Chain Music Stores

  • Thread starter Thread starter hotshotup
  • Start date Start date
H

hotshotup

New member
I think big chain music stores suck, and wish they be boycotted, they have outrageous prices, unhelpful staff, horrible selection, and we're all being brainwashed by thinking they are all thats out there. There alot of great places on the web to shop with great selection, and you still get all the perks like warranty and competetive prices. I for one will never give my business to one of those stores again or subject myself to be treated in an unfriendly manner by some snot nose kid who thinks because he just learned his fourth bar chord and likes s.o.a.d. and plays his unappreciated $2000 gibson that daddy bought him cuz he makes minimun wage at that sucky store, that he's a rock star. For those who might not know, there was a time when the staff at those stores knew their shite and were monster players, but once those stores took over, they got rid of those guys and hired kids out of school with degrees in business and payed them minimum wage or close to it. I'm taking a stand. Anyone with me?
 
I'd love to know the percentage of "new" guitars they sell which are actually secondhand trade-ins. I will never use any of these shops again as they have tried to sell me dodgy stuff in the past. I got one chain back though; I was looking for a Xtortion Boss Effect - they only had this second hand thing, one of the knobs was missing and one of the pots was bent. I got it for £15, i returned the next day with it and complained saying that i bought this new yesterday and just opened it to find all this damage. He didn't even look at the receipt. Got a new one in for me, but the guy that originally sold me the pedal was in and looked at me suspiciousley. Never been back since.
 
I think they have their place, I really hate dealing with managers, and salesmen though. SO I do my shopping a small stores....usually
 
Sound control have ripped me off when i was younger - all i wanted was phantom power - they told me the cheapest way to get phantom power is by buying a behringer desk - Lie. They also destroyed one of my acoustic guitars by amaturely installing a pick up, the action is buggered So, you see what goes around comes around >thief<.
 
orson198305 said:
Sound control have ripped me off when i was younger - all i wanted was phantom power - they told me the cheapest way to get phantom power is by buying a behringer desk - Lie. They also destroyed one of my acoustic guitars by amaturely installing a pick up, the action is buggered So, you see what goes around comes around >thief<.
Click to expand...

interesting... i've never visited a Sound Control - my nearest is in the next city, and its a bit of a faff getting there, and i can get pretty much whatever i want here. but i'd like to go, just to see what it's like. i was shocked by the lack of stuff on their website though... it's pretty minimalist, without products that i've begun to see as the 'norm' on internet sites selling audio gear. i like knowing the guys at my local guitar shop too... never try to 'make the sale', give you the run of the shop if you ask to try something out, give you as much time as you want testing it, but at the same time very protective of their products, and will always make sure they're clean, in tune and in good condition, with prices as good as i've seen.

i can't really say i don't like big chain music shops. its much easier to get hard-to-find sheet music through them, because they have the contacts that smaller shops don't. but the smaller shops have a better vibe, nicer places to be ... generally make it much easier for you to part with your cash. which is what we all want really, isn't it? :p

Andy
 
Love the smaller shops, they are friendly and produce a great customer - seller atmosphere without being patronising or snobby. They also will go out on a limb to try and get you something. I'm fed up with this "you see i've had one of these for 25 years and it's never let me down... would you like the extended warranty?" You usually get with guys in larger chains.

Sound control has a suprisingly large selection of guitars etc, lacking in studio equipment though.

I also hate when a kid comes in to the shop (which was me once) for their first guitar, they convince you that this is the thing you want - plugs the guitar in and masterbates with the guitar for 5 minutes and then hands it over - "would you like to try". Then cause the kid is just starting he feels embarassed with his strumming of a minor and c.
 
I've worked in small music stores and worked a few years in one of the big box music stores. I've spent a lot of money as a consumer in both small stores and big stores and a relatively small amount of money on line.

I try to make sure I'm an informed consumer and when I worked in music stores I went out of my way to be both knowledgable and helpful to my customers. I've encountered very informed sales persons and some who could not tell a compressor from a pre amp.

I am not a fan of the big box stores (GC, etc) which have driven many small stores out of business. But the reality is the small stores are rare and most of the few that are left carry little more than guitar stings, drum sticks and a line of guitars that rarely qualify at even a B status.

So, if you want access to a variety of gear that you can actually try before you buy, the big box stores are the reality. They do have a place and that place becomes more important as everything other than on line is eliminated.

If there are no local stores then none us of can get hands on experiance with any gear. While reading a product review or a "detailed" add on a web site may provide a general view of a piece of gear, until you can see it in person and look at the various ins & outs, etc you don't really know if it will serve your needs. If particular, anything that requires feel (guitars, keyboard response, etc) or sound (drums, accoustic guitars, etc) needs to be seen and heard up close and personal.

I have seen so many times when someone comes into a music store, tries stuff out, asks questions etc. and then buys on line. Perhaps that approach does as much as anything to kill the local music stores (big or small). If everyone does that, if everyone boycotts GC (or who ever), if everyone buys on line, then eventually no one will be able to actually touch an item before they buy (cause there won't be any local music stores)

While that may be OK with a processor or possibly a mic, it certainly is not a good option with guitars, keyboards, drums or anything you need your ears and fingers to decide on.

I was always willing to pay a few more bucks to support the local mom & pop (as long as they could get the gear I needed) and I am still willing to give money to whatever the local store is (even if it is a GC). Local businesses feed the local economy. The local store hires local musicians who can then supplement their performance income while trying to succeeed. The local GC (our whoever) provides us all with a place to look at and try out gear that is no more than a picture on line.

Why would we not want to support that???
 
When I started this whole at home recording thing a few months ago. I knew nothing at all. So I did end up at GC with a pocket full of cash. Maybe I lucked out but the guy set me up pretty good. If there was any problems I could get him on phone and he did help. So when you have NO IDEA, maybe thats where they are good and hopefully you find someone half decent. Now that I learn more and read these threads I will probably head on line more. Or at least walk into a GC with more knowledge so they can't steer me wrong. Good to just ask questions and see something hands on. Than go shop for better price if need be. Also, I've been playing and going to these store for years and NEVER let some snotty kid give me attitude. Screw that!! :mad:
 
I agree the smaller shops are the way to go and I also agree with alot of what you guys said.
Brian, I agree with you 100%
And mike, I agree that maybe the bigger stores are a good way to experience the instruments 1st hand, but that's all I would ever do and then order from somewhere else. Although the smaller stores might not have the selection, they can usually get you whatever you want, and if it's a bit more, I wouldn't mind paying if it helped them stay in business (i know you said that too). But in my area, the bigger stores don't hire musicians, which is part of my gripe, they hire kids just out of school with a sales degree, and these guys know nothing. Like I said though, it used to be different.
And even with the sheet music, whatever it is, once you know what you want I think you're better off shopping elsewhere for a better deal.
Have you also noticed that they all carry the same "top namebrand" items? What's with that? Why doesn't one offer somethings different? I think because they're probably in bed with these companies to a degree. Because look at somewhere like Musictoyz.com, they have a massive selection of items you'd never find at a GC, and although most of it is boutique, harder to find stuff, I'd much rather take my chances knowing that the odds of me liking it are good because it's a quality product. And the amount of instruments on the used market is incredible, and I attribute that to people getting rid of stuff they bought at a chain store because these guys are under pressure to sell their (mostly less than desirable) inventory. And I'm not saying that there isn't cheap quality stuff, but I think chain stores are under pressure to get rid of their stuff, which is fine, but their stuff all happens to be the same (ibanez, gibson, fender, etc...), what else is someone going to buy, especially if they don't know anything different, or have nowhere else to go. I guess it's like any other monopoly. If gibson has a minimum order, the bigger stores are the only ones to afford it, so then they need to get rid of it and that's what they concentrate on pushing, and then by only giving you a few selections, you're bound to buy one of them, but I'd rather then see the chain not do business with them for a policy like that, and worry about giving us a selection rather than only giving a few and being all that's out there so we don't have the choice of something better. And for those reasons I'll take my chances either online or go to the mom&pop shops (who, now they used to have selections, but they've all been driven o.o.b. cuz people didn't realize they needed to pay a little more so that they could compete and stay in business, that's how "they" won) and spend a bit extra. And I agree about helping the economy, but when places like gibson, ibanez, etc..with the help of the big chains, make sure that they are the only economy around, then I cannot support that. To truly help the economy, we'd spend money on something other than ibanez gibson fender etc.......
Sorry about the rant, I guess I'm really feeling bitter for companies, in the business of something I love, creating this situation we're in and making it like it is.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top