Acoustic Production

[rokdog49]

This is all good stuff. I think Eastman is in the throes of some pretty special times going forward.
Obviously, the commitment to excellence is there and the response in the guitar marketplace is continuing to be reflected in sales and interest in new products.
I reflect back to less than two years ago when I didn't know Eastman from the man in the moon. It was because of the reviews of owners as well as the affordability that I chose to buy my first one.
I owe those folks a debt of gratitude. Those of you who know me from across the way know how much of an Eastman flag-bearer I am. I can't wait to see what's next.

[Pura Vida]

Jamie, good to see you posting here. I agree that Eastman is in a great place: high demand, more consistent production, and plenty of new products (varnish, solid body electric, etc.).

I’m the same as you. Two years ago, another forum member and a local store both recommended Eastman Guitars to me. It took me several months to play one (and to overcome the MIC concerns that others falsely placed in my head), but that’s all it took for me to go “all in.”

[Pura Vida]

Here's an opportunity to bump an old, but informative post.

Yesterday, on the Eastman Guitar Owners FB page, a dealer said these were actual sales for North America in 2017.

E4OD = 18
E40DSB = 11
E10D-TC = 5
E10D-TC = 5
E10D = <60
E20D = <60
E8OM = 24

That covers half of the Traditional Series and only adds up to ~200 guitars. What do you guys think about this?

I bought two E40D guitars in 2017, so I single-handedly represented 11% of Eastman's North American business, LOL!

[Meathead]

Interesting, but I am a little doubtful of the dealer's claim that he knows the full North American sales figures. That makes no sense for Eastman to share that kind of data with a single dealer.

That being said, if he is accurate, that number is shockingly low - I would think it would be much higher sales volumes!

[Pura Vida]

Yeah, it's strange. 29 E40D sales wouldn't surprise me, and the TC were mostly bought by John at The Acoustic Shoppe (I think he got 8 out of the 10; another EGF member bought one of the two others at another store). But less than 60 of the standard dreads seems really low, doesn't it?

And my other question, which he didn't exactly clarify: are these billable units from Eastman to stores? Or are these confirmed sales from stores to customers? Because stores (especially smaller ones) could be selling new inventory from pre-2017.

[Bert]

+1 Tim

Possibly the #s are for that dealers rep in that region of the country, not the whole USA.

[Pura Vida]

That makes sense. Eastman told me their acoustic #s are about 4k/year (10k total stringed instruments). I can't imagine their Traditional Series being a fringe of that total number.

[Meathead]

I wonder how many acoustics that Taylor sells in a year... 50K?

[eastmanschool]

Interesting, but I am a little doubtful of the dealer's claim that he knows the full North American sales figures.  That makes no sense for Eastman to share that kind of data with a single dealer.  

I'm with you. Not that a circumstance couldn't arise where an Eastman rep might let info out, but the numbers don't seem realistic. And they're certainly not enough to sustain a company; I'd think the US would be one of Eastman's biggest markets, no? If accurate, wouldn't discontinuing the acoustic line be a reasonable step?

[Pura Vida]

Yep. Good discussion. It could be a mix. The "E40" numbers seem possible for national volumes (there aren't a ton of them), but it's unlikely that the E10/E20 national numbers are that low, or that the "40" sales are 1/3 of the standard versions.

I think that Taylor may be north of that number, but not sure. In an interview last year, Godin said they sold 200k the previous year, but that could be worldwide and across all their brands. Lower price points definitely drive more volume --- I read recently that over half of acoustic guitar sales happen at sub-$500, which would make sense to me.