Any small repair shops also string dealers?

[Timothy Esau Sunday Musical Instruments LLC]

I carry 10-46 and 11-50 Stringjoy and S.I.T. Strings on my webstore in the parts section where I have, pots, caps, output jacks etc to round out a customer’s pickup swap.

I regularly throw in a set with pickup orders, or one of my “Goopies” volume control treble bleeds, or a whole lil pack of goodies if the order took anything longer than fast to fulfill. I use them on local pickup swaps and setups.

A lot of Amazon/ebay/reverb sellers list them at just above wholesale cost plus reseller shipping and fees.

I try to just barely undercut the best deal on the marketplaces, and that is not huge profit margin territory.

Most string vendors will need your EIN number and your state sales-tax exemption certificate for resellers to set you up as a dealer.

I have thought about setting up a string vending machine near UGA campus in Athens.

[Bryan Parris Parris Guitars]

We carry a pretty full line of D’addario. I don’t carry bass strings anymore. All the bass players wanted something other than what I had, but they usually bring what they want.

[Scott Liebers]

Is D’addario good to work with as a small dealer? Do they have a minimum order each month?

[Bryan Parris Parris Guitars]

They are great to work with, but they don’t accept everyone. It’s worth checking out. No, i order what I need when I need it. I order quite a bit, though. Adding the XS line has really made my string orders expensive! 🙂

[Mark Eberman EireCraft Guitars]

I can second D’addario. They’ve been easy to work with for sure. They have also been really great about my move to Ireland from the US, with everything happening smoothly. The team over here is really nice and very accommodating.

I’ve felt like I got really good treatment from them, even though I probably spent under $2000 a year with them.

[David Ross David Ross Musical Instruments]

I try to stock popular gauges for electric and acoustic guitars and usually make a very small profit when I use them on customers guitars. I’m fine with them bringing their own strings along. Things can sometimes get tricky when a customer uses a hybrid set, I either have to order online or make a stop at a local guitar store. This usually isn’t a problem since it’s right next to the grocery store I go to, I plan the trip accordingly.

[Pierre Castonguay Guitares Torvisse]

New member here browsing the forums, just saw your post.

I’m in Canada and have an account with D’Addario. There are no minimums, and I keep in stock what I feel my customers will want on their instruments. You know what will be used most of the time, and this led me to keep stocked in some unusual gauges and singles for those metal guys. I just buy EXL120 and 110 as well as EJ16 in 25 bulk packs as it is what I’m using the most in the shop. I keep the most popular bass gauges and scale lengths of EXLs, no flats, no half-round, no tape wounds. I also buy Elixirs in electric 10-46, 09-42, 80/20 and PB lights from the Canadian distributor, who does have minimums but as I also buy other stuff from them it’s not much of a problem.

Very rarely do I sell string sets, apart from the occasional customer who wants spare sets.

[Tony Lewis Skypilot Guitar Repair]

Also a new member just starting out. I decided not to sell strings as a retailer because of tax headaches ( have to deal with CA tax stuff is daunting!) I do carry replacements in case I break them during repair. Most customers have personal preferences and will bring their own or I’ll buy them and charge the exact amount I pay to avoid tax mess.