How do drum shops stay in business?

Hey there. New to drumming. I've been searching like crazy and will soon purchase my new kit. I visited my local drum shop, beautiful selection..nice guy. However, when I see the exact drum set for sale on MF, AMS, SamAsh, etc...how do these shops ever sell a kit? It's not a small difference in price. Ludwig Accent CS with hardware/cymbals for $479.00. The shop had it for $599.00. I know they have to sell their kits based on some MSRP value, but who goes into a shop and pays so much more? Even the small things are crazy expensive. A used HQ practice pad at the shop was $30. $15-20 brand new on the websites. Is it lessons, repairs, etc...that keep them going? Just curious.

Not everyone does their homework before making a big purchase. I believe that parents are the bread and butter for most drum shops. Every time I visit our local shop, there are junior high kids there with their parents. It's nice for them because they can go to one place and get all of their questions answered. A lot of people prefer to buy locally as well. If there is something wrong with the item they purchased, they can bring it right back to the store rather than mess around with shipping. I've also seen people bring drums in to be re-headed and tuned because they didn't know how to do it themselves.

A lot of it is convenience. You would be surprised at how many people don't have credit cards to buy online. Large dealers like MF, GC, Sam ASh etc don't pay the huge rent for their stores. They have automated order, picking, packing methods that lessen the number of employees. And many will match price if you ask.

You'd be surprised at how much you can haggle for a better price at you local shop if you're cool about it. I've also seen and experienced the free or bonus stuff that comes from spending at the shop. Like going in for a shell kit and coming out w/ a few free stands or pack of sticks, or a really good deal on the stands etc. There's also the benefit of getting stuff serviced or warranties taken care of.

My local shop has beaten or matched prices for anything that I've ever needed.

the local drum shop i go to is pretty competitive with the big stores. i guess they have to be because a sam ash store is right around the corner from them. they're not cheaper than sam ash but they're comparable.

one thing you won't find at this drum store, or probably other drum stores, are salespeople who don't know anything about drums and percussion. everyone at the drum store is a drumming expert.

dairyairman said:

one thing you won't find at this drum store, or probably other drum stores, are salespeople who don't know anything about drums and percussion. everyone at the drum store is a drumming expert.

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That's the big difference. The specialty store has guidance, expertise and advice you can trust -- but you have to pay a little more for being able to tap into that. For a lot of people, it's worth it.

another thing about the local drum store i go to is they'll never sell you a junky set or a set that's way more than you need because they have a high markup on it. they'll always match a customer to a kit that's right for them.

their service is really good too. for example, if you break something, they'll fix it for you, even if you didn't buy it there.

what the heck, i might as well say what the store is now that i've done all this plugging. it's Drums2Go in orlando, florida.

Well, most don't.

Tons of shops have gone under in the last few years due to the bad economy and increased competition from the major chains and mail order.

Dont know how mine stays in bussiness.

Took 3-4 months to order in a Roc and Soc stool.

maybe it was just a technicality that it took so long.

Wanted some Protection Racket soft bags, (Rimms).

Shall i go back to my local shop - Yes i want to surport my local shop, they are good guys, and surly it cant happen twice, can it.

Yes it can, have waited at least another 14 weeks for something i know larger shops in the area could have got inside a week 2 at the the longest.

Oh well, did try and do the right thing, still waiting for my bags..

I feel bad when I don't go to a physical music store to buy something, but if I can get something cheaper online, I have to do it. We have a store around the corner and I never see anyone in there. How the hell DO they do it??

I just bought a Zildjian K Con cymbal from Pro Drum Shop in Hollywood....they matched the going price on the internet. I always look at online prices and ask my local retailer if they would care to match it. They usually do.

Many drum shops used to (maybe still) teach lessons and the space that is rented by instructors is part of the shops income.

I have also seen drum shops that had contracts with the local school system to supply and /or repair the music departments' percussion. Notably the drum-line.

Then there's the occasional clinic with a big name player. All in all, it must be a labor of love to do it.

The benefit to a drum shop is you can try things out. You can hear a drum to see if you like it, and you can try out a pedal. But then again... you could do that, then buy it online. Hmm. I guess I'm not really sure how they do stay in business..

I'm in a different part of the music manufacturing/distributing business, and what I see is a lot of manufacturers are becoming very picky about who they deal with, and have tightened up MAP (minimum advertised pricing) and drop shipping policies so that the online stores can't just build a site and rape the people that actually own brick and mortar stores. There should be some recognition of the fact that the stores built the brands, not the online houses, and it is the stores that our players will need an hour before an important gig with a broken part in their hands.

Between shipping costs (mysteriously not present in the OP's price comparison) and the fact that you can't hear what you are buying, I find it very hard to argue in favor of an online purchase. I know there are times for it, but buying a musical instrument through the mail is just a crapshoot.

I would only ever buy a Zildjian cymbal from a regular shop.

I would agreee with you in general, but I walked into my local shop and told them I was interested in a Yamaha Oak Custom kit. The owner let me not only take a kit home to try, but also let me gig with it NO QUESTIONS ASKED. The online dealers and catalog houses cannot compete with that level of service. After that, I had no problem paying a little more - even though they still worked with me on the price. Hats off to Drum Headquarters in St. Louis, MO. I no longer live there, but I will never forget how cool that was. Get to know the guys at your local shop - explain your situation and they can be a valuable resource.

Somethings I would only ever buy in person cymbals, and drums. Drumsets can vary kit to kit and I don't think I could ever buy a drum online.

I have also gotten burned by ordering online before like I ordered a resonant head for my bass drum online and it got crushed by UPS. The retailer sent me a call tag but I either had to wait for the head to get to them before they would send a replacement, or pay again for a 2nd head they could send out right away, and then I refund me for the original one when it got to the retailer. That is too much trouble for me. I know it was ups' fault but still it is easier to go to the local shop than deal with all that trouble.

I also ordered a guitar pedal from online and then found the same pedal on craigslist for $50 bucks cheaper and I had to pay almost $20 for return shipping, and it took them almost 2 weeks to process my return. I can't imagine what return shipping would be on a drumset that you order and don't like it. yikes!

My local drumshop prices everything at list, and then gives the discount at the register. I often worry that people see those prices and get turned off and decide not to shop there. After the discount their prices are inline with online retailers. Sometimes when I go in to buy sticks and one of the guitar guys checks me out they will ask me "how much do you pay for sticks?" and they will sell them to me for whatever price I say. I usually say $6 or $7, but I bet if I said $5 they would sell them to me for that price.
The bulk of their business though is used drums and they do tons alot of trading. They also have an in house repair shop and take in busted up drums and refurbish them and sell them for huge profits.

I just bought a new kit from Drums Etc in Lancaster PA on Monday. It was a Ludwig Fab-4 set brand new shell pack. It had some ridiculous list of $1800, then was marked down to $1200, I paid $499 They also cut in a port and put in the ring around it for free. I checked all over the internet to see if the price was for real. I found them on the internet going for anywhere from $1500 to 1200 to the lowest was $799.00 I asked him why so low. He said they'd been sitting there awhile and he wanted to make room. He also had 2 of them. All of his items are discounted pretty deeply and he will try to meet any price. His Roland and Yamaha electronic kit prices are in line with mail order. I bought all my cymbals there because he has a huge cymbal room and I spent hours playing them all, especially the rides because I was looking for a certain sound. If I then went mail order for that exact Ride, it probably wouldn't sound the same. All of his employers are active playing drummers. He has a huge selection. I tried out 15 different HH stands. Rows of BD Pedals. A great used selection, consignment etc. One other thing I asked him the warranty on the Ludwigs, he said 3 years, but don't worry about it, if anything happens, we will take care of it. Mail order won't do that for you. The other reason to support your local shop is when you need a head or other part at 8pm on a Friday night before a show. Mail order ain't going to cut it. and if you don't support your local shop, they won't be there when you need them.

Now there are two sides to that coin. There are local shops of all types you name it, drums, music, cameras, electronics that take you money, maybe charge a bit more and you get no more service than mail order. In that case go for the mail order. If the local shop doesn't offer an incentive to buy there, why spend your hard earned cash there.

I bought the shell pack there, but then picked up (3) used Ludwig Cymbal Stands in great shape for $75 for all three on Craigslist. That's the same or less than I would have paid for one stand. I couldn't pass that up. I'll probably do the same for the BD pedal, snare stand, and HH stand. The price difference is just too huge, and I'm on a tight budget. But I do support my semi-local drumshop. They are 45 miles away from me. Spiney

Crasher said:

... A used HQ practice pad at the shop was $30. $15-20 brand new on the websites. Is it lessons, repairs, etc...that keep them going? Just curious.

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Not everyone considers price to be the most important parameter of any given purchase. For me service is #1, followed closely by customer familiarity. #3 is expert knowledge and #4 is ability to make special things happen. Then finally comes price way down at #5. Not that I totally ignore price, but it is far from most important. The first four are really all about "getting it right." I'm willing to pay extra for that and it also earns my loyalty.