Inventory draws more customer who then buy higher margin accessories. The idea is to get them INTO the store. We have no trouble with that since we are located in a MAll. Some say thats expensive but the lack of having to advertise more than makes up for the higher lease cost. Anyone who is in the mall passes the store. Many enter it and purchase something they would not have otherwise if they had to travel a mile down the road.

The downside is the kids who are waiting for movies or hanging out wanting to play the gear.That has to be managed more then if we were a stand alone store.

25-30% of what we carry cannot be bought at a chain store. And yes we can and do offer lower prices then Guitar Center. We have no one to answer to. IF we make $200 on a high end Taylor instead of a $1000 on a particular day we can make the sale. Independents have far more flexibility depending on the Manufacturer. Some margins are already to thin. We try not to carry those lines.

A long time ago when I worked in a mall piano store, we would stick a 1/4 inch jack into the headphone input, so that when kids tried to play a keyboard or digital piano, they would not hear anything , look confused and walk away.