I usually find these types of posts on Reddit, but I figured if shake it up and let the Nauts have some fun.
I worked there for almost 3 years, mostly working Pro Audio, and I was a manger for about 1.5 years of that. Certain things I will not be able to answer for liabilities sake, but most questions I can.
To the mods: If this is against any rules or forum regulations, feel free to take it down. I can easily verify that I worked there.
Let’s get at it!
Are you happy you quit
Unbelievably so! Most corporate jobs suck, this one was not an exception. Met some awesome people though.
What’s the typical markup on audio gear ?
Honestly we had some pretty small margins on most things. The biggest mark ups were on accessories like cables and straps. Things like keyboards and samplers are barely over cost enough to make profit. We had what was called GLP (Guaranteed Lowest Price) so we matched any and all authorized US competition such as Sam Ash, Sweetwater, etc.
If you’ve signed an nda but spill the beans when you leave why should any employer trust you in the future ?
Well it’s not like I’m gonna be dropping super secret behind the scenes occurrences here. Just answering general questions about working there.
In the time you were there what products stand out as “hot” in terms of demand and numbers sold?
Do return items get sold as new
I’d say it’s probably the Akai MPK Mini. I don’t think a day went by where I didn’t sell at least one of those to someone. Other than that either portable keyboards or PA Speakers.
Are the hot items on the website actually popular or is it designed to shift low selling stock
Have any celebrity customers ?
Any good discounts for being a manager?
This is tough, it depends on the store and who handles it. If there are parts and pieces missing, plastic ripped, or the box is I’m poor condition it gets marked as Open Box with a slight discount. The only way returns were ever sold new is if the seal was unbroken on the package it everything looked brand new upon return. We also test out any returns to make sure they weren’t broken.
What was the most regularly challenging aspect of your job?
what were some of the strategies to boost sales ?
what’s the break down between retail and online sales ?
Anything that’s marked Hot or Top seller is something that is pretty popular. It may not be something that TONS of people buy but it’s what is “In” at the moment, if that makes any sense.
Not really at my store. We had mostly bigger local bands like GlassJaw and I hooked Jon Bellion up with a home studio set up at one point. Angel Vivaldi was also in my store at some point, really great quy and very humble.
Are you staying in the industry on the sales side ? Do you see this as a way into working direct with a manufacturer for example ? I’ve always thought working the booths at trade shows etc would be challenging but fun.
Oh boy that is a tough one. I’d say it was between setting up churches with live sound rigs, or setting up kids with Launchpads and explaining to them and their parents how they worked. It’s always challenging explain audio stuff to people who have never used it before. Other than that, it would probably be all the IT work we’d end up doing. Many customers would bring their laptops to us and ask us to set up Pro Tools or Ableton for them, and then they’d want a walk though.