strat56brownie,

Hhehe....similar purchase I had with GC just a few months ago on a Marshall Vintage Modern 100 watt head. It was marked down to $650 because it was not working. They thought it was a blown transformer. I took a closer inspection and I suspected the fuse. I looked at the fuse without them looking and discoverd it was blown...the thin filiment was gone, but no burn marks on it. I purchased it, put a new fuse....and I got a spanking new and working VM Marshall for $650

_________________


http://www.youtube.com/user/gmlasam

Knowledge is power! Good for you. It was a win win. GC just wanted to get rid of it, you got a great deal, everyone comes out smelling like a rose.

I'm looking forward to the Labor Day sales. Not so much GC since they've been very disappointing of late but online MF and M123 will be going insane I think. Just look at what's been going on this summer and not just Fender, but Gibson, Martin, Rickenbacker all had blowouts.

I started working for GC in May of '97 and left December 31, 2004. All of the major work was sent to local repair technicians whether it be keyboards, recording/live sound gear or guitars.

I was guitar department manager for most of those years and put a re-string/setup regimen into place. Each employee (there were anywhere from 3-4 per given day) would write on a sheet which ones they restrung and setup. This ensured that the strings were fresh and the guitars played well. Without fail, shortly after this was done, a guitar that may have been sitting for a while went home to a new owner This also took a tremendous strain off of our repair guys.

A lot of the simple repairs that came into the store, me and another co-worker would take care of (wiring issues, setups) and the customer would end up leaving happy, not only because they got to leave with their guitar that very day, but also because we saved them a nice chunk of change on labor. A happy customer tells their friends, who tell their friends, etc. We saw a good share of increased business because of this.

We took it upon ourselves to do this. Obviously not all GC's work this way (sadly) and were told on a few occasions that it wasn't a 'good use of our time'.

_________________
The mind is like a parachute; it doesn't work unless its open-FZ

Unfortunately GC is all about sales. Service only until you walk out the door and I understood that. If a GC sales guy sold me a guitar (in Calif.) for 40% off list out the door that was a great deal because the sales tax was 8% just recently (now 10%). Essential I was getting 48% off list before sales tax. So if it needed a set up, I factored that into the cost of the great deat I just got.

With GC I could also try out the guitar and could tell right away if it was a dog or not. I never began negotiations until the guitar spoke to me.

Would have been great with you. Get the deal, a mini set up. Bigger bang for the buck although you may have resented me for the deal I got and would not have really wanted to give me an added bonus of new strings and set up.

That was sometimes a bargaining tool as well. In the rare instance where we couldn't go as low as the customer wanted, we would offer to throw in a new set of strings and a setup which in most cases usually ended up going over better anyway, especially when you consider a setup in some stores can run upwards of $50 and more. If the customer was unsure of how good the setup was, we could always hand him a guitar we setup prior and let him play it so he could see for himself.

After all the years I spent as a consumer and seen some of the things that annoyed me about GC, once I was on the other side of that counter, I tried my best to fix or at least work on the things that bugged me and correct them

_________________
The mind is like a parachute; it doesn't work unless its open-FZ

It really wouldn't break my heart to see Guitar Center go under. That's one of the most annoying places to visit around here.

GC is probably going under because their customer base is finally dwindling below profitable. horrible customer service is most likely the poison that they are dying from. so many people refuse to buy there now, so it's no wonder.

to be blunt, i'd say they deserve it. customers are what drive a business and put wind in their sails. obviously that is not a priority for GC, so this is what happens. i don't know about MF or any sisters, i never buy online, but i know GC is on my blacklist, and many MANY others.

I guess business would pickup for the local Best Buy then. Or would you rather deal with GC?

_________________
The strongest reason for the people to retain the right to keep and bear arms is, as a last resort, to protect themselves against tyranny in government.

Thomas Jefferson

I'm not sure GC is in the position they are in due to customer service.

1. The Economy is pretty bad for everyone

2. They tried to institute standardized low pricing and elimnate the haggling so sales people wouldn't give the "bro" deal to friends and good customers. Bad timing to begin this when the economy began to sink

I know they still deal but on guitars over 1000 generally.

Lots of first time buyers come in to buy based on the name of the store alone.

I generally have stopped buying from them because of reason #2, the 10% sales tax in Calif. But mainly because the economy is so bad that MF (which is under the same corporate umbrella as GC) has really been cutting prices to the bone lately. NO TAX. FREE SHIPPING. Even if I have to add the cost of a set up it's generally no more than the tax on the price of the guitar, sometimes less.

GC will close unprofitable stores, review inventory and bring in only items that move quickly and have a few bigger superstores (like in LA and NY) that will have a wide variety of inventory.

GC can survive this. Gotten a lot of great deals there. I'm basically on their side. There have been many good sales people who are my go to guys.

Best Buy is generally dead inside from what I've seen in Northridge. They really don't like to deal and the prices are minimum advertised street prices.

The only time worth buying from them is when they have a clearance price. Bought the Slash Epiphone Goldtop for 600 + tax. It was on clearance for 699 but I said "isn't this a floor model that people have played?" They knocked 10% off which was basically tax free.

I heard they had some good clearance prices on Highway One Strats and Teles.

Like most places, Best Buy will match or beat any price you find elsewhere -- at least, that's what they told me when I was in there last week. I'm not a big fan of the big stores though... Local mom & pop store still beats the big guys price-wise and service-wise... Personally, I hope GC stays around -- not sure how I'd spend my lunch hour if the local GC went out of business...

It's so easy to meet the price when you have to give all of the back up printed proof. GC would negotiate a price without all of that.

You just needed to know what a good price would be and I always based it on list price.

Mom and Pops may beat service-wise but..

GC sold me a Les Paul 1958 Custom Shop reissue for 1800 out the door in 2006, at the time the street price was anywhere from 2500 to 3000.

During the last Christmas Clearance I bought the Jaguar Classic Player for 457.

I could go on, most Mom and Pops could not and would not meet these clearance prices

Deleted post.... oh well...

Classic Player 50s strat at South Bay Guitar Center 400.00 + 8% Tax nearly a year ago during their Labor Day Sale.

This past July, GC matched MF's Road Worn blow out and I got the Blonde Tele for 600 out the door. The kicker? MF only offered the 2 tone Tele (alder) and the Blonde was ash.

Christmas sale/clearance 2008: Gibson Faded Explorer with Gibson Hard Shell Case 550 out the door.

Bassman 59 GC exclusive Relic 700 out the door.

Mom and Pops have their place but when GC blows inventory out you can really get some unbelievable deals.

Ain't that the truth!

_________________
Member #26797
My other guitar is a Strat.