Teasing endorsement!

Big-G

Hi Folks,

Just had to share my 'tales of woe' with other muso's who can sympathise.....

Yesterday, I received an offer for an endorement program, to endorse some rather high end, hand made basses (I shall leave out the company to avoid any issues of 'publicity' etc), which was an incredibly great privilege and a very generous offer indeed.
So why is this a tale of woe I hear you ask?

Well, the company itself are relatively small custom build compay, and so cannot afford to 'give' basses away, unlike the larger corporations! So they rather offer endorsee's a 'decent discount'. Sod's law would have it that at present I'm completely skint, and have very little means to 'raise the cash' in the forseable future! We have the money to pay our bills each month, which I'm very grateful for, but not a lot extra! Certainly not enough to afford these beauties!

So near and yet so, so far! I knew I should have chosen a better paying career! Hehe!

Thanks for listening to my plight! ?

Cheers
G!

Jack-Flash-Jr

Hmmm... maybe they were big Lost Property fans, just not big enough :-\

AlanRatcliffe

Been there! ☹ Full endorsements are extremely rare (not just in SA either). As is disposable income amongst musos...

Big-G

So, reviving a somewhat old thread, sod's law strikes yet again!

Just this past week, whilst I was already rather run down and low suffering from the dreaded 'man flu', I was offered another endorsement from another 'slightly larger' brand, only to have to also turn that one down due to my financial position! Can you believe my luck?! Perhaps it'll be third time lucky, and I'll be able to afford the next one? I'm still awaiting news on the actual one I applied for originally, having been told that they are going to offer me something, but as yet have given no details, but these two came out of the blue, and were somewhat unexpected!!

Lets see what happens next?

I hope you good folk take all this in the way its intended, not as a 'brag' but just that I don't have many people like yourselves who would understand what this means to a muso trying to make it in the 'big blue sea' of our industry.

Cheers
G!

Arno-West

Yes, Alan is right. Full endorsements (even with a global company) are extremely rare around these parts. The drummer that I play with, Leon Shaw, is endorsed by Yamaha. He got a 6-piece Yamaha Oak Custom Kit, including cymbals and all hardware from them first time round. As far as I know that was a Full Endorsement.

As awesome and Top-end as this kit is, it is just too huge to cart around 4/5 times a week to pubs and clubs, so as a 2nd "mobile" kit, he ordered the Yamaha "Hip"-Kit. This thing is designed and built for working / travelling musicians. The front of the kick drum comes off and you pack the snare and toms in the kick and put it in a bag and all the hardware and cymbals in another. 2 Bags, full kit.. Quite nifty.

He had to wait 4 months for this Hip-kit cos they are custom built to order. Because of his endorsement (and I stand under correction here), and because he still has the Oak Custom, he had to pay for half of the Hip-Kit. Of course he got it at a much reduced price from retail.

So yes, any endorsement you come by is a bonus, even if you have to make a plan and fork out a bit of you cash. BUT sometimes circumstances do not allow for that hey?

Cleric

Wouldn't it be possible to negotiate an earn-in/lay-away structure with an endorser, where you pay off a set amount over a year or so?

AlanRatcliffe

Cleric wrote Wouldn't it be possible to negotiate an earn-in/lay-away structure with an endorser, where you pay off a set amount over a year or so?

Not usually. That's the point at which it starts costing them money to give you stuff cheaply. Also very few are set up for any kind of credit structure beyond 30 days on statement. Plus all the legal and regulatory implications for them to offer any kind of credit these days are prohibitive unless they plan do do it on a large scale.

Typically companies that offer credit are retailers rather than distributors, and use a third-party financing company (which are often not well disposed to those with uh... variable incomes like pro musicians). Plus most musos I know would rather not buy on credit anyway.