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Might be a source for an AJ case!
The Saga of a case for my '65 M20
- Thread starter jgmaute
- Start date
Re: Monday morning's report
I have a Vancouver made Datt case that came with a non-Guild made in 2004 and it is not a high quality case.twocorgis said:I think the Vancouver company that John was talking about that makes customs at reasonable prices was Datt cases. Sadly, they no longer seem to be in business.
I'll check it out however in fairness to me, finding #### Lincoln Street may be a challenge ... I know where Lincoln Street is .... and I know where &!@* and #)<# Lincoln Street are but #### ? ... will see what I can do.coastie99 said:
Ian
Senior Member
Hi All,
I might be being super dense here and have no understanding of US business practices at all, but at last count there were at least 3 Guitar dealers on this board. Why doesn't one of them pull his finger out and contact one of these guys:
http://www.made-in-china.com/products-s ... _Case.html
I've found in the past that chinese companies really will fall over backwards trying to help you out, you need to be a bit paitient with the language, but I've always found the service to be excellent. We have a chinese grating company we deal with here at work, I know the lady there reasonably well, she may be able to help if we get stuck.
NB: I did think of doing this myself, but freight from NZ to the US is prohibitive.
Cheers, Ian
I might be being super dense here and have no understanding of US business practices at all, but at last count there were at least 3 Guitar dealers on this board. Why doesn't one of them pull his finger out and contact one of these guys:
http://www.made-in-china.com/products-s ... _Case.html
I've found in the past that chinese companies really will fall over backwards trying to help you out, you need to be a bit paitient with the language, but I've always found the service to be excellent. We have a chinese grating company we deal with here at work, I know the lady there reasonably well, she may be able to help if we get stuck.
NB: I did think of doing this myself, but freight from NZ to the US is prohibitive.
Cheers, Ian
Hi Ian; not rag too on English much the folks ... from copied one links;
"Each size of the musical instrument case, there are three kinds of different manner can be choose. Every style passes strictly waterproofly, tests ..."
"Each size of the musical instrument case, there are three kinds of different manner can be choose. Every style passes strictly waterproofly, tests ..."
Ian
Senior Member
Hey John,
yep, we've had some classics back from our chinese suppliers, however in all fairness their English is a lot better than my Chinese !!
Cheers, Ian
yep, we've had some classics back from our chinese suppliers, however in all fairness their English is a lot better than my Chinese !!
Cheers, Ian
adorshki
Reverential Member
Veer here, but now imagine the one talking like that is your short cute girlfriend. Kind of endearing, isn't it? Gives you PLENTY of openings for conversation! :lol:capnjuan said:
Ian
Senior Member
I dont think my short cute wife would like me having a short cute girlfriend....
... and mine too.guitardude said:
Their English (sadly) reminds of the Chinese eBay vendors several years ago who were copying ES335s and LPs and putting them on eBay ... $4.50 for the guitar, $400 for shipping to the US ... and while there are legitimate Chinese mfrs of almost everything, there are also places that are looking for orders .... they'll worry about how to make what you want later ... guitar cases ... washing machines ... whatever.Ian
Senior Member
Hey John,
I would have to say that in all fairness I've found our chinese suppliers excellent to deal with. The point I'm trying to make is why are one of these guitar dealers not on to this ? It appears to me that there is a market for F20/ M20 cases, surely it would be worthwhile for one of them to do some legwork and get a solution sorted ? Or are they waiting for one of the membership here to do it for them ?
Cheers, Ian
I would have to say that in all fairness I've found our chinese suppliers excellent to deal with. The point I'm trying to make is why are one of these guitar dealers not on to this ? It appears to me that there is a market for F20/ M20 cases, surely it would be worthwhile for one of them to do some legwork and get a solution sorted ? Or are they waiting for one of the membership here to do it for them ?
Cheers, Ian
Chinese suppliers can do an excellent job. They can also cut corners at any time given the opportunity. The key to success with Chinese suppliers is to not give them a chance to cut corners, in which case they will do an excellent job at very low cost. This is why there is such a variation in quality of things made in China. It is a matter of the suppliers being made aware that anything that is changed from the original specifications is not acceptable and will not be paid for, and sticking to it.
Kostas
Kostas
adorshki
Reverential Member
That's entirely forgivable. In my case I don't actually have a human wife, just 3 wooden ones (see below)...Maybe you could teach your wife to talk funny? :lol: I'm having the darnedest time convincing my girlfriend she wouldn't be "#4 wife". :lol:guitardude said:
adorshki
Reverential Member
In my business we have imported literally hundreds of tons of paper from China over the last 3 years. To be frank, the Chinese business philosphy is that if you didn't ask the right questions then they didn't lie. For the small business this could mean unexpected customs costs to surprise you at the port of delivery. This has recently become a major issue for our business and requires constant monitoring of current tariffs, duties, anti-dumping penalties, etc. If you're not completely up on these issues in your market you could lose something a lot more valuable than your you-know-what.kostask said:
As a counterpoint, once the actual personal relationship is established then honor and "face" are supremely important to them. But it takes a LOT of waltzing!
Just trying to present a balanced viewpoint.
Hi Ian; I think that's what Graham calls a rhetorical question. Here's a rhetorical answer ... yes. To go with it, here's a rhetorical observation: if there was decent money to be made in selling good-quality, smallish guitar cases, I think somebody'd be doing it. I understand your frustration but I also don't have any trouble seeing $300-$400/ea for custom guitar cases ordered in small lots ... I mean the simple fact that it could be done doesn't mean that it's worth anyone's while to do it.guitardude said:
Didn't mean to put down the Chinese suppliers. In most cases, if you are setting your expectations clearly in front of them, and establish that you are serious about those expectations being met, they will meet them. However, if you expect them to "read between the lines" and deliver what you want instead of what you defined, you will often find that they will do the most economical thing possible, which generally won't be what you wanted. It is up to you to clearly, and completely define your expectations. If you do so, you will get really good quality.
It is also important that there be constant contact with the supplier. It doesn't necessarily mean being on site, but regular calls of some type, to establish that vendor/customer relationship is essential. Chinese supplier contacts need an opportunity to show their value to people within their own organization, and to show their importance by talking to the customer. Given that contact, they also gain the ability to influence things to the customer's benefit. Just the way it worked with the suppliers I was responsible for.
Kostas
It is also important that there be constant contact with the supplier. It doesn't necessarily mean being on site, but regular calls of some type, to establish that vendor/customer relationship is essential. Chinese supplier contacts need an opportunity to show their value to people within their own organization, and to show their importance by talking to the customer. Given that contact, they also gain the ability to influence things to the customer's benefit. Just the way it worked with the suppliers I was responsible for.
Kostas
adorshki
Reverential Member
HI Kostas, no, didn't perceive you as slamming the Chinese, I was just trying to expand on the issues and some of the cultural realities coming into play. Not so much in terms of quality, which in our case HAS to be precisely defined, because of the nature of the paper manufacturing process, but in many cases in terms of who's going to pick up costs that weren't forseeable in the original negotiations, such as new customs costs.
Also to Cap'n Juan, you're so right, just 'cause it CAN be done don't mean it's WORTH doing...ain't capitalism grand when we can decide whether or not it's worth it for ourselves? (Serious comment spoken humorously) I find myself having to explain economies of scale to potential customers at least a couple of times a month.
Also to Cap'n Juan, you're so right, just 'cause it CAN be done don't mean it's WORTH doing...ain't capitalism grand when we can decide whether or not it's worth it for ourselves? (Serious comment spoken humorously) I find myself having to explain economies of scale to potential customers at least a couple of times a month.
Ian
Senior Member
capnjuan said:
Hey John,
I think you are absolutely bang on the money there. I think we can pretty accurately say that there's a chinese supplier of good quality cases at reasonable prices out there, but there just isn't enough people wanting them to justify the effort of finding the supplier and importing them.
However times are tight, and if I were a retailer and I could line up a sale of maybe 5 Guitar cases where I'm clipping the ticket to the tune of $100.00 on each one....
I guess it's up to one of those guys to take the ball and run with it, though it might be handy for them if there were some indication here as to who would like a case like this and how much they would be prepared to pay for one ?
Just my thoughts..
Cheers, Ian
On AGF there was a gentleman from the US Midwest who wrote in regarding custom carbon fiber cases. The site is here:
www.carbonfibercases.com
And the AGF thread is here:
http://www.acousticguitar.com/ubbcgi/ul ... 1;t=030209
He says that a custom, carbon fiber case is $499, which while not cheap, is still much cheaper than a Calton or some of the other carbon fiber cases out there.
Kostas
www.carbonfibercases.com
And the AGF thread is here:
http://www.acousticguitar.com/ubbcgi/ul ... 1;t=030209
He says that a custom, carbon fiber case is $499, which while not cheap, is still much cheaper than a Calton or some of the other carbon fiber cases out there.
Kostas
Hi Ian; you might try a 'Poll Question' thread ... ask for a show of hands of those interested, how much they'd be willing to pay, and how much case they are looking for; a lined and upholstered fiberboard box or a graphite globe-trotter. As far as that goes, you could ask the same question on the AGF but you'd have to be specific about dimensions.guitardude said: