Something fishy abt sweelee and guitar gallery

[marshall_law]

Hi
Just curious, if there a affilation between sweelee and guitar gallery? cause their prices are almost the same and they both sell the same gibson les paul. Only that guitar gallery got rarer models.

 

[subversion]

nothing fishy- just that one got their stock from the other (no prizes for guessing).

since a certain guitar store came into the scene, has anyone realised that you can't get a mex Fender these days for <$1K?

do you know how much cost savings dealer get when they import items in bulk? you'd be surprised to know... :roll:

 

[veganbleu]

tsk * those price dealin capitalists! Everyone should just look for alternatives!

 

[brundisium]

2nd hand market, used or if have credit card, look over the net for it.....

 

[pickg]

Alternative sources

yes i agree, the price, service and choice of the abovenamed store just leaves more to be desired. you can get a better price from almost any online store including shipping and insurance. WAKE UP YALL.

 

[subversion]

I’ve long been an advocate of customer awareness, directly or otherwise. I urge all potential buyers to question their dealers & tell them off if you have to. If you keep buying stuff from dealers who refuse to barge, you are indeed part of the problem. We do not need any more dealers who aren’t reflecting the true worth of the instrument in their list prices. There are currently dealers who know nuts about their products’ worth but they are not entirely to blame because they have a business commitment, buyers have a passionate commitment, the difference is clear. But in this IT age, buyers aren’t ignorant fools, they know if dealers make efforts to get acquainted with their wares & try to squeeze them dry.

However, I’m NOT telling buyers out there to treat dealers like dirt under your feet, although I had my fair share of heated arguments with swine dealers, if you happen to read this, you know who you are. With reciprocating respect, I’m sure things would work out. ‘nuff said, it’s making me boil…

 

[marshall_law]

If the market on guitar in Singapore would be bigger, we would be gettin better quality and down to earth prices.

I'm wonderin is online buying of guitar safe? I mean you can't try it and the pictures shown on the net are just picture, you can't get a real good look on the product. Has anyone try it? Tell us your experience.

 

[Silver-Appegio]

Ya ya i am also wondering..
but is online buying much more cheaper?
but some manuf will still refer us back to our local store...
Err.....

 

[subversion]

If you have the means, purchasing online is encouraged. However, I prefer to audition any gear before I part with cash, especially musical instruments. There are certain defects which are only detectable if you do a pre-purchase try-out eg: neck twist- which no amount of trus rod tweaking would cure. Returning such items is really a chore if it’s purchased online.

 

[Colarndo]

You can go online to any guitar company's custom workshop and tell them what you want. They will give you what yo request for no problem. No need to go local dealers and deal. Singapore's workmanship is crap here. Tell them what you want also will come out wrong..Of course there a few exceptional cases.

 

[brundisium]

customshop=$$$$$$$ usually

 

[marshall_law]

I read on gibson custom's forum, a custom made les paul studio with korina body and split diamond pearl inlay can cost up to $10000. No bindings, just a studio body and neck. I can buy 2 goldtops with that price!

 

[Flyingbirdman]

Go to www.music123.com They are very reliable. I've ordered two of my guitars from them. Certain brands are cheaper if you order from the net. Some are just the same or just slightly cheaper if you buy here. My goods arrived within 6 days. One arrrived in three days!!! and you can check your order, and delivery on UPS website.

 

[veganbleu]

Didn't know they shipped to singapore? Thought they only did us states and APO/FPO. Sounds interesting ... more choice to the consumer then.

 

[Silver-Appegio]

Ya, i also hope to buy the Headless steinberger guitar but i guess it can only be brought online..
any idea , is tehre any in Singapore?

 

[guitar_phreak]

Isn't shipping cost a bummer?

There's a risk though of online orders....

There might be defects and you can't do anything to fix it unless you are willing to spend lots of $$ to ship it back or send to your local dealer to "fix"

PLUS

shipping costs is very very expensive...

 

[squidospyder]

Insider news: guitars eg Fender etc are special stock for asia in terms of wood. Something to do with extra ageing and seasoning (monosodiumglutumate) something like that, due to our climate. But swee lee and its 'shops-run-by-others-but-with-the-same-stuff' often quote things like exchange rate and brand name value etc as a reason to jack up prices. You can compare for yourself with online stores. I am sad, but this is the fact of the monopoly here in sg. Swee Lee has been here since 1942 and they're still here with sole distributorship for all the big brands.

If you order online, sure you can get what you want, but you got to have a credit card (sometimes maybe not, can pay thru money order or something), you can't try the guitar before you get it (unless you drop by our local music store, give it a go if its in stock like those thick-skinned people nowadays who try stuff out damn loud for hours and yet they don't even have any intention of buying) and if something is wrong with your guitar when you receive it, be prepared to go through a bit of trouble for returns. And i'm sure with all those ads on the tv you see nowadays for UPS and DHL and what not, shipping won't be THAT cheap either. Yea i'm sure you won't mind the extra trouble for a few hundred bucks less that you'd rather spend on effects or jam room $ ya? :wink: Also if the seasoned wood for asia thing is true, you won't get the plus factor from online stores.

But the bottom line is, when it comes to 'supporting' our local music stores, i'm sure they got regular overseas customers and other ventures to profit from rather than our meagre spending power for a guitar. If you want to get it here, then get it. The staff are usually friendly as long as YOU don't act like an a**. If you disagreee, get down and talk to them. You'll be surprised. I'm sure you haven't done so recently if you still make that remark now. But the world is ever changing, its getting smaller, and now more than ever you don't have to sit there and cry coz your dream guitar's too expensive. Get online and get it if that suits you...

 

[guitar_phreak]

The level of service in the USA is one of the highest in the world. The reason? It's customers are hard to please. They are quick and vocal in their praise and criticism, and they nothing about giving you the stick when they dun like something.

Here however, runs on a different system. They run on the "monopoly". Notice how most retailers here are catered to certain brands? Like if you like Ibanez you'll go Swee Lee...etc All the internet risk, transport costs..etc are barriers to competition in Singapore. Hence, music shops can survive here "still", by charging high prices and giving bad service.

Fact is, in a service industry, its all about the customer. Even if the customer acts the ass, service has NO reason to slack. Well, again, shops here can afford to "slack" because of their monopoly power. (plus charge high prices at the same time).

When you get down to pure calculation, importing guitars in yourself is NOT much of a cost saver. UPS costs like US$300+ while USPS costs $200 (if you get from USA). You can't try your guitar and you have almost no assurance that you'll be getting 100% support for damages...

Bottom line is, we can't avoid the monopoly pricing, but the least the shops can do is provide good service(I'm not saying ALL is bad, but at least ensure that it is good)!! With good service, we wun feel the "pinch" so much. We should not be afraid to give them a piece of our mind when we deem necessary and we must not be afraid to take our money somewhere else too!

 

[rebbeach]

relationship between Swee Lee and Guitar Gallery

the owner of guitar gallery use to work in swee lee and is a relative of them. so equipment support are from swee lee and their idea is to brand out in a high end shop.

 

[ShredCow]

An nearly 4 yr old thread... wow.