How much does it cost to open a guitar store?
Hold on a sec. There must be a way to make it work. In my small neighborhood there are multiple guitar stores and at least two drum stores, and as far as I can tell, they all make money. One of them (the awesome one) just moved to a super huge space, which I can’t imagine they would do if they were slowly going out of business. Their prices are reasonable and they sell awesome stuff at every price level (not just super boozhy boutique/vintage stuff, though they do sell like hand built $500 distortion pedals), both new and vintage and consignment-style (they take 30% on consignment). It might be because they are friggin awesome. They always have the coolest crap and they have the best service. I called them last wednesday _after they closed_ to ask when they closed cause I needed some more trs patch cables for an emergency and they stayed open while I went over there. The repair dudes are awesome too. They seriously make your broken crap be
I think it depends if you’re selling new or vintage. You mention the resell market so I guess it’s the latter. I agree it would be difficult to compete on new stock but if you’re stocking great used guitars and know your stuff, I think you could pull it off. There’s a guitar shop near me in London that’s sells both and I think they do pretty well. The vintage stuff is all sold on consignment and they get a nice chunk of the selling price. And when I sold my old Rickenbacker there, I got much more through their shop than I would have gotten on eBay (reserve never met). And their stock is always changing. If you’re passionate and knowledgeable about guitars I think the fans of vintage will check you out. And you could also make money on repairs, set ups, etc. As for how much it costs, like I said, sell on consignment and it shouldn’t cost much to build up a good inventory.
There’s two questions here–how much does it cost to open a retail business in your area, and how much does it cost to open a guitar shop. So, approach two (or more) people; an owner of a local business that approximates your ideally-sized storefront, and an owner of a guitar shop that you admire. Ask them if they can sit down and chat with you. More often than not, they’ll really enjoy the opportunity to talk about their businesses and give you advice.
For what it’s worth, I’ve known several musical instrument repairers as friends. They have great lives – they set their own hours and manage themselves and gain a lot of satisfaction from their work. Unlike a music shop, they don’t have to carry any inventory and their entire capital outlay is for their tools. Every now and then, they sell instruments on behalf of others, or fix up instruments to sell, but in those cases their inventory cost is low. I would be looking hard at the repair shop. If you think you can do it, then build out a small retail arm around it (strings, accessories, tchotchkes). Over my lifetime I’ve seen all the great music shops dwindle. Bluntly, not so many people want instruments, and thanks to falling prices, you can get playable instruments cheaply. Nobody makes out great when demand is dropping and margins are shrinking. That’s why all your local shops are peddling as much cheap crap as they can — except for the boutique end for rich old people and genuine p
