End of an era, no more SX in US.
Posted: Tue Nov 14, 2023 7:52 pm
See Kurt's announcement quoted below.
https://www.rondomusic.com/Logistics.html
November 14, 2023: The end of an Era ? No more SX Guitars at Rondo Music!!
Unfortunately, you have read that headline correctly. Rondo Music will be phasing out most SX guitar models in 2024. We will continue to offer parts and warranty support so long as SX is willing to supply us, but as far as new models and re-stocking, that will come to an end for most models. We will continue to sell a limited number of models that still have good customer demand such as the Lap Steel guitars. We want to thank you for over 30 years of sales support for this brand. It was a great ride while it lasted. I know many of you have been with us for a long time buying SX and I thought you deserved a full explanation.
Why this decision? Well, there are many reasons. The first is pricing. For those of you who have been with us from the beginning or even are recently as 5 to 7 years ago, you will remember that most SX models sold in the $89 to $129 price range, with almost no models exceeding $199. Considering the quality, the value was incredible. Today, most SX models would be priced in the $250 range and up to be profitable. The models you see on our site priced below that today are selling at a loss or below what we would need to cover our minimum profit to pay the rent and keep the lights on. In some cases, not all of the costs increase comes directly from SX. The cost of importing an SX guitar as recently as 2012 was about $5. During the pandemic, and with the additional 25% tariff and extremely high shipping rates, the cost to import a single acoustic guitar approached $75. The second big issue is selection. Over the years SX has dramatically cut back on their inventory, in some cases, cutting very popular s models such as their Ukes, Resonators, Classical Guitars, Rack Case, Banjos, Guitar Cases and the list goes on. As the selection dwindled so did the ability for Rondo to order a full container of SX products which is what needs to be done to keep the shipping costs down. That goes along with the next problem, the increase in Minimum Order Quantity or MOQ. Rondo is always receiving interesting and, in some cases, downright strange request for guitars: fretless, odd shapes, left-handed multi scale etc. Back in the day, SX would be quite open minded to relatively small order batches so we could satisfy these important customer input and suggestions. No longer - and SX has increased the minimum order quantity for special models. The China factor also plays a role with many customers now avoiding products from China. Rondo itself (I myself) does not escape some of the blame. Our web site as not look as current and up to date as it appeared back in 2005, and I imagine that deters some people. However SX sales on other sites such as Reverb, eBay, and Amazon that have modernized and are up to date have also dropped off. Finally, Payment Terms. When most established stores buy product, they are given payment terms. Just like a typical person may have 20 or 30 days to pay their credit card, most vendors give retailers time to sell at least part of their order to pay for a shipment. With orders coming from China, the time between placing the order and receiving the goods is typically 4-5 months. Please also consider a typical container could easily hold between 500 and 1000 SX guitars. The dollar amount tied up is substantial. In the past SX gave us 60-day payment terms to at least inspect the product and make a few sales before the amount was due in full. That is no longer the case and containers must be paid for when they leave the factory which is typically 45+ days before we see them. This creates a fairly large financial strain. SX is currently the only factory we buy from that has this pre-payment requirement. It’s the combination of all of these factors that have led us to dramatically cut back on the SX products we will be stocking going forward.
How much longer will you be stocking SX? We will stock guitars until they sell out. No additional models are expected in 2023. We will continue stocking some models like the SX Lap Steel through at least 2024.
Will anyone else start selling SX if Rondo drops the line? Unknown – Maybe, but I would doubt it for the same reasons that I listed above.
What about my warranty? Rondo Music will continue to warrant SX products so long as SX continues to supply us with warranty replacement parts. As of today, we have a good supply of the most common warranty items.
Can I reach SX directly? The parent company for SX is Team International. Their direct web site is www.sx-guitar.com/ The last time I looked it was about 4-5 years out of date (with several discontinued models). They typically have referred customer questions right back to us and we will continue to support our past customers.
Will Rondo be replacing SX with another brand? That is unknown at this time. We are still hoping there may be some last-minute solution, but this is starting to look unlikely and why we have released this statement. The import market is quite challenging now with the mood of the country moving to towards more locally sourced products.
Will Rondo be blowing out SX or having any major sales? Many of the SX guitars have already been discounted/reduced and all are selling at a pace such that we expect to be sold out of most all models by year-end. Rondo’s standard 30-day price guarantee will apply; meaning if you purchase and item and the price drops within 30 days of your purchase, you are eligible for a refund of the difference. I realize this all might just sound like a bunch of excuses, and maybe it is, but the net result is the same.
Thank you all again for being great customers theses past 30 years! I will continue to post updates as well as any other common customer questions on this page
https://www.rondomusic.com/Logistics.html
November 14, 2023: The end of an Era ? No more SX Guitars at Rondo Music!!
Unfortunately, you have read that headline correctly. Rondo Music will be phasing out most SX guitar models in 2024. We will continue to offer parts and warranty support so long as SX is willing to supply us, but as far as new models and re-stocking, that will come to an end for most models. We will continue to sell a limited number of models that still have good customer demand such as the Lap Steel guitars. We want to thank you for over 30 years of sales support for this brand. It was a great ride while it lasted. I know many of you have been with us for a long time buying SX and I thought you deserved a full explanation.
Why this decision? Well, there are many reasons. The first is pricing. For those of you who have been with us from the beginning or even are recently as 5 to 7 years ago, you will remember that most SX models sold in the $89 to $129 price range, with almost no models exceeding $199. Considering the quality, the value was incredible. Today, most SX models would be priced in the $250 range and up to be profitable. The models you see on our site priced below that today are selling at a loss or below what we would need to cover our minimum profit to pay the rent and keep the lights on. In some cases, not all of the costs increase comes directly from SX. The cost of importing an SX guitar as recently as 2012 was about $5. During the pandemic, and with the additional 25% tariff and extremely high shipping rates, the cost to import a single acoustic guitar approached $75. The second big issue is selection. Over the years SX has dramatically cut back on their inventory, in some cases, cutting very popular s models such as their Ukes, Resonators, Classical Guitars, Rack Case, Banjos, Guitar Cases and the list goes on. As the selection dwindled so did the ability for Rondo to order a full container of SX products which is what needs to be done to keep the shipping costs down. That goes along with the next problem, the increase in Minimum Order Quantity or MOQ. Rondo is always receiving interesting and, in some cases, downright strange request for guitars: fretless, odd shapes, left-handed multi scale etc. Back in the day, SX would be quite open minded to relatively small order batches so we could satisfy these important customer input and suggestions. No longer - and SX has increased the minimum order quantity for special models. The China factor also plays a role with many customers now avoiding products from China. Rondo itself (I myself) does not escape some of the blame. Our web site as not look as current and up to date as it appeared back in 2005, and I imagine that deters some people. However SX sales on other sites such as Reverb, eBay, and Amazon that have modernized and are up to date have also dropped off. Finally, Payment Terms. When most established stores buy product, they are given payment terms. Just like a typical person may have 20 or 30 days to pay their credit card, most vendors give retailers time to sell at least part of their order to pay for a shipment. With orders coming from China, the time between placing the order and receiving the goods is typically 4-5 months. Please also consider a typical container could easily hold between 500 and 1000 SX guitars. The dollar amount tied up is substantial. In the past SX gave us 60-day payment terms to at least inspect the product and make a few sales before the amount was due in full. That is no longer the case and containers must be paid for when they leave the factory which is typically 45+ days before we see them. This creates a fairly large financial strain. SX is currently the only factory we buy from that has this pre-payment requirement. It’s the combination of all of these factors that have led us to dramatically cut back on the SX products we will be stocking going forward.
How much longer will you be stocking SX? We will stock guitars until they sell out. No additional models are expected in 2023. We will continue stocking some models like the SX Lap Steel through at least 2024.
Will anyone else start selling SX if Rondo drops the line? Unknown – Maybe, but I would doubt it for the same reasons that I listed above.
What about my warranty? Rondo Music will continue to warrant SX products so long as SX continues to supply us with warranty replacement parts. As of today, we have a good supply of the most common warranty items.
Can I reach SX directly? The parent company for SX is Team International. Their direct web site is www.sx-guitar.com/ The last time I looked it was about 4-5 years out of date (with several discontinued models). They typically have referred customer questions right back to us and we will continue to support our past customers.
Will Rondo be replacing SX with another brand? That is unknown at this time. We are still hoping there may be some last-minute solution, but this is starting to look unlikely and why we have released this statement. The import market is quite challenging now with the mood of the country moving to towards more locally sourced products.
Will Rondo be blowing out SX or having any major sales? Many of the SX guitars have already been discounted/reduced and all are selling at a pace such that we expect to be sold out of most all models by year-end. Rondo’s standard 30-day price guarantee will apply; meaning if you purchase and item and the price drops within 30 days of your purchase, you are eligible for a refund of the difference. I realize this all might just sound like a bunch of excuses, and maybe it is, but the net result is the same.
Thank you all again for being great customers theses past 30 years! I will continue to post updates as well as any other common customer questions on this page
