EDIT…at first I was positive about this, but it seems that private equity who is a majority of shareholder in Fender is taken the reigns. This would not be a good thing normally. We’ll see…at least it’s not Francisco Partners.
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Glad that I closed my account last month. Shitshow.
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The biggest problem with any change of hands in any business is generally the new stakeholder’s enthusiasm to recoup and reform.
“We’ll streamline the process” and “we’ll make our investment back by (insert date here)”.
The new sheriff in town is always the most enthusiastic about change, and also the last to understand the consequence of their actions.
Unfortunately, this might as well be the very definition of acquisition restructuring.
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I remember when Etsy went public. The next year was a disaster for me and my friends who made handmade goods and used Etsy as our store front. Almost all of us closed our accounts and went to squarespace or similar shops. I am not a fan of this transition, but we shall see.
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Why do these things always need to be run by people with a shit ton of money? Why is it never good enough to just stick around as a little company?
Yeah I get the comfort of a good bank account and not having to worry if you can pay your workers in 6months, but you’re not getting to rest on your laurels and there’s plenty more stress to be had from taking on venture capital investors
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I wonder what this might look like specifically ? Where or who would be the local rep ? They obviously don’t need a storefront, just a place to take your stuff, maybe open just a few hours a week, with someone who can quickly evaluate the value of your gear and get you a check.
Collab with the local music store (or maybe Lidl, Aldi etc.)?
No idea. I just think of what happened when facebook bought instagram.
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Also, if they corner the used gear market, they’ll be directly competing with Guitar Center.
Too bad they’re both in a private equity death grip or I could buy some put options and pay for that Fender Jim Root Strat I’ve been wanting.
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Yeah, im sure it can always get worst, the people who acquired Etsy were also awful so who can say.
I can at least note that the suggested ideas aren’t on their face bad, whether they work or not.
Oh I’m sure it’s just a warehouse operation where they make the posting for you and don’t pay out until sale.
It’s the “drop off your gear locally” part in their announcement that i’m wondering about.
I suppose they could train part-time local evaluators, that could be scheduled to meet you and evaluate / accept your gear.
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eBay had a similar operation, not unique but eBay’s was pretty poorly regarded.
Now, implementation is what they have the interest in doing well. I never did eBay’s model and am not sure if they still offer it, but I’ll believe it’s worth it when it filters through to my orbit. And people here, Modwiggler, Gearspace, even the occasional Reddit search would probably note it all the time if it ruled.
Maybe someone has good stories, or maybe we’re all experienced enough that we do it ourselves or drop it off consignment for shops we like. I have no real investment or expectations.
I didn’t know that eBay had local places that bought used stuff. Well now i know.
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It surprised me greatly that in looking up eBay’s “trading assistant” program, it was not well organized and dropped as quickly.
Next week…Amazon buys Fender…
Next month…Blackrock buys Amazon
Next election… President Dwayne Elizondo Mountain Dew Camacho
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I like money.
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In August 2024 Fender started their Fender Certified Pre-Owned Reverb Shop which i believe was being handled by MIRC in Tennessee. That handles only Fender equipment which has been sourced by them.
There is also a blue check Ebay Refurbished program that has synths and other gear certified and sold with Ebay approval by at least Sweetwater and Musician’s Friend.
Perhaps something is planned by the new owners of Reverb to expand some form of their Certified program to things other than Fender ?