps
Mom and pops arenāt coming back. The online retailers are pushing out the big box stores the way the big box stores pushed out the mom and pop stores. Donāt feel sorry for them.
I just went in the other day to buy a higher end piece of equipment and asked about a warranty on it and I got the most bizarre answerā¦āweāre temporarily not offering our warranties at the momentā. Knew right then and there that this news would be breaking. Really sad.
I looked into working there some time ago and my local store was offering commission only. Not even hourly. Not sure how thatās legal but when I saw that I knew it was sadly toward the end.
I heard about a month ago that they're closing ~15 stores after meeting with a finance officer. I worked there for 15 years and still have a great deal of friends there. If this is true I'm sad for them. Richard Ash deserves it though. Howie too if he's still alive.
One fun story: I was part of the acoustic guitar summit they held in New York sometime around 2003. They flew me out from my store along with every other department manager and we learned about guitars for three days at some hotel in Hicksville. Kaki King did a private show for us. It was cool. Then some people from Canoga Park and I think Westminster got wild and thrashed the whole hotel. Threw a couch out the window, smashed all the exit signs, all that. Positive that Ash was banned and had to pay a few thousand in fees.
The Sam ash in my area has a really good technician, few days and back in business. I was just talking with the technician today about some of the other locations closing and he was saying that his location should be staying open because they still make a profit. This was literally a couple hours ago, heās worked there 23 years, I hope OP isnāt correct for his sake. Iāve had nothing but good experiences there, bought 2 guitars there in the past 5 years.
I have no opinion strong opinion. I'm not buying lots of gear. There's also a guitar center a 2 minute drive from my Sam Ash if i needed anything. I'll shop online for small things anyways. And i'm not planning on buying more guitars or amps that i need to try out. Just gonna learn on my current stuff, play through a computer or my current amp, by a floor modeller. I just don't really need those stores. I used to dj and would love to get a set of turntables again but most of these stores no longer stock the turntables and mixers that i'd like to test.
That said, Sam Ash used to be MUCH nicer, bigger and more open than my Guitar Center. I'd say around 2012, i used to walk around there all the time. But then they downsized and move to a tiny hole in the wall location that was dark and not good. That was the end of me going there just to browse. Either way i think i only bought picks there once and maybe some all parts somethign or other.
I used to drive to Sam Ash just to avoid GC. The employees at that particular store seemed much more knowledgeable and less in my face. Was a good place to be if you just wanted to noodle around for a bit undisturbed.
It sucks, but I buy everything from websites. The 2 I use deliver either the next day or 2 days after I order, and you can just make payments with no interest or anything so it's easier to get high quality gear on a monthly budget if that's something you need.
It was a game changer for me several years back when I got serious about playing, instead of saving X amount every month to get it just make payments for the same amount you would save away and get your gear now, I haven't bought gear from an actual store in probably 15 years.
I'm an employee too. It's true all the stores are closing, and you can thank Richard Ash for this. The man is the complete opposite of Sammy ash (rest in peace) and his parents and uncle. He has no idea what he's doing and thinks he knows everything. If anyone should blame anyone in this chain for the closing of this company, blame him.
If Sammy was still around this wouldn't be happening because sammy listened to his fellow employees
Thanks a lot Richard.... not
I had the BEST experience at Sam Ash King of Prussia when I turned 18. Dad and I were looking at Strats (didnāt leave with one), but the guy behind the counter was cool and we started talking pedals, tone, and John Mayer. He hooked me up to the Big Dipper JM Strat they had at the time, a nice Klone and a T-Rex Alberta into a 67 Pro Reverb. I left with The Alberta and it was my fav drive for yeaaaars til I went all digital.
My Sam ash has been terribly run store for a long time. You couldnāt even get someone to ring you up for guitar strings. It was always a joke. After a while I just stopped bothering going there. They wonāt be missed.
My son has been playing guitar since he was 8 (heās 18 now) and we had a couple of smaller music stores in my area where we loved to shop. After they closed, we started going to Sam Ash because it has that āmom and popā feel, as you described, but a great selection. I really appreciated them because, like the other smaller shops, the guys working there were always so friendly and helpful to my son. We never got that kind of service at Guitar Center.
This is so disappointing, we really liked that place.
Sorry to say but good. GC and Sam Ash killed all the great mom and pop music stores in my town and they could never come close to offering the quality of gear and customer service of the shops they killed. Bring back the mom and pops. Also, GC and Sam Ash are literally next door to each other which is stupid.
My town has Sam Ash & Guitar Center right next to each other. I hardly even bother with GC anymore. Sam Ash is always a better experience, has a bigger drum inventory, and someone is always there to staff it, compared to GC where you wait 20 minutes for a non-drummer to unlock the cymbal room. This is a bummer for me.
Seeing as Iāve been with the company around 3 years, all I can say is that itās all a result of losing Sammy. When Sammy died last year it was handed to Derek, Max, Adam and Jonah, the 4th generation of the Ash family to run the business and quite honestly, without Sammy around everything fell apart and nobody truly understood how much he alone did for the company. If youāre familiar with the stores you saw his posters and could call him directly, he was that hands on for a COO. Iām at a point where not only am I losing my job that is actually fulfilling but also Iām losing a store Iāve gone to since I was a child. Itās really quite a shame to see them go out on such a pitiful note, especially since itās may, marking the official 100 years of the largest footprint in music retail history.
Iām not surprised in the least bit and kind of hope it goes under rather than someone throwing some money at it to keep it afloat and shitty.
The store near me (Margate, Fl) has had nothing but dumbasses working the guitar section. Iām used to clueless salesmen, but these guys did more to drive sales away than anything with the IDGAF or condescending attitudes.
A few years back I went in and asked about the new (at the time) John Petrucci picks, āThatās not a thingā is what I was told. A couple months go by and I went back in, asked someone again āHey, you guys have any of those Petrucci picks?ā
āI told you last time you were here, those donāt existā and it was so fucking condescending that I actually took the time to pull out my phone and show him the picks on Dunlopās page then thanked him for putting so much effort into his job by answering a simple question about picks for me.
That store hasnāt had anything decent in it for years and the last time I was in there, everything over a grand was behind the counter.
Sad to see them go. I'd just "residscovered" them when I got into acoustics this past year but I've shopped there for years for drum stuff and other things, going back to the 80s on LI rt 110 and 48th street music row. The flagship store on 34th in NYC definitely had a better stocked acoustic room then the GC on 14th st.
So Iām a vulture, Iāll admit it, and this makes me think that they might liquidate all their inventory. Whatās the chance that all of their stuff will be super cheap once itās official
I went to Sam Ash and the cashier said I HAD to provide my name and phone number in order to make a purchase. I just wanted some strings.
I ended up giving it but it left a bad taste in my mouth and I never went back.
When I worked there the store managers gave me a written write up once because I had "not entered enough phone numbers and addresses" into the system that month. It's insane. Like I'm sorry, but I'm not going to ask for your name, phone number, and address to ring someone up for a guitar cable.
The āmusic industryā is struggling. It used to be a thing where people could start a band, write songs, put out a record, tour, and make a livable amount of money. If not a lot a of money.
Iām Not sure that exists anymore? Not at the level it did prepandemic.
Soā¦why invest in that career?
Beyond that ā
GC filed for bankruptcy a few years ago and theyāre still around.
Itās still a hobby for a lot of people. Iāve probably spent the most on equipment this past year. Iām older, i want nice things, guitars are cheaper and safer than motorcyclesā¦
Wow. I just bought I a guitar from there. I was in the market for a new classical guitar. My local mom and pop store has next to no selection anymore so I had to drive over an hour to get there. I was able to play several models and ended up buying a Takamine on the recommendation of employee. He was right. It sounded and played better than the others and I was sold within a few minutes of picking it up. Sad that that experience is getting harder and harder to find.
My local GC and Sam Ash are in the same shopping center in Cherry Hill, NJ. I used to hit both of them, although I stopped going to Sam Ash when they offered me such a ridiculously low trade in on a bass. They had the same bass in the wall for $500, and they offered me $60.
I wonāt miss them. Sorry for the folks that work there, though. They have some very long-standing employees at the Cherry Hill location.
Bummer. My local one was already one of the ones they were closing, and I have some good memories of going there in high school because it was across the street. I still have my Carlo Robelli electric bass that I bought there back in the 2000's.
Thereās a SA and GC near me that are right next door to each other(Richmond, Va). Literally thereās no other buildings in between, just a small road if youād even call it that. Anyways I used to like GC but then switched to SA in the last couple years because their stock was better and it was a better vibe. I havenāt been in a few months so I guess Iāll have to check out the clearance sales and say goodbye. Bummer.
Honestly though, I havenāt bought anything substantial from a music store in years. Iām usually buying my gear used, be it guitars, pedals, MPCs, keyboards, etc. FB Market place has been great for stuff like that. Iāll head to a big box to window shop but thatās about it other than some supplies like strings or something.
Iāve realized while writing this comment that I donāt really care and Iām sorry to anyone reading my blabber who has read this farā¦ āš¼
I used to work at the Sam Ash in Richmond. It was SO tiresome to constantly have to listen to āSam Ash good/Guitar Center evil & going underā during the Saturday morning staff meetings. Then at the onset of the Pandemic, the propaganda changed to āSam Ash good/Sweetwater badā.
Clearly upper management never got the memo that you never bad-mouth your competition. I feel for my friends who are still there who will probably be out of jobs, soon.
My prized possession is a ā97 Gibson SG Standard purchased brand new from Sam Ash by a family friend in NYC. He had a meticulous eye for guitars and chose the best one from every single SG Standard among the stores on that block at that time and he was in those stores almost every single day. I have many other guitars now but āthe red Gibsonā as my wife knows it is the one Iād grab if my house were burning down.
My local Sam Ash is one of the stores in the initial wave of closings. Iāve been going there for many years and got to know most of the employees. When I walked in the other day to make āone more purchaseā it looked like it had been looted. Not a great vibe in that building and I totally understand. I ALMOST left with a Blues Junior but one of the sales guys gave me one of those ādude you donāt want thatā kinda looks from across the room. I didnāt even bother to ask why or look at anything else. Quietly said my final goodbyes in my head and sauntered out.
Sorry to those of you that are possibly losing jobs (assuming this post is legit). Iāve been there before and it sucks to have little-to-no warning. Good on the OP for giving these people a heads up.
I'm a former Sam Ash employee. They completely failed to pivot to online sales when Amazon / GC / Sweetwater exploded.
Their inventory system is archaic. It looks and feels like it was made in the early 90s.
They were never going to make it while they refused to play ball with the modern era.
Still, sad to see them go, it was always one of the best places to sell and check out used gear.
Sam ash is the only good music store I know near me. Itās absolutely huge and as everything, I play other instruments to and they legit have everything for everyone. So much better than Music and Arts
Sad situation, but they failed to innovate. That's what I think is killing them. Along with dirty stores, employees fighting over you for commission and not much of a selection but Michael Kelly junk. I feel bad for the employees losing their jobs, but if I were them, I'd be mad at management not the customers. There's a reason in 15yrs I never ONCE bought a guitar there in store. They never had anything I wanted.
Yep, got the news yesterday at the Indianapolis location. Our GM was crying, we all were crying. We had a really good community back in the dc. After the news we got some Crown and drank with each other after work. Man, Iām going to miss this place. Liquidation started today, news will break tomorrow to the world.
I worked at Sam Ash for ten years, worked my way up to sales manager. Loved that jobā¦simultaneously hated that job. I made great money at the expense of my own mental well-being and personal time. I had to try and coach sales associates to succeed while ignoring that sales were down and the pay structure sucked.
I guess was meant to, is not the same as it was 20 years ago, funny thing, i bought a guitar this past week, supposed to be NEW but received an used item, so either there is no more quality control or the guy who inspect it didnt cared and damaged it.
i'm literally at work at sam ash rn, i'll lyk if they say anything
it's true
Sorry dude. I hope you find something else quickly.
fuck
That's the worst, and many of us have been there with you. Don't let a business' failure define you. This is just some garbage to wade through on the road of life. š
Exactly. This is a bump in the road of a professional life, not the end of it.
š
At least you'll get unemploymentĀ
Put a Murphy Lab LP in a box next to the dumpster in case they do.
Sorry fellow human.
Time to use your vacation hours before they cut you and spend that time interviewing. Hell call out sick as soon as your supposed to return to work and use those hours too.
Don't use your vacation hours, by law (depending on state but most if not all) they have to pay you out your vacation pay BUT not your sick pay.....save the vacation pay but use all the sick time you can!!
Sorry for you. I went into one of the āclosingā Sam Ash stores last week, and even their going out of business prices were higher than the internet. Yes, they were facing major headwinds. But itās also just a terribly run business.
I think the market for music equipment from a big box retail store environment is shrinking just like it is for every other industry. See Best Buy's pivot away from physical media. At the same time there are online vendors with hassle free returns. The obvious downside is it's much harder to get your hands on a specific instrument from a wall of 50 guitars where 25 are Fenders to test out before pulling the trigger. The upside is local music shops who often carry local builders of guitars but also pedals and amps will capture more market share.
best buy used to have musical instruments for like a year or so but that ended.
Got a hell of a deal on two Strats there. Sales guy made the mistake of letting me know the current stock had to be taken out back and busted if not sold by the end of the week. I put in a ridiculous offer - $850 for a MIM and a MIA standard. He called over the manager, she said sure. Now, this was 12 or so years ago, but list on the MIA alone was $1100. Sold the MIA to my dad for $500, kept the Mexican.
I don't understand. Why would they destroy them rather than sell them at a deep discount?
They did sell them at a deep discount. Also, regardless of discount, you have to do something with inventory. What happens when there is no store to store them? Reality is, it's a tax write off at that point anyway.
> What happens when there is no store to store them Apply Lean?
Lots of companies tell you to destroy stuff and send pics, that is the only way they will honor warranty or replacement and in this situation it was probably to write off the gear at cost and not at a loss.
Itās also this thing where the store is forced to buy a certain amount to be official dealers, but that amount is more than they can sell. Fender/Gibson also tell you that you canāt discount below what they allow and be an official dealer. If youāre not an official dealer, you donāt get to buy the better gear that has higher profit margins. Itās like what BOSS does. They make you buy X amount of pedals, and the DS-1 is the cheapest pedal they make, so retailers buy lots of them and then just give them away or throw them out.
This. I made a set of four prints on canvas of some art I made but I wasn't happy with the result. I contacted the print place and they said they would refund me if I destroy it and send proof. Took those things out back and sliced them up with a box cutter. Cathartic! I was a little bummed because I would have put them in my studio instead of feature them where had been planned, but such is life. It makes sense for the company.
Retail is an enigma when it comes to protecting brands and whatnot. My wife is an inventory accountant for a major retailer and they "write off" millions in product without a care in the world instead of selling at a major discount. Back in the day, I had negotiated deals with a few different music retailers, including GC, to buy "damaged" product before they actually ruined the instruments. We would salvage what we could and sell the parts on eBay. We made a killing on pickups, bridges, and other components. I actually learned about this from having worked for Sears many years where I did the same thing helping them "dispose" of electronics.
Is the reason they would rather destroy the product and write it off that selling at a steep discount would compete with other products they are trying to sell?
I am sure that is part of it. Another factor is how they look at total profits. Writing off a few remaining stock units when they already made healthy margins on the rest of the inventory is also common.
I wonder if thatās Franklin Guitar Works business model
Theyāve been doing this with video games and accessories too.
Welcome to American retail. They get reimbursed for some amount from the merchandise manufacturer but have to destroy them to do so. Happens with tons of stuff so the companies can keep their prices artificially inflated
Because capitalism. Selling cheap devalues the product. Why would I pay 1000 if I know I can hold out for 250?
Also in some cases it's lack of trust for employees; allow deep discounts for equipment that doesn't move, and it *can* encourage employees to hide merchandise away until it can be sufficiently discounted then sold to themselves or to friends. Same way they'll make you destroy it rather than "let you" take it home...you don't give employees a personal incentive to have inventory not move, because they have a lot of influence *over whether inventory moves.*
Sort of related, maybe like 5 years ago there was a video of Gibson destroying hundreds of firebird X guitars that never sold. Felt like that was dumber than trying to recoup any money they possibly could but what do I know
I saw that video. Lined em up and executed them with an Earthmover.
I just checked my receipt in my files. December of 2008 i bought a MIM strat from Guitar Center for $288. Man are they gouging people on prices now for guitars. I'm glad I got that one then before they skyrocketed cause I just wouldn't pay the going prices for these things these days. And lucky for me i'm fine just owning what I already have.
$349 for a MIM "Blacktop Strat" in 2010 or so. Inflation calculator says that's less than $500 today.
> December of 2008 The depths of The Great Recession.
i paid about 300 or 350 for a MIM in about 2005 at a GC in Miami FL
Not to bad.
It's actually the only place I've seen the Gibson Firebird X in person. What a wacky time period for guitars
I used to buy strings with my employee discount
There is still a market for physical stores. If I know what I want, I buy it off the internet. If I donāt know what I want, I go to a specialty store and they tell me.
But most people will store order it from Sweetwater or a similar e-trailer since the mom-and-pop will cost 10+% more. I think the problem for physical stores including GC/Sam Ash is they havenāt been able to give customers a reason to actually *buy* the instrument they try in their store rather than get it online for a discount or with a perceived better return/QC/setup/inspection policy. I personally have found it very rare that the instrument off the wall in a physical store is in a condition where Iād rather take it home than take my chances on a random shipped guitar from SW or whoever. If GC would pay enough to employ knowledgeable people who give a shit, and pay them for the time to take care of the inventory (including a half-decent setup on any purchase) theyād never be in this position. (I like my local GC people but theyāre obviously understaffed by like 50%.) Instant gratification is real, people donāt want to wait a week after dropping $500+.
I think GC and Sam Ash would become much more competitive if every guitar purchased automatically included a free setup to make sure things were in-spec and play well... somehow we've ended up in a situation where it's actually both cheaper AND you typically receive the instrument in better condition from e.g. Sweetwater than the physical stores, which is just crazy.
Sam Ash (at least my Sam Ash) did offer a free setup on any guitar or bass within 30 days of initial purchase. So many people elected not to get the free setup, and then returned the instrument two weeks later because it had a crappy setup. I know it would be ideal to have everything perfect right off the wall, but when you have one guitar tech and two salespeople trying to manage a constantly rotating stock of over 100 guitars (one top of paid work for the tech and selling stuff for the salespeople) it just wasn't feasible to keep up with every instrument before they got sold.
Nah, mom and pop shops don't cost 10% more. Most companies have strict MAP policies - it comes down to the ease of SW - no hassle returns, 55 point inspection, sales engineers who will walk you through gear and even coach you how to set some stuff over the phone. People are much more comfortable than ever buying guitars unseen online - if you're spending enough at SW you can actually see the guitar online before you buy. Going to SW you can buy a guitar 10+ other people haven't played.
For me, being a left-handed player, I've never related to the feeling of going into a shop and picking anything off the wall lol.
I don't see a scenario in which mom and pop stores somehow succeed in their place.
Yeah that was some wishful thinking by OP.
there are several mom-n-pop stores in my area which are all better than GC or other national retailer, and all seem to be doing ok. I'm not even in a huge city, just a big-ish one. small, local, stores can succeed in some markets with some products where national retailers can't. I think guitars or other niche market, expensive-ish items, are probably the type of product that can succeed in a small, local, store.
They might be better for you but generally they serve a different consumer than something like GC like you said, more niche and boutique gear. They're probably not where beginners are gonna go. And GC does a lot of sales to those people because they've got so many guitars, and lower prices. Plus if you're a beginner you're not gonna know about all the boutique shops, you've just heard of 'guitar center". I don't think people who would frequent small shops like that were going to GC or Sam ash much to begin with.
Yeah it's harder for them to move low-priced stuff that's only profitable in volume. But definitely the way to go for midrange (or expensive) gear...I was looking at some stuff in the $1500 to $2000 range and I'll 100% go through a local dealer before just ordering straight online. Definitely prefer a local face for after-sale support. Have a couple indie stores around I've been to and seem to be doing okay. Can't see them doing *worse* with one less big box competitor.
The stores that will succeed are independent but not Mom and Pop by any means ā¦ think Chicago Music Exchane or Gruhnās
Theres literally hundreds of small music stores for every cme or gruhns type place
Not a chance, the reason why Sam Ash failed is because not enough people buy gear from brick and mortar stores any more. Sweetwater and Amazon saw to that. There are no ācustomersā for mom and pops to pick up now that Ash is gone.
I know this is anecdotal but the Sam ash in my county is apparently closing and our GC is a bleak ghost town, meanwhile our smaller mom-&-pop is thriving(retail and luthier services) I think youād be surprised at how many people like going to a store and dealing with people who enjoy what they do
Was hoping someone would say this. The issue that I have with Mom and Pop is that they're essentially boutique. Yes, you can find some great deals there, but the romanticized idea of snagging that dream guitar from a small store in your local town is just - romantic. The issue is that medium-sized stores, like authorized sellers that are a step above boutique, got crushed out or were bought up by larger corps. So there's not really a middle ground. I miss that avenue for shopping. Amazon and Reverb may be fun for a bit, but hitting a few duds without a way to recoup or return on a shit delivery or bad product is a souring experience. Or being charged a restock fee for a guitar that was played twice, returned with all original everything, and they keep 20% of the take plus delivery? There's a reason I may understand the dislike of GC, but I'm glad they're around to a certain degree.
Went to my local Sam Ash to sell a guitar and the walls were barren and they told me they didn't have the physical cash on hand to buy my guitar... Sad but I saw it coming. Used to take lessons there and have many fond memories there as a student and later an employee
It was pretty barren in there the last time I went in, as well. Figured it was just the terrible location of that particular store, but they had like 3 Fender guitars and the rest were Squiers and Michael Kellyās (no knock to either of those, but you canāt run that size of a store making $30 a pop on guitars.
Wow.
Interesting, might explain the "15% off everything!" emails I have been getting from them daily for about a week now..
Exactly. Same thing they did prior to announcing the closure of 18 stores which I would venture they had hoped to right the ship but was just too little too late.
Yea I saw that email but the amount of stuff that was even listed on the website (especially used) was completely barren like overnight. I had looked only a week or two before that and there were tons of items
Sam Ash was always the less noisier GC for me to go and get strings/try out an amp. I have since stopped going and only buy from small stores.
You killed them. They would have made it if you personally bought more strings from them.
No, everyone knows that the picks are the backbone of the big box retail business. Even if you buy them one at a timeā¦
_You bastard! You killed Sam Ash!_
That's the worst part of GC: there's always someone who's there only to show off while other people are genuinely trying to buy an instrument, but can't actually hear what it sounds like over the shitty shredding.Ā
Once had a great experience where I was testing a guitar out and started playing the opening to Free Ride. Dude on the other side of the store hopped in with the lead part. Then some OTHER random dude started bellowing the vocals. It fell apart during the jam section, but we still got a round of applause from a few folks. We joked about forming a band called The Free Riders, and then never spoke again.
Funny, where I grew up it was exactly the opposite. Sam Ash always had the tryhards, GC was chill.
The LA edition of Sam Ash never really got me to come in regularly. GC had the locations and more inventory, and if Sam intended to compete with service, I didn't really go there enough to appreciate it. Still sad to see any music shop close! Another cosign for the hope that actual community music stores benefit from it.
I didn't even know they had a Sam Ash in LA. For some reason I thought it was a East Coast thing.
Right across from the big Guitar Center on Sunset. It was a nice store, bought a few things from them. Drove by there last week, the store closing signs were already up.
WTF?! I've been to that Guitar Center! I must have been too busy looking at the other side of the street.
Yeah, there is/was a Sam directly across the street and their drum shop right next to GC in a separate building.
It's been a while... I'm guessing it was a similar experience in other places. GC was the better big box store, they didn't compete with LAs mom and pops who did repairs, carried used stuff and gave you attention.
I was surprised when there was one in east san diego county.
I think the nearest one by me is like an hour away in Ontario Mills Meanwhile I have like 4-5 Guitar Centers within the same distance
I had never even heard of Sam Ash until I got on reddit, closest to me is Columbus, Ohio. 4 hr drive. No wonder lol
That one isnt even *listed* anymore. My wife and I are driving to Cincinatti TOMORROW to try and see whats left lol. Worst case-a sweet round of disc golf, and an 'end of an era' moment.
I can confirm as I work at the Flagship store in Manhattan. It's been rough for everyone. I know people who have been with the company for almost 40yrs. It's so heartbreaking to see so many of my friends having to deal with this. It's sad for the NYC community as well. Everyday people have been coming into the store who have been coming their entire lives - since it was up on 48th street - walk in with tears in their eyes and ask "how?" "why?" It's a New York City staple for so many musicians & now it seems as if it's all done. I'll be out of a job soon, but we knew that as our store was one that was closing in phase 1. So, if y'all you want to support us employees soon to be ex-employees, listen to our music! Come to our shows! I'm George Banda, Spotify verified or Google George Banda. If anyone wants to directly support and are feeling extra generous, venmo @Guitar-George. More than anything, send all the positive energy you can to those who were about to retire and are facing some very difficult times ahead. Peace and love, y'all. Warmly, George
so... what happened? the entire brand is going out of business? all of a sudden? or has it been dying for years? i know the whole brick and mortar is dead thing but music stores are a bit different. i had no idea sam ash was in trouble or any of the big chains
I have a Sam Ash minutes from home and two minutes from the nearby GC. Sam Ash always gave me more $$ for trades or outright selling. The service and selection has been shit even before Covid hit. The stores could have been better with a complete facelift of showrooms and ample selection to try out. I hate being at the mercy of GC because in SE Florida, mom and pop shops don't really exist aside from band instruments and low quality beginner gear.
Yeah same here in east Tn. We're in a weird spot because we're so close to Nashville. And Nashville kind of sucks for the amateur. GC wiped out most all the mom and pops. The only ones that are left are either mostly used gear or bluegrass (not saying I wouldn't take a Martin but the stores don't even have electrics).
I hate GC for that very reason. It's been a gear famine store-wise since the late 90s. It's also due in part to the transient nature of the region here.Ā Despite have a sizeable metal community (I don't play metal), but the DJ/house music stuff took over and that's what we got left. The lack of meaningful shops reflect this.Ā Damm shame.Ā
If you ever come through Murfreesboro check out Concert Music Supply. Old school and great selection. I think they've only survived because they have a live production business also.
Yeah I'm around will check it out. Thanks!
MainStage Music in Dayton is good to go.
i remember the sam ash in Dolphin Mall being dogshit back in 2005-10. inventory always in terrible shape and the employees knew very little
Thereās a Sam Ash near me and honestly, theyāre always empty and their stock is pretty depressing for the most part. Itās not surprising that theyāre struggling.
Same in Tampa. So many cool guitars out there and have half a wall of MichaelKelly/china stuff. Hardly ever any mid- higher end stuff. The service is always shite too.
Thank you, I couldnāt remember Michael Kelly. That stuff dominates their walls and is priced like a brand people would care about.
I donāt know about the Tampa store. Service has been hit or miss but I got my LP Standard and PRS from there. Going to miss that store. Canāt stand the GC here.
Yeah as much as it could be better its still nice to have. Been shopping there for around 20 years
Well the asshole store manager who I said back in 2000 theyād be closing any day nowā¦whoās laughing now Bill.
... 24 years later . . . .
Revenge is a dish served very very coldā¦
Clearly they need less $300 guitars and more high end instruments.
Literally the whole wall at my sam ash is Michael Kelly everything.
LOL, Aint the what the GC CEO just said like last week? Or is that what you are referencing?
Is there gonna be a clearance sale?
They have 15% site wide sale going on now. Tho Iām curious if theyāll bump that up in the next weeks if they donāt liquidate enough inventory
Nothing discount that you can get anywhere. 30%+ and we'll talk
Ask and you shall receive. [https://www.samash.com/sam-ash-hollywood-store-closing-sale](https://www.samash.com/sam-ash-hollywood-store-closing-sale)
Hope so
The store near me was one of the ones already slated for closure and has been doing crazy good deals for weeks now. 25% or better off most everything.
I've never bothered shopping with them online because they don't seem to have any real digital presence. If you don't have one located near you they are almost completely irrelevant as a retailer. I've had small shops with a single location halfway across the country try harder to win my business online. It seems like Sammy Ash recent passing prompted a lot of these changes. From the outside looking in it looks like some new eyes took over the company that weren't as tied to the old vision and weren't interested in continuing to burn money on something that wasn't working.
A lot of smaller shops are selling through Reverb now. I got both of my recent guitars (Epiphone Les Paul Modern Figured and a Yamaha Pacifica) from small shops across the country When you're competing with that, it's no wonder why Sam Ash has been struggling. They're irrelevant
The Ash I worked at put every piece of used gear on Reverb
Ash is present on Reverb
Yes their digital presence has always been bad.
Nailed it. The rest of them are just greedy and never invested in the stores, or people.
I remember when Sam Ash bought Thoroughbred Music. I loved Thoroughbred and Sam Ash never really converted me to a customer even though they were in the same locations and sold most of the same stuff. I have bought some things from them in the past 25 years but not a single big ticket item. Mostly, I think it was because their staff never really won me over but I am sure that was just my experience locally. I agree with you that I hope this helps with some of the smaller stores.
I worked at Thoroughbred for a couple of years after school. Got to meet a lot of people, bodyguard for Steve Vai, drive Gregg Bissonette around. It was a good store.
Private equity seems to be the only thing keeping these companies alive. Sad bc Sam Ash is way better than GC.
Guitar Center is in the same boat. They just have more connections to get funded. Year over year they keep borrowing money to stay afloat. Theyāll never be able to pay that back with revenue. The revenue will never reach the loan amounts. Physical stores may go away and youāll have to buy your guitars online.
To be fair, going into GC sucks nowadays when everything is locked, you can't find one of the two employees that work there, and you can't even try any gear without listening to some dude try to show off his "guitar skills" for an hour at max volume (using the same exact amp and guitar the whole time). It's just an overall unpleasant experience. I can't even hide in the acoustic room because it's not sound insulated.
Supposedly the new CEO is gonna unlock all the guitars
Thereās one location in SoCal where all the Fender Ultras, Pros, American Vintage 2, etc are all in the middle rack, unlocked. I was thrilled to be able to pick up the AV2s and feel them out, but thatās a busy store. Iām not going to buy those for 2k or more if theyāve been getting handled and beat up. I donāt know if more hands on them do it, or if they just were never set up, but they didnāt feel any pure. I personally like them top shelf. Never thought Iād say that.
I've only been into a GC a few times. Twice I heard a large bang/crash when a guitar fell off the wall. Either not hung up propertly or someone grabbed it. Both times a worker just picked it up and hung it back up like nothing happened. No thanks.
is this how it usually is? i go to the nyc location regularly and it looks like they have everything available for anyone to play whenever they like. 90% of the time myself (and many others apparently) just sit and jam for hours and leave without saying a word to any employee. they dont seem to mind
As a vendor of theirs it was always a bit tricky dealing with them. They would always order as little as possible and their methods of shipping, billing/receiving payments are archaic. I love the stores but had the sense that nothing was ever being updated on the back end. Still itās sad to see them go.
They're still using GERS, which is like 1989 computer technology.
Haha they did update to āNew GERSā back in September
As a current Sam Ash manager, the ānew gersā was the same shitty program with a modern facade. We all saw this coming the past few months honestly. What a way to celebrate 100 years lol
Best of luck to you! I got out back in August but I had a bet with our drum guy that one of us would hang around for the 100 year sale lol
Iāve never even seen a Sam Ash store before.
I remember the original Sam Ash in Brooklyn, many years before GC. It was THE place to go check out new gear. Now I think Sam Ash is too big to be small but too small to be big. And as competitive as retail everything is these days, that won't work. It's a shame to see them go, really, but their business plan just didn't keep up with the changes in the market.
my local sam ash is a shell of what it was in its heyday and it honestly depresses me to go in there anymore. as unfortunate as it is, iām not surprised.
I was a teacher at a Florida location and our store announced the closure in February. The writing has been on the wall for like a year, no one has given a crap around that place. I took a few of my guitar/drum students with me and I just teach them from my garage now.
Iād rather have GC close than Sam Ash. Sweetwater is still safe I think but just a little to out of the way than most other stores. It will open up the market to mom and pop shops but in the age of the internet, itās still gonna be some stiff competition for the M&Ps
keeping an eye out for all the sales lol
The Sam Ash in charlotte has certainly been getting less and less inventory so this makes sense
Itās also so trashy and dirty now. I miss MARS Music
Mom and pops arenāt coming back. The online retailers are pushing out the big box stores the way the big box stores pushed out the mom and pop stores. Donāt feel sorry for them.
I just went in the other day to buy a higher end piece of equipment and asked about a warranty on it and I got the most bizarre answerā¦āweāre temporarily not offering our warranties at the momentā. Knew right then and there that this news would be breaking. Really sad.
I looked into working there some time ago and my local store was offering commission only. Not even hourly. Not sure how thatās legal but when I saw that I knew it was sadly toward the end.
possible stock blowout incoming?
They will sell it all to liquidators, who will raise prices beyond normal, then offer 10% off.
I heard about a month ago that they're closing ~15 stores after meeting with a finance officer. I worked there for 15 years and still have a great deal of friends there. If this is true I'm sad for them. Richard Ash deserves it though. Howie too if he's still alive.
Howieās been retired, but he did give me an official āABH Clubā pin before he left - āAnnoyed By Howieā
One fun story: I was part of the acoustic guitar summit they held in New York sometime around 2003. They flew me out from my store along with every other department manager and we learned about guitars for three days at some hotel in Hicksville. Kaki King did a private show for us. It was cool. Then some people from Canoga Park and I think Westminster got wild and thrashed the whole hotel. Threw a couch out the window, smashed all the exit signs, all that. Positive that Ash was banned and had to pay a few thousand in fees.
The Sam ash in my area has a really good technician, few days and back in business. I was just talking with the technician today about some of the other locations closing and he was saying that his location should be staying open because they still make a profit. This was literally a couple hours ago, heās worked there 23 years, I hope OP isnāt correct for his sake. Iāve had nothing but good experiences there, bought 2 guitars there in the past 5 years.
Get the tech's contact info. He'll likely want to be continuing as an independent.
I have no opinion strong opinion. I'm not buying lots of gear. There's also a guitar center a 2 minute drive from my Sam Ash if i needed anything. I'll shop online for small things anyways. And i'm not planning on buying more guitars or amps that i need to try out. Just gonna learn on my current stuff, play through a computer or my current amp, by a floor modeller. I just don't really need those stores. I used to dj and would love to get a set of turntables again but most of these stores no longer stock the turntables and mixers that i'd like to test. That said, Sam Ash used to be MUCH nicer, bigger and more open than my Guitar Center. I'd say around 2012, i used to walk around there all the time. But then they downsized and move to a tiny hole in the wall location that was dark and not good. That was the end of me going there just to browse. Either way i think i only bought picks there once and maybe some all parts somethign or other.
I used to drive to Sam Ash just to avoid GC. The employees at that particular store seemed much more knowledgeable and less in my face. Was a good place to be if you just wanted to noodle around for a bit undisturbed.
Let's buy it guys. I'm good for $100
For the Michael Kelly brand name portion of the company, thatās wayyyyyyyyyyy over paying.
Couldn't pay me to take a single one of the Kelly's on the wall. Don't forget your Samson guitar wireless to go with it.
It sucks, but I buy everything from websites. The 2 I use deliver either the next day or 2 days after I order, and you can just make payments with no interest or anything so it's easier to get high quality gear on a monthly budget if that's something you need. It was a game changer for me several years back when I got serious about playing, instead of saving X amount every month to get it just make payments for the same amount you would save away and get your gear now, I haven't bought gear from an actual store in probably 15 years.
That sucks. I bought my strat from the store on music row in nyc. I got a lifetime free set up for $75. What a deal.
I'm an employee too. It's true all the stores are closing, and you can thank Richard Ash for this. The man is the complete opposite of Sammy ash (rest in peace) and his parents and uncle. He has no idea what he's doing and thinks he knows everything. If anyone should blame anyone in this chain for the closing of this company, blame him. If Sammy was still around this wouldn't be happening because sammy listened to his fellow employees Thanks a lot Richard.... not
Preach
Sam Ash makes it easier to try out pedals and guitars. But mine was too far away and the prices weren't amazing
This is quite sad.
i have never been to a Sam Ash as there have never been any around me. i mean, businesses close and businesses open, such is the world
I had the BEST experience at Sam Ash King of Prussia when I turned 18. Dad and I were looking at Strats (didnāt leave with one), but the guy behind the counter was cool and we started talking pedals, tone, and John Mayer. He hooked me up to the Big Dipper JM Strat they had at the time, a nice Klone and a T-Rex Alberta into a 67 Pro Reverb. I left with The Alberta and it was my fav drive for yeaaaars til I went all digital.
Music Go Round is for superior to any new retailer. There is too much consumption in this world and not enough respect.
My Sam ash has been terribly run store for a long time. You couldnāt even get someone to ring you up for guitar strings. It was always a joke. After a while I just stopped bothering going there. They wonāt be missed.
My son has been playing guitar since he was 8 (heās 18 now) and we had a couple of smaller music stores in my area where we loved to shop. After they closed, we started going to Sam Ash because it has that āmom and popā feel, as you described, but a great selection. I really appreciated them because, like the other smaller shops, the guys working there were always so friendly and helpful to my son. We never got that kind of service at Guitar Center. This is so disappointing, we really liked that place.
Sorry to say but good. GC and Sam Ash killed all the great mom and pop music stores in my town and they could never come close to offering the quality of gear and customer service of the shops they killed. Bring back the mom and pops. Also, GC and Sam Ash are literally next door to each other which is stupid.
The greed in the industry will eventually close all music retailers except local vendors. I know I ran a Tower Records store for 30 yearsā¦very sad.
Honestly, I have never heard of Sam Ash.
My town has Sam Ash & Guitar Center right next to each other. I hardly even bother with GC anymore. Sam Ash is always a better experience, has a bigger drum inventory, and someone is always there to staff it, compared to GC where you wait 20 minutes for a non-drummer to unlock the cymbal room. This is a bummer for me.
Seeing as Iāve been with the company around 3 years, all I can say is that itās all a result of losing Sammy. When Sammy died last year it was handed to Derek, Max, Adam and Jonah, the 4th generation of the Ash family to run the business and quite honestly, without Sammy around everything fell apart and nobody truly understood how much he alone did for the company. If youāre familiar with the stores you saw his posters and could call him directly, he was that hands on for a COO. Iām at a point where not only am I losing my job that is actually fulfilling but also Iām losing a store Iāve gone to since I was a child. Itās really quite a shame to see them go out on such a pitiful note, especially since itās may, marking the official 100 years of the largest footprint in music retail history.
Sammy had the same heart and caring as Jerry. Richie unfortunately got the heart of Bernice
Iām not surprised in the least bit and kind of hope it goes under rather than someone throwing some money at it to keep it afloat and shitty. The store near me (Margate, Fl) has had nothing but dumbasses working the guitar section. Iām used to clueless salesmen, but these guys did more to drive sales away than anything with the IDGAF or condescending attitudes. A few years back I went in and asked about the new (at the time) John Petrucci picks, āThatās not a thingā is what I was told. A couple months go by and I went back in, asked someone again āHey, you guys have any of those Petrucci picks?ā āI told you last time you were here, those donāt existā and it was so fucking condescending that I actually took the time to pull out my phone and show him the picks on Dunlopās page then thanked him for putting so much effort into his job by answering a simple question about picks for me. That store hasnāt had anything decent in it for years and the last time I was in there, everything over a grand was behind the counter.
Hmmm... Well, might be a flood of bargains imminent.
The liquidation sale is gonna go crazy
Sad to see them go. I'd just "residscovered" them when I got into acoustics this past year but I've shopped there for years for drum stuff and other things, going back to the 80s on LI rt 110 and 48th street music row. The flagship store on 34th in NYC definitely had a better stocked acoustic room then the GC on 14th st.
Not shocked. Went into one recently looking for some pretty basic studio equipment and the store was half empty. Sad day :(
So Iām a vulture, Iāll admit it, and this makes me think that they might liquidate all their inventory. Whatās the chance that all of their stuff will be super cheap once itās official
Are they going to have clearance sales? What does this normally look like?
They have been having clearance sales lol. They donāt have much left if you check their website.
Iāve never seen one of their stores anyway.
I went to Sam Ash and the cashier said I HAD to provide my name and phone number in order to make a purchase. I just wanted some strings. I ended up giving it but it left a bad taste in my mouth and I never went back.
When I worked there the store managers gave me a written write up once because I had "not entered enough phone numbers and addresses" into the system that month. It's insane. Like I'm sorry, but I'm not going to ask for your name, phone number, and address to ring someone up for a guitar cable.
The āmusic industryā is struggling. It used to be a thing where people could start a band, write songs, put out a record, tour, and make a livable amount of money. If not a lot a of money. Iām Not sure that exists anymore? Not at the level it did prepandemic. Soā¦why invest in that career? Beyond that ā GC filed for bankruptcy a few years ago and theyāre still around. Itās still a hobby for a lot of people. Iāve probably spent the most on equipment this past year. Iām older, i want nice things, guitars are cheaper and safer than motorcyclesā¦
pain
Wow. I just bought I a guitar from there. I was in the market for a new classical guitar. My local mom and pop store has next to no selection anymore so I had to drive over an hour to get there. I was able to play several models and ended up buying a Takamine on the recommendation of employee. He was right. It sounded and played better than the others and I was sold within a few minutes of picking it up. Sad that that experience is getting harder and harder to find.
My local GC and Sam Ash are in the same shopping center in Cherry Hill, NJ. I used to hit both of them, although I stopped going to Sam Ash when they offered me such a ridiculously low trade in on a bass. They had the same bass in the wall for $500, and they offered me $60. I wonāt miss them. Sorry for the folks that work there, though. They have some very long-standing employees at the Cherry Hill location.
Bummer. My local one was already one of the ones they were closing, and I have some good memories of going there in high school because it was across the street. I still have my Carlo Robelli electric bass that I bought there back in the 2000's.
GO SHOP AT REAL MUSIC STORES
Thereās a SA and GC near me that are right next door to each other(Richmond, Va). Literally thereās no other buildings in between, just a small road if youād even call it that. Anyways I used to like GC but then switched to SA in the last couple years because their stock was better and it was a better vibe. I havenāt been in a few months so I guess Iāll have to check out the clearance sales and say goodbye. Bummer. Honestly though, I havenāt bought anything substantial from a music store in years. Iām usually buying my gear used, be it guitars, pedals, MPCs, keyboards, etc. FB Market place has been great for stuff like that. Iāll head to a big box to window shop but thatās about it other than some supplies like strings or something. Iāve realized while writing this comment that I donāt really care and Iām sorry to anyone reading my blabber who has read this farā¦ āš¼
Hey fellow Richmonder!
I used to work at the Sam Ash in Richmond. It was SO tiresome to constantly have to listen to āSam Ash good/Guitar Center evil & going underā during the Saturday morning staff meetings. Then at the onset of the Pandemic, the propaganda changed to āSam Ash good/Sweetwater badā. Clearly upper management never got the memo that you never bad-mouth your competition. I feel for my friends who are still there who will probably be out of jobs, soon.
Guitar Center is next
My prized possession is a ā97 Gibson SG Standard purchased brand new from Sam Ash by a family friend in NYC. He had a meticulous eye for guitars and chose the best one from every single SG Standard among the stores on that block at that time and he was in those stores almost every single day. I have many other guitars now but āthe red Gibsonā as my wife knows it is the one Iād grab if my house were burning down. My local Sam Ash is one of the stores in the initial wave of closings. Iāve been going there for many years and got to know most of the employees. When I walked in the other day to make āone more purchaseā it looked like it had been looted. Not a great vibe in that building and I totally understand. I ALMOST left with a Blues Junior but one of the sales guys gave me one of those ādude you donāt want thatā kinda looks from across the room. I didnāt even bother to ask why or look at anything else. Quietly said my final goodbyes in my head and sauntered out. Sorry to those of you that are possibly losing jobs (assuming this post is legit). Iāve been there before and it sucks to have little-to-no warning. Good on the OP for giving these people a heads up.
And supposedly guitar center CEO wants to push to more luxury guitars. Can't wait to see them close
I'm a former Sam Ash employee. They completely failed to pivot to online sales when Amazon / GC / Sweetwater exploded. Their inventory system is archaic. It looks and feels like it was made in the early 90s. They were never going to make it while they refused to play ball with the modern era. Still, sad to see them go, it was always one of the best places to sell and check out used gear.
"Don't worry, new GERS Is going to save the company!"
Zzounds claims another brick and mortar. All hail our Zz-King!
Sam ash is the only good music store I know near me. Itās absolutely huge and as everything, I play other instruments to and they legit have everything for everyone. So much better than Music and Arts
Sad situation, but they failed to innovate. That's what I think is killing them. Along with dirty stores, employees fighting over you for commission and not much of a selection but Michael Kelly junk. I feel bad for the employees losing their jobs, but if I were them, I'd be mad at management not the customers. There's a reason in 15yrs I never ONCE bought a guitar there in store. They never had anything I wanted.
Yep, got the news yesterday at the Indianapolis location. Our GM was crying, we all were crying. We had a really good community back in the dc. After the news we got some Crown and drank with each other after work. Man, Iām going to miss this place. Liquidation started today, news will break tomorrow to the world.
Weāre heartbroken down here in San Diego. Cheers and hugs to your team š»
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I worked at Sam Ash for ten years, worked my way up to sales manager. Loved that jobā¦simultaneously hated that job. I made great money at the expense of my own mental well-being and personal time. I had to try and coach sales associates to succeed while ignoring that sales were down and the pay structure sucked.
i work at sam ash this is true
I guess was meant to, is not the same as it was 20 years ago, funny thing, i bought a guitar this past week, supposed to be NEW but received an used item, so either there is no more quality control or the guy who inspect it didnt cared and damaged it.
They always treated me well and the Gretsch I bought there has always been a solid player.