Wanted to share my experience at Guitar Center in Springfield NJ yesterday. I went in because the website claimed they had an ES-359 in stock. I know I should have called, but I felt like taking a ride anyway, only about 45 min from my house.

They were supposedly having a sale 15% off any single item if you trade any piece of gear in. I brought a Boss OD-20 to trade - just in case.

So I get there and I go in where the Gibsons are and this kid picks up a Les Paul Custom right off the wall and starts playing it with his Jacket on and all kinds of buttons and zippers are rubbing on the back of the guitar. Yikes!

I start to pull down various guitars and I can't believe the condition of them. Really filthy and scratched. Another thing I noticed is that the finish over the inlays on a lot of the custom Les Pauls was very uneven. I have an EPI Les Paul custom and I the craftsmanship on the headstock inlay was better. This was a shock to me considering the 3200 price difference. I would say that the binding is better on the Gibsons though, but not that much better. I took down an nice LP standard and the neck was unbelievably bowed.

So the place is a zoo and I finally get a sales guys attention and he tells me that they have no ES-359 in stock and it would not qualify for the 15% discount as it is only for in stock items. I start to tell him about how the website said they have them and he says that the website is not always accurate. I have no problem with this. So finally I ask him if I could get a discount anyway because I'm ready to buy and he says he could only do a price match with another retailer and has no other leeway with the price. Five minutes before I talked to him he was bending over backwards helping a guy buying a $250 starter guitar and the guy won't even talk to me about one that costs 3 grand. Anyway that will be my last trip to that particular GC. I wonder if they're all like that.

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i see what you mean. my local guitar center is the same way.
alot of the people their are rude and unprofessional.
never been a fan of that place.

To be honest most of the feedback on GC is not good. But when you figure how many of them there are I cant say all the sales people suck. Another thing is these places are revolving doors for employees just like the Sam Ash by my house which I might stop in twice a year and except for management the sales people expire after a few months. But If I had to take a ride like that I would make sure what I was looking for was in stock and then ask the salesperson his name so I could look for him when I came in.

Ah, yeah, that sounds like a typical experience with a chain shop.

Local shops are the only way forward, and if they dont have one you want,the best thing to do is go to a big shop that do have it, play it then internet order it.

I can guarantee that it will play 5 times better than the guitar you tried in the shop.

Mind you, if you ordering a gibson id want to make sure that there was a return policy since their QC is a bit funny nowadays.

Ibanez, PRS, Fender are all safe to order off the internet since they have BRILLIANT QC

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"Oh, it's a windy and sunny day
And I can hear the faint sound of distant waves
The past weeks have been going by so fast
It's all the same, the bright sky and shining sun
I have a feeling it's gonna be a fun day"

+1
i rarely step into guitar center.
i stick to my local shop tringas musical whenever possible. the only thing they dont carry there is gibson so if i need a gibson i have to go up the street to GC. but i love fender so i dont have a need to go to GC for a Gibson.

I agree that supporting the local mom & pops is a great idea but respectfully disagree with using any business for a test drive and than ordering that product online. Brick & mortar shops, big and small, make substantial investments in inventory, staff, and real estate and to utilize them in such a way and then spend your money elsewhere is just wrong.

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Don't worry, Be happy.

I guess like any store, although the chain exists across the country the people at each location can make or break their local reputation.

I've had one dealing with GC, traded in an old 4x10 cab and a Laney bass amp head for a Line 6 Lowdown 300. It was a great deal I thought, I gave them my gear and $50 for the Line 6. And a couple days later I went to their website for the store and saw the asking price on my gear was only $40 more than they gave me on trade.

My Line 6 works awesome, the person I dealt with on the phone and in person was very easy to work with. I didn't play many guitars since I was there for a purpose.

This store is in Appleton WI and if it wasn't over an hour away I'd go back there in a heartbeat.

Wow. That sucks, man. Didn't some one else post a "New Jersy GC sucks" thread? I have never paid sticker price for stuff when I go to my local GC. The sales people there know me and never bother me. The only problem I have ever had (and it's not a big deal) is that sometimes I'll run into one of the sales guys in public and he always asks if I have bought anything from the store lately. Kind of annoying that it has to be about business even when we're not in the store.

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Live guitars: 2009 LTD Truckster, 1989 Strat Plus, 2001 Am Standard Strat, 1996 MIJ Jaguar, 2007 Gibson Explorer 76 reissue, 1999 Ibanez RG7621, LTD MH-301, LTD FM400, 1999 Jackson Kelly, Mystery Les Paul, Hamer Chaparel, Fender FM 62SCE A/E Mandolin

I did end up visiting my local shop afterwards. They have 3 locations and a very decent selection. I tried a beautiful Les Paul standard with a chambered body, an ES-335 (which was over 4 grand and way out of my range] and a really nice EPI - Riviera. All the guitars were in immaculate condition. I plan on purchasing an amp there after I sell my CP 50s strat. I want to get a tube amp and I'm not sure which one and I'll be able to try a few there. They also have a very nice acoustic room. They are Dave Phillips Music in Flemington and I give them a big thumbs-up.

I was real close to buying a Sheraton II and they offered to match the price of CG and I would have ordered it there had I not gotten the killer deal on the ES-339.

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I was surprised that they would not even entertain the idea of a discount on a $3K guitar. They made no effort to make a sale or to gain a customer.

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i received a 15% discount offer for gc just the other day. i have gotten them before, and there is usually a list of manufacturers that don't qualify. as i looked at the bottom of the coupon, the gibson name was not on it. i'm surprised they wouldn't give you the discount.

before i go into any store to make a major purchase, i do my homework. i visit their website, as well as other stores. i visit the manufacturers website, and also check ebay prices. i have been told by gc employees that policy is to give you 60% of what the items sell for on ebay.

for instance, if you had an amp that has sold recently on the bay for 200.00, they would give you 120.00.

if they offer you an extra discount on trade- in, it might be worth it. if they won't, you may be better selling on ebay, and putting the money towards your new gear.

a few years ago i sold an old fender princeton amp on ebay for about 900.00. if i tried to sell it in my local area, or tried to trade it in, i probably would have gotten less for it.

the bottom line is do your homework. in this electronic age, it is much easier to be prepared.

My experience with Guitar Center has been a mixed bag. I do have to say that I have dealt with several very helpful and knowledgeable salespeople -- along with some who weren't so helpful or knowledgeable.

I've made several big purchases at GC, including at least one amplifier and my wife's digital piano. Most of my buying experiences have been good ones -- and the store has been very good about returns and exchanges. Their new non-negotiable price policy is a little disappointing, but they are good about matching prices based on competitors' ads.

I would say that I'd be a little reluctant to buy a guitar off the rack at GC, since it seems the customers put them through quite a bit of abuse.

As for trade-ins and buying back used gear, you'll NEVER get as good a deal with a retailer (no matter who it is) as you would selling the gear on your own. You're almost always better off selling used equipent through websites like Craiglist and Ebay.

For the past like, 5 years or so I have had some pretty good service from my local Guitar Center, (El Toro, California). I don't know if its the fact that I am older and possibly look like I have lots of money to spend, (I assure you I do not), but the sales folks there treat me rather well and are generally very helpful.

When I purchased my Blues Jr NOS amp, they didn't have one in that store. However, they had someone hand deliver it from another store that same day so that I could come and pick it up.

When I went in to try a few Strats for purchase, the sales guy set me up in a private room with a couple amps. He brought me several guitars to try. I never had to leave the room. He knew, pretty much, what I was looking for and I eventually settled for an American Standard Ash Strat - Sienna Burst. He made sure that I got a case that was actually for a Deluxe Strat, which had a lot of extra case candy, (nice strap, straplocks, etc.).

Another time I went in looking for a decent analog delay that was comparable to the one Boss used to make. The sales guy took a personal interest and hooked me up to several different ones until I settled on a Dunlop Carbon Copy.

I have no compliants with this particular Guitar Center.

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Calling an illegal alien an undocumented immigrant is like calling a drug dealer an undocumented pharmicist.

I recently just boycotted them ,due to a very insulting offer on a high end guitar I brought in as a trade-in for another high end guitar, suffice to say they do not care about the customer,only what they get in profit.

I will not return to them,I either buy from other locally owned shops or I buy online.

And since then,I have spent around $1000 in gear,and none of it went to GC!

It doesn't take much to make a customer happy,GC has yet to learn that.

And I am talking about the one where I live,I'm sure they vary,but Corporate offices heard from me too,and yes,they backed up the manager and sales troll. They can kiss my $@! and money good bye!

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Guitars
2007 American Deluxe Strat
2008 Vineyard LP copy (upgraded pups Burstbucker Pros)

Amps
Hotrod Deluxe
Vox VT50

Pedals
Fulltone OCD (version #4)
Visual Sound Route 66-OD/Comp