Rickenbacker and Internet

firstbassman · Post by **firstbassman** » Mon Jan 30, 2006 4:57 am

I don’t live in the UK and have no knowledge or opinions about Rics R Us. And, other than Rickenbacker’s press release, I am also not privy to the details of the Guitar Center issue. But both threads made me think about something.

Rickenbacker seems to covet, somewhat, a boutique, USA, hand-made image. The dealer network seems to be centered more on small local stores that can offer individual attention to both the company and the consumer as opposed to large discount mega-stores.

Then what is the relationship between Rickenbacker and the large Internet sites? Are they authorized dealers? By the very nature of the detached web-based sale there is no personal interaction with the customer at all. Just curious.

[If this has already been covered, my apologies.]

NOTE: I have no personal objections or axes to grind against Internet shopping at all. In fact, 83% of my bass gear was bought from a large Internet establishment that I have never had a problem with.

red_rob · Post by **red_rob** » Mon Jan 30, 2006 9:32 am

Rics R Us, Rules R Us

and that's a Facts R Us

simer4001 · Post by **simer4001** » Mon Jan 30, 2006 8:22 pm

I recently purchased a guitar from RICS R US and it was a good experience. Not to mention that I live in Idaho and had the guitar in 3 days.

tony_carey · Post by **tony_carey** » Tue Jan 31, 2006 10:31 am

Rics R Us is an internet business & it is my understanding that one of the reasons that Mike can't get a dealership is because he doesn't have a 'bricks & mortar' business. This is, I assume, a Rosetti requirement & I am not sure on RICs stance in North America. If Mike had a bricks & mortar business, he would undoubtedly not be able to solely concentrate on Rickenbacker & would soon have to bow to pressure and stock Gibson, Epiphone, Squier etc. This would dilute a very personable, friendly & knowledgable business, dedicated to Rickenbacker gtrs.

This forum is testament to the 'global village' & it does seem odd that the criteria for dealership cannot be extended to include dedication, knowledge, service & client satisfaction, above criteria that in a modern world is becoming increasingly outdated.

Is there any difference between an authorised dealer in say Newcastle, that is quite prepared to sell me a Ric from their website, without me visiting their shop & a solely internet based business? One thing is certain....that shop in Newcastle can't specialise in Rickenbacker!

randyz · Post by **randyz** » Tue Jan 31, 2006 10:56 am

Tony: As far as I know, it has been a standard requirement for all authorized RIC dealers to have 'bricks and mortar' businesses. I know this was true (20) years ago in the USA, long before there were internet businesses. Some dealers do not have regular business hours like shop (i.e. Northcoast Music). They can be visited 'by appointment only'. I do not know if Rosetti is allowed to establish their own policy in the UK.

alanz · Post by **alanz** » Tue Jan 31, 2006 5:02 pm

Yes, it seems quaint somehow that 10+ years after Al Gore invented the interweb that this sort of requirement is still in place. A sale is a sale, no? Who really cares and anyway there's ALWAYS some sort of "bricks and mortar" involved - these guys don't sleep in a ditch by the side of the road and then wander into a local library or internet cafe to check their orders or store their inventory behind that dumpster over there...

jojo99 · Post by **jojo99** » Tue Jan 31, 2006 7:15 pm

jojo99 · Post by **jojo99** » Tue Jan 31, 2006 7:15 pm

" it does seem odd that the criteria for dealership cannot be extended to include dedication, knowledge, service & client satisfaction"

Well, those criteria obviously didn't come into play when Guitar Center was allowed to be an authorized RIC dealer..LOL. I think it's a stretch to even call an enterprise like GC "bricks and mortar" (more like "sprawl and concrete") Besides, I'd bet dollars to donuts Musician's Friend, owned by GC, sold a lot more RICs by impersonal mailorder than were sold at the actual GC outlets, assited by their caring, talented staff.

red_rob · Post by **red_rob** » Tue Jan 31, 2006 11:57 pm

Well said Tony. Please see below picture taken last saturday in one of London's larger guitar shops on Denmark St (I think it's called Rhodes?). Anyway, this place is fairly large and usually stocks 3-4 Rics. They seem to have abandoned this approach and gone for cheap rubbish copies. In addition to these four "Rockinbetter" monstrosities, there were another 4 in the window (some in "black").

I'm using this as an illustration of how it really isn't easy to get Rics in the UK (birthplace of the Beatles, the Who, the Animals, The Jam, The Smiths etc etc...) and without RicsRus, there's really only the risk of eBay.

longhouse · Post by **longhouse** » Wed Feb 01, 2006 7:11 am

Ugh! Clownglo.

winston · Post by **winston** » Wed Feb 01, 2006 8:19 am

YUK! The finish on those Rockinbetters is like some of the early 60s Japanese monstrosities that made it over here.

They are butt ugly. IMO

red_rob · Post by **red_rob** » Wed Feb 01, 2006 8:35 am

you should have seen the fretboards Brian. Flat, wide, parallel, blacker than Gretsch...

leftyguitars · Post by **leftyguitars** » Wed Feb 01, 2006 8:47 am

A well known UK equation is...
Rickenbacker + Left Handed + choice = Not a cat in Hell's chance.

Post no 660/12 heh heh heh.

trancedental · Post by **trancedental** » Sun Feb 05, 2006 5:44 am

Over the last 25 years or so Ricks have always been in scarce supply in London's West End.

There are only a few shops that sell them & usually they are out of stock!

I hope that Rickenbacker adds that particular dealer to it's banned lists!

It's not good for Rickenbackers image for a prominent shop in London to be selling this rubbish either & Rossetti should take this problem seriously. In days past you might have seen rubbish like this in an isolated local guitar shop but not in the West End

If it is the shop I think it is it's not worth bothering with anyway!