Anyone know why DV seem to have stopped stocking Fender?

[Twigman]

I've just had a look on DV's website [ [url="http://www.dv247.com"]http://www.dv247.com[/url] ] and it seems that for the first time ever they do not list a single Fender bass.

Does anyone know why Digital Village have stopped stocking Fender?

[Geek99]

It's not cheap to stock fender

[KevB]

Although they still seem to have the Rumble combos, bass pickups and strings in stock.

[Hobbayne]

I recently bought a fender bass combo fron DV so I dont know why they stopped selling guitars!

[charic]

Maybe they've had a few problems with getting the supply?

[4 Strings]

Goodness, must have fallen out somehow.

That'll make a bit of a hole, although they sell so much other stuff it's probably only a small proportion of total sales.

Could phone and ask them I suppose

(Just had a quick look, sho' nuff, but they still have loads of Squiers)

Edited April 18, 2013 by 4 Strings

[Tinman]

A couple of messages I recieved from a friend of mine who is in the instrument retail business (with ref to guitars)

.....snip....but I wouldn't be paying a deposit or for goods that need a warrenty with DV247 at the moment.....remember the Sound Control issues?......snip

....snip.....Fender went and removed all the stock and closed the account - tells a story....snip

[crez5150]

Tinman..... very unfair.......

I believe it's more to do with business model than anything else.

[Tinman]

Unfair how?

I was just quoting what I was told by someone who knows a lot more than I.

[skej21]

There are rumours that digital village won't last the year and that fender/gretsch had removed their dealership... Dunno how true they are but they came from a reliable source who deals directly with stocking. Don't want to name in case it gets someone in trouble!

I also imagine that they are selling through existing stock but won't be able to purchase or order new stock. It'd be a shame if they go under but it's tough for everyone at the moment, especially if they're losing big dealerships!

Edited April 18, 2013 by skej21

[OliverBlackman]

Fender have a huge minimum order, maybe DV decided it wasn't worth it like many small independent stores have.

[jezzaboy]

If the rumours above are correct, or sometimes even wrong, what tends to happen is suppliers start to get jittery and it becomes unstoppable. I imagine if people on here are aware of something going on, then the rest of the biz will be aware of it also.

[icastle]

Fender, along with many other high end suppliers, appoint their retail outlets based on certain criteria.

Pricing needs to be consistent with the Fender RRP, a certain amount of stock has to be held and sales volume needs to match the expectations of Fender.

This sort of thing has always happened, it's just a little more easy to notice since many businesses have an internet presence these days.

[Musicman20]

I've just received an order from DV247 and I'm very impressed with how they work. I did have some quotes on Fender gear previously. Maybe they are overhauling, maybe they aren't selling Fender, or another reason...who knows.

[whynot]

I'm doing a function this Saturday with one of the dv managers. Will try and find out if I stay sober in time to remember to ask.

[mushers]

their making room for decent instruments

[Lasermonkey]

DV247 have been consistently useless when I've tried them: charging me for goods they don't have in stock (having said they were in stock) and then taking months to fulfil the order was the last straw.
There have been plenty of similar threads over at Music Radar, so I guess I'm not alone!

[leroydiamond]

[quote name='mushers' timestamp='1366306225' post='2050884']
their making room for decent instruments
[/quote]

[crez5150]

[quote name='Tinman' timestamp='1366301452' post='2050803']
Unfair how?

I was just quoting what I was told by someone who knows a lot more than I.
[/quote]

We could all quote statements that are no way true....

As mentioned, Fender have changed their business model and it doesn't sit with certain retailers. Shure and Sennheiser have just done something similar which has shed a lot of their customer base as they do not fit with business model.

Just because you are a large MI retailer, it does't necessarily mean you will fit a manufacturer/distribution model criteria.

[3below]

[quote name='crez5150' timestamp='1366392769' post='2052070']
Just because you are a large MI retailer, it does't necessarily mean you will fit a manufacturer/distribution model criteria.
[/quote]

If you are a manufacturer can you afford to ignore one of the largest MI retailers? Guess they know best.

[Bass Lady]

Really hope that DV are not in trouble. They are one of the (if not biggest) school / educational suppliers and generally are very very good. Our school and every other school I know of go straight to them for most things so I would be very surprised if they are having problems and totally gutted *if* they go.

[mckendrick]

[quote name='Lasermonkey' timestamp='1366307907' post='2050915']
DV247 have been consistently useless when I've tried them: charging me for goods they don't have in stock....
[/quote]
I've had precisely the same experience with them - tho' I doubt it is the reason they currently stock no Fender guitars.

[Guest bassman7755]

[quote name='Twigman' timestamp='1366285638' post='2050476']
Does anyone know why Digital Village have stopped stocking Fender?
[/quote]

Because there sh*te ?

[crez5150]

Well they are not ignoring them as they still supply Squire and all their distributed brands to Village.....

[RockfordStone]

ive heard from a source that they are the next one to go bust, not sure how imminently tho