Lowering the Bar - Good News or Bad? A recent phenomena observed by music retailers is the influx of Chinese made musical instruments. While the Chinese manufacturers have made great strides to improve the quality of their products above the $150 price point, the instruments at the lower price points still leave a lot to be desired. Because of the large number of these lower-priced products available, instrument wholesalers have sought outlets for these instruments in non-musical retailers. This past holiday season, traditional musical instrument dealers not only faced competition from catalogs and on-line merchants but from retailers like Wal Mart, Target, Best Buy, and, if you can believe it, Linens & Things! That’s a strange mix - pillow cases, towels, and guitars! Let’s discuss the “good news or bad” question. Importers and wholesalers would argue that selling through these non-traditional retailers gives broader coverage to musical products and introduces music to people who would otherwise not frequent a traditional retailer. They argue that these new customers would hopefully maintain an interest in music and later become customers and students at the more traditional stores. The majority of traditional retailers counter with the argument that the instruments are of such poor quality and that, with no back-up service available from the seller, these instruments would soon be discarded and the potential for future business would be lost forever. Very compelling arguments from both sides! What I mean by “lowering the bar” is that the huge number of low-cost instruments available at Wal Mart etc, lowers a shoppers perception of what a usable musical instrument should cost! Musical instrument merchants observed a large amount of “sticker shock” this past (2005 and 2006) holiday seasons. That would be expected when shoppers see guitars and keyboards at Wal Mart and Target for $79 and $98! Those prices became the norm for “good” instruments and an instrument of playable quality at $179 was perceived by them to be highly overpriced! There are obviously two sides to every argument but no one gains when a beginner tries to pursue music with an instrument that’s unplayable. If you’re asked for advise from a family member or neighbor, I encourage all of you who play and love music to spend a few moments with that person explaining the differences in quality levels in whatever instrument you play. Tell him or her that going up one small step in quality could make the difference between success or failure! Explain that the lowest cost instruments will be uneconomical to repair and would have to be discarded should they require any level of service. Let them make the final decision but you’ll have done a service and maybe helped a beginner on an easier road to success!
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