Dealer vs. Matchmaker

We’re a dealer, it’s true. All that means, at the core, is that we curate stock that we purchase directly from manufacturers, aggregate it to online platforms and our shop, and sell to the public. Sure, there’s more to it than that, but that’s the root of it. There are a lot of dealers out there, all carrying different brands and products of various depths (quantities) and flavors- all doing the same core thing.

Being a dealer is great. We get to play and experience a lot of guitars, work directly with manufacturers to spec out unique builds, and put great guitars in the hands of great people. It’s also less than 50% of our business. 

What I mean by that is the dealer part, which, from the customer perspective, we define as someone having decided what they want and simply buying it from us, constitutes less than half of the guitars we sell. That’s not a complaint, it’s just the truth. Those are typically the purchases that just show up via an online order or phone call. They’re great and it’s always nice to wake up to orders that we just posted online.

But, there’s the other side: matchmaking. This is the part of the job we love. It’s more than being a dealer, it’s spending time with the player and seeing how they react to different guitars in their hands. It’s walking through the process with someone and personally curating guitars until we land on “the one.” Yes, most of us have more than just one guitar, but the point is that matchmaking a player to guitar almost always yields an amazing fit instead of a shot in the dark and another temporary tenant in your guitar collection.

It is very common that a player comes to see us convinced that a particular guitar is their next best purchase, only to leave with an entirely different guitar or a lot to think about before coming back for a second (or third) visit. Frankly, it doesn’t matter if it's four, five, or six visits- the entire goal is to get the right guitar in the right hands; matchmaking does that far more successfully than “shopping.”

If you’re looking for your next guitar, consider visiting a dealer who is also a matchmaker, like us; we think it’s time well spent. In the end, it’s up to you, but a little help from people who see a lot of guitars and players won’t hurt.