Jump to content
Hamer Fan Club Message Center

Oh, no, Jol...


Recommended Posts

It's a good read, though I'm not quite sure what the reason for the article is. It does seem almost like looking for expensive clients, or maybe just venting.

+1. I get that feeling, the more times I read that article. Here's more of the quote that Edgar Allan Poe mentioned:

"Successful business people understand an opinion from an expert can be more valuable than their own. As players, they might be driven by the same hero (or object) worship as the rest of us. The difference is that many successful people possess not just the ability to identify a goal and verbalize it, but also the ability to remain open to alternative paths to that goal."

Maybe it's just my inner inferiority complex talkin', but why do I get the feeling that if I don't fit the demographic of 'successful business people', I'm gonna get treated like a complete idiot? Otherwise, that article reads like 'Shopping for a Custom Guitar 101', and seems more like space filler for Premier Guitar.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I think anytime someone who is considered an expert in his/her field writes an opinion piece, there will always be an interpretation by some readers that there's a passive/subliminal bit of trolling for customers involved (and maybe that's part of the compensation by the publication; it's basic publicity for the writer). One could say the same for articles by George Gruhn or any other person who owns a business that is associated with the subject that his/her commentary is addressing.

Personally, I would respect the right of a (quality) luthier to decline something that compomises his/her building principles. If you're making something that's one-of-a-kind, you'd want it to be durable and would want to be proud to have your name on the headstock....that logo up there is passive advertising as well.

I also respect the right of affluent individuals (rock star, doctor, lawyer) to spend however much $ they wish on special instruments they've envisioned. However, if they come off w/ an attitude of "look what I've got" (whether it's a custom instrument or a vintage collection or something else), I immediately head for the door (figuratively).

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Maybe I have this all wrong - I don't have any real idea about JD's history, so my observation is based purely on life experience.

In any arena, and with any product or service - any commodity is only worth what the consumer will pay for it. So if a luthier can persuade a customer that it's worth dropping $25k upwards on a hand-built instrument, and that customer has the financial ability to pay that price without a second thought, to me that's no different from targeting the same type of customer who will willingly pay $10k for a set of high-end audio cables to hook up his hand-built $50k tube amplifiers to his $50k hand-built speakers. The fact that more ordinary guys like me had to practically remortgage my house to raise the cash for a USA Standard is irrelevant, and I can only envy those who are in that better position. Most of them have probably worked damned hard to get there.

It's all about relativity. In my experience, those types of consumers respond to a different set of values, they look for different messages in product marketing (exclusivity being a prime one), and to me, there's nothing wrong in any of that, and if JD's target market is middle-aged doctors and attorneys, then everything he does as a businessman in terms of how he markets himself and how his customers perceive him, has to be a reflection of that.

Guess which age and income bracket buys most Harley-Davidsons, Ferraris, Porsches and Maseratis?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Maybe I have this all wrong - I don't have any real idea about JD's history, so my observation is based purely on life experience.

In any arena, and with any product or service - any commodity is only worth what the consumer will pay for it. So if a luthier can persuade a customer that it's worth dropping $25k upwards on a hand-built instrument, and that customer has the financial ability to pay that price without a second thought, to me that's no different from targeting the same type of customer who will willingly pay $10k for a set of high-end audio cables to hook up his hand-built $50k tube amplifiers to his $50k hand-built speakers. The fact that more ordinary guys like me had to practically remortgage my house to raise the cash for a USA Standard is irrelevant, and I can only envy those who are in that better position. Most of them have probably worked damned hard to get there.

It's all about relativity. In my experience, those types of consumers respond to a different set of values, they look for different messages in product marketing (exclusivity being a prime one), and to me, there's nothing wrong in any of that, and if JD's target market is middle-aged doctors and attorneys, then everything he does as a businessman in terms of how he markets himself and how his customers perceive him, has to be a reflection of that.

Guess which age and income bracket buys most Harley-Davidsons, Ferraris, Porsches and Maseratis?

Are they THESE kind of consumers? If they are, I certainly feel for anybody who has to work for them.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ZCvuNbFMD4...feature=related

:D

A P.S.: Are these the same people that say that the recession's over? :lol:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

×
×
  • Create New...