We Appear to Be Running Out of Musical Instruments. This Is Slightly Awkward.

Over the past few days, we have developed a bit of a problem at Music Bits Company.

Customers keep coming into our shop and visiting our website. So far, perfectly reasonable behaviour. We encourage it, in fact.

But then they keep buying things.

Can you believe the audacity?

We had our displays just right

We work really hard to create a nice display in our window and on our instrument racks. Guitars carefully arranged. Ukuleles looking cheerful. Everything sitting in just the right place, giving the impression that we know what we’re doing.

Then somebody comes along, points at an instrument and says, “I’ll take that one, please.”

And just like that, there’s a gap.

A gap where there was once a lovely guitar. A gap that ruins the symmetry. A gap that we now have to stand in front of while pretending it was part of the design all along.

Honestly. We spend all that time making things look nice, and you guys reward us by taking them home.

The storeroom was supposed to save us

Normally, this is easily resolved. We head into the storeroom, fetch another instrument and restore order. The display is complete again. Balance returns to the universe. We can get on with our day.

Except those pesky customers appear to have bought the replacements too.

We have reached the stage where going into the storeroom feels less like stock replenishment and more like opening the fridge for the third time, hoping something new has appeared.

It hasn’t.

Even the harmonicas aren’t safe

This hasn’t been confined to one particularly popular instrument, either. Our electric guitars, acoustic guitars, bass guitars, ukuleles, keyboards and violins have all been affected.

Even our harmonica stock has been getting in on the disappearing act.

Harmonicas! Small enough to mind their own business quietly on a shelf, yet apparently not small enough to escape your attention.

At this point, we’re beginning to suspect a coordinated effort to fill the country with music. Which, admittedly, is rather difficult for a music shop to object to.

We are not actually complaining

Now, before anyone thinks we’ve fundamentally misunderstood retail, we should make something clear: we are a shop. Customers buying things is very much the idea.

We’re delighted when an instrument finds a new home. Whether it’s someone’s first guitar, a long-awaited upgrade or a Christmas present that will be very difficult to disguise with wrapping paper, that’s what we’re here for.

It’s the scale of it over just a few days that has taken us by surprise.

We expected to sell instruments. We just hadn’t quite planned for so many of them to leave at once, as though somebody had announced last orders at the guitar rack.

Christmas shopping has definitely begun in earnest. Some of you are clearly much more organised than we are, and we admire that. Slightly resentfully, while rearranging the window, but we admire it.

Don’t panic. Reinforcements are coming.

The good news is that replacement stock is already on its way, and we expect normal stocking levels to resume within the next few days.

The racks will fill up again. The window display will regain its carefully arranged splendour. We’ll stand back, admire our handiwork and enjoy a brief moment of satisfaction.

Then, presumably, one of you will buy something and ruin it all over again.

And we’ll be absolutely delighted.

Thank you to everyone who has shopped with us, both here in Alford and through our website. Behind all the mock outrage is a very grateful independent music shop.

Please do keep buying things. We’ll cope.

We may just need to stop getting emotionally attached to the displays.