Shijie guitar group buy opportunity

idiotwindow

gazrichards said:

It’s like that Ricky gervais sketch where the guy phones up the guitar teacher after seeing his advert to yell at him that he doesn’t want guitar lessons.

It's not though. Its more like a guitar teacher ringing up guitarists and then yelling at them for not being interested in his lessons.

You mention an idea. People here don't seem very interested in it so you just seem to want to insult them in return.

digitalscream

Right, my first gentle suggestion clearly didn't work, so I'll be clearer with a straight-up warning:

Knock it off, guys. I'm not interested in clearing up yet another thread that started off on-topic and degenerated into playground rubbish because some folk can't handle a cordial conversation, and if I have to...I'll probably be rather bad-tempered about it.

King85

Such a shame that @digitalscream has to come in here and waste his time sorting this out.

Don't like the guitars or not interested? Move on to the next thread.

I personally like the LP copy but I couldn't spend the money on an unknown entity so it's not for me. No need for any more on it really.

Strat_a_tat_tat

I've just reread the entire thread... and I don't see what the problem is.  Most posters' comments seem reasonable to me. Am I missing something?

lysander

I like the modern LP but it seems to be out of production.
The main question for me would be how to deal with the inevitable lemon within a batch of these ?

Jez6345789

I have seen these around and some of the You Tubers seem to like them I presume people are seeing them as a type of Suhr clone for less money. Even if you get the price down with a group buy you would need to get them way lower you are gonna have 25% duty vat plus clearance cost. if you pick the time you can probably get a pallet out of China for way less than 20 x 150 dollars shipping. That said ain't a lot moving out of China at the moment. 

Again I am not sure what people are seeing in these, you can get Roasted Maple now from most far eastern companies Harley Benton Ibanez etc etc all have roasted maple options Wilkinson hardware I like on a parts caster as a great value option.

I think the reality of Shije selling factory directly into foreign markets is a current trend from Chinese companies now looking to cut out the distributor/ retailer and go direct to the public around the world as the margins are far more interesting than just being the maker. Certainly, I have seen some of our old suppliers now just focussed on direct through amazon and online websites. 

Now a group buy on Warmoth would get me interested lol

gazrichards

idiotwindow said:

gazrichards said:

It’s like that Ricky gervais sketch where the guy phones up the guitar teacher after seeing his advert to yell at him that he doesn’t want guitar lessons.

It's not though. Its more like a guitar teacher ringing up guitarists and then yelling at them for not being interested in his lessons.

You mention an idea. People here don't seem very interested in it so you just seem to want to insult them in return.

At no point have I had  any kind of problem with people not being interested. I have a slight issue with people just coming onto a thread they aren’t interested in and saying they aren’t interested - seems pointless to me???
if I’ve insulted people, fair enough, I’m a big boy I’ll hold my hands up to that but I find it rather rude that people would comment on a tread just to say theyve never heard of the guitars and don’t u dear stand the concept of a group buy. It’s the internet version of butting in to someone else’s conversation. But also if you’ve been offended by the things I’ve said (houses in Manchester being cheap - it was a joke, a fairly common north/south divide stereotype).

If this has caused the moderators hassle then I apologise for my part and I’ll gladly delete the thread and move on. It was a genuine attempt to discuss a guitar that seems to be starting to make waves in the industry, even after people shut down the group buy idea I still just wanted to talk about the guitars. 

Jez6345789

I don't think a lot of people were having ago it was more the case of not that many people had heard of the brand so we're going Doh. So not being on the same page as you, or you explaining what is really great about them as guitars is where the problem came. 

So people not being rude just not getting the value of what you were proposing. 

I had seen a few of the You Tubers getting behind them anything for a bit of free merch but looking at them as a product I could not see the point. They are not Harley Benton cheap nor Shur spec or fit and finish. 

Most of their specs are covered by similar current well-known brands. 

Group Buys can be a good thing on forums but they need to come from a shared community interest Shije has not got a critical mass in this UK forum or even been heard of. 

But thanks for posting it will at least raise awareness of the brand and may have resonance with some down the road

gazrichards

Turning the topic to the actual guitars then. 

What if they are top notch, dogs bollox quality, just made using cheaper labour and less import export distribution add ins than an American guitar. 

What if the only difference is that a Chinese luthier made it not an American one. A Chinese guy could be as good at building a guitar as an American one and he needs paying less than half the wages. 

I know nothing of the instruments that isn’t already in the public domain but brand and country of origin doesn’t bother me - recent Gibson’s has taught me that as have the vintage fenders I’ve owned and played (mostly not that great). 

That is I think the companies USP and their aim and ethos. To make a great guitar in China.  It’s not a cheap guitar but it’s cheaper than the US equivalent. 

p90fool

gazrichards said:

What if the only difference is that a Chinese luthier made it not an American one. 

That, whether we like it or not is the only difference that matters.

I speak as a big fan of The Loar guitars, who used Chinese labour more used to making violins to make proper carved-top archtop guitars along the lines of a late '20s Gibson L5, at a previously unheard-of price.

There is, unfortunately, a limit to what prices western markets will stand from Chinese-made instruments, at least in the guitar world. 

gazrichards

p90fool said:

There is, unfortunately, a limit to what prices western markets will stand from Chinese-made instruments, at least in the guitar world. 

It seems a little bizarre that everyone seems to want an American guitar from the 50s so made by guys that had a year or two of experience but the Chinese have been making guitars for 30 years or so now and everyone can agree that the quality is rising. If these are not made to a price point and are cheap due to other economical factors who knows how good they may be???

Rich31k

gazrichards said:

p90fool said:

There is, unfortunately, a limit to what prices western markets will stand from Chinese-made instruments, at least in the guitar world. 

It seems a little bizarre that everyone seems to want an American guitar from the 50s so made by guys that had a year or two of experience but the Chinese have been making guitars for 30 years or so now and everyone can agree that the quality is rising. If these are not made to a price point and are cheap due to other economical factors who knows how good they may be???

I think it's the unknown - I was quite tempted - trying something different appeals, but £500 is quite a lot for a punt on an unknown brand. At least with Fender/Gibson etc you have a known quantity and bought from a shop/UK/EU online retailer, there is good consumer protection.

Chinese manufacturing has a reputation for patchy quality - deserved or not. I used to work in a music shop that clubbed together with a number of other smaller shops to bulk buy direct from a Chinese manufacturer. The quality of 9 out of 10 items was excellent, but then the 10th would have some inexplicable corner cut. Maybe its a QC issue, but without handling one first, its quite a bit of money to take a chance on (especially when they will have almost no resale value).

wizbit81

Thanks for the tag @Digitalscream

I do have a couple of points that will help you @gazrichards.

I do group buys, I think they are great. My suggestion is that you do it with vendors you have experience with, where you have owned their products and know them to be good. If you buy into something you have no idea about, first it's hard to secure other orders, and second if they arrive and they are shite, or if they don't turn up at all then your reputation gets burned as the organiser, even if you're not responsible. You will also need proper agreements with the companies you are dealing with, there's plenty of admin too, in that people who place orders will use YOU as the point of contact even though they order direct with the company.

Jammack

I'm just new on here, but I could be interested in one of these guitars if there were enough people serious enough. It's the reason I ended up on Fretboard in fact.

Winny_Pooh

gazrichards said:

Turning the topic to the actual guitars then. 

What if they are top notch, dogs bollox quality, just made using cheaper labour and less import export distribution add ins than an American guitar. 

What if the only difference is that a Chinese luthier made it not an American one. A Chinese guy could be as good at building a guitar as an American one and he needs paying less than half the wages. 

I know nothing of the instruments that isn’t already in the public domain but brand and country of origin doesn’t bother me - recent Gibson’s has taught me that as have the vintage fenders I’ve owned and played (mostly not that great). 

That is I think the companies USP and their aim and ethos. To make a great guitar in China.  It’s not a cheap guitar but it’s cheaper than the US equivalent. 

Ok now, have you ever played one? 

I dont think anyone has an issue with the country of origin, it's the unknown brand.

If there was a group buy from Eastman you (or someone on here I'd trust) would get considerably more interest. 

timhulio

I've seen a couple of Youtubers talk about these and they certainly seem impressive. Though their main problem seems to be that people haven't been able to try them in person. Somewhere like the Birmingham guitar show would have been a good place to show them off - like FGN did. 

timhulio

As for a group-buy, perhaps get in touch with the EU Guitars & Gear guy. They do group buys on all sorts of stuff and the more Suhr-alike guitars might be up their street.
https://www.facebook.com/EUGGD