Do you know why Gary started Upton Bass? It kinda happened by accident…and it was based on a principle.
Value.
Gary couldn’t find good value as a bass player.
He didn’t know when he set out what he was trying to accomplish as a business man…he just knew what he wanted as a player.
The internet was “new” and selling on the internet was almost taboo. Can you believe that! Remember those days! There was little information available and finding a good deal, or the best products, was a challenge.
Gary took his bass to several luthiers in the region and couldn’t get his bass playable to the level he knew it was capable of.
Now because Gary is Gary, and he’s a “roll up your sleeves kind of guy”…and has one of the best reverse engineering brains out there, he bought some tools, read some books, and got his hands dirty. He got his bass to where he wanted it…and other bass playing friends took notice and asked him to set up their basses too…and it spread from there!
Sourcing goods, materials and talent, Gary grew Upton Bass into one of the world’s most prominent bass shops…and one that actually makes basses instead of just opening boxes.
And that value principle…the idea that we LOVE giving out MORE than we get in has paid dividends. Sell some everyday things at cost. Buy direct, in volume, and make a modest margin. Give us $5K to build you a bass, and we give you a $10K bass.
If every decision we make is about giving you more value for your money than the actual value of the money you’re giving us, we know we’ll be able to keep doing what we love so much!
