All is not well in the saxophone retailing world. In the next couple of weeks, expect to hear announcements from a few well known dealers that there are going to be some very significant changes in their operations.
Many well known dealers are now on "credit hold" from the manufacturers, and most have had their available lines of credit severely reduced. Unsold inventory is piling up, and the vintage market is in shambles.
The lucrative school market is rapidly going away as programs are cut. Prices on student instruments have, on average, fallen by almost 50%, and retailers margins have been reduced accordingly.
More and more horns are being bought through internet outlets, and the local dealer is suffereing. The old business model just doesn't work anymore, and it's past time that the industry wakes up and smells the coffee.
We saw this coming. We only sell our instruments in North America direct to the consumer. We don't have (or want) dealers, and we don't let anyone owe us money and drag us down with their own financial problems. We deal directly with the factories who manufacture our instruments, not with agents or brokers. This reduces the size of the food chain and allows us to sell our premium quality, uniquely designed instruments at a substantial savings to the customer.
We don't have a lot of people on the payroll (only four) and we don't have a lot of endorsers sitting around with their hand out. We don't need them. The vast majority of our instruments are bought prepaid, and our lines of value priced accessories sell very well on our retail site and through our eBay store. Just take a look at the eBay feedback (we can't control it in any way) and you'll easily see that we've been selling an awful lot of mouthpieces, necks, and other accessories to an awful lot of very happy and satisfied buyers.
Our business models seems to be working, and I think you can expect more retailers to adopt it in the future. For those who do not wish to change with the times, I can only say "Rest In Peace".......
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