Gibson Demo Shop on Reverb - Another stupid Gibson PR mistake???

[ozraves]

This posting is my fave: https://reverb.com/item/36828098-gibson-les-paul-standard-60s-iced-tea-original-collection-prototype

"Minor nut defects"??? I guess that's better than major nut defects.

 

[chumbucket]

Like the non-demo Gibsons, it's gonna need a properly cut nut after you buy it.

 

[Coopster]

So it's priced at full retail WITH minor nut defects... and a 2 year warranty. Why not just fix the nut and sell it without the defects?

 

[ozraves]

So it's priced at full retail WITH minor nut defects... and a 2 year warranty. Why not just fix the nut and sell it without the defects?

Maybe I overlooked it but maybe if the idea was to create some sort of lame collectors' market then maybe they should include some sort of "Certificate of Demo/Defects" saying it was a demo/prototype and what defects it was originally sold with.

But, yeah, full retail for a guitar you can get without the listed defect at any Gibson dealer.

 

[Daniel Clasby]

I guess "seconds" or "B-stock" doesn't sound as nice.

 

[Rumors of War]

"Certificate of Demo/Defects"

Gibson...certifiable.

 

[Steadfastly]

With or without the defects, $2500.00 is way too much for that but someone has to pay the CEO's and other management's salaries.

 

[MKB]

So it's priced at full retail WITH minor nut defects... and a 2 year warranty. Why not just fix the nut and sell it without the defects?

IIRC there are federal regulations that prohibit a used product from being sold as a new one. And Gibson has run afoul of regulations in the past.

Maybe Gibson thinks it is makes more business sense to put the effort into making all new guitars rather than fixing slightly used ones. Just get rid of the older ones as they are.

 

[slide13]

“Certificate of Defects

This is genius! You should patent that before Gibson does and then comes back to sue you for that post.

 

[KestnerGS]

Curious, how many Fender, Collings or PRS blems do you see floating around...
As always, scratching my head with Gibson.

 

[tonedover]

they can sell it as demo meaning scratch and dent, but nut, wiring, pup, or bridge issues are unacceptable.

i hate gibson. almost as much as they hate us.

like if i was to buy that, am i able to immediately make a warranty claim on the bad nut? this makes little sense....

 

[vortexxxx]

I looked at another listing. They both say the minor nut defect thing. Gibson is trying to sell direct. If these were special prototypes they would have something describing them as such. These are likely just random guitars from their warehouse put online.

 

[Marris Otter]

So it's priced at full retail WITH minor nut defects... and a 2 year warranty. Why not just fix the nut and sell it without the defects?

In proper internet fashion, I'm too lazy to do any research, but I'm more than willing to share my opinion...

Replacing a nut is a piece of cake, but selling "as new" a guitar that your AR, R&D, or marketing department has already used isn't ethical. New guitars are new. Guitars that your AR, R&D, and/or marketing departments have used are used guitars, or as Gibson describes them, demos.

What's the issue with that?

Certainly, with a bit of light finish repair work and a trip to the buffing wheels, Gibson could sell these guitars as new condition (assuming they're current model year guitars). But that isn't ethical.

Aside from the fact that this is a new strategy, what's wrong with it? Would you be more offended if these guitars were simply destroyed, as is often the case?

 

[fossilfuel]

Play Defective

 

[Surfreak]

I sort of read this differently.

These are probably not prototypes, or even true factory seconds.
They are regular factory pieces, sold direct a sneaky commercial strategy that aims to make you feel like you get a rare piece, with easy to fix, fully reversible blems and for a bargain price.

At least wonky Levi’s are only sold in outlet malls, for 20 bucks...

 

[vortexxxx]

I'm not sure that the dealers would like Gibson selling directly to the public so I think they are using the prototype or nut issue so they won't be upset since stores have to place large orders to be a Gibson dealer.

 

[Nebakanezer]

I looked at another listing. They both say the minor nut defect thing. Gibson is trying to sell direct. If these were special prototypes they would have something describing them as such. These are likely just random guitars from their warehouse put online.

In proper internet fashion, I'm too lazy to do any research, but I'm more than willing to share my opinion...

Replacing a nut is a piece of cake, but selling "as new" a guitar that your AR, R&D, or marketing department has already used isn't ethical. New guitars are new. Guitars that your AR, R&D, and/or marketing departments have used are used guitars, or as Gibson describes them, demos.

What's the issue with that?

Certainly, with a bit of light finish repair work and a trip to the buffing wheels, Gibson could sell these guitars as new condition (assuming they're current model year guitars). But that isn't ethical.

Aside from the fact that this is a new strategy, what's wrong with it? Would you be more offended if these guitars were simply destroyed, as is often the case?

I sort of read this differently.

These are probably not prototypes, or even true factory seconds.
They are regular factory pieces, sold direct a sneaky commercial strategy that aims to make you feel like you get a rare piece, with easy to fix, fully reversible blems and for a bargain price.

At least wonky Levi’s are only sold in outlet malls, for 20 bucks...

And I agree, I would have at least made sure to slide one guitar in there that would be obviously.
Hear me out, me as a top dog at Gibson (knowing the business practices of write offs, which I don’t...), “Hey, what if in stead of destroying guitars we sell all the ones we have laying around here? But we offer some “unique and limited” ones to make the price tags of the normal b-stocks seem worthy of the illusion of getting something rare by buying the most authentic way possible, buying direct from us!!! Quick, call the factory and have someone spray a Flying V in gold!!!!” (Insert evil mad scientist laugh)

 

[PatriotBadger]

Gibson is the corporate equivalent of The Gaffe Machine.

 

[poppunk]

Curious, how many Fender, Collings or PRS blems do you see floating around...
As always, scratching my head with Gibson.

A "normal" Collings runs $3,500 to $6,000. These aren't regular production guitars like the other companies we're talking about and I wouldn't include them in this conversation.

I don't know how PRS does things.

But I do know that Fender dumps out B-Stock full of blems to certain outlets, like ProAudioStar. This company lists them as "used" in Mint condition on Reverb, and when you get the item it's a crapshoot that may require a return. B-Stock is clearly stamped on the Fender box.

Gibson's play here may just be that they think there's a market for people who want the first run of test instruments (prototypes).

 

[Coopster]

In proper internet fashion, I'm too lazy to do any research, but I'm more than willing to share my opinion...

Replacing a nut is a piece of cake, but selling "as new" a guitar that your AR, R&D, or marketing department has already used isn't ethical. New guitars are new. Guitars that your AR, R&D, and/or marketing departments have used are used guitars, or as Gibson describes them, demos.

What's the issue with that?

Certainly, with a bit of light finish repair work and a trip to the buffing wheels, Gibson could sell these guitars as new condition (assuming they're current model year guitars). But that isn't ethical.

Aside from the fact that this is a new strategy, what's wrong with it? Would you be more offended if these guitars were simply destroyed, as is often the case?

I'm not offended, just trying to understand. There's a warranty... There's a known defect... just fix it. Then sell it as demo, because there's still going to be signs of handling, at a demo price. It just doesn't make sense to me.