Guitar Center Nightmare

[punkrockmike]

So Last week i was online looking for used mesa 810 cabs and came across one for sale at the Warwick, RI Guitar Center. It was an old Road Ready 810. Looked to be in decent condition. It was priced at around $750, so i got really excited. Called the store the next day and asked someone about it. They said it sounded huge and that the only thing that was "wrong" with it was that the previous owners had spray painted their band name on the front lid. I asked if they could send me more pics and they were glad to. Once again, all looked well and good. I called several more times over the next two days, talking to a few different managers trying to figure out how to get the thing to minneapolis, mn where im located. it was a little more complicated since i needed the thing to be shipped to the guitar center here instead of my house because im rarely home. Finally got everything squared away, paid a total of $909 after shipping and tax. I made sure to ask again before i paid for it if there was anything structurally/cosmetically/functionally wrong with the cab. They assured me that it was all good. Four days later the cab is delivered to a local gc, and i rush over after work to pick the thing up. they wheeled it out of the back, we unwrapped it, and pulled the front lid off. I immediately noticed that the top two speakers had very large, visible tears in the dust covers. I figured if those speakers were in that bad of shape, there had to be some kind of damage to the rest of them. I gave them a quick test with a 9 volt battery, they all jumped together, which gave me a little glimmer of hope that it would still sound alright. We wheeled it over to the bass section and plugged it in to a mesa carbine head they had there and it was probably one of the most disgusting sounds ive ever heard come out of a cab in my life. turns out there was another driver near the bottom that had another large hole in the dust cover, and a tear in the cone, which produced a huge farting noise with every note. i also noticed that the speakers were moving and jumping a lot more than they seemed like they should be. i took a quick look around the back of the cab and noticed that the metal edge on the rear right side that is supposed to hold the thing together was separated from the cab, and the back panel and side panel were no longer connected and a LOT of air was being pushed out the back side. the dudes at my local gc were very helpful in getting my money back right away, and were almost as angry at the other store as i was since they are now stuck with a broken speaker cabinet and have to try to sell it. long story short, the staff at the guitar center in Warwick, RI are liars. Flat out liars. dont buy any used gear from them unless you can physically go to the store and see it for yourself. this will be the last time i buy anything from a guitar center. ive had bad experiences there before, but this one takes the cake.

[alexofc69]

Originally Posted by punkrockmike

So Last week i was online looking for used mesa 810 cabs and came across one for sale at the Warwick, RI Guitar Center. It was an old Road Ready 810. Looked to be in decent condition. It was priced at around $750, so i got really excited. Called the store the next day and asked someone about it. They said it sounded huge and that the only thing that was "wrong" with it was that the previous owners had spray painted their band name on the front lid. I asked if they could send me more pics and they were glad to. Once again, all looked well and good. I called several more times over the next two days, talking to a few different managers trying to figure out how to get the thing to minneapolis, mn where im located. it was a little more complicated since i needed the thing to be shipped to the guitar center here instead of my house because im rarely home. Finally got everything squared away, paid a total of $909 after shipping and tax. I made sure to ask again before i paid for it if there was anything structurally/cosmetically/functionally wrong with the cab. They assured me that it was all good. Four days later the cab is delivered to a local gc, and i rush over after work to pick the thing up. they wheeled it out of the back, we unwrapped it, and pulled the front lid off. I immediately noticed that the top two speakers had very large, visible tears in the dust covers. I figured if those speakers were in that bad of shape, there had to be some kind of damage to the rest of them. I gave them a quick test with a 9 volt battery, they all jumped together, which gave me a little glimmer of hope that it would still sound alright. We wheeled it over to the bass section and plugged it in to a mesa carbine head they had there and it was probably one of the most disgusting sounds ive ever heard come out of a cab in my life. turns out there was another driver near the bottom that had another large hole in the dust cover, and a tear in the cone, which produced a huge farting noise with every note. i also noticed that the speakers were moving and jumping a lot more than they seemed like they should be. i took a quick look around the back of the cab and noticed that the metal edge on the rear right side that is supposed to hold the thing together was separated from the cab, and the back panel and side panel were no longer connected and a LOT of air was being pushed out the back side. the dudes at my local gc were very helpful in getting my money back right away, and were almost as angry at the other store as i was since they are now stuck with a broken speaker cabinet and have to try to sell it. long story short, the staff at the guitar center in Warwick, RI are liars. Flat out liars. dont buy any used gear from them unless you can physically go to the store and see it for yourself. this will be the last time i buy anything from a guitar center. ive had bad experiences there before, but this one takes the cake.

Did you buy on your credit card ? dispute it and get your money back.

[jmattbassplaya]

Originally Posted by alexofc69

Did you buy on your credit card ? dispute it and get your money back.

He already got his money back... read the full post.

[punkrockmike]

Originally Posted by alexofc69

Did you buy on your credit card ? dispute it and get your money back.

yea i paid with my debit card. as i said, the dudes at my local store were very apologetic and were very helpful getting me my money back right away. they gave me a refund right there and it was back in my account the next day. there was no way i was gonna leave there without my money.

[JimmyM]

How was it packed? Was the outer package damaged? Was it in a road case? I can't imagine a GC being dumb enough to accept a cab that broken up on trade, let alone send it to you cross country knowing that you'd never accept it. Of course, me not being able to believe something could happen never prevented it from happening I suppose it's possible that the cab could break from a jolt and not damage the outer packaging but it doesn't seem likely.

Oh well, not your headache anymore. Sorry you didn't get your cab, though.

[spaz21387]

Its good the gc staff at your store were so awesome and got you your money back but sucks you didnt get your cab.

[Downunderwonder]

I hope they at least wrapped some cardboard around it. I bet the shippers are going to get a bill for the exterior damage from those GC clowns.

Originally Posted by JimmyM

How was it packed? Was the outer package damaged? Was it in a road case? .

Road Ready = cab is its own road case. No doubt some guys go the next step and road case them, so they get better value for money from their roadies.

[Downunderwonder]

Maybe the worst of it did happen in transit and the big leak blew out the bottom cone with the first note. Still, holes in dustcaps is not cool.

[Jim C]

"the dudes at my local gc were very helpful in getting my money back right away,"

That in itself says alot about limited risk about buying used from GC
You would NOT get that kind of service from eBay and I got screwed buying and paying the return shipping on a bad Acme cabinet bought from a dead beat right here on TB
For that matter, I've bought new gear that was defective and had more trouble than you on a return
I understand that you are disappointed and that either the cab was mis-represented or badly packed, but bottom line is that you were taken care of; in this day and age, that's not so bad

[Plaz]

Originally Posted by punkrockmike

Guitar Center Nightmare

Redundant?

[BurningSkies]

Originally Posted by Jim C

"the dudes at my local gc were very helpful in getting my money back right away,"

That in itself says alot about limited risk about buying used from GC
You would NOT get that kind of service from eBay and I got screwed buying and paying the return shipping on a bad Acme cabinet bought from a dead beat right here on TB
For that matter, I've bought new gear that was defective and had more trouble than you on a return
I understand that you are disappointed and that either the cab was mis-represented or badly packed, but bottom line is that you were taken care of; in this day and age, that's not so bad

Sounds like much less than a nightmare to me too. It showed up, you didn't like it, you got your money back. From the sound of it, they didn't even soak you on the shipping costs.

[P. Aaron]

Used gear. Some great transactions, as many no so great transactions. Glad you got your refund. Hope you score something cool soon.

[bassgod0dmw]

Just an FYI for anybody thinking about buying used gear from GC. They have a 30 day no questions asked return policy...and you can return it to any store. They really couldn't make it any easier.

[Johnny Alien]

I like buying used from Guitar Center because you have a 30 day refund window. It sucks that this wasn't disclosed but at the end of the day it was simple to get rectified/refunded with no issues.

[audiomitch]

I'm not a fan of GC, but it sounds like the local GC made up for the other GC's laziness. A pretty fair outcome except for the time wasted.

[hdracer]

Was it sent to the Roseville or Edina store?
Both have very good staff. It doesn't surprise me at all that they took good care of you.

[Joe Nerve]

A lot of these "nightmare" threads disappoint. Sounds like you actually got treated pretty well.

[Lazarus.Bird]

Originally Posted by Joe Nerve

A lot of these "nightmare" threads disappoint. Sounds like you actually got treated pretty well.

+1

[bassplayer8953]

You bought used, long distance, you didn't get what you expected, so they gave you your money back. I'd say it's a wash, and a much safer way to buy, than alternatives.

I bought a used (guitar) amp from GC, got a great deal, money back guarantee for 30 days, and an extended warranty for small cost. For me: WIN!!!

Honestly, I can't think of a better way to buy used online...I understand that you're disappointed that you thought you were getting a fridge in better shape than what turned out, but that's a risk you take when you buy used...even across town, on CL...

[capnsandwich]

Yep, just goes to show that not all GC's are alike. Management means the world at each location. The one here in Columbus seems to be a better one.