"Guitar" Center rant

moresound said:
I got one of those letters as well!
Click to expand...
me too and mine came with a 20% off anything I wanted to buy up to 5 grand. So I immediately bought about 3500 bucks worth 'o' shit.

Well ..... to be clear, Musician's Friend is where I get my stuff but that's simply the on-line Guitar Center.
 
YeshuasFan said:
My experiences at Guitar Center are few and far between--simply because the experiences have been negative so far. Usually go to one when traveling if I need to pick up some strings...
Now I just deal with my local music shop because if they don't have it in stock, they will order it for me, have it within a week, and for the same price or less than what I would pay online, plus they act like they care about every customer. Sure I have to pay sales tax, but I figure I'm helping my local economy.
Click to expand...

If I had the choice, I'd much rather go to a locally-owned shop than a GC, when away from home (well, when home, too.) I like meeting local people, and find owners of local shops tend to be happier to see out of town visitors. You might get a tip of a good player or jam session that you might enjoy, that sort of thing. Oh, sure, that can happen at GC, but I think it's more likely at mom-and-pops- like Jennings Music in Marietta, GA. Phil and Liz bought it about a year ago, and although Phil is (as I recall) an accountant, he is also a guitarist and truly likes being around musical instruments and musicians.
 
Victory Pete said:
My small shop can beat them on some items.

VP
Click to expand...

So what? Sure they can if they're willing to lose money for the sale. Mom and pops don't have the buying power that big chains do. Guitar Center can buy Strats and Les Pauls in huge bulk quantities at extreme wholesale prices. Mom and pops can't.
 
Greg_L said:
So what? Sure they can if they're willing to lose money for the sale. Mom and pops don't have the buying power that big chains do. Guitar Center can buy Strats and Les Pauls in huge bulk quantities at extreme wholesale prices. Mom and pops can't.
Click to expand...

I can beat their prices and not lose money. Guitar Center pays the same dealer costs as anyone else. That is the way distributors keep all their dealers treated fairly. Guitar Center can sell for less because they do sell alot.

VP
 
Greg_L said:
You have a very loose and liberal definition of "business". That's okay though, maybe you can fool enough people into thinking you're legit long enough to keep your head above water.
Click to expand...

You know nothing of my businesses, please refrain from any further comments.

VP
 
Anyway, you don't have to be a business or economics major, or even a fake internet luthier, to know that big-box retailers squash out mom and pop shops because they have the buying power to offer better deals and a much larger selection of merchandise. You're an idealistic fool if you choose to not take advantage of that.
 
Yep, and according to the local business both Gibson and Fender have made it near impossible to carry their line if your not big box because the min order has gone up through the years.

Plus all the "crap" that everyone refers to is easier to sell. Easier to blow out cheap shit like strings, sub $200 amps and guitars than it is a $4k les paul that might sit for a year or more before it walks out the door. Especially if your a small store.
 
mjbphotos said:
It's ok to defend your work place, bigcheese! If you go back to page 1, my original rant was because there were potential customers at the Nashua GC who were not getting any help. When I went in last week to get a replacement nut, I was helped by an 18-year old (guessing his age) who didnt' know a lot, and I pointed out online said they had a precut nut in stock, he looked and found it for me. There was a much-older guy behind the counter who looked/said things much more knowledgeable, but he was helping someone else. GC is really the only place around here that's left to buy a variety of stuff - there are a couple of small 'guitars only' shops around, but that's about it.
Click to expand...

it was refreshing to hear another perspective, I agree.

One thing, that I take partial fault in, is presenting myself as not knowing what I want. This causes painful babbling of crap I'm not interested in.

Usually I've researched and go there to see it or take it home to try.....but....
often I slip up and ask some open ended questions.

Here there are 6 GC within 60 min drive (maybe more)....and the environments are so different too from store to store, somewhat.
So I find myself going to a smaller store, versus the one closer thats hyped up and really busy and noisy as can be.

personally, I think it would be difficult to work in the busy store. its common to hear 6 guitarists playing through amps, all playing different songs at the same time.... can you imagine hearing that everyday! geeez
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top