Gibson Facing Price-Fixing Lawsuits

[n!k]

Lions would eat grass if they were of a species that could physically do that

But you're missing the point; animals don't decide to do things to benefit their species as a whole, or another species, as Uwe correctly states. This is "group selection theory," and it was soundly disproved as a credible biological theory in the 1960's. Eating grass when zebras become scarce doesn't benefit individual lions because it reduces their caloric intake, status, and health of their offspring. Lions would much sooner compete for the very last zebra until total extinction.

Which ties into Uwe's point: if you believe the goal of capitalism is wealth accumulation, then the trajectory isn't going to focus on preserving a market or fairness. This could be supported with evidence of monopolistic tendencies seen in major industries over time: railroads, telecommunications, oil, etc. This information was proposed by no less a communist stalwart than the father of capitalism, Adam Smith!

[eb2]

I'll take Milton Friedman over Karl Marx anyday.  Now if Lions could fly..

But, besides all the critique of commerce as it stands, hobbled and unnatural, the other problem Gibson has is that some people seem to be coming out of the woodwork (maybe due to bad finishing) and lobbing lawsuits and criminal charges/investigations at them.  A well-oiled corrupt business squashes this ahead of time.  But Henry J doesn't get any heads up on these things till they happen.  So has he got enemies?  Or is someone orchestrating this, via legal/govt connections to bring wave upon wave of bad press?  The damage could be done even if no crime exists. 

[Chaser001]

It does seem that Gibson is being targeted to me.  First the illegal wood investigation and then this.  It seems like too much of a coincidence.  You may not see it here, but it isn't hard to find an outright visceral hatred of Gibson in general by a lot of people on the Internet who seem to take pleasure in Gibson's misfortunes.  Gibson may have used illegal wood and it may have been guilty of price-fixing, but I have a feeling there are other companies just as guilty or more guilty of the same things.  Whatever the behind-the-scenes reasons are, Gibson seems to have become a whipping boy. 

[sniper]

Or is someone orchestrating this, via legal/govt connections to bring wave upon wave of bad press?  The damage could be done even if no crime exists. 

Can we remember the Tucker?

[Dave W]

It's possible that Gibson is being targeted in the wood investigation. But the price fixing allegations are civil suits, not government action. And they involve other companies, not just Gibson. It's the plaintiffs' bar trying to extort settlements from big companies, nothing more, nothing less.

[Denis]

...It really is like heroin addicts blaming the pushers for their consumption. All we do is fill a need...

Whatcha sayin' here?  

I like the lion/zebra analogy, which makes sense to me. The only thing on that I'd add is that cats will eat grass to help digestion or to help soothe upset stomachs. This isn't a food substitute as much as it is a healthy garnish. Of course they wouldn't survive if they had to rely on it for major food source.

That the price-fixing investigation could be vindictive and frivolous is definitely possible. For 10 years I worked in the medical device industry and quite often we had to contend with lawsuits, some legit, some frivolous. Sometimes a company which was infringing on one of our trademarks, copyrights or patents would preemptively sue us if they got wind we were going to sue them for that infringement. That would immediately place the burden on us and often this led to a settlement rather than a courtcase. In other words, sometimes lawsuits are simply strategy and have no merits on their own.

As far as Gibson instruments go, my favorite guitar shop stopped carrying them a few years ago because of poor quality. Brand new guitars and basses would show up from Gibson with the finish so soft you could peel it off with your fingernail. The luthier there told me that he told many customers to send the thing back to the company because it was under warranty and they shouldn't have to have it fixed by a luthier. Both the GC here and Sam A. carry Gibsons but hardly any are basses. I'm not sure what Gibson's strategy is for sales but it seems to be faltering to me.

I wonder if Gibson alone is being investigated for price fixing. Usually when I hear about price fixing two or more companies are involved.

[uwe]

Couple of things:

1. I hate neither Gibson nor Henry J, I think the latter did fine with resurrecting Gibson from the sorry state it was in the mid-eighties. If Gibson is in a financial crisis now, I'm sure its not from Gibson USA, Custom Shop or Epiphone sales, but you never know how much their aggressive diversification strategy re other brands might have cost them and it seems to me that they got reckless overleveraging their equity (they were not the only ones, money was cheap and easy until 2007).

That said, Henry, will you please finally send the Ripper II over to Germany which I ordered many moons ago with you in another selfless effort to enlarge your personal wealth? You don't even know me, yet you could probably buy a medium-size car from all the profits you have made off me.  

2. Karl Marx' analysis of capitalism ranks among the best and is nothing short of acerbic. Never mind how his recommendation for that other economic system did not work. Capitalism, for all its unparalleled efficiency in generating goods and services, will always have a self-destructive streak and it is up to man to rein that streak in and turn the big bad wolf into a useful shepherd dog.

[Dave W]

That the price-fixing investigation could be vindictive and frivolous is definitely possible. For 10 years I worked in the medical device industry and quite often we had to contend with lawsuits, some legit, some frivolous...

I wonder if Gibson alone is being investigated for price fixing. Usually when I hear about price fixing two or more companies are involved.

There's no price fixing investigation, i.e. there's no government agency investigating them for fixing prices. There are only class action civil suits alleging price fixing among guitar companies including Gibson.

The only reason the article focuses on Gibson is that it's a Nashville paper.

[Highlander]

I once fed a carrot to a zebra... they bray like donkeys...

[Denis]

When I was a kid I flipped off a llama on the other side of the chain link fence at the zoo. It hocked a loogie at me.  

[uwe]

I once fed a carrot to a zebra... they bray like donkeys...

Perhaps the wrong orefice then? 

[TBird1958]

I once fed a carrot to a zebra... they bray like donkeys...

\

What a wonderful local collquialism Kenny!



I can bray like a donkey 

[uwe]

But there all similarities in treatment must stop, please!

[Highlander]

DAMN IT...!!! Fraulein V and Herr Bassmeister... do you realise how difficult it is to clean tea out of a laptop keyboard...?!?!? 

[bassvirtuoso]

do you realise how difficult it is to clean tea out of a laptop keyboard...?!?!? 

Actually, yes, I do. We've all had that problem around here sometimes...