bigdguitars Posted February 23, 2005 Report Share Posted February 23, 2005 art gallery???? brilliant!!!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Doyle Posted February 24, 2005 Report Share Posted February 24, 2005 Yeah, a website is absolutely critical these days. Hell, even a local church bake-sale seems to have their own address on the world wide web to advertise. You can create a small business solely on a website, its been done enough times, and will totally crush the low advertisement control target in your area (unless you live the heart of New York or something) I sent a PM about website design, its what I do best next to playing guitar, and would LOVE to help you out! (and anyone else interested in putting their name online) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stew Posted February 25, 2005 Author Report Share Posted February 25, 2005 (edited) Sorry, can't seem to work. Edited February 25, 2005 by Stew Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stew Posted February 25, 2005 Author Report Share Posted February 25, 2005 (edited) Still. Edited February 25, 2005 by Stew Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jnewman Posted February 25, 2005 Report Share Posted February 25, 2005 (edited) You've gotten something wonky with your photo server there - it sometimes gives a forbidden message and sometimes come up, the forbidden message is what's making it say "user posted image." I'm not sure what's going on - you may want to try www.photobucket.com - I've never really had any problems with it. Is there somewhere in your account on webshots that you can do something like "allow hotlinking to photos" or "allow access from outside sites"? They give me a forbidden message any time I try to view them in your post or follow one of your links, but then show up when I refresh. Edited February 25, 2005 by jnewman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darren wilson Posted February 25, 2005 Report Share Posted February 25, 2005 The guitar is gorgeous, but the gigantic "STEW MADE" logo between the pickups might be a bit of a turnoff. It certainly would be for me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CudBucket Posted February 27, 2005 Report Share Posted February 27, 2005 Stew, I'd be happy to host them for you. Just email them to me. When you say you want to start milling your own bodies and necks, what do you mean by that? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stew Posted February 28, 2005 Author Report Share Posted February 28, 2005 (edited) I guess I'll link instead. Edited February 28, 2005 by Stew Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mledbetter Posted March 2, 2005 Report Share Posted March 2, 2005 Indulge me to chime in here 1. The logo. I am a designer by trade and spent several years working in the marketing industry.. Logos and more importantly "branding" are a big deal.. The first thing I thought of when I looked at the logo was StewMac. Intentional or not I immediately though, he must use parts from StewMac.. Brand confusion can be a big hinderance when you're trying to build brand identity from scratch. Also, i agree with the others, the logo is kind of clunky and right smack in the middle of beautifully figured wood it seems like a sin HOWEVER, if you're dead set on the guitar logo being "your thing" then make a plan to sell that feature and stick to it.. Logo placement is a very real part of building brand dientity and recognition. Personally I would tone it down a bit, and I would have to agree with some of the other comments.. the name StewMade doesn't speak high dollar instrument to me. It's hard to be objective about your own name. You could do your own research, pick 5 or 10 people that don't really know what you do, show them the logo and ask them what they think it means, what you're all about. you might be surprised. 2. Market segment. I wholeheartedly disagree with the statment that "the only thing wrong is it doesn't have the big "F" on the headstock. These days, to a lot of people, the big "F" is a liability. to folks that want a premium handmade instrument, unless they live in a cave, the last place they will head to is the fender custom shop. There are hundreds of builders doing it like Leo used to do, making higher quality instruments. If your market is high end vintage officianados, and art/collectible guitars then price them that way. Suhrs start at 2500 or so, Sadowsky's start at 2900, DeTemples start at a whopping 4250.. Yes these guys are well known and are well established.. but if a collecter/player wants something of this calibre, they will quickly overlook an instrument for 14-1500 claiming to be handmade because their perceived value of the instrument is much greater than that. High dollar folks tend to equate cost with quality, and to a large extent that is a wise assumption. Where I disagree is the folks shelling out thousands of guitars for andersons, suhrs, sadowsky's etc that are CNCd guitars that are just mass produced on a smaller scale. But thos folks have grabbed onto the percieved value factor and are riding that wave all the way to the bank. I requested the market demograhics once for Vintage Guitar mag.. out of about 50,000 monthly readers, the average person made 55-55k, spent 6-8k each year on instruments, owned 8 or so electrics and 3 or so acoustics.. That tells you something. I can guarantee you those folks aren't buying from ebay. They are either buying online, commissioning high end builders to build an instrument, or are buying in vintage shops and high end instrument stores. Don't count out buying online though.. Everett and Olsen are both selling acoustics, sight unseen for 5 digit figures with 2 year waits.. Once the name is established and you become "wanted" you don't have to have a massive network of distributors and dealers. It's hard for the small builder to survive when you have to price your guitar knowing that the dealer is going to want to tack another 30-40% on it for profit. Hope that is helpful to you somewhat.. You guitar looks great, but i counted ebay out a long time ago as a good place to sell custom instruments. Why do you buy on ebay? to get a deal right? high dollar instrument collectors don't want a deal, they want a killer instrument. You're saying all the wrong things about yourself in how you present the instrument. If you're willing to let it go for under a 1000 bucks then why should a buyer think it's worth 1500 or 2000. oh.. last thing.. why are you spending 1200 on parts? I got a business license, a state resale number and can buy from WD or ALLPARTS for what I sell. I can build a PREMIUM and i mean PREMIUM instrument quality wise (not speaking to my building abilities.. yet.. for 400 or less. Generally my parts list for a strat or tele is under 300 bucks electronocs/hardware/pups and the rest is wood. I'm building bodies and necks myself so that doesn't cost me much either. Wholesalers willsell you everything at 50% of retail if you have a reseller number. As long as you are legitimately building to sell and not just trying to get cheap parts for personal consumption, it's the way to go. Sorry for the book.. again, I hope it proves helpful. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stew Posted March 8, 2005 Author Report Share Posted March 8, 2005 mledbetter: Your comments are helpful and disheartening. It's weird, I started building as a hobby and have been told to step up to the plate by many I've built for. Even the Fender Custom Shop thinks I should go for it. I started using the name "Stew Made" for two reasons; 1. Stewart guitars are already taken, and 2. that was the hobby name I used just to place something on the headstock and it worked well. Well, now I'm starting to become known for this name locally and a few small countries. So I guess I aka attach to my Stew Made name? I guess this would not be hurtful since Broadcaster was eliminated from the Tele after it's first year of production. But then the Fender name was never changed. Tough part is the few that I've built have been very much specialty theme guitars. I'm developing this skill that is increasingly getting attention. But I'm not making run of the mill guitars in what seems an oversaturated market. Although I've said many times that these are display guitars but are still functioning guitars. But I want them to be exceptionally functioning guitars, not just in the sense that they make sound when plugged in. I get lots of feedback from my customers saying they are the best necks, finishes tone, blah, blah, blah and it's hard to ignore that. And we're talking maybe 12 customers. I've also made many Fender replicas and still get requests to build those. But why give Fender the credit when I could be getting recognition for the build. I'm not willing to accept building crap with cheap hardware, pickups and below par wood. Only because I know the disappointment I feel when finding out a manufacturer used cheap parts to keep prices down. I'm buildingthese out of my garage and giving great attention to detail, and detail takes time. I'm on temp disability right now and my future seems uncertain. So money is tight, there is no plan, I can't set up a website for fear of Worker's Compansation fraud. Tommy at USA Custom Guitars builds bodies and necks for many guitar companies that charge over $2000 when finished. Maybe that's a route until things with WC blow over. At this point I'm thinking of just building 3 guitars per year, stay small, maybe change my logo name, develop a website to show what's available to order, and keep my day job. BTW, I don't plan on using a logo in the middle of the pickups for every guitar. I've been told by Dennis,"Screw 'em, build what you want and who cares what others think". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
erikbojerik Posted March 8, 2005 Report Share Posted March 8, 2005 Admit it...most of us trolling around eBay are "dumpster diving" looking for deep discounts (figured wood not withstanding). That's eBay's market. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Devon Headen Posted March 8, 2005 Report Share Posted March 8, 2005 Erik is right. eBay is like a big flea market. Most of the time if someone can't get an incredible deal they won't buy it at all. In my opinion it's just about the worst market for high quality custom guitars out there. Especially when your name doesn't have the recognision of Suhr or Olson. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DannoG Posted March 9, 2005 Report Share Posted March 9, 2005 I'm also a graphic designer and would echo mledbetter's basic feedback. The logo just doesn't match the quality of the guitars. Since you have some brand equity with the Stewmade name, maybe you could retain that as the company name, while giving your actual guitar line a new name. Something like Malibu Guitars by Stewmade. Pay a pro to do the logo (maybe give him/her a discount on a guitar?) and have the Stewmade part be a small, subscript portion of it. And I'd get it off the body and onto the headstock. I didn't bring up these before, you seemed pretty down about the reactions and I didn't want to dump more on you. BUT, you do have real skills as a guitar maker, so keep doing that and try to keep the rest of the stuff from deterring you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stew Posted March 11, 2005 Author Report Share Posted March 11, 2005 Well I appreciate everyone's input. I guess this topic is over since I just sold the zebrawood guitar (aka Maui Classic 90). It sold for $1,200 as a "Buy It Now" feature and I did what everyone suggested, start with what you'd accept and no reserve. I'll be building more to have a few to offer when my website is up, license purchased, and my dealer solidified. This was probably one of my most conservative designs and was sort of bored with it. I was going for a Hawaiian/Tropical theme and obviously did not go over as such. I don't like to hit people over the head with the obvious details, just subtle enough to get the idea. The zebrawood was like by cane mate wall and the logo was like my tropical logo picture hung on that wall. But explaining that with every guitar I build has the same impact as having to explain the punchline to a joke. Thanks again, and I'll be sure to keep you all up to date with what's going on. - Stew Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mledbetter Posted March 11, 2005 Report Share Posted March 11, 2005 Well I appreciate everyone's input. I guess this topic is over since I just sold the zebrawood guitar (aka Maui Classic 90). It sold for $1,200 as a "Buy It Now" feature and I did what everyone suggested, start with what you'd accept and no reserve. I'll be building more to have a few to offer when my website is up, license purchased, and my dealer solidified. This was probably one of my most conservative designs and was sort of bored with it. I was going for a Hawaiian/Tropical theme and obviously did not go over as such. I don't like to hit people over the head with the obvious details, just subtle enough to get the idea. The zebrawood was like by cane mate wall and the logo was like my tropical logo picture hung on that wall. But explaining that with every guitar I build has the same impact as having to explain the punchline to a joke. Thanks again, and I'll be sure to keep you all up to date with what's going on. - Stew ← Cool man.. that's awesome. Congrats! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2_Djinn Posted March 18, 2005 Report Share Posted March 18, 2005 Congrats on selling it! Its a small internet though, The guy that bought it really likes it. http://fenderforum.com/forum.html?db=&topi...5-03-1806:47:41 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anekretia Posted March 18, 2005 Report Share Posted March 18, 2005 the guy at fender is full of it, it wasnt still in your hands due to the name "fender " not being on it, lol fender was, and will be a household name for years to come, but it isnt that, people are often afraid to try something new. Me for instance, I am currently developing 5 different pickups for electric guitars that are going to blow peoples minds, as well as a few other guitar gadgets, and my guitar designs are aggressive and extreme, so i feel your pain, that guitar pic you posted, I immediately thought of a surfboard, (sticker, general feeling of the look) so it seems to me you are getting the look you wanted, and it appears to be a finely crafted instrument. By the end of your thread here, it seems as though you are headed the right direction, and of course, if you could nail down an endorsement deal, that would naturally give you a big shove in the right direction. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stew Posted March 18, 2005 Author Report Share Posted March 18, 2005 Endorsement....hmmm, I've got two going right now that are not quite ironed out yet. This just recently happened. Both are well known surf guitarists. I've got their attention but following through might be another story. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anekretia Posted March 22, 2005 Report Share Posted March 22, 2005 It isnt an easy thing being the new guy and gettin your stuff out there, I use the most unconventional means to do so, and now have about 8 artists and 5 bands looking to be owners of Phoenix Guitars, keep your chin up, dont ever give up, the rewards are amazing ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mledbetter Posted March 30, 2005 Report Share Posted March 30, 2005 Endorsement....hmmm, I've got two going right now that are not quite ironed out yet. This just recently happened. Both are well known surf guitarists. I've got their attention but following through might be another story. ← Go all out.. I'd gun for dick dale what does he care at his age.. of course you'd have to build it upside down or whatever it is that he does.. Congrats again on the sale, and on the great feedback.. upward and onward.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Myka Guitars Posted April 9, 2005 Report Share Posted April 9, 2005 Stew, it looks like I have come in on this thread a bit too late to help you on this auction. There is some good advice in this thread and it looks like by following it you sold the guitar. Congrats! It is a beautiful guitar and the new owner seems very pleased. Let me add a few things about relative pricing and percieved value. Your price is going to be the first thing people really see. If it is too low people won't even look. I won't tell you what is too high, that is up to you. Just charge what it is worth and no less. I would also say to sell for no more than it is worth as well. You want to be the one to set the standard on what your guitars are worth. Let the used market sell for less or more if they want to but your prices are the benchmark. Whatever you do never sell the same guitar for less than you sold it before, ever. Your clients want to feel like they got the best deal possible and price dropping to make a sale is one sure way to make them feel cheated. If you raise your prices then be consistent. That way the value of your past guitars also rises consistently. I sell through consignment sometimes and here you also want to control the prices. I would not make a consignment deal that allows anyone to sell my guitars for whatever they want. Again, you should set the price and their cut comes off the top and you get the rest. If you allow the dealers to set your final price you set up a situation where your clients who may live next door may get a better deal if they went to your dealer. Also your dealer may undersell your work and that is not good for percieved value. 25% is a good consignment fee. If your dealer wants to purchase them in advance then an aditional percentage is OK as long as they want 2 or more. In this situation get a deposit to cover your costs if you don't have the guitars built yet. If I were to use eBay I would sell with a Buy It Now price that equals exactly what my online pricing sheets come up with. That way everyone knows the deal and everyone pays the same. Your work is excellent and you don't skimp on materials or details. You should get a consistent price for consistent quality. To add to what mledbetter said, I build with the same quality parts as you do and spend about $300 per guitar for standard bridge, tuning keys, pickups, and electronics. Add to that the cost of wood and you are way under $1200 per guitar. Most companies will sell to builders at 50% of retail. Call the manufacturers up and ask. Most are willing especially if they think your work is high quality. ~David Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stew Posted April 19, 2005 Author Report Share Posted April 19, 2005 David, Thanks for your input. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gorecki Posted April 19, 2005 Report Share Posted April 19, 2005 Admit it...most of us trolling around eBay are "dumpster diving" looking for deep discounts (figured wood not withstanding). That's eBay's market. ← YEP! You just stood up and pointed at me! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
psw Posted May 3, 2005 Report Share Posted May 3, 2005 Congratulations to Stew on selling the guitar and I'd like to welcome him to the forum. I'm sure we'll all be treated to some special creations and I think all you guy's are the greatest for the advice given. Since there seems to be a problem posting pics...I had the same trouble when I started...and a lot of people don't bother to actually check out the links...I thought I'd offer up one of stew's creations that really knocked me out... And I like the logo on the body...perhaps on the back like you did this one I believe! pete Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Willin Posted May 11, 2005 Report Share Posted May 11, 2005 I really like the floral print on that. How is that done? Is it painted on like i'd assume or is it a material finish? Really beautiful guitars all around. If you could divulge a little information, that'd be great. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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