I live in rural, middle-of-the-state Washington. We have two music stores in our area. The first is staffed by people who are almost to the level of family with me after two years. They love working with local musicians (the manager is married to the bass player for one of the most successful bands in town; one of the sales reps plays guitar in another very good band; the rest are also noted local musicians). I often go there just to hang out. The selection is decent for must-have parts such as sticks, heads, and widgets, and they have a pretty good dealer network, meaning they might be able to order in something for me at pretty close to what it might cost from a big box store. When they can't match price, they straight up tell me.
The other store in town is apparently geared at separating uninformed parents of school-age musicians and school band directors from their money. Their prices are somewhere between insane and insulting. This morning I saw a Tama Silverstar Birch 5-piece in their store for $1200. GC sells the same set for $699 plus shipping. Sticks are "50% off the sticker price" of 19.95 per pair. Most of the heads on the rack are for marching percussion.
Ironically, the best deals in town are often in the pawn shops, but there you get what you get. This morning I found a 19" Paragon china for $119 and a nearly new set of A Customs (14" hats, 16" crash, 20" ride) for a combined $350.
But sadly, if I'm really looking for something particular that costs over $50, I have to time my purchases with trips to Seattle, where I usually stop in at Donn Bennett's and/or GC, and usually find what I'm looking for at an internet-comparable price. There is nothing closer to me (200 miles) with any sort of mentionable selection. I do most of my purchases on the used market these days, without any assistance from stores... sad but true.
