Manny's Music "Expose"
Hey Kids,
Here's Something You Might Like To Know!!
Did you know that Manny's Music on 48th Street in New York
City is
Totally Owned by Sam Ash Music?
I guess there's nothing wrong with that, unless of course you didn't know about it and were trying to compare prices between the two stores.
This is the part where you enter the Twilight Zone.
doo do doo dooo doo do doo dooo
Imagine if you will, Omar Ahmaddesman is a Turkish diplomat en route to Los Angeles Via New York City. Omar has a to change planes in New York and he has a 5 hour lay over. Just enough time to see the World Famous "Manny's Music Store" and pick up some gear to take back to his home studio in Istanbul.
Being Turkish it is culturally impossible for Omar to simply walk in and purchase something. Omar inherently doesn't trust Americans in the least. Before Omar purchases that gear he will walk next door and check out Sam Ash's price on the same package.
Omar is in a hurry he rushes next door, (Can he run faster than a telephone call), Hmmmm I wonder, (No way).
Imagine the possibilities, What if the salespeople were in cahoots with each other. They could then purposely give Omar a higher price just to make Manny's look like they were giving a better deal. Or better yet what if the prices were within pennies of each other. Omar might possibly resign himself to the fact that the prices were the same everywhere and he might as well buy it now rather than wasting more time price shopping.
Look at the signpost up ahead!!
Here's the best part.
I have never seen anything in any advertising that states anything about Sam
Ash buying Manny's. I remember reading about it in the trades, when it
happened 10 years ago but nobody talks much about it. In fact the industry in
general is quite complacent about it. Most of the people in New York know the
score but it's old news and no one seems to care enough about it to bother
talking about it much.
It is conceivable that Omar may never find out what happened to him. It is conceivable that he might fall for the same Hijinks the next time he is New York. Why it's even conceivable that he might send them more customers because he felt he was treated well.
I am not accusing anyone here (I certainly don't want any lawsuits) I am just stating possible scenarios for collusion when 2 stores are owned by the same entity.
It's an old New York Shopping Trick
Go down to 6th St in Greenwich Village, There are about 10 high fashion ultra hip shoe stores there. Come to find out that one guy owns 3 different stores. So when I tried to price compare a pair of Leopard boots, I thought it was funny that they were all selling them for $495.00. I could not even BS the salesman because when I tried, He laughed and said... Why don't you go back over there and buy them.
Ok Ok, what was I doing buying a pair of Leopard Skin boots, Hey it was the 80's and my hair was pretty long too. But the bottom line is this is a deceptive trade practice. There is no law that says one guy can't own 5 stores, with 5 different names and price fix between his own stores. It's still deceptive and another reason Ed Roman does not like or support chain stores of any kind.
This message has been brought to you as a public service announcement from Ed Roman
If You want to see more rant articles...
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Here at Ed Roman Guitars we have a standard form job application. The application asks many of the usual questions and some that may seem a bit unusual. For Example 1, What do you think of Ed Roman's DO NOT TOUCH policy regarding new and high end guitars? 2, What do you think of the MEGA SUPERSTORE MUSIC STORES? We ask these questions to try and ascertain whether the applicant realizes why we do things a little differently here than most stores. Recently an Applicant David O'Donnell answered the questions in such a way that I thought might be entertaining to my readers. David sold guitars for a living in fact he was a 7 year veteran of Sam Ash Music in Hempstead New York. 1, What do you think of Ed Roman's DO NOT TOUCH policy regarding new and high end guitars? Answer/ A customer who will normally purchase a high end instrument will usually not want a shopworn floor model. If an item is shopworn the retailer will be asked to discount it drastically. Also, some people intentionally ruin instruments, steal knobs and other parts or ask to to play instruments with their hands filthy. 2, What do you think of the MEGA SUPERSTORE MUSIC STORES? From the perspective of a salesman who worked for Sam Ash before they changed to a Mega Store, I have very strong opinions on this subject !!! Not only did that change end the possibility of being a career salesman (I personally went from making $40,000.00 a year to about $27,000.00). It also ruined the shopping experience for serious customers. Every single knowledgeable salesman left after that change. Guitar Center is totally geared toward the hobbyist or non playing music enthusiast. Their concept of "vibe", which includes blaring different recorded music from all departments simultaneously is completely counter productive to the choosing of a musical instrument. They pay their salesman nothing and it shows. David O'Donnell Las Vegas NV |