Members kwakatak Posted October 26, 2009 Members Share Posted October 26, 2009 I'm not young and I'm not poor but I have to be frugal with my wife's money (not a joke) - not to mention I'd like to do some Christmas shopping with some of the money that's currently earmarked for GAS - so layaway's looking like an option. I have a particular guitar and shop in mind but after a couple of swindlings by auto mechanics I feel that I need to be well-informed before slapping any money on the table. Are there any potential pitfalls with putting a guitar on reserve? I'm inclined to trust this particular shop but I don't want to hand out rope to hang myself; I used to trust my mechanic after all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members riffmeister Posted October 26, 2009 Members Share Posted October 26, 2009 I take it your mechanic will be having a very Merry Christmas?? As long as there are no fees or interest, there's nothing wrong with layaway. The only reason to do this, though, would be if you happened to find "the guitar" and don't want to lose it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members seagullplayer77 Posted October 26, 2009 Members Share Posted October 26, 2009 I borrowed some money from my mom one time for a guitar purchase...that count ? I'd have to side with Riff on this one, though. Unless you found THE guitar and you were confident you'd never find another like it, I wouldn't go the layaway route, regardless of how safe it is. As gitnoob is so fond of saying, there are plenty of gitfish in the sea. Unless you've really bonded with a particular guitar, I'd just wait until you have the money to pay for it up front. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members gearhead1972 Posted October 26, 2009 Members Share Posted October 26, 2009 I have done it numerous times, but like 15 years ago. BC Rich st-3, Epiphone Acoustic, and a ART Multiverb alpha. Payed them all off in 6 months. I am actually thinking about doing this with a LP standard right now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members kwakatak Posted October 26, 2009 Author Members Share Posted October 26, 2009 I take it your mechanic will be having a very Merry Christmas?? As long as there are no fees or interest, there's nothing wrong with layaway. The only reason to do this, though, would be if you happened to find "the guitar" and don't want to lose it. Well, let's just say I won't be darkening his door any more. I really need to get back into the habit of doing my own maintenance anyway. It'd definitely be a LOT cheaper, though it'd beat up my hands and I'd probably break a fingernail or two! You bring up a good point about fees or interest. I like to think I'm on good terms with the owner and staff at this shop and they've always been straight with me in the past so I'd definitely inquire about their terms. As for "the guitar", it's probably gonna be there for awhile. There's nothing special about it other than it sounded and felt good to me and was close to the amount in the GAS fund that my wife gave to me for my birthday back in July. That being said, the holidays are coming up and I wanted to use some of that money for gifts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members RestoringSilenc Posted October 26, 2009 Members Share Posted October 26, 2009 At the shop I purchased my Alvarez at,they let me pay half up front,came back five months later,and when I payed off the rest,it was flat.Nothing else going on,just the same flat rate,and they put the guitar in the back and didn't let anyone in the shop buy it,so,I don't know,it was an effective route for me,but then again i'm 18,it takes me forever to sum up enough money to make a worthwhile purchase,haha. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Stackabones Posted October 26, 2009 Members Share Posted October 26, 2009 American Musical Supply has layaway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Misha Posted October 26, 2009 Members Share Posted October 26, 2009 Kwak, I still do it sometimes! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members threecar Posted October 26, 2009 Members Share Posted October 26, 2009 Kwak, what guitar are you talking about. Or is it going to be a surprise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Terry Allan Hall Posted October 26, 2009 Members Share Posted October 26, 2009 I've used layaway many times, and the only time anything went wrong was when the pawnshop got broken into and a bunch of stuff, including the Michael Kelly ABG I'd put on layaway, got boosted...was offered a full refund or the option of putting the $$$ already down on any other item in the store chain's inventory. Still do business w/ them, as they often have reasonably priced gear, and are pretty good about letting regulars know when something choice comes up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members kwakatak Posted October 26, 2009 Author Members Share Posted October 26, 2009 Kwak, what guitar are you talking about. Or is it going to be a surprise. Nah, I'm just still not 100% decided yet. It's either gonna be a Martin D-16GT from once place or a Larriv Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Chordchunker Posted October 26, 2009 Members Share Posted October 26, 2009 I`ve been doing the easy 3 payment plan thing that quite a few online music retailers offer including Sweetwater.. I`ve also done the layaway thing that worked out fine..Musicians do what they have to to get the good stuff. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Queequeg Posted October 26, 2009 Members Share Posted October 26, 2009 One risk is that the shop goes out of business before you settle up. That could be bad. Another is that generally you have a limited time to complete the purchase. 90 days or occasionally I see 120 days offered. If you can't meet that date due to... I don't know, a car repair, for example, I don't know what your options are with the store owner, but you need to know that before you enter into such an agreement.Finally, I think you lose some bargaining power when you are a layaway customer. Nothing brings on the discounts like cold hard cash for a store owner. With a layaway, he's got inventory and insurance and taxes to worry about. If he has to carry it over into the new year this could have some cost implications to him. Retailers only make money by turning their inventory. The faster they turn it the more they make. Layaway is slow-motion selling. It's not the red meat that makes store owners salivate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members OldGuitarPlayer Posted October 26, 2009 Members Share Posted October 26, 2009 What a coincidence! I just put a Yamaha FG700S on layaway today! (I posted a thread about it) I put $50 down and have 90 days to pay it off. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members McNulty Posted October 26, 2009 Members Share Posted October 26, 2009 One risk is that the shop goes out of business before you settle up. That could be bad. Another is that generally you have a limited time to complete the purchase. 90 days or occasionally I see 120 days offered. If you can't meet that date due to... I don't know, a car repair, for example, I don't know what your options are with the store owner, but you need to know that before you enter into such an agreement. Finally, I think you lose some bargaining power when you are a layaway customer. Nothing brings on the discounts like cold hard cash for a store owner. With a layaway, he's got inventory and insurance and taxes to worry about. If he has to carry it over into the new year this could have some cost implications to him. Retailers only make money by turning their inventory. The faster they turn it the more they make. Layaway is slow-motion selling. It's not the red meat that makes store owners salivate. This. I lost a surfboard once to an Out Of Business sign. I am also fairly close to a music store owner, and he hates layaway. It is definitely true that cash speaks like no other when it comes to discounts...As the year ends, turning inventory is key to reducing taxes for a store. You may be able to get a better price by just waiting for the last few weeks of the year and paying cash. It's your money... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Gary Blanchard Posted October 26, 2009 Members Share Posted October 26, 2009 One risk is that the shop goes out of business before you settle up. That could be bad. My wife had some stuff on Layaway with Mars Music when they folded. I've used it before, but keep in mind many places have only a 30 day plan. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members kwakatak Posted October 26, 2009 Author Members Share Posted October 26, 2009 This. I lost a surfboard once to an Out Of Business sign. I am also fairly close to a music store owner, and he hates layaway. It is definitely true that cash speaks like no other when it comes to discounts...As the year ends, turning inventory is key to reducing taxes for a store. You may be able to get a better price by just waiting for the last few weeks of the year and paying cash. It's your money... Yeah, the end-of-year thing is always a possibility too. With a gig coming up I guess I'm getting impatient - even though I already have a couple of guitars. I'm not worried about either shop folding soon though, but yeah I could potentially wait another month or two. I've already been waiting since July anyway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Yamaha Junkie Posted October 26, 2009 Members Share Posted October 26, 2009 Depends on Joes Terms Guitar Gallery doesn't really care how long you take as long as they know you still want it. My Epi 00 was paid off $20 here $50 there but I knew they had THAT ONE set aside for me. My freind in the city was not interested in layaway when everything was shooting out the door as fast as he unpacked it. Now that he is hearing Crickets he's much more accepting to those terms. Seems like your GAS money is safer in the stores hands than yours buddy. It would get your guitar off display. When you score an extra $20 or hundred you could make another payment instead of the dough turning into useless stuff like food. Weren't you just in the store when a kid knocked one to the ground.....it could have been the one your drooling for. It wasn't, this time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Melodeous Posted October 26, 2009 Members Share Posted October 26, 2009 Yep. Many years ago but it went well. Both were 90 day deals and the store owner let me take the 2nd guitar home on the downstroke. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members martinipm Posted October 26, 2009 Members Share Posted October 26, 2009 I've used layaway twice in the last year. Both times were for tremendous deals that I knew would never be duplicated (Gibson LC-1 for $800 and Santa Cruz OM for $1100). That would be the only time I'd do it. If you're going to buy a common guitar, I'd just wait until you have the cash...unless you find one of those "magic tone Gibsons", then I would use a layaway plan for sure to make sure it doesn't get away! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members kwakatak Posted October 26, 2009 Author Members Share Posted October 26, 2009 Depends on Joes Terms Guitar Gallery doesn't really care how long you take as long as they know you still want it. My Epi 00 was paid off $20 here $50 there but I knew they had THAT ONE set aside for me. My freind in the city was not interested in layaway when everything was shooting out the door as fast as he unpacked it. Now that he is hearing Crickets he's much more accepting to those terms. Seems like your GAS money is safer in the stores hands than yours buddy. It would get your guitar off display. When you score an extra $20 or hundred you could make another payment instead of the dough turning into useless stuff like food. Weren't you just in the store when a kid knocked one to the ground.....it could have been the one your drooling for. It wasn't, this time. YJ, quit tempting me! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Kap'n Posted October 27, 2009 Members Share Posted October 27, 2009 I've used it for used equipment I needed to snag when I was a kid. Unless it's a super deal, or "the one," I don't see the need to tie up cash until you're ready to make the purchase. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members kwakatak Posted October 27, 2009 Author Members Share Posted October 27, 2009 It's sounding more like I should just wait until I have the cash. FWIW I don't have much left to save to pull the trigger. Christmas is coming up though and I've got a family to shop for too though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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