MPN Shop/Waldorf

[Dave Bryce]

So, Waldorf is offering the MPN Shop their software products to add to our lineup; however based on the extremely low sales of the other software (and hardware) lines we currently carry, I’m not inclined to take the the time to add this line….or any other lines, for that matter.  Truth be told, I’ve already turned a couple of the lines off.

 

As far as I can tell, we’ve managed to keep up with the specials and discounts offered…but for all intents and purposes it does appear that the MPN Shop in general has not been a desirable addition to the community.

 

Any comments or feedback would be welcome.

 

dB

[ElmerJFudd]

Nice!

[felis]

I was surprised you attempted it. 

Too much competition, too many people on too many sites watching like hawks for sales, and too much busy work trying to keep up with it.

Essentially a thankless task, but a valiant effort nonetheless.

[Mighty Motif Max]

Frankly, with the exception of the merch, I'm not really a customer for any of the brands we have in the shop currently (at least not for any more items than I own from them currently). If I ever picked up an X-Gear or TONEX pedal, that would be about the only candidate. But that's not a priority for me right now either. Otherwise I'd be buying more stuff from y'all vs, say, Sweetwater.

[Dave Bryce]

2 hours ago, felis said:

I was surprised you attempted it. 

Too much competition, too many people on too many sites watching like hawks for sales

 

I was motivated by a bunch of factors.

 

First of all, Amazon.  I couldn’t help but notice that a whole lot of people buy gear from them, and there aren’t many sales ….nor the ability to bargain on price, or talk to anyone about purchases being considered.  For the most part, I intentionally kept the product listings to affordable offerings in an attempt to make that decision even easier.  I also tried to keep the selections more towards utility-type products than things like instruments (except software, of course).  I was even able to add one of my favorite lines: Strymon - a way cool boutique brand that (as far as I can tell) never goes on sale and is only carried by a few select dealers.

 

Another factor is that I don’t love selling banners.  I couldn't help but wonder if the folks who come here would consider buying some gear here instead to help support MPN…. 🤔

I also figured - incorrectly - that when it came to stuff like software and the available discounts on planned dates (Black Friday, etc) that if we offered the same prices here as the software manufacturers and dealers did that it would make a difference.  It didn’t.  Neither did free shipping on the hardware stuff.

 

Lastly, there’s a long-standing vision for this place that’s kind of like a digital town.  We have virtual bars, town halls, schools, libraries, theaters, concert venues, and a trade show hall, so it seems logical that having a local store here could be a good addition.

 

 

2 hours ago, felis said:

and too much busy work trying to keep up with it.

 

Boy, do I hear ya. 😬

 

2 hours ago, felis said:

Essentially a thankless task, but a valiant effort nonetheless.

 

I appreciate you saying that. ☺️

I didn’t kid myself that pretty much everyone who comes here already has a bunch of familiar and comfortable options to buy gear already.  It was probably a better idea to find an established retail partner and figure out a way for them to open a “store” here.   I sort of tried making that happen with the Kraft folks, but that didn’t pan out.  Not sure they were the right partner… 

 

I sincerely hope that y’all don’t take any of this as any sort of complaint or guilt trip.  Hey, I made no secret of the fact that I considered this an experiment. Honestly, I feel it was worth the effort, because now I know the answer to the questions that I had about how well it would work.  I’m one of those crazy people who believe that the only way to learn is to try. 😎

 

dB

[Anderton]

3 hours ago, Dave Bryce said:

Another factor is that I don’t love selling banners.  I couldn't help but wonder if the folks who come here would consider buying some gear here instead to help support MPN…. 🤔

 

I hear you. I suspect most people here have been into what they do for years, have most of the gear they want, and are reluctant to depart from their standard buying groove. Also, it's a cutthroat business. People are 100% price-conscious and for you to play that game, you'd have to be on top of ever-changing prices 24/7 - "Software Sunday flash sale!! 2 hours only!! 50% off!!!"  No way you could compete with those kinds of moving goal posts.

 

That still leaves a void as to how to keep the lights on here. But the previous contributions from members (and ongoing Patreon support) have helped, and with the steady increase in participation, it's probably only a matter of time before some larger entity notices and wants in.

 

Frankly, I'm not sure how much value people place on independence in a website anyway. So much web content is clearly bought and sold, but people are willing to accept that because they know that's today's reality, and it means someone else pays to keep the lights on. Often that's by data mining, which is not, shall we say, "the Dave Bryce way."

 

Carry on... 

 

 

[stoken6]

7 hours ago, Dave Bryce said:

I’m one of those crazy people who believe that the only way to learn is to try. 😎

Deserves a requote. If you only did things that you knew would work, you would never do anything new or different.

 

Cheers, Mike.

[MAJUSCULE]

I've been meaning to pick up some Cherry Audio stuff through here but the timing hasn't been right yet, unfortunately. Would still like to when finances permit but I will understand if I end up missing the boat.