Bluesky, I don't think anyone is painting you out to be a bad guy, but the way you are picking apart everyone Else's opinion on this post because it isn't the point you see, Kind of makes you seem to be kind of abrasive, maybe that's what the manager saw, I don't know because I wasn't there, But I do know that it's not that hard to find a POS $30.00 guitar in this world, so just let it go and hit a couple of pawnshops and look around there. If I were you I just wouldn't go back to GC. I think we have all had an experience or two with them, and know how they can be. Man, It was a $30.00 Peavy, what's the big deal.

No heartburn from me, Bill -- I'm in your corner. But apparently there were some other issues at play with the store that I'm not privy to.

Arjay

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"Here's why reliability is job one: A great sounding amp that breaks down goes from being a favorite piece of gear to a useless piece of crap in less time than it takes to read this sentence." -- BRUCE ZINKY

Given that the only person who has actually seen the guitar in question was me, I don't know how anyone else can say what the guitar was really worth.

Yes, I shall be quite embarrassed the next time I go in there and I hear people talking about the guy that tried to "steal" a $39 guitar for $30. I'm willing to bet that the salesman who offered me $15 for a near mint Frontman 25R and then told me that they would sell it for $30 (100% profit) is just dying of embarassment each time he sees me.

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Bill

All I can say about that was that in front of me at the counter when I went back to see the manager the second time, was a teenage boy and his mother who were looking to buy a Les Paul (I couldn't see if it was a Gibson or an Epiphone). All I heard while standing there was the manager telling them that "Sorry, that's the best I can do." He then turned his back on them and went to put the guitar away. They left looking very dejected. He may have been having a bad day, but that is no excuse for the way he apparently treats his customers.

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Bill

You're right. I posted a story about what happened to me today at GC. Why is everybody making it such a big deal. I didn't know I wasn't allowed to respond to people commenting on my posts.

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Bill

oh i dont think anybody is climbing you bill. we dont always get the win in a haggle.
you got to remember, that manager probably deals with hagglers all day every day.
some see it like walmart. we dont go in there and try to haggle do we? nor do we go to
red lobster and try to haggle. roll with it bro, cant win them all.
the only problem i saw in your story was the following:

"Are you saying that you would turn down a cash offer of $30.00 for a guitar you probably paid $20.00 for?"

His response: "That's exactly what I am saying." Whereupon he turned his back on me.

I said: Wow. You're quite the businessman aren't you. I'll be sure to spend more of my money here."

Then I walked out.

your last response to him was insulting. he might have deserved it in your opinion but you should have kept your teeth together at that point. you might have ruined any future willingness from him to haggle. and for what, $10 ? wasnt worth it. i do it for fun actually.
i haggle with my GC managers and sometimes let them win. i still get what im after at a good price but i use that experience for when i really need something i want to be at a lower price. i bring my "loss" up to them and they remember that they won 1. but did they really? nope i just set them up for they "yeah we need to let him get this one" attitude.
plus you will find out which managers you can push a bit more than the rest. its all about knowing HOW to haggle. a lot of folks dont know the art of haggling. yes there is an art to it. there is a way to go about it, a way to work it. those that tell you they win most of the time are liers or havent been in the game to long, or arent haggling over things of higher values. one poster suggested buy the guitar and work the strings in on the free. BINGO.
thats how i would have done it. it would have been a win/win right there. thats rule #1 in haggling, its got to be a win/win for both.

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63supro
"The good thing is in a club situation, most of the patrons are trashed and really can't tell the difference."

well i wasnt there to see what happened but take your word as gold.
as i mentioned earlier, these managers see this every day and several times an hour.
ive seen customers stand and beg for the price to be dropped yet again, or try to work a lower price on a very fair deal already. ive seen them get verbally bashed for not working better prices. so when you come across a haggler you gotta stop the haggling at some point even if you have to walk away right in the middle.
ive seen a guy make an offer of $500 on a $1,200 guitar.
had it been my store i would have bounced him out right there just for the clear fact of his own stupidity. i dont need a customer like that or his money. thats a insult just like niki stated above. so after a while these manager become comfortably numb to hagglers.

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63supro
"The good thing is in a club situation, most of the patrons are trashed and really can't tell the difference."

My experience with GC on used gear is that they have an internal price list as to what they will pay for used gear depending on condition, and one which reflects what they will sell used gear for based upon condition. [For example...I have an original Line 6 Axis>AX2 which has never been gigged, and has been kept indoors since originally purchased. They won't even consider this amp for any deal.] With respect to the manager's position, there may be a host of factors involved here one of which might be his store's bottom line, and his job may be hanging on it. On a personal note, after my experience with them last year, involving the purchase of my '57VHR, I don't go in there other than to browse new gear, if I can find it, or when they have a sale. I won't buy any high end gear from them any longer and I've always asked for a 10% discount if a 'new' guitar is coming off the wall. "New" to me means I opened the sealed shipping carton, the case, unwrapped it, and was the first to play it after the production line's QC passed it.

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"Another day in paradise!"

thats what the "contact us" link on thier website is for.......
I once contacted corporate about a str. mgrs. attitude and received a phone call from a VP the next morning offering an apology and a "how can we make this right?".....ended up w/a new Blackstar amp shipped to my door at an amazing discount.

remember, even the President (of the USA) has a boss, you just have to find a way to let them know whats happening.

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You won't hurt its feelings boy, play it like you stole it!
ASPCA We Are Their Voice !
Speaking up for those that can't speak for theirself.....
Proud member of the ASPCA "Guardian Angel" program.

Basically what I was trying to say.

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Favorite bands:

Melvins
The Jesus Lizard
Cows
Big Business
R***man
Minutemen
Flight
Minor Threat
Big Black
Shellac
Karp
Scratch Acid
Wipers
Pixies

I don't haggle over prices (except new cars). I do not consider what I did today as "haggling". Based on the statement made to me by a GC employee on an earlier occasion (they sell used gear for twice what they paid for it), I made what I felt was a resonable offer. If the manager had said, "Sorry, our prices on used gear are fixed" or something to that extent, I would have put the guitar back, end of story. But he didn't. When I tried again later, he turned his back on me and walked away. Was my response back to him childish? Sure. But managers, or any store personnel, are supposed to be trained in how to handle difficult customers. Being rude to someone because they hear the same thing all day should not be part of that training.

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Bill

bluesky636 ,

GC is what is is.

I do not like GC, at least not the one close to my house. They have to be having a real kick-a$$ sale for me to even consider walking in. There are just to many other guitar shops around here to have to bother with rude people who don't know their own butt from a hole in the wall.

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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

can you imagine how many folks GC has to deal with every day that dont know their $@! from a hole in the ground? i dont have any issues with any of the guitar centers i walk into. i have 4 local, 5 within a half hour drive from me.
i dont see why folks have so many issues.

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63supro
"The good thing is in a club situation, most of the patrons are trashed and really can't tell the difference."

If I was the store manager, I would have done the same, haggling on something that cost $39 is just insane. The Manager is there to operate a business and he is in business to make a profit, not a loss. He probably doesnt have time to haggle over a petty price which is by no means unreasonable- he probably had other things to tend to. Take the product cost, add overheads and staff wages.. etc you get the idea. Retailers will trade generally minimum is 33% less what they will sell for. Thats the way retail works. Besides, $39 for a guitar- it will sell for probably a bit more than that in less than an hour Remember, it is the manager's stock and he has the final say. Sometimes you just have to suck it in and keep looking for a deal, but at $39- wow I have never seen a electric in amusic store for that much I went for dinner the other night that cost more than $39 dollars!

My last guitar purchase, I was going to walk out the door with a guitar and no case in hand. It was just out of my budget but I said I was going to drop by next payday and grab the case- myself and the salesman & manager was cool with it. But untill they entered my name into their database and saw how much money I had spent in the last 18months, they gave it to me for free. I didnt even ask or prompt them for a discount. Because they know that if they did that, I'd be back for more and I have. I intend on spending more with them, and since they did me a favour, Im not going elsewhere.

Sometimes, you have to go out of your way for customers for their loyalty. For me, I reward my customers- but ONLY my good ones. The ones that spend more than they should, pays their accounts well before dure dates and allways refer their friends and family- thats the type of customer I reward- because its the clientele I want. Then there is the type who dont spend much at all, and think they deserve everything.

I deal with situations like these all the time too at my work. But maybe I would have thrown the guitar for free if you had bought a guitar 100 times more in value. I think it would have gone better to someone who perhaps cant afford a brand new guitar, but would love an electric anyways.

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The manager's response was wrong. A good businessman would have said, "No, man, I'm sorry, I just can't do that. I'll be glad to throw in some strings or something, though..."
He was doubly stupid for his response to the kid; if that kid continues to play guitar, that manager just potentially soured a long-term, repeat business relationship. If I were his boss, I would give him some instruction and training; if it turned out to be a genetic attitude issue, I would fire his butt.

However, If you're miffed at the price (and not the response), you might think this through a bit more...the profit margins for all businesses (except oil and war products) are down right now, and they probably have some corporate policy against haggling too much. He might have just been bluffing, too, thinking you would pay the extra $9. When you called his bluff, nobody won...he didn't get the sale, you didn't get the guitar.

I have bigger problems with the customers than the staff at the Guitar Centers I go to...I don't care to hear their interpretation of every VH, YJM, SRV or Metallica lick they know. There's a mom & pop guitar shop I know that has a sign on the wall, "Please feel free to try out our guitars and amps. However, if you try it out for more than 15 minutes, you are now rehearsing and there is a $20 rehearsal fee."

The only GC sales guy that bothers me wants to demonstrate the pedal/guitar/amp I'm looking at instead of giving me a cable and getting the *&%^ out of the way (I've seen him do this to multiple customers, so it's not just me). I once told him, "I've been playing longer than you've been alive, son; let me check it out myself." He didn't get the hint and kept showing me the different features of the pedal. Therefore, when I go to that GC, I walk up and see who's available to assist me. If it's him, I walk away until someone else is available.

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Good Vibes To Y'all!



Screamin' Armadillos
Texas Roadhouse Music
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