Ibanez, why do you willingly ignore potential business opportunities?

panther · #1 06-11-2007, 04:45 AM

Case in point, I am looking for a new guitar at the moment (have been playing an Ibanez EX370 for nearly 15 years now, still happy with it), and the problem is: the only two or three models which would interest me are not available where I live (Germany)! I fell in love with the S2170 SE, or possibly one of the transparent blue or black normal S's, but you don't offer these in Germany! So, I will either not buy a guitar at all for now, or I'll have to import one from the states... still undecided. Why do I have to have this problem at all???

Btw, I have a colleague who also was interested in one of the US-only models as soon as I showed it to him, so I'd guess I'm not the only customer Ibanez is losing with this policy.
It would be nice if there was some support from the country's distributor at least, I would be prepared to pay a bit extra to get one of these guitar's and have access to the normal warranty process - if I import one and have a warranty case, this is really going to hurt.

choubix · #2 06-11-2007, 07:53 AM

have you tried thomann?

this model is gourgeous!
http://www.thomann.de/fr/ibanez_s2170_fwntf.htm

panther · #3 06-11-2007, 08:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by choubix

have you tried thomann?

this model is gourgeous!
http://www.thomann.de/fr/ibanez_s2170_fwntf.htm

Yeah, I know about the other 2170 varieties - but I'm afraid I don't like them very much... can't argue about taste :-\

choubix · #4 06-11-2007, 08:37 AM

indeed...

sorry you can't find what you are looking for. it seems a lot of people are complaining about availability + range that ibanez has been producing lately. (not in terms of quality but in terms of diversity, colors etcetc...)

**jemsite** · #5 06-11-2007, 10:13 AM

ibanez seems to shun diversity of premium axes especially but your local distributor is to blame for not bringing a model into your territory. generally speaking they bring in what they expect to sell... glen

choubix · #6 06-11-2007, 10:36 AM

isnt it possible to make a special order from your retailer? see whether he marks up the price...

panther · #7 06-11-2007, 10:39 AM

Hm, you sure about that? I've exchanged a few mails with our distributor over the last few weeks, and they told me they could only get their hands on what Ibanez was shipping them, and apparently they have no influence on that. I was a bit irritated at that, because if even a country-wide distributor doesn't have a way to tell Ibanez what customers want, then who can? Well... as I said, if nothing else turns up I'll probably import one of the 2170SE's myself.

**jemsite** · #8 06-11-2007, 10:47 AM

we'll never know. sounds like half truths. i'm not going to outright call your distributor a liar since i'm not in their office nor ibanez japan but it's a convenient excuse isn't it passing blame on some larger office overses.

that said just import it... might be cheaper than if your dealer sold it anyways (sad huh)... glen

choubix · #9 06-11-2007, 10:50 AM

sounds weird that the distributor cannot order something that is carried by the brand he sells...

when you want a car with some options and that the car dealer doesnt have the model, you can order it... and the price is "usually" the catalog price...

I would say (but i might be wrong) that they just dont want to bother ordering one guitar when they ship a few hundreds a month.

Importing the guitar yourself: you'll be facing the customs and the delays without a decent warranty...

if you really want to import: check with Ishibashi in Japan. they may have more choice as they are big. they ship abroad.

panther · #10 06-11-2007, 10:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jemsite

that said just import it... might be cheaper than if your dealer sold it anyways (sad huh)... glen

Yes, the dollar is in my favor at the moment, I would end up a few Euros cheaper even including customs and added taxes. But, handling warranty issues would be a real pain, and I've been reading all over the place that it is important to actually see and handle any S prestiges before buying, as the quality seems to vary quite a bit. Which is difficult when ordering over the internet. Well, I'll see what turns up...

choubix · #11 06-11-2007, 10:54 AM

by the way: Ishibashi and Ibanez in Japan seem to have a top notch service

I wanted to check some info on my second hand Ibanez.
They will check the serial number with Ibanez and get back to me this week.

sure you can get info directly from Ibanez also.
ask them if your local distributor can order a guitar for you that is not sold in Germany.

panther · #12 06-11-2007, 11:12 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by choubix

sure you can get info directly from Ibanez also.
ask them if your local distributor can order a guitar for you that is not sold in Germany.

Thanks for the info, I just wrote an email to Ishibashi.
Any idea how I can contact Ibanez directly? I have been looking for a way to do that, but the japanese page only has japanese links (which I can't read), and refers non-domestic customers to their local distributors.

choubix · #13 06-11-2007, 12:04 PM

I am not sure, ishibashi is doing it for me right now.

what email did you use for ishibashi?
the sales check this one only:

web-shop@ishibashi.co.jp

ask for Noriko (mention my name: Alex - I just ordered a 540R from them last week)

eviltwin · #14 06-11-2007, 12:29 PM

well, technically Ibanez don't actually exist, so you can't contact them.

Ibanez is a brand name operated by Hoshino-Gakki. The closest real representative would be Hoshino Benelux http://www.hoshinobenelux.eu/NL/home.html,

(in Germany they are represented by Roland Meinl http://db.musik-meinl.de/ )

Unfortunately the S2170ES is not in the Dutch pricelist either:

S4170FA € 1,929.00 RVK Burl Ash top/Mahogany Neck Through
S2170FB € 1,599.00 NTF Figured Bubinga top/ Mahogany
S2170FW € 1,599.00 NTF Figured Poplar top/ Mahogany

MSRP is similar to US (once you include tax).

Gusfmm · #15 06-11-2007, 01:55 PM

I guess Ibanez has got a very particular marketing and sales phylosophy and strategy. Not that I quite understand it either. But sounds familiar to the situation with J-Customs only being available in Japan. Or some models only being made available to european markets. I can't really recall other few good examples but this one:
http://machinehead.co.uk/product_inf...1e9fc5f59aa060
not available in the US as far as I know. And I know there are several others.

So you're not alone in that boat Panther.

Gus.