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Post subject: Re: First and Last Visit To GC
Posted: Tue Nov 08, 2011 5:50 pm
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Guitar Center is a big store. They sell things, lots of things. They don't want to be your hangout or "third place," they don't want to be your buddy. They exist only to provide an outlet for a huge variety of products a mail order prices, which they do real well.

It seems from reading guitar forums (not just this one) that complaints about GC come down to three major concerns:

1. They didn't treat me like a rock star;

2. They didn't offer me enough for my trade;

3. It's too loud and filled with bad guitar players.

Allow me to address each of these:

1. You're not a rock star. In fact, from reading a lot of these complaints, it seems most complaints in this area come from guys who don't even want to buy anything: they want to hang out and try out guitars and repeat a bunch of Cool Guy things they read online and have someone praise them for their acuity. I have a great relationship with the local GC guys, because when they see me at the door they know I came in to spend money and I have a pretty good idea what I want. I don't wanna hang out: I want to get the gear I need efficiently and get out.

2. Trade-ins are for suckers. Like any retailer, GC will offer you about half what they think they can sell your stuf for. If you think you can get a thousand bucks for some gear you want to unload and GC offers you 250 bucks, then that 1K estimate is probably a little high. Why not just sell it? I'm redoing my studio right now and put about $1,100 worth of pro audio gear up for sale late yesterday. It's priced right, so four pieces - $750 worth - sold in less than 24 hours, all at BIN prices. Any retailer would have offered me five bills for the pile.

3. It's a guitar store. You used to annoy the crap out of salespeople and other players in guitar stores, too. I know I did.

As always, it comes down to expectation. If you don't expect GC to be anything but what it is, then you'll probably like them just fine.

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Post subject: Re: First and Last Visit To GC
Posted: Tue Nov 08, 2011 7:08 pm
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EgFryer wrote:
Guitar Center is a big store. They sell things, lots of things. They don't want to be your hangout or "third place," they don't want to be your buddy. They exist only to provide an outlet for a huge variety of products a mail order prices, which they do real well.

It seems from reading guitar forums (not just this one) that complaints about GC come down to three major concerns:

1. They didn't treat me like a rock star;

2. They didn't offer me enough for my trade;

3. It's too loud and filled with bad guitar players.

Allow me to address each of these:

1. You're not a rock star. In fact, from reading a lot of these complaints, it seems most complaints in this area come from guys who don't even want to buy anything: they want to hang out and try out guitars and repeat a bunch of Cool Guy things they read online and have someone praise them for their acuity. I have a great relationship with the local GC guys, because when they see me at the door they know I came in to spend money and I have a pretty good idea what I want. I don't wanna hang out: I want to get the gear I need efficiently and get out.

2. Trade-ins are for suckers. Like any retailer, GC will offer you about half what they think they can sell your stuf for. If you think you can get a thousand bucks for some gear you want to unload and GC offers you 250 bucks, then that 1K estimate is probably a little high. Why not just sell it? I'm redoing my studio right now and put about $1,100 worth of pro audio gear up for sale late yesterday. It's priced right, so four pieces - $750 worth - sold in less than 24 hours, all at BIN prices. Any retailer would have offered me five bills for the pile.

3. It's a guitar store. You used to annoy the crap out of salespeople and other players in guitar stores, too. I know I did.

As always, it comes down to expectation. If you don't expect GC to be anything but what it is, then you'll probably like them just fine.


This may be the case with a few people, maybe kids with unrealistic expectations or people that have not dealt with business much.

1. I have a hard time believing people expect to be treated like a rock star when they go there. I have never gone in expecting not to buy something or hang out. If I want my questions answered it's to spend money and support the business.

2. Your trade-in points are good.

3. They could get rid of the punks that don't have any money. Maybe then they would not treat everyone like it's a bother. It's all about the attitude of the manager and if he demands his employes give good customer service. I once believed that if a manager was nice and fair with his employes, they in turn would do a good job. I was naive. I'm going off topic now.

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Post subject: Re: First and Last Visit To GC
Posted: Tue Nov 08, 2011 8:09 pm
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Hay, Did anyone ever try to trade in a used car at the car dealership?? Same type of thing. They gotta make money. Your customer experience will differ from time to time. Some times good some times bad. IMHO. Mark, Now living in Portland, Oregon. A long way from Maui


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Post subject: Re: First and Last Visit To GC
Posted: Tue Nov 08, 2011 8:29 pm
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This is my recent purchase at GC today.

Well, went to buy some strings at GC after work and heard this amp and said, to myself, "these set of strings would sound great with that amp". So I got the Egnator Tweaker 15 watt combo. I got it for $494 out the door and was still in the box [flapper] [flapper] [flapper] [flapper]

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By bluesguitar65 at 2011-11-08

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By bluesguitar65 at 2011-11-08

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Post subject: Re: First and Last Visit To GC
Posted: Wed Nov 09, 2011 6:30 am
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Actually, jeffo, GC has it's own "Blue Book." Resale on used gear is set at Corporate, just like everything else.

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Post subject: Re: First and Last Visit To GC
Posted: Wed Nov 09, 2011 10:38 am
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Deluxe Matt wrote:
EgFryer wrote:
Guitar Center is a big store. They sell things, lots of things. They don't want to be your hangout or "third place," they don't want to be your buddy. They exist only to provide an outlet for a huge variety of products a mail order prices, which they do real well.

It seems from reading guitar forums (not just this one) that complaints about GC come down to three major concerns:

1. They didn't treat me like a rock star;

2. They didn't offer me enough for my trade;

3. It's too loud and filled with bad guitar players.

Allow me to address each of these:

1. You're not a rock star. In fact, from reading a lot of these complaints, it seems most complaints in this area come from guys who don't even want to buy anything: they want to hang out and try out guitars and repeat a bunch of Cool Guy things they read online and have someone praise them for their acuity. I have a great relationship with the local GC guys, because when they see me at the door they know I came in to spend money and I have a pretty good idea what I want. I don't wanna hang out: I want to get the gear I need efficiently and get out.

2. Trade-ins are for suckers. Like any retailer, GC will offer you about half what they think they can sell your stuf for. If you think you can get a thousand bucks for some gear you want to unload and GC offers you 250 bucks, then that 1K estimate is probably a little high. Why not just sell it? I'm redoing my studio right now and put about $1,100 worth of pro audio gear up for sale late yesterday. It's priced right, so four pieces - $750 worth - sold in less than 24 hours, all at BIN prices. Any retailer would have offered me five bills for the pile.

3. It's a guitar store. You used to annoy the crap out of salespeople and other players in guitar stores, too. I know I did.

As always, it comes down to expectation. If you don't expect GC to be anything but what it is, then you'll probably like them just fine.


This may be the case with a few people, maybe kids with unrealistic expectations or people that have not dealt with business much.

1. I have a hard time believing people expect to be treated like a rock star when they go there. I have never gone in expecting not to buy something or hang out. If I want my questions answered it's to spend money and support the business.

2. Your trade-in points are good.

3. They could get rid of the punks that don't have any money. Maybe then they would not treat everyone like it's a bother. It's all about the attitude of the manager and if he demands his employes give good customer service. I once believed that if a manager was nice and fair with his employes, they in turn would do a good job. I was naive. I'm going off topic now.



I totally agree with you. Just last night when I purchased my new Egnater Tweaker amp, there were these high school aged punks that were just hanging around and messing with gear around the store, often stealing parts off the guitar and amps. These are the same people that vandalize the items and many reason why I sometimes prefer not to purchase from GC unless they have item still in the box. I usually not purchase the floor models. Yes, you are right about the certain store managers being to control and set the mood of the store. Controlling these punks would be a first step.

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Post subject: Re: First and Last Visit To GC
Posted: Wed Nov 09, 2011 1:10 pm
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CRGuitarMan wrote:
seems that only the managers are not and usually don't even play an instrument.


Everybody that works at GC plays music. It's a pre-requisite to getting a job there.

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Post subject: Re: First and Last Visit To GC
Posted: Wed Nov 09, 2011 3:06 pm
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TimDrakeMusic wrote:
CRGuitarMan wrote:
seems that only the managers are not and usually don't even play an instrument.


Everybody that works at GC plays music. It's a pre-requisite to getting a job there.

Well, Tim, maybe that's why old Allan ain't around any longer, but he definitely did NOT play an instrument. In fact, on at least two occasions, right in front of me, he professed ignorance of music in general. I can't speak for the second and third managers (already history), but good old Allan was not a musician. He was even a piss poor public speaker when he was announcing rules and contenders for King Of The Blues competitions.

I think everyone there now IS a musician, but the newest (4th or 5th) manager is still rotating in from who knows where.

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Post subject: Re: First and Last Visit To GC
Posted: Thu Nov 10, 2011 4:41 pm
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It seems we've stood and talked like this before...........and with the proper Search.....you can find out where and when. :wink:

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Post subject: Re: First and Last Visit To GC
Posted: Sat Nov 12, 2011 7:07 pm
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CRGuitarMan wrote:
I've been visiting our local GC on a pretty regular basis since it opened in 2007. The employee turnover rate is high - most employees get paid minimum wage and commission, plus get a good discount on gear they buy (part of why many of them work there). At my GC most of the employees are gigging musicians - seems that only the managers are not and usually don't even play an instrument.

Whenever I visit it seems that I am more often bothered by the employees, not ignored. I know what I am looking for (or want to look at) when I go in, so I usually don't require assistance. When I am ready to buy, I try to deal with my regular sales person (a guy who gigs almost every weekend) as he treats me well and always figures out a way to get me a discount, even if it cuts into his commission. He's also one of only two employees who has been there since the store opened.

As far as taking gear in to trade or sell, I think everyone who goes in there thinks their stuff is worth more than it is, myself included. When trading in used equipment the rule of thumb is - they are going to offer you 25% of original purchase price. Then they are going to mark it up 100% and TRY to double their money, selling your gear for roughly HALF of its original purchase price. It's a very simple system

Some gear will get a better offer - high end guitars and amps and gear that is obviously almost new are usually offered 30-35% of original price and GC will try to get 2/3 of the original value - allowing them to double their money and still give prospective buyers a good discount over brand new gear. Guitars that hang on the wall in the Trade-In Corner for more than a few months are ripe for discounting - sometimes even GC is happy just to break even.

If you think your gear is worth more than GC will give you, then sell it somewhere else - eBay or CL or on consignment at Music-Go-Round. Assume, realistically, that you are not going to get what you paid for your gear. Guitar Center exists for just one simple reason - to make take over the world of music and rape it for all its worth.
corrections made

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Post subject: Re: First and Last Visit To GC
Posted: Sat Nov 12, 2011 7:19 pm
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Interesting discourses in the foregoing. That brings us to the current CEO of FMIC. :shock: Hmmmmmm????? :?

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Post subject: Re: First and Last Visit To GC
Posted: Sat Nov 26, 2011 8:30 pm
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My local shop is OK they only sell cheap stuff but they let me play the guitars. Musos is a LOT like GC but with more insane volumes


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Post subject: Re: First and Last Visit To GC
Posted: Sat Nov 26, 2011 9:55 pm
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You can tell S-O-T has been away for a while. He's busy mining all the old threads and sticking his usual pointless comments on them. DGAM-JGA!

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Post subject: Re: First and Last Visit To GC
Posted: Sun Nov 27, 2011 1:52 pm
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jeffo46 wrote:
The Guitar Center I go to in North Attleboro, Mass., has improved in the last few months as far as customer service is concerned. Probably because they now have a manager who does know what he's doing and is concerned about the customer and has gotten rid of the dead weight that used to work there.


That's interesting to hear...I live very close to that GC, but haven't gone there in a long time now because I was so put off by the "Poser Parade" of employees there, basically playing "Can You Top This" with each other, while ignoring every customer in the place.

By the way, Trombetti's in West Warwick is a licensed Fender dealer, and I'd bet Bob would give you a better deal than GC will at least 90-95% of the time...

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Post subject: Re: First and Last Visit To GC
Posted: Sun Nov 27, 2011 2:45 pm
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My son and I have bought most of our gear from GC in Indianapolis for years, and have gotten some good buys, and if we're not happy we can return it for a full refund within 30 days! Between my son and I we have 3 Schecter USA guitars, 1 Fender CS 56 Strat (latest purchase), 1 Fender Cyber Twin head, 1 Peavey 412 cabinet, one Vox 412 cabinet, numerous pedals, microphones, recorders, cables and the list goes on and on, all purchased from GC Indy. Just ordered some books and headphones online Black Friday, 15% off + free shipping! Never tried to sell or trade with them, but wouldn't expect to get full market from a reseller.

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