I love guitar center thread

[boomtap]

I actually like Guitar Center because they have the scratch and dent guitars. I picked up a Fender Highway 1 with some real small dings, for $300 that absolutly is the best guitar I have ever owned. The only word of caution is that you have to play every guitar they have because there is a bunch of crap floatingon the wall in the midst of a few bargins.

 

[juststartingout]

Our GC opened about 2 years ago. I have always got good service and found there products similar in quality to the other 5 guitar stores in our area. I can't believe that you all think that they make deals for substandard products. I can go to any guitar store and find an axe that isn't set up right. I can find butt headed salesman in any store also. But neither of those mean that that is what the stores owner wants. It's just the way that the business is, people have bad days and products have flaws.

I can verify that they do send stuff back if it's too bad. I know some of the GC people at our store and they do send stuff back to Gibson and Fender. I can also tell you that they hire people to sell products, not fix them. They do not hire guitar techs, they hire people that they think can relate to the customers that come in the door. And if you send CG corporate a complaint, and if they get enough on a store, they will replace the manager.

It's a simple numbers game, if you sell 10 times as many products, you will get 10 times more complaints, you will get 10 times as many faulty products and so on. But, you can also sell for less.

If you don't like guitar center, then don't buy from them. Your money talks much louder than anything you can say. But don't buy an axe from them and then sit there and whine about it. Go down to your local dealer, who is a guitar tech and pay more for it.

The story I like to tell, which is true, is the one shop in our area, has 20-30 guitars in stock. One Gibson Les Paul and a bunch of other junk. The Les Paul is $800 more than what GC wants for the exact same thing. I know because I played both. His axe plays worse than the one at GC and he is a guitar tech. He also whines about how GC ruined his business. Gee, I wonder why. Just because you are an 'Expert', doesn't mean you have a better product.

 

[bongolation]

The only word of caution is that you have to play every guitar they have because there is a bunch of crap floatingon the wall

Don't play them, inspect them. Like someone was supposed to do at the factory, but probably didn't.

Most of the bad manufacturing defects aren't apparent just on playing the piece, and you can't really tell how something plays until it's set up properly anyway (like that's going to happen!). Test-playing electrics is pretty much meaningless, short of finding things like dead pickups.

 

[heroics321]

i do not like guitar center's use of corporate intimidation tactics. a close family friend works for lentine's in akron ohio, and a guitar center opened up on the other side of the strip mall... what do their employees do? they visit his store at ten in the morning, turn all of the amps to 10, hop on the drums, and all start playing randomly. their manager goes up to this friend of mine (the manager of the store, who was kind an polite to each of these ass holes), puts a kazoo on the counter and says "get used to sales like this." in complete zoolander fashion, he snaps his fingers and they all leave. its things like this that make me not want to shop there, just like walmart. i hate to sound like the bleeding heart hippie, but eff guitar center, support your local music stores if you can.

 

[Rokket]

i do not like guitar center's use of corporate intimidation tactics. a close family friend works for lentine's in akron ohio, and a guitar center opened up on the other side of the strip mall... what do their employees do? they visit his store at ten in the morning, turn all of the amps to 10, hop on the drums, and all start playing randomly. their manager goes up to this friend of mine (the manager of the store, who was kind an polite to each of these ass holes), puts a kazoo on the counter and says "get used to sales like this." in complete zoolander fashion, he snaps his fingers and they all leave. its things like this that make me not want to shop there, just like walmart. i hate to sound like the bleeding heart hippie, but eff guitar center, support your local music stores if you can.

Holy fuck! People actually do that sort of shit? I thought it was only in the movies.

I don't think they all do that. Perhaps the owner of the local music store should get this shit on tape and contact the BBB.

 

[patlang12]

i do not like guitar center's use of corporate intimidation tactics. a close family friend works for lentine's in akron ohio, and a guitar center opened up on the other side of the strip mall... what do their employees do? they visit his store at ten in the morning, turn all of the amps to 10, hop on the drums, and all start playing randomly. their manager goes up to this friend of mine (the manager of the store, who was kind an polite to each of these ass holes), puts a kazoo on the counter and says "get used to sales like this." in complete zoolander fashion, he snaps his fingers and they all leave. its things like this that make me not want to shop there, just like walmart. i hate to sound like the bleeding heart hippie, but eff guitar center, support your local music stores if you can.

I always try to support the local store, but when there are $100's of dollars difference I just can't do it. I don't have very much money so I am always shopping for the best deal. The best deal is ussually with GC or someone like them. For all of the small stuff though I always go with the local store.

 

[juststartingout]

i do not like guitar center's use of corporate intimidation tactics. a close family friend works for lentine's in akron ohio, and a guitar center opened up on the other side of the strip mall... what do their employees do? they visit his store at ten in the morning, turn all of the amps to 10, hop on the drums, and all start playing randomly. their manager goes up to this friend of mine (the manager of the store, who was kind an polite to each of these ass holes), puts a kazoo on the counter and says "get used to sales like this." in complete zoolander fashion, he snaps his fingers and they all leave. its things like this that make me not want to shop there, just like walmart. i hate to sound like the bleeding heart hippie, but eff guitar center, support your local music stores if you can.

So how does that differ from someone starting a thread on this board, telling people how much GC sucks and to never shop there. It's all the same, damage the competition so that my store sells more.

You guys really need to take a business ethics course.

 

[wesley tanner]

My local GC has turned into a total shit store. Crap selection in all departments.

And the kids (come on nothing against kids) that work there are worthless when it comes to help.

If I want any kind of selection I have to go to Vegas, hundreds of miles away.

http://www.edromanguitars.com/

I've admired ed roman's website many a time. always has the best stuff

 

[acorec]

seriously, who does?

GC is the best if you play them like they are trying to play you. I have gotten seriously great deals from my GC and I mean like over %50 off their sales prices. I raid the demo stuff that they have budgeted in the backroom but has never even left the original box. The only trick I can give is to have money and also have the attitude of being bored and not caring about if you get it or not. The salespeople will open their incredibly fat mouths if they KNOW you have the money and they THINK that you would only buy if it were an killer deal. NEVER look interested in any deal. My M.O is to talk to them and count my $$$ in front of them. Then say something like "I have to check my available finances, I forget what I have today". Then (pretty much ignoring the salesguy) I start to walk around. The salesguy follows, as usual. I ask about a few things, what is the best deal etc. Included in the few things is my target. When he/she looks up the best deal on the computer, I just say "ehh, not sure if I need it today". The sure fire way to get the best deal on what you want is to waste their time. They now know you have $$$ and you are not just window shopping. What they don't know is how they are going to get your $$$. Then, I slowly focus on the iten at hand. The computer deal never flies and I talk about the item. Ask questions (you don't care about the answers, you already should know everything about the item). Let the salesperson go on about his pro knowledge.

I have walked away from a great deal only a few times on purpose as I needed these incidents to "train" my personally selected salesweasle. It does take time. You will find the right one and later on, they will learn to cut to the chase much faster. The problem with this method is that you really have to actually buy stuff and ONLY from the carefully selected and trained individual.

Happy hunting.

 

[Ed Dixon]

GC is a chain music store. Like many, they tend to have lots of gear on hand you can see and try out. They tend to have sales folks who are not always knowledgable about any specific piece of gear.

Know what you want before you go on. Know what it sells for online or at other stores. Be willing to negociate for the known price.

Try to find out the local stores rep for returned gear and problems. This varies considerably by store.

Given this info, GC can be a good place to shop for gear.

Ed

 

[EdWonbass]

GC is the best if you play them like they are trying to play you. I have gotten seriously great deals from my GC and I mean like over %50 off their sales prices. I raid the demo stuff that they have budgeted in the backroom but has never even left the original box. The only trick I can give is to have money and also have the attitude of being bored and not caring about if you get it or not. The salespeople will open their incredibly fat mouths if they KNOW you have the money and they THINK that you would only buy if it were an killer deal. NEVER look interested in any deal. My M.O is to talk to them and count my $$$ in front of them. Then say something like "I have to check my available finances, I forget what I have today". Then (pretty much ignoring the salesguy) I start to walk around. The salesguy follows, as usual. I ask about a few things, what is the best deal etc. Included in the few things is my target. When he/she looks up the best deal on the computer, I just say "ehh, not sure if I need it today". The sure fire way to get the best deal on what you want is to waste their time. They now know you have $$$ and you are not just window shopping. What they don't know is how they are going to get your $$$. Then, I slowly focus on the iten at hand. The computer deal never flies and I talk about the item. Ask questions (you don't care about the answers, you already should know everything about the item). Let the salesperson go on about his pro knowledge.

I have walked away from a great deal only a few times on purpose as I needed these incidents to "train" my personally selected salesweasle. It does take time. You will find the right one and later on, they will learn to cut to the chase much faster. The problem with this method is that you really have to actually buy stuff and ONLY from the carefully selected and trained individual.

Happy hunting.

That's not bad. I have to figure out a way to use your method without having cash to wave around. I usually use credit cards.
I used this same technique when I bought a truck for my wife. The guy wouldn't give me a good deal on her trade in at first then he gave in after I told him that I would go to another dealer. While we were negotiating I acted bored and kept looking at my watch.
I even told the guy after an hour that if he couldn't do drastically better then he was wasting my time and his. Eventually I broke him. I still felt like I was paying a lot for the truck but just think if I hadn't acted like a dick how much more I would have paid.
The next time I go into guitar center I may have to "work it" a little to see how far I can bring the price down.

 

[the edzell]

I don't mind the loud music. Keeps my wife out of the store (and she can't say no when she's over at Bed, Bath and Beyond.)

I use Guitar Center for the stuff I can't get locally. Which is monitors, plug-ins, mics, good chords, etc.... not strings, pics, amps or the like.

I could buy mics in my local market, but the only choice I have besides the standard SM57s and 58s in Baringher stuff. And even then it's another regional chain with kids who won't come down on the price, even if you have a web site's lower price in your hand. They always say, well who is going to help you with your stuff when it breaks down. Rather go on-line or to GC to get the mics from now now.

 

[ggunn]

There is a music store in in this area that has a huge sign that reads:

Songs Not Allowed To Be Played In This Store:


1. Stairway To Heaven

2. Sweet Home Alabama

3. (etc. etc.)

What??? No "Free Bird" on that list?

 

[EdWonbass]

GC is a chain music store. Like many, they tend to have lots of gear on hand you can see and try out. They tend to have sales folks who are not always knowledgable about any specific piece of gear.

Know what you want before you go on. Know what it sells for online or at other stores. Be willing to negociate for the known price.

Try to find out the local stores rep for returned gear and problems. This varies considerably by store.

Given this info, GC can be a good place to shop for gear.

Ed

Good points. I always do my homework before purchasing equipment.
It's forums like this that let you learn what experiences others have had with items you wish to buy. Once you sift through all the posts you should be able to make educated decisions on what you need.
Online stores are a great way to learn what's out there. It's up to the buyer to learn what he/she can about stuff before buying it.

 

[the edzell]

So how does that differ from someone starting a thread on this board, telling people how much GC sucks and to never shop there. It's all the same, damage the competition so that my store sells more.

You guys really need to take a business ethics course.

Hum... never heard that story about GC. If GC sales people are as horrid as I've heard (I've never had too many bad experiecnes other than the mistake of going in on a Saturday afternoon and actually expecting service) then the local mom and pops will be OK.

Besides it's the same with all these "chain" stores. I was in Babies R Us this weekend looking at strollers with my wife. (She was in an accident and has little use of her left hand) She was asking the salesperson how each one folds up and the guy spent 15 minutes on each one trying to kick it into folding up. I didn't know if the guy was storing it or wrestling it.

Needless to say after that we went to a locally owned shop where the people actually knew the products, and took the time to show us what we needed and how to use it. Spent probably around $10.00 + more on it but in this day and age I don't mind paying more for the service.

I don't need too much service on my small ticket idems, but if I'm forking out good cash I expect the red carpet.

 

[heroics321]

So how does that differ from someone starting a thread on this board, telling people how much GC sucks and to never shop there. It's all the same, damage the competition so that my store sells more.

You guys really need to take a business ethics course.

there is a difference... you're comparing customer actions to those of business owners. in what way does harassing store employees damage business? it doesn't... we're not talking about guitar center boasting how they have better deals than such and such mom and pop store. under your guides of "business ethics", if i hurt an employee's feelings by standing in front of him, throwing insults about his glasses or freckles or whatever, its all a-okay.

also, if you even read what i typed, you would have seen that i said support your local music shops when you can, i never told anyone not to shop at gc. all of my local music stores do not have a problem price-matching or ordering items i would normally have to buy at guitar center. their strings run about a dollar more than gc's, but they usually have some pretty tempting deals if you buy 2 sets or more, or they'll throw in some extra picks to even out the deal.

 

[Dracon]

I bought my first recording set up from GC (By the way the Guitar Center in Tacoma has so many guitars that I like to call it Guitar World) and I like them because I was able to upgrade from my Eurorack U802 to a Yamaha MG10/2 without any problems.

After that I've gone repeated times to Guitar World mainly to get cables. The several people know me from going in there, and they know that I would spend money (even though the average sales is $15.00) so they help me out (unless its the weekend). However, I bought my monitors used from e-bay, and I bought my Mackie 1402VLZ used from e-bay. The biggest ticket item I've bought from them is my Delta 4/4 and that was the last big ticket item I'll buy from them.

I don't love GC but I don't hate it either. I know they are a chain store and don't expect anything from them that I wouldn't expect from any other national chain store. I haven't bought a single instrument from them, and I wouldn't since their prices on "good" instruments are too high IMO.

I mainly use GC to go play around with guitars, test equipment, try to find a book or two (or maybe some music - although Ted Brown in much better for that) and buy cables I need right now.

 

[Aaron Cheney]

My "Urbanlegendometer" has been pegged this entire thread.

A

 

[spoonie g]

They get shit on a lot (probably because they're a big corporation), but they aren't so bad. The staff aren't the most informed either. However, my girlfriend used to work there and all of the guys that work there are in love with her, so I get everything at cost! Hehe.

 

[rpe]

I'm 250 miles away from one GC (Albuquerque) and 400 from another (Scottsdale) so it's a treat when I get to visit them. They have always been courteous and if not helpful at least stay out of the way.

rpe