so i get an e-mail from guitar center offering to pay 10.00 for reviews on products- that gets my interest!

then i start going thru the list of items they want to have reviewed, and realize that i haven't tried any of these products at all. i won't write a review just to make 10 bucks- just not proper.

i then read the fine print. you don't autmatically get the money for the review- guitar center will pick the best one, and decide who gets the money. you can bet that a negative review won't get far.

i'm sorry i wasted my time with that. you know something's wrong when my brother, who hasn't been in a g.c. in a few years gets a 35.00 coupon in the mail that is good for anything, and i get 15% off coupons that aren't good for anything i want. maybe i should stay away for a couple years and see what happens.

I got that email too. What a rip. I've been buying from them online and I never get a coupon for stuff. Maybe they're mad at me because I keep matching their prices and then some. I remember matching a price and then getting called to the carpet on it asking for the person's name who gave me the price. I just said I didn't know because I'm not going to narc on a guy who gave a poor guitarist an honest deal.

That email was such a joke and a half. I've never really had any big problems with them, but this sounded really dodgy.

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"While My Guitar Gently Weeps."

My dad said, "I'm going to miss you."
I said, "Well, now that I broke that sight off your rifle..." (Emo Philips)

A few years ago Guitar Center was bought by the same corporation that owns Toys R Us, Kids R Us, etc., and they haven't been the same since. More haggling/denying than bartering/bargaining, just like a retail outlet (instead of a guitar shop--LOL)...even with the spotty customer service, they're still one of the few places you can lay your hands on what you're buying (unlike online stores), and their prices are amongst the best, at least in my area (Fort Worth, Texas).

There used to be a great shop called JAM Music in Arlington, Texas right across the interstate from the GC...I bought my Stratocaster, my 63RI Vibroverb, several harmonicas, pedals and microphones there, but they just couldn't compete with the volume (dollar amount, not loudness level ) pricing GC could put on.

I still shop at GC, I just watch out for the guys who I know are good with customer service and I shop on the internet first to try to get a good "price match" deal...I usually print the online price I find, along with the link, and they haven't fought me once.

Remember the good ol' days when you could get Mars & GC in a bidding war for your business? We need a place like that again...

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Good Vibes To Y'all!



Screamin' Armadillos
Texas Roadhouse Music
Guitar/Slide Guitar/Harp/Vocals

I offer free reviews on the equipment I try. I do not need 10 dollars to review something. GC just sunk to a new low for me.

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RK

2007 Fender Highway 1
2012 American Deluxe
2015 MIM Dave Murray HHH
2010 Fender Blacktop
1987 Fender Avalon Acoustic
2012 Marshall DSL 15 watt head

yeah I got that email too.

I thought I got left out, But i looked in the trash in my e-mail and there it was. I dont even read their e-mail's anymore, I just delete them. Every time I leave that store I feel like they owe me money!

i sent an e-mail to cust. service this morning, telling them how i thought this was a sneaky way of getting rave reviews for products. the return e-mail stated that they would forward my concerns to the proper department. i'll let you know if it goes any further.

I do not bother with the big stores at all anymore and would never trust any of there reviews. Personally I just log onto Harmony Centrals user reviews which pretty much tell it like it is.

I've spent quite a bit of money, over the years at GC. I've yet to even get a coupon for $5, or any discount.

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"I won't be wronged, I won't be insulted, I won't be laid a hand on. I don't do these things to other people, and I require the same from them."-John Wayne

Yeah I got the same email, I was excited, then I read the fine print too. It would be nice to get a gift Cert, but I haven't bought an gear from that store or have I been in there much.

Typical GC garbage. That's why whenever possible I go to a "mom and pop" shop. There is a place called Goodtime music in Bartlett, Illinois that is awesome. The owner is a great businessman and gives it to you straight, plus the customer service there is awesome. I go there for questions, not GC where the opinios are paid for.

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Keep rockin'

wow, i didnt know mars had other locations.
i thought the one here in GA was the only one.

Ridiculous, it's just like their dumb sales. Complete waste of time.

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10-4 good buddy, over and out!

For those of us thousands of miles away and not on GC's mailing list, anyone care to give us a rundown of the stuff they want reviewed? Perhaps some of us know the items in question - then we could pool our resources and come up with reviews of all the gear and win coupons for some lucky Forum member!

After all, they don't know who actually wrote a review, do they?

Cheers - C

if you go to the website, they have pages upon pages of items they want reviewed- too many to mention here. i don't have the time to go thru it all.

they did reply to my e-mail, stating that they can tell a review from someone who has not actually used the item. with the amount of info on the net now, it wouldn't be that hard to do.