<p>Conservatory level students, though, tend to go for the higher ticket instruments that are not often found in a small town music store. Plus, they want to try out eight or ten or more of them and pick the one that works best for them. Not many small stores can afford to have that amount of high end inventory sitting around waiting for someone to come in. In addition, they tend to want a good instrument before auditions, so they generally arrive with something decent in tow. Students who cannot afford to do that frequently arrange to borrow an instrument from the school (and Oberlin has a very nice collection of instruments to lend to students). </p>
<p>As far as printed music goes, Oberlin has a very large music library where students can obtain much of what they need without having to buy it. It is hard for a store to compete with free.</p>
<p>Other accessories, when needed, can frequently be found in much greater variety and at somewhat lower prices on the Internet than at a small music store.</p>
<p>There was a small music shop in the corner of the Oberlin Inn roughly across the street from the Apollo Theater a few years back. It sold mostly guitars and drum kits and was not there very long.</p>