Trying to open a drum shop.

[ARCHIVED THREAD] - Trying to open a drum shop.

Posted: 10/29/2004 4:51:59 PM EDT

A good friend of mine and myself are trying to open a drum shop. What i need from any of you is some advice on what products we should get. He is percussion major and is friends with some of the major companies. DW, Paiste, and Vater sticks. DW approached him years back trying to get him to open up a shop. We are in the works with Vater right now. He knows some people at Paiste that might be able to hook us up. I dont know how it will all play out but so far it sounds promising.

If any one that has an idea or that is a drummer and could provide some help or ideas i would really appreciate it.

Thanks

Will

Posted: 10/29/2004 4:52:52 PM EDT

[#1]

would you sell only drums?

Posted: 10/29/2004 4:53:30 PM EDT

[#2]

My only experience is with Roland, Boss, and Steinberg. Do you plan to carry electronics too, or just real drum stuff?

Posted: 10/29/2004 4:53:47 PM EDT

[#3]

ask the_kill

Posted: 10/29/2004 5:06:20 PM EDT

[#4]

Not to be a smartass, but how many drums do you need in Nebraska, population 1,730,000 souls?

Seems a little narrow.

Posted: 10/29/2004 5:18:16 PM EDT

[#5]

Well, I really hope that it works. Just remember, its better to be a washed up has-been, than a no good never-was.

It's a tough way to make a living, I know.....seriously.

Posted: 10/29/2004 5:21:01 PM EDT

[#6]

Quoted:
Not to be a smartass, but how many drums do you need in Nebraska, population 1,730,000 souls?
Seems a little narrow.

no shit...you might as well start the bankrupsy right now. Also Drums arnt really a renewable market: meaning you wont have many repeat customers because once someone has a drum kit...they wont need another one for several years or ever again.

Broaden your market...online sales, guitars...etc and more etc

Posted: 10/29/2004 5:22:17 PM EDT

[#7]

Well you definitely need to get one of these badboys...

...!

Posted: 10/29/2004 5:28:27 PM EDT

[#8]

Quoted:
would you sell only drums?

I was thinking that too. I've never seen a "Drums Only" store. I would guess there is a reason for that.

Posted: 10/29/2004 5:29:16 PM EDT

[#9]

www.drumcenter.com/fea1096.html

www.rogersdrums.com <-------this link will work but they are offline right now.

The best hardware bar none.

Railgun....

Posted: 10/29/2004 5:30:34 PM EDT

[#10]

I have seen drums only stores but they were all huge. Plus DW and Paiste are high end products. As much as it hurts you need Pearl and Yamaha and.....and....

then you can fail BIG!

Posted: 10/29/2004 5:31:08 PM EDT

[#11]

Topless salesladies may help bring in customers. Maybe get a liquor license too, sell beer.

Oh, WTF, just open a titty bar. They never fail.

You could still play the drums.

Posted: 10/29/2004 5:44:23 PM EDT

[#12]

Yeah i really dont know how it will play out. We are on the western part of the state. We are hoping to bring in customers from eastern Wyoming and Colorado. The nearest decent drum shop is in Denver. As far as repeat customers on drum sets thats probably few and far between, but cymbals sticks and other accessories one could get repeats. Cymbals crack or wear out and sticks break easily. We were trying to get a few electronic drums in the store. I guess the one gimmick we might have is that my friend is a drum instructor, and we can give lessons right in the store.

As far as brands are concerned, we are trying to get as many as possible involved. All the cymbal brands, DW as the high end drum and Pacific as the lower. Possibly Yamaha and Gretche. Hopefully Vater will come through. The other stick manufacturers are fairly easy to come by.

I guess its a dream but may not be a reality.

Posted: 10/29/2004 5:52:44 PM EDT

[#13]

Will,
I don't know where your located but most cities can't support a drums only store, and if your in Omaha you would have to compete with Joe Voda. You also would have to sink alot of money into a shop to get it started and most banks don't think musical instruments are a very stable market. Also don't expect to turn a real profit for a while. Then you will have alot of people come in but never buy. Then there is the people who show up and play with everything they possibly can then they tell you they can get it online or somewhere else cheaper. You'll have alot of fun pulling your hair out. Having your own shop isn't fun or easy. Just be prepared for when the market in your aera dries up and then you can't keep the shop open. I wish you luck but just make sure your prepared for the worse. Then again I dealt with vintage guitars for a while and that was very touch and go. It never turned out how I wanted. Thanks Arvin

Posted: 10/29/2004 6:39:49 PM EDT

[#14]

I'll take a hundred round ak drum, and one for my ar too,,

Posted: 10/29/2004 6:42:05 PM EDT

[#15]

You could always expand and add cowbells.

Posted: 10/29/2004 6:45:21 PM EDT

[#16]

The number one mistake I see many new business owners making is assuming that the market is made up of people like them.

My prediction..... you will end up being a shop that people come to try out the drums, then go home and order it for $50 less online.

Posted: 10/29/2004 6:46:18 PM EDT

[#17]

Not enough cowbell!

Need more cowbell!!!

Posted: 10/29/2004 6:47:52 PM EDT

[#18]

You're not going to make it in a market that size. Even if you are on the border with another state. They're still smaller states.

Plus you're talking about selling the high end stuff. How many people are going to spring for a DW set, or even care if they're buying a DW where you are?

It's kind of like opening a gun shop in hawaii and all you sell are .50 cal rifles. You're starting with a small market and making it smaller by limiting product selection to just drums.

Are you going to get a loan? The start up costs are going to be huge with high-end drum and cymbals and getting them into inventory and on the showroom floor.

I think your only hope of survival is to HEAVILY invest in doing it online. Then you could survive doing only drums / percussion, and base your operations out of your showroom. That will give you the cash flow you need to do fun, extravagent things, like pay rent and buy food.

And you're going to have to be agressive and get into the low end / starter kits. That's where your volume will be (all the new kids wanting drum sets) plus it builds up a client base if they stick with it (no pun intended) and want to upgrade later.

Posted: 10/29/2004 7:06:38 PM EDT

[#19]

I must agree with bastiat and the others. A drum-only shop would need to be located in a major city (or close suburb of one) that has a ton of music industry presence. Meaning: NY, LA, Bay Area, Nashville, Atlanta, Miami, Seattle, Austin. Even then, most of your sales would be lower-end stuff, with occasional sales of high-end kits to touring/recording bands. And even then, a drum-only shop would probably only work if you were a famous, retired drummer who could pull in the investment dollars and had the connections to make this happen in an expensive major city.

Out in Podunk, NE, you'd be lucky to sell 100 kits a year, with 90+% of them being entry-level kits. You'd need a ton of money to lease a big store and keep it filled with a variety of inventory, because if you don't already have it in stock, most kids will just go to the Internet and order it to get exactly what they want. How many sticks, stick bags, drum keys, and heads do you need to sell a month to cover business costs? Have you checked to see what advertising costs?

Finally, when I look at the big music stores in the Bay Area, the guitar rooms are HUGE, with HUNDREDS of guitars and dozens of brands of amps. The keyboard section has all 9 major brands, with 3-6 models each, and lots of rack-mount accessories. The drum rooms are small, with 6-10 kits total. Reason? There is relatively low turnover for drum kits, and much higher demand for drummers than for guitarists and keyboardists. And few drummers have more than one kit, whereas guitarists and keyboardists usually have collections.

Bottom line: your friend needs to put the pipe down and learn a bit about the industry before he puts himself into tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt.

-Troy

Posted: 10/29/2004 7:12:31 PM EDT

[#20]

Quoted:
Quoted:
would you sell only drums?

I was thinking that too. I've never seen a "Drums Only" store. I would guess there is a reason for that.

I would suggest expanding into all instruments as well (although I am a drummer). Are there any Guitar Centers or Sam Ash music stores out there? These chains seem to have taken over the Philadelphia area. Mom and Pop stores are feeling the pain.