My dad always said the same thing when he saw something marked at a way better than average price: "how much for all of them?" I have learned that you can buy 200 of something for just slightly more than 100. If you're willing to buy all of somebody's stock, they will REALLY make it worth you're while as long as they are a halfway motivated seller. I recently walked into a cigar shop with a table filled high with empty boxes. $4 each or 2/$6. I bought them all and saved a ton. The owner was happy to see them go and I had what may possibly be a lifetime supply of boxes from one trip. Everybody was happy. Honestly, it was worth it to me to not have to keep stopping in local shops hoping to score 2 or 3 boxes if I got really lucky. The time saved was worth storing all those boxes over the years and having plenty to pick from for new builds.
So, the next time you're buying parts, just ask yourself how mad would your spouse really be if you had a 5 gallon bucket overflowing with guitar tuners in the corner of the garage?
note: I will candidly admit I bought 3 trash bags full of little bags of Easter grass for $5 from a grocery store 4 months after Easter.. 2 1/2 bags went to goodwill 6 years later.
It was still a good deal. . .
Comments
When I started buying in bulk I searched the internet.,I found a Chinese gentleman in NYC that would sell tuners, a pack of 12 for $4.,,I guess that is 33 cents a tuner.,.then prices started to go up a little,.,then I scoured ebay and places like Alibaba.,.for strings I would search the ebay listings.,.I would get strings from closed up music stores.,.,6 tubes with 48 strings in each.,.,I guess I got lucky.,
where do you find those hot deals on tuners and strings?
Yep..,buying in bulk is the way to go if your going to build a bunch.,.,I buy tuners in bulk, 25 cents each.,.,piezo's 25 cents.,jacks 25 cents.,.,quality strings 48 sets at a time., $1 a set or less.,.,I have 80+ boxes.,.like you said, much cheaper in bulk.,.,I buy a 10 ft fencing board/Poplar and rip it into neck and FB blanks.,.,50 cents a neck.,.,lots of "found" bits and pieces.,., not sure if I'll ever use it all.,.,it may all get passed on to the next builder.,.,