Today it is recognized internationally for its services and products;[5] its mail order and Internet business account for 65–70 percent of its total revenue.

In 1969, New York City native Stan Werbin moved to Ann Arbor, Michigan to attend graduate school.

[2] Although he initially tried to open his business in Ann Arbor, Werbin eventually decided to avoid operating there due to the high number of other musical instrument dealers.

Shortly after the 1972 United States Presidential election, the Michigan Youth Politics Institute moved out of the space across the hall, and Elderly took over the entire basement of the building.

[11] By 1982, Elderly Instruments had about 25 employees but little available space, and so in the following year the owners bought an Independent Order of Odd Fellows building in Lansing, Michigan.

[12] The company does not, however, sell merchandise through online auction sites such as eBay, unlike many other independent musical instrument retailers.

[5] Werbin notes that entering the Internet business was not much of a challenge for Elderly, as the staff was already experienced at taking and shipping orders for customers throughout the world.

[11] He also notes that, with its mail order and Internet business accounting for 65–70 percent of its total revenue,[2] Elderly would have experienced limited growth in Lansing had it not expanded into those markets.

"),[7] its reputation as a repair shop,[11] its selection of vintage instruments,[10] and its position as a major Martin guitar dealer.

[13] In June 2005, Gibson Guitar Corporation filed a cease and desist order and an accompanying lawsuit against Elderly Instruments.

The complaint alleged that Elderly was selling a banjo on its web site marketed as a "Gibson copy" and that the phrase constituted a trademark infringement.

Although the bulk of its business comes from guitar sales, the company carries a range of other instruments, such as banjos, ukuleles, mandolins, accordions, concertinas, bouzoukis, sitars, musical saws, and African thumb pianos.

In September 2006, it placed the Dopyera family's personal collection of resonator instruments up for sale, including some of the Dobro and National brands.

In interviews, Werbin frequently mentions Martins made before World War II as especially desirable and "memorable" pieces of the Elderly Instruments inventory.

[7] Michigan Living magazine noted Elderly's liberal policy regarding the handling of instruments, something Werbin attributes to his difficulty shopping for Martin guitars in New York City in the 1960s.

[5] In addition to a printed catalog, Elderly sends lists of available vintage instruments to subscribers in the U.S. and several other countries by mail and e-mail.

Although larger retailers dominate the Internet market share (Elderly grossed $12 million in 1999, larger retail outlets such as Guitar Center grossed $297 million[6]), Elderly attempts to serve vertical markets by offering specialized or rare items on its web site, such as left-handed guitars[24] and instrument-specific books.

[28] Noise, a periodical published by the local newspaper Lansing State Journal, has written that Elderly Instruments is the focus of an emerging form of American folk music, named "twang", sometimes referred to as "alternative country".

[12] Current and former Elderly employees attribute the twang influence at the store to the proliferation of associated instruments, educational materials, and musicians.

played a vital role in the revitalization of Old Town Lansing when they expanded their brick-and-mortar footprint, breathing new life into the district.

They sponsor and participate in numerous community music festivals, camps, and concerts that add to the vibrancy of Old Town Lansing and increase tourism to the state’s capital.