More on the Gibson story : Gibson is selling its Memphis factory

[Logrinn]

I just saw this:

Gibson is selling its Memphis factory

 

[bagman67]

I wonder if 17 million will even make a dent in their leveraged debt.

 

[mayfly]

Probably not. 

 

[bagman67]

I wonder where Henry J's office is, if not at the flagship factory.

 

[Cagey]

That might explain why The Stratosphere suddenly has a pile of finished 2017/2018 Les Paul and SG body/neck assemblies for sale. They've clearly been stripped of hardware that was installed at one point, but aren't being called "B" stock or "blems" or anything like that. Maybe because there was never going to be a warranty so they had to be parted out?

 

[mayfly]

wow - there are a bunch of SG bodies over there for $500!

 

[Cagey]

Yeah, if one was of the mind that a Gibson decal on the headstock meant something and you had some pickups/hardware sitting around just rotting in the parts drawer, you could save a few bucks.

 

[bagman67]

Yeah, if one was of the mind that a Gibson decal on the headstock meant something and you had some pickups/hardware sitting around just rotting in the parts drawer, you could save a few bucks.

I have swarms of parts, including a handsome pair of Carvin S22 humbuckers and some Grover tuners and on and on - in short, I could populate an entire guitar and maybe a second one with what I have on hand.  Hmmmm....

 

[Verne Bunsen]

That might explain why The Stratosphere suddenly has a pile of finished 2017/2018 Les Paul and SG body/neck assemblies for sale. They've clearly been stripped of hardware that was installed at one point, but aren't being called "B" stock or "blems" or anything like that. Maybe because there was never going to be a warranty so they had to be parted out?

Man, just checked out their stock, some killer deals going on there!

 

[Cagey]

If you ever had an urge to own a Gibson, this would be an easier way of doing it.

 

[bagman67]

Actually, there are some nice semihollow es335-type guitars over at Guitarfetish that are piquing my fancy at the moment.  Much less expensive, probably not that much more work to make 'em players.

 

[aarontunes]

The Big G....over half a billion dollars in debt. Half a billion!

 

[Wolfie351]

wow - there are a bunch of SG bodies over there for $500!

Right now there are a couple dozen used Studio or Special SGs under $500 with full hardware on the GC website.  Yes, you have to pay taxes on it, but you can always call and negotiate an out the door price including shipping. 

Every year or so I get hooked into The Stratosphere site thinking I'm getting an amazing deal on a barebones body.  Then, I run the numbers and realize it's not that good of a deal at all.  Even if you have the hardware lying around, you still may end up paying more.  But, with that said, get on their mailing list and every once in a while they'll have a pretty good discount code, I'd wait for that. 

 

[bagman67]

Yep, I'm hip.  I would only go into a stripped Gibby body/neck combo deal from them because I have a bunch of parts on deck here waiting for a chance to be deployed.  I wouldn't build up an axe from scratch with them.  The whole Stratosphere business modely strikes me as kinda bizarre, but they seem to be doing okay with it - buy a bunch of complete guitars, and take them apart and sell the bits at a price that exceeds the price of the complete axes.  Couldn't imagine that working in any other field (well, maybe gamer computers, but they usually build from scratch rather than used parts from complete systems), but guitar people are weird.

 

[Cagey]

The Big G....over half a billion dollars in debt. Half a billion!

Not to defend Gibson, but take that with a grain of salt. If you dig around the interwebs, you'll get all sorts of numbers that disagree pretty widely.

That said, no matter whose numbers you believe, one thing is crystal clear - their business is in free-fall. At the rate they're going, it's probably a good bet they'll be in bankruptcy within the next couple/few years, if it takes that long. Unfortunately, with trends like they're showing, I'm not sure they'd be able to borrow/restructure. Nobody in their right mind would want to associate with them. Net revenues are not only dropping at double-digit percentage rates, they have been for at least 5 years I've been able find data on.

 

[Cagey]

The whole Stratosphere business modely strikes me as kinda bizarre, but they seem to be doing okay with it - buy a bunch of complete guitars, and take them apart and sell the bits at a price that exceeds the price of the complete axes.

It's always struck me as unworkable, too. But, maybe they appeal to a demographic we're not aware of.

Judging by what they offer for sale, I've always guessed they've been buying up distressed inventory for pennies on the dollar, then throwing it up on the 'net to see what happens. If they sell one body, maybe it pays for 10.  The stuff is priced on the high side of reasonable, so if it's coming from fire sales, volume wouldn't have to be very high to turn a profit.

 

[DangerousR6]

Nice, might have to pick up one of those faded LP's... :guitaristgif:

 

[AirCap]

Time to play that Chet Atkins song.... "There'll Be Some Changes Made"....

 

[wildbill]

As Ray Wylie Hubbard says, all I ever wanted was a fine stripper girlfriend and a gold-top Les Paul. At $600 it is difficult to pass up the latter. The former would prove to be much more expensive.

 

[elgravos]

With half a billion in debt, there will be no takeover.  Someone will buy the brand in bankruptcy.  Why pick up the tab for the liabilities when you can just buy the assets on the cheap.  I smell blood. Gibson as we know it is not long for this world.  No one is complaining though.  More importantly, should I impulse buy an SG neck/body?  Food for thought...