ampage Tube Amps / Music Electronics	For current discussions, please visit Music Electronics Forum.

ampage archive

Vintage threads from the first ten years

Matchless?

:

1/26/1999 1:24 PM
Gus	Matchless? Is matchless still in buisness?

1/27/1999 9:21 AM
Trace	Gus; To my knowledge they are still in business. I haven't heard they went out of business and I doubt they have as their sales have been rising up steadly each year. What makes you inquire if you don't mind my asking? Trace

1/27/1999 10:35 AM
Gus	I went to http://fatsoundguitars.com look in the matchless section

1/27/1999 10:36 AM
Gus	http://www.fatsoundguitars.com sorry

1/27/1999 10:58 AM

Thier message seems to indicate that Matchless is having a cash flow problem.

I guess they are having a hard time getting certain components from their suppliers, because retailers haven't paid Matchless.

With smaller businesses, those who can't really afford to float a big deficit, this can be a real problem.

About 3 years ago, when my good friend purchased his Spitfire from Sam Ash in NJ, they were a Matchless dealer. He called Matchless to inquire about getting a factory cover for his new amp. He was informed that a cover was supposed to have been shipped to the store with the amp, and BTW that Matchless was pulling out from Ash because they wouldn't pay their invoices on a timely basis. If enough dealers act similarly, the whole situation snowballs and the small manufacturer is severely restricted in their ability to conduct business.

That's the downside of always trying to do business with "other people's money". It only seems to work well for the big guy. (And I'll throw in one of my pet rants, that there can oftentimes be a fine line between a businessman and a thief.)

1/27/1999 11:08 AM

Hey Gus & Doc;

Doc says: "That's the downside of always trying to do business with "other people's money". It only seems to work well for the big guy. (And I'll throw in one of my pet rants, that there can oftentimes be a fine line between a businessman and a thief.)"
I agree with him completely!! I have worked for music stores before and they can be real Asses when it comes to paying or down right stiffing a smaller company! Now that's just plain 'ol wrong.
Gus, I hadn't seen that until you pointed it out. I would say as business goes that Doc hit the nail on the head with his explination witch unfortunately happens all the time.
Most small companies survice on a month to month basis and when a few people "hold back" their payments it's never a good thing.

Trace

1/28/1999 9:40 PM

Doc:

re: Sam Ash

With the big chains like Sam Ash and Guitar Center dominating the market, it puts manufacturers like Matchless at a distinct disadvantage. If it was a single store not paying their bill, Matchless could have cut them off after 60 days (or whatever). But if its a big chain like Sam Ash, you might be cutting off 10 or 20% of your potential sales so you're stuck between a rock and a hard place. If one of the big chains was unscrupulous, they could put a company like Matchless into bankruptcy and then take them over... (Or does that only happen in the software market?)

Steve Ahola

Page 1 of 7