# NJAMS in Vancouver gone?



## paraedolia (Nov 26, 2008)

Anyone know what happened to NJAMS in Vancouver? Their web site is still up but mail to the email address bounces, the phone number listed has been disconnected and I wandered past the shop a while ago and it was gone. Their Twitter, FB and myspace pages are all up and running though...
(Shame, there's a cab on the site I really want)


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## Ship of fools (Nov 17, 2007)

A friend of mine suggested that maybe someone there had gone off the deep-end of the pool and went on to suggest that someone else thought that he might have gone skiing ( just not on the mountains ), since they left downtown my understanding is that they had slid downwards on a slippery slope of no stock and no one I know has heard from him so..................I guess another store gone to the way side.Ship
Oh and for those of you who don't know MJAMS = Not Just Another Music Store


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## bobb (Jan 4, 2007)

The store is gone. Last time I talked to Rob, he was trying to ride out the recession. I saw a lot of the stock liquidated on CL over the first couple weeks of July. 

Recession 1
NJAMS 0


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## gearalley (Oct 23, 2009)

yeah they are toast. Too bad. They weren't the first and probably won't be the last...


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## gpicks (Aug 9, 2010)

That sucks.. I saw it coming for a long time. Tried taking lessons there, bought strings, none of my consignments ever sold,, i guess they mainly had a baby boomer mindset/clientelle couldn't keep up with l&m who probably lost 70% of their business in the last 6 mos as well.. to tell the truth rock and roll has gone downhill 6th place behind rap, pop, techno what have you.. and then the guitar video games started coming out which meant most kids are too lazy to play real guitars,, completely sucks!


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## Bobby (May 27, 2010)

gpicks said:


> That sucks.. I saw it coming for a long time. Tried taking lessons there, bought strings, none of my consignments ever sold,, i guess they mainly had a baby boomer mindset/clientelle couldn't keep up with l&m who probably lost 70% of their business in the last 6 mos as well.. to tell the truth rock and roll has gone downhill 6th place behind rap, pop, techno what have you.. and then the guitar video games started coming out which meant most kids are too lazy to play real guitars,, completely sucks!


i was watching tv,and south park was on, with my ex(well,not my ex at the time). it was the episode where they all got really into guitar hero (or whatever they called the game to avoid a lawsuit or look creative,i forget) . they are playing the game and the song is "carry on wayward son". and theyre all cheering and really into it,so the kids father comes out with a real guitar and amp and is like: "i can really play this song for real,watch this" and he plays a bit of the song. the kids all look at him,incredulously and one says"thats gay,real guitars are for old people". i looked over at my girlfriend,and said "shut up,just dont say anything". she just burst out laughing cause she didnt even need to say anything,obviously i knew what she was thinking,lol.

was pretty funny,in kind of a sad way.

Bobby


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## gpicks (Aug 9, 2010)

*slippery slope?*

Lol the 'slippery slope' ..ever since Nirvana!! Attracting an audience with a frat house mentality was surely the end. Now those spoiled brats from Kappa Kappa Poo Poo or whatever are running the corporations that make those stupid plastic video game controllers. Unlike NJAMS - glass guitar picks last forever.


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## FlametopFred (Aug 9, 2010)

*R.i.p njams*

Sad to learn of this. I drove by the other week and saw the For Lease sign.

Probably Craigslist has finally taken it's toll on local music merch.
I always thought Neptune and NJAMS should have combined forces with a coffee shop.

Rob always treated me well - I bought / sold / consigned a lot of gear there over the years.
Just picked up $100 not too long ago for a cabinet of mine they sold. 

I've been very happy with them. I remember their Granville store the best (both of them).
Vancouver just plain sucks.

I liked browsing there and chatting to folks. We're missing a place like NJAMS to hang, overhear conversations and such. I learned a lot there. Now where will I go to spend time and money?

Remember:
Every time you buy something off Craigslist another kitten dies.


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## puckhead (Sep 8, 2008)

FlametopFred said:


> Sad to learn of this. I drove by the other week and saw the For Lease sign.
> *
> Probably Craigslist has finally taken it's toll on local music merch.*
> I always thought Neptune and NJAMS should have combined forces with a coffee shop.
> ...


is it ironic that NJAMS blew out a lot of their inventory on Craigslist last month


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## bobb (Jan 4, 2007)

puckhead said:


> is it ironic that NJAMS blew out a lot of their inventory on Craigslist last month


The question is whether it was NJAMS was selling direct, through an agent or if someone had acquired the stock and was selling it off on CL. The ads were placed by an apartment manager in the West End. I inquired about a couple pieces that were in the store shortly before it closed and the CL seller had no idea what I was talking about.

The market right now, even on CL is very quiet. I just picked up a Marshall head on Craigslist a few weeks ago(poor kitten) and the seller said I was the only realistic buyer who responded. He had a few ridiculous trade offers but I was the only one willing to part with cash. The amp had been listed a few times over a couple months. There have been several other items that have been continually reappearing for months on there even though the pricing is realistic.


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## gpicks (Aug 9, 2010)

*craigslist*

yes i think craigslist was a factor.. perhaps bad accounting practices played a role in their demise as well?


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## bobb (Jan 4, 2007)

gpicks said:


> yes i think craigslist was a factor.. perhaps bad accounting practices played a role in their demise as well?


I'll go with dead market. Bad accounting practices would have reared their ugly head a lot sooner. The store was in business for 26 years. 

Personally, I never thought any of the moves were all that good. The first location on Main St. worked well. The downtown location was too small but worked since it was part of the shortlived music row. Granville and Broadway seemed too upscale and expensive, parking was a headache also. The move back to Main St. was an attempt to reduce costs and regain the old customer base. Unfortunately, it was too little to late.


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## zontar (Oct 25, 2007)

I was at the Granville store about 2 1/2 years ago--I think--might be closer to three years.
I bought some strings, and picks, and had a look around--some cool stuff there, but it was crowded.
Last March I was in Vancouver again and I saw the store had moved before I went.
So I never checked it out. 

Too bad.


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## puckhead (Sep 8, 2008)

I have found the Vancouver craigslist to be pretty much a wasteland.
I used to check several times a day (basically OCD behaiviour  ). 

got a couple of guitars (tokai, gretsch) and a few pedals over that time, 
but in general it's been just so much crap.

- ironically, I missed all the NJAMS stuff though. were they decent deals?


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## bobb (Jan 4, 2007)

puckhead said:


> - ironically, I missed all the NJAMS stuff though. were they decent deals?


As previously mentioned, no idea who the seller was or how he came into possession of the inventory. The old tuck and roll Kustoms that were in the store window were up for grabs among several other items. The most noticeable and interesting was this Marshall:










It is still listed on NJAMS website at $6600. Last time I saw it in the store, the price was $4400. After the closure, it showed up on CL for $3200 and reappeared a couple weeks later at $2650. That was the last time it was listed.


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## Ship of fools (Nov 17, 2007)

I doubt caigslist could have killed anything in Vancouver, most items tend to be over priced and if it has some age well then its just got to be worth a fortune right. as for why he went under we'll never really know but we can all speculate as to the why's and wonders. What we really need is a great consignment shop out here in Vancouver one that will stay in place long enough to establish some good will and a good name so folks can go and hang out and swap stories and what not. Kind of like the shop they had in the 60's ( The Mediterrianean, Bill Lewis ) and such musicians would stop by pick up an ax or two and sit out front and play music.Something to be said for the old days I can't remember the last time I was at Long and Mcquade or Tom Lee and you had a bunch of musicians drinking coffee and discussing the merits of this or that guitar.
As for the sale I think it was done through a wholesaler who bough t whatever stock was left and sold to pay off debts ( thats how it usually works here if there was a baliff involved ) to those owned any monies.Ship


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