Oh that Guitar Center!

[1esotericguy]

Originally posted by docjeffrey Sorry. Hate to burst your bubble. Wildwood will beat GC's prices every day of the week, and you will get better gear to boot. Steve pays his sales staff very well and even takes them to England on occasion. Guitar Center has very few good deals. Their "SALES" are a joke. Of course MF is the same thing without the incompetent sales people. The only good deals are on guitars that NOBODY wants (Hofner Colorama) and gear that was overpriced to begin with (Epiphone Elite). Everthing else is shamefully overpriced because they have to cover their supposedly free shipping. $2600 for an ES 335? Give me a break.

 

 

Wildwood is different. They're the Dr Z and Bogner dealer for your area. Every major metro has an exceptional indy store. The setup and quality of guitars makes up for any pricing difference. That's their niche. Guitar Center is far from infallible, but I think it's ignorant to deny they have a valid place in the market. Cheap, mainstream gear, inventoried. Why would you want to buy a $2600 335 mailorder/sight unseen (as in your MF example?). That's my point. It'll be at GC and it'll be the same price as mailorder (unless you bend over and pay what's on the tag). And yes, I agree the GC sales are jokes. But I prefer to walk in and get the "don't ask, don't get" sale spectacular which is happening every day of the week. The GC 'sale' mailer is for housewives and little girls. I do not doubt for a second that a Dr Z and Bogner dealer has the capital and the buying power to beat the advertised GC deals. We've established that the GC 'sales' are a joke. But, it's the negotiated prices at GC that ARE the lowest. Volume tier pricing is undeniable. Doesn't matter how much someone knows about neck heel spacing; if their cost and expenses (IE KNOWLEDGABLE EMPLOYEES) is higher, they can't discount as deep.

[hardtdc]

Did any of you people actually read this guy's post before you ripped him a new asshole? Damn. When the sales guy started in on his pitch, stratattack "politely" told him the correct information. I didn't read where he told the guy: "Your a goddamn idiot, now get the {censored} outta here". Every time the guy would say some wrong information, he would be corrected. I didn't perceive that he was "handed his ass to him". He shouldn't try to be something he isn't and talk {censored} if he doesn't know something. That makes him look more the fool. All he had to say was: "If you need help with anything, let me know. If I don't know the answer I can find it out". Bottom line is: if you know your product and believe in it, you can sell it. If you're learning, just be courteous and have the maturity to say you don't know it all. People will respect you more.

[docjeffrey]

Originally posted by 1esotericguy Wildwood is different. They're the Dr Z and Bogner dealer for your area. Every major metro has an exceptional indy store. The setup and quality of guitars makes up for any pricing difference. That's their niche. Guitar Center is far from infallible, but I think it's ignorant to deny they have a valid place in the market. Cheap, mainstream gear, inventoried. Why would you want to buy a $2600 335 mailorder/sight unseen (as in your MF example?). That's my point. It'll be at GC and it'll be the same price as mailorder (unless you bend over and pay what's on the tag). And yes, I agree the GC sales are jokes. But I prefer to walk in and get the "don't ask, don't get" sale spectacular which is happening every day of the week.

 

 

Wildwood has a huge inventory of guitars and more cheap/mainstream ones than expensive ones. They sell Epiphone, Fender, Squier, Hamer (even the cheap stuff). If you are looking for a baisc Am Standard Strat, Steve will beat GC and MF's prices consistently. And his prices on high end gear, including PRS and Gibson Custom, are MUCH cheaper than any of the big chains.

 

Musician's Friend is actually quite EXPENSIVE. a 20-30% discount on U.S. and Japanese made guitars is not nearly enough. The lower end Squier 51's and Epi LP's tend to be more evenly priced from dealer to dealer.

[keith2112]

There are several reasons I do not buy for GC: I can get the gear I buy at much beter prices elsewhere. At the Raleigh NC GC they have a 335 in Honey Burst for 2600. They say that it is because it has a unique finish. O yea---it is used too. I just got a NOS 01 never owned 335 for 1550 at Imperial Guitars in Long Island NY. I got my JCM800 for 1100 brand new. I've never even seen one of those in GC. My NOS 60 strat in Daphne Blue was 1710 shipped from Chuck Levins.
Another reason I do not buy from GC is by the time everybody has gone there and tried the stuff it is beat all to hell.
I do not like when any salesman tries to get me on some gimmick ie-highway finish etc. Because I'm obsessed with this stuff I usually know more than the salesguys. GC just tried to sell me a DOD Malmsteen OD for 29 bucks used. Good thing I knew they go for $30 brand new.

I do however, like to go there and play through mesa boogie amps and other used Hiwatts or Marshalls. Their used stuff is way too marked up though. There is a place for them. I just got my Planet Waves tuner for $70 brand new. You have to let them know you know what time it is. Then they will give you the price you want on pedals, straps etc. I do not get high end guitars there though.

[1esotericguy]

Originally posted by CorkyMcGee Wait, I'm supposed to pick between low prices and good service? If MF can send out 2903 million catalogs a month, they should be able to find a salesman who at least reads the damn thing. screw that - I'll choose ebay over corporate greed.

 

 

Ebay is cool. I've done two guitars sight unseen with no problems. I pass on a lot of 'shady' auctions though. Hopefully I won't ever have to post the: "OMG OMG Ebay ripped me off. HELP HCF-ers," thread. Fingers crossed.

[1esotericguy]

Originally posted by keith2112 There are several reasons I do not buy for GC: I can get the gear I buy at much beter prices elsewhere. ..... I do however, like to go there and play through mesa boogie amps and other used Hiwatts or Marshalls. Their used stuff is way too marked up though. There is a place for them. I just got my Planet Waves tuner for $70 brand new. You have to let them know you know what time it is. Then they will give you the price you want on pedals, straps etc. I do not get high end guitars there though.

 

 

Agreed. My cutoff is around $600 (single item) before GC seems like the wrong place to be shopping.

[eyeball987]

Walked into GC. Picked up a $150 Squire Tele just because. Sales guy walks over and says that it was one of the best sounding guitars in the store. I said "no it's not." And then shoo him away.

[Treborklow]

Maybe GC doesn't need to hire knowledgeable salespeople... after all, after reading all these CG threads apparently all of their customers are know-it-alls already.

[Bruce Bennett]

don't worry... soon they will be gone.

[red|dragon]

Originally posted by Treborklow Maybe GC doesn't need to hire knowledgeable salespeople... after all, after reading all these CG threads apparently all of their customers are know-it-alls already.

ooooooooooooh!!! owned!!!

[Treborklow]

Originally posted by Bruce Bennett don't worry... soon they will be gone.

 

 

Gone? Like away? Like how?

[Norton]

I lost my job recently due to store closing. I have a GC and Sam Ash roughly 45 miles away. Figuring If I do go back in sales I might as well sell guitars, right?

Was a great idea until I spoke with them. I guessed it was partially commision but didn't realize that it was 100% commision. After roughly calculating what I'd have to sell just to cover my gas to get there and make minimum wage that thought died real quick. Now I know why the Sam Ash here in particular is not able to keep any sales people(other than management).

In the right town that might be ok but not where I'm at. I have been and would be that sales guy you WANT to talk to but I can't pay my house payment and feed my kids on nothing. No doubt it's the same in alot of other places as well. Doesn't excuse poor sales people but when you realize they are being paid chicken feed it explains why there are not better people working there.

[larryguitar]

Well, it's not just GC-I stopped at Sam Ash today. Sales kid (nice enough) asked if I wanted to play anything.

I told him I was looking for a guitar with P-90s, and wasn't really finding any. He looked nervous, looked around, and said he'd 'check to see if any of those guitars (gestures to wall) have P-90s.'

Walked away and never saw him again, until I left and saw him smoking outside.

I actually felt sorry for him-he was obviously put in a position of not knowing his ass from a hole in the ground, and to his credit it made him uncomfortable. I'm sure he never got even the minimalist training that Target and Walmart employees get...


Larry

[CorkyMcGee]

Originally posted by Bruce Bennett don't worry... soon they will be gone.

 

I think so too

[guitarNed]

Originally posted by StratAttackJack I politely told him that there is no such thing as a highway one finish and that the guitars have a nitro finish, which the highwayone has, but is generally found on higher end models like custom shop.

This is not a flame. I am approaching you with honest uncertainty, and a humble spirit. I am not sure about what I'm saying here, and I admit it.

 

(guitarNed is NOT a troll!)

 

Anyway, I've never been a big fan of Hwy 1 guitars, almost entirely because of the finish. The finish seemed to me to be sort of satin, sort of dull. I always thought they were good quality guitars with an unfortunate, weird finish. Am I wrong about this? Is there really no such thing as a Highway 1 finish? I always thought the Highway 1 finish was a bad, bad thing.

[dimmypage]

Originally posted by red|dragon leave the poor fat gc employees alone asshole how would you like it if someone came into your job and knew more than you and made you look like a {censored}ing idiot in front of everyone? the guy was just trying to be nice. THATS IT. HE WAS TRYING TO BE NICE TO A CUSTOMER. The customer is always right, some customers are just assholes. Maybe his main instrument isn't even guitar, DID YOU THINK OF THAT? Or maybe he normal doesn't even work in the guitar department and just got assigned to that area because they were short staffed and just needed someone to be able to act friendly, pull guitars down, plug them in for people and ring them up and the cash register. jesus. you people expect to much these days. And what the {censored} is with going in and playing a bunch of expensive guitars that you will never buy? Do you go out and test drive BMW M3s and Mercedes SL500's and then go buy a {censored}ing Kia? Idiots. leave the poor gc employees alone.

:confused:

[guitarNed]

Originally posted by docjeffrey Musician's Friend is actually quite EXPENSIVE. a 20-30% discount on U.S. and Japanese made guitars is not nearly enough.

I agree 100%. Most of the larger Internet vendors, like MF, tend to charge MAP (minimum advertised price) for most of their stuff. MAP is the new MSRP, (manufacturer's suggested retail price) and makes no more sense than MSRP did.

 

My local guitar shop almost always will give me a better price than MF, Music123 or Zzounds. Often a considerably better price, an amount of money that more than makes up for the sales tax, even when the Internet vendors ship for free. Sometimes they'll do enough better that I am dumbfounded.

 

So, one day, in a weak moment, I asked the owner why, er, I can buy things at his store for so little, compared to Internet vendors. He said, "Well, er, you're a good customer, and that makes a difference, honestly. But, also, MAP pricing is just what MSRP used to be. But now they enforce it. So we have room to maneuver."

 

I live in a town with 12,000 people.

[Mercer]

Originally posted by Devinstation Don't get me wrong, I am not defending this guy. I still think GC should hire employees who know what is what. But that doesn't mean you have to go and give the guy a hard time and also make fun of his weight. It's not HIS fault GC hired an incompetant employee.

 

Remember everyone, "Outside of every thin pereson, there's a fatty waiting to get in!":p

[red|dragon]

Originally posted by dimmypage :confused:

Too hard for you to comprehend? typical.

[Mercer]

My personal favorite local dealer guarantees 10% off GC, which is nice. They also sell Godins for about as much of a discount off the online vendors as the online vendors discount off the MSRP. I like 210 dollar Godin detours. I don't even like Godin detours much, but I like them if they're 1/3-ish list price. I also hate Guitar Center, but do see that it has a nice purpose: trying out gear before you get it ordered in. I can go to Guitar Center and try out pretty much anything that I want except for Reverend, Duesenberg or stuff like that. I value this. Thus, I buy strings there fairly often. I also LOVE it when corporate stores close. It's happening in Houston now. Everything is 30% off. It's beautiful. Hwy 1's for standard series prices, Standards at Squier price, Squier at "box of string sets" prices. It was their own damn fault to. They stopped letting teens play guiatars. I am a lot less likely to break a guitar sitting on a stool fingerpicking some blues licks then a pudgy forty-year old banging something around into walls and doing the "nails on chalkboard" thing. And thus I watched their sweet, slow demise. And I laughed.

[ExtraGum]

Who gives a damn what a GC employee knows? All he needs to know is the lowest price he can part with an item w/o it coming out of his paycheck. If you go in there looking for advice, then you're the moron.

[StratAttackJack]

WOW. I went out with some old friends for a few drinks and come back to more replies than I ever coulda thought!

Anyhow, for all of you who see where I'm coming from, thank you, honestly.

For the rest of you who think I'm some sort of asshole. Who is the bigger asshole, somebody trying to sell a $1600 to somebody by strait up LYING the whole time, or the guy not buying into it?!?!?!

I mean really if I didn't know my ass from my dick this guy woulda made believe and trust that he knew what he was talking about, because aside from the fact he was blowing me complete BS the whole time, he was a nice, believeable kind of guy!!!

I mean when I was in the checkout for my strings, I overheard this guy talking to a salesman about a starting guitar for his son that he could play "metal and power chords on" and the first guitar he pointed to was over 500 bucks!!! I mean come on, I'm far from being the asshole, nor am I acting like a know it all, I coulda told that guy that he was full of {censored} from the start, but I didn't, nor do I feel I must come to the internet to "brag" about this whole ordeal, if anything I gave him knowledge that he could use to get MORE sales.... I mean come on, what the hell is wrong with knowing what you're talking about?!?!

[StratAttackJack]

Originally posted by red|dragon And what the {censored} is with going in and playing a bunch of expensive guitars that you will never buy? Do you go out and test drive BMW M3s and Mercedes SL500's and then go buy a {censored}ing Kia? Idiots. leave the poor gc employees alone.

 

 

I've spent over $3000 dollars in that store in the last few months, just because I played guitars I can't afford at the time doesn't mean I've never given them business, though I doubt I ever will again...

[ExtraGum]

Originally posted by StratAttackJack Anyhow, for all of you who see where I'm coming from, thank you, honestly. For the rest of you who think I'm some sort of asshole. Who is the bigger asshole, somebody trying to sell a $1600 to somebody by strait up LYING the whole time, or the guy not buying into it?!?!?! ... I mean when I was in the checkout for my strings, I overheard this guy talking to a salesman about a starting guitar for his son that he could play "metal and power chords on" and the first guitar he pointed to was over 500 bucks!!! I mean come on, I'm far from being the asshole, nor am I acting like a know it all, I coulda told that guy that he was full of {censored} from the start, but I didn't, nor do I feel I must come to the internet to "brag" about this whole ordeal, if anything I gave him knowledge that he could use to get MORE sales.... I mean come on, what the hell is wrong with knowing what you're talking about?!?!

 

 

I don't think you're an asshole, but I think you'll find as you purchase cars, homes, etc. that salesmen and agents are not your friends, and if you look to them for advice, you'll get exactly what you deserve.

[StratAttackJack]

Originally posted by ExtraGum I don't think you're an asshole, but I think you'll find as you purchase cars, homes, etc. that salesmen and agents are not your friends, and if you look to them for advice, you'll get exactly what you deserve.

 

 

I agree, I didn't ask for any advice! If you read my post, I grabbed the guitar off the wall, and this guy came up and started yappin at me, I honestly played it because I wanted to, I obviously know about the guitar (i've done much research), I just wanted to play it man!