It's come up in this thread that one Gibson problem may be product placement, because of the stocking minimums they impose on dealers. It's also come up that Sam Ash was one of the dealers selling Gibsons at low ball pricing. It's interesting that about 15 years ago when I had the opportunity to purchase as many guitars as I could for $2000 for a program I was starting at my school, I thought low end Epiphones might be a good choice, so I went to Sam Ash, as they were an approved vendor for the state. Their guitar manager said they didn't carry Epis because Gibson's stocking requirements would have made them carry more instruments than they were comfortable with. I guess that hurdle has been overcome. It also makes me think that Sam Ash's grandsons, who still own the company, are running the company on sound financial footing.
Brad
PS FWIW, I wound up with ten low end Yamahas and Fenders.