monkie
New member
Half of the gears in my studio are bought from Guitar Center; the rest are from online stores-Sweetwater, Musiciansfriend and Zzounds just to name a few.
Which store/dealer or online store do you trust the most?
I used to trust the sales people at Guitar Center because they sometimes give me good deals on gears. But until yesterday I don't think I want to shop there anymore. Well, here's what happened: I bought a piece of gear for my guitar. I got home and started playing with it for a few minutes and noticed a switch wasn't working. I suspect it was broken; indeed it was. But by the time I got home it was dark and Guitar Center has already closed, so I can't return it. So, the next day I went back and said I want an exchange. The guy in the Guitar department did a check on it to see if it really was broken; indeed it was. So that guy pulled out a new one for exchange. He did all that he needs to do with the receipts and stuff etc... Then when it's time to bag the new exchanged item, he just bag me the same item I returned for exchange. At that time I had a feeling that he just gave me the same old one but I thought he probably know what he's doing and wouldn't do that so I didn't bother to ask to him to double check. When I got to my car I just want to get a quick glance at it to see if it was my old one, and guess what...... I WAS right. I was so pissed off, I went right back inside and told the damn idiot he gave me the wrong damn thing. He just laugh and didn't even said he was sorry and just told me to wait there and he'll go and grab me a new one when I actually saw lots of them sitting on the shelf from yesterday. He then came back out with his so-called "new one" which the box looks even worst then the one I returned for exchange. I asked him if that was a used one and he said no and also said that that's the only one they had left. Since I didn't want to argue with him or start a scene I just accept it and leave and am not going to go back there for a long time or until they get new employees. Until then I'll just buy my gears from another Guitar Center store or if all Guitar Center stores are like that then I'll probably look somewhere else.
I've been lied to when I bought my first preamp. The original price for the preamp is $1499.95 and the sales rep said if I buy it today he would give me a $200 off discount. So, that time I was in need of a preamp fast so I decided to go with it. When checking out, he scanned the barcode and said "Wow, it's your lucky day man; it's actually $1200." With the price already dropped he said he can only give me $100 off discount. Total comes to $1100 before tax. I think to myself "This guy's pretty cool. I'll take it." I didn't get to use it until two days later because I had things to get done. When I opened the box I saw that the bag that the preamp was in was not sealed anymore. It looks like someone had opened it or used it. I had a feeling that I was sold a used one. Then I looked at the box to see how it was taped. It looks like someone had re-taped the box. At that time I didn't really care much because I just want to plug it in and hear how nice it will make my vocals sound. I tried to have a positive mind and not think too much about the fact that it could be a used one.
After what happened the other day at Guitar Center, I had a feeling that they're selling used items to customers without letting customers know about the items being sold-it could be that the item is used or broken and returned from other customers that they're reselling.
I'm never going to trust those Guitar Center sales people ever again if I wanted to buy high-end gears. They're just doing that so customers think they're cool so they'll keep coming back to get more discounts. They are making profits with bad services. They don't really know much about gears. They only know the gears they're selling.
Back when I was doing my converter research, I went to Guitar Center to get some help. It turns out I learned more by reading online forums than wasting my time with those sales rep trying to sell me crap. One time I ask one of the sales rep in recording department about the Mytek and Lavry converters he suddenly had no clue what I'm talking about and said he's never heard it before. He only knew about the Apogees, UAs and RME's stuff; cause that's what they're selling. 2 minutes later I'm out the door.
It's a lesson well learned.
Do any of you guys here ever had any problems buying gears at Guitar Center or elsewhere?
Thanks for reading. Good luck on your next gear purchase. Have a nice day.
Which store/dealer or online store do you trust the most?
I used to trust the sales people at Guitar Center because they sometimes give me good deals on gears. But until yesterday I don't think I want to shop there anymore. Well, here's what happened: I bought a piece of gear for my guitar. I got home and started playing with it for a few minutes and noticed a switch wasn't working. I suspect it was broken; indeed it was. But by the time I got home it was dark and Guitar Center has already closed, so I can't return it. So, the next day I went back and said I want an exchange. The guy in the Guitar department did a check on it to see if it really was broken; indeed it was. So that guy pulled out a new one for exchange. He did all that he needs to do with the receipts and stuff etc... Then when it's time to bag the new exchanged item, he just bag me the same item I returned for exchange. At that time I had a feeling that he just gave me the same old one but I thought he probably know what he's doing and wouldn't do that so I didn't bother to ask to him to double check. When I got to my car I just want to get a quick glance at it to see if it was my old one, and guess what...... I WAS right. I was so pissed off, I went right back inside and told the damn idiot he gave me the wrong damn thing. He just laugh and didn't even said he was sorry and just told me to wait there and he'll go and grab me a new one when I actually saw lots of them sitting on the shelf from yesterday. He then came back out with his so-called "new one" which the box looks even worst then the one I returned for exchange. I asked him if that was a used one and he said no and also said that that's the only one they had left. Since I didn't want to argue with him or start a scene I just accept it and leave and am not going to go back there for a long time or until they get new employees. Until then I'll just buy my gears from another Guitar Center store or if all Guitar Center stores are like that then I'll probably look somewhere else.
I've been lied to when I bought my first preamp. The original price for the preamp is $1499.95 and the sales rep said if I buy it today he would give me a $200 off discount. So, that time I was in need of a preamp fast so I decided to go with it. When checking out, he scanned the barcode and said "Wow, it's your lucky day man; it's actually $1200." With the price already dropped he said he can only give me $100 off discount. Total comes to $1100 before tax. I think to myself "This guy's pretty cool. I'll take it." I didn't get to use it until two days later because I had things to get done. When I opened the box I saw that the bag that the preamp was in was not sealed anymore. It looks like someone had opened it or used it. I had a feeling that I was sold a used one. Then I looked at the box to see how it was taped. It looks like someone had re-taped the box. At that time I didn't really care much because I just want to plug it in and hear how nice it will make my vocals sound. I tried to have a positive mind and not think too much about the fact that it could be a used one.
After what happened the other day at Guitar Center, I had a feeling that they're selling used items to customers without letting customers know about the items being sold-it could be that the item is used or broken and returned from other customers that they're reselling.
I'm never going to trust those Guitar Center sales people ever again if I wanted to buy high-end gears. They're just doing that so customers think they're cool so they'll keep coming back to get more discounts. They are making profits with bad services. They don't really know much about gears. They only know the gears they're selling.
Back when I was doing my converter research, I went to Guitar Center to get some help. It turns out I learned more by reading online forums than wasting my time with those sales rep trying to sell me crap. One time I ask one of the sales rep in recording department about the Mytek and Lavry converters he suddenly had no clue what I'm talking about and said he's never heard it before. He only knew about the Apogees, UAs and RME's stuff; cause that's what they're selling. 2 minutes later I'm out the door.
It's a lesson well learned.
Do any of you guys here ever had any problems buying gears at Guitar Center or elsewhere?
Thanks for reading. Good luck on your next gear purchase. Have a nice day.
