Can I Talk GC Down From Their Price?

[smcd]

Originally Posted by guy n. cognito

Yep.

While there are a few knowledgeable people at my local store, most are fairly incompetent and lack even the most basic knowledge of what they are selling.

It's the same in most big stores where the sales staff works on commission. I went to a Harley Davidson dealer a few months ago and asked the sales guy a couple very basic technical questions. I mean, questions that I would have assumed everyone in the store should know. Not only did he not know the answers, but he called over his manager and HE didn't know the answers!

[sandmangeck]

Wait.... Why would you pay 600 for a Mexican fender in the first place.

[343 Salty Beans]

Originally Posted by guy n. cognito

Nope. Just walked out of GC today with a 15% discount on QSC gear. Lots of it.

With all due respect to your experience with GC, you're just making stuff up.......

It depends on the vendor. A lot of the "excluded" vendors on the list aren't actually excluded in the system, and you can apply the coupons in the system. I did this all the time with QSC, Yamaha, etc. even though they "excluded themselves". I gave discounts on that gear all the time. The bottom line is, most of those companies won't pick a bone with GC because GC moves a crapload of product for them.

Other retailers, such as Apple and Mesa Boogie, have hard minimums on their products built into the system. Managers rarely override them, and Got2SadowskyNYC is right - that can cost people their jobs on several levels. Saw a big FUBAR one time over an Apple laptop discount given to a student.

[343 Salty Beans]

Originally Posted by ih8law

I never seem to have much luck getting anyone at Guitar Center to make deals other than what is available on printed coupons. The last time I successfully did it I got $50 taken off a Gretsch G5123B, which was nice, but it cost me an extra 40 minutes of hassle in the store and it made me feel like one of those horror-story customers that the GC staff tell their wives or friends about after work. I'll continue to ask for discounts politely, but I think I'll just stick to going in armed with a coupon and focusing on good deals.

They made you feel that way on purpose to try to get you to move on it. It's a tactic that I never used and didn't approve of, but saw a lot of it at my store. I made deals any way I could as an employee...knowing that I was helping people make music was the only way I could sleep at night.

You gotta go to the right people...like I said, easiest way is to an easy-going asst manager. There's usually 3-4 employed per store depending on the size of the store. They are the lowest rank of employee that can change prices in the computer on their own without a coupon, and if you find the right one at the right time they'll be happy to cut a deal with you. Like I said, BE EXTRA NICE - it goes a long way in getting a deal. There were guys that were yellers, grumblers, etc. that I just stopped negotiating with because they were too much of a hassle to deal with. I'm sure you weren't like that, judging by what you said.

[smcd]

Originally Posted by 343 Salty Beans

ON A SIDENOTE:
Got2SadowskyNYC is spot on with his assessments and GC policies. GC really sucks. I worked there because the mic company I was the Ops Mgr at got taken over and moved cross-country in 2011...which is a different long story about defecation hitting the oscillation. I needed a job because my wife had one more quarter of college to pay for. GC treats their employees horribly, and they know they can because they have an endless supply of dumb teenage kids in the shop that can be their slave labor. It's a sad system. Don't work there unless you have to. To give you an idea, I was always a top 3 salesman at my store, pushing anywhere from 15-20K in gross profit, 50K+ in gross sales every month. I don't never made more than $1800 in one month, and their benefits are awful. I made the company something like 130K in gross profit in 8 months, and made around $12,000 total.

Add to this that the sales staff will cut each other's throats, figuratively speaking. Example - I had a close friend who worked for a short time at GC. He'd put in a ton of time working with a customer. At some point, as the sale was almost made, the customer had a question my friend couldn't answer, so he asked another employee (who'd been there longer) for help. The next thing he knew, the other employee had rang up the sale and taken his commission. When my friend complained, the manager, who was friends with the other salesperson, shrugged his shoulders and told my pal, in essence - that's how it is and if you don't like it, leave.

[guy n. cognito]

Originally Posted by Febs

Yup, the 10-k makes it clear that, "On October 9, 2007, Holdings, a company controlled by an affiliate of Bain Capital Partners, LLC ('Bain Capital'), acquired Guitar Center ..."

As I read the 10-k, it looks like Bain Capital owns a controlling interest of Guitar Center's corporate parent, but not 100%. The 10-k notes that GuitarCenter, Inc. is a direct, wholly-owned subsidiary of Guitar Center Holdings, Inc., which in turn is "owned by investment funds associated with Bain Capital, a co-investor and certain members of our senior management ..." So it looks like Bain Capital owns a "controlling interest," but less than 100%, of Guitar Center Holdings, Inc., and that a management group still owns a portion of Guitar Center Holdings, Inc. Do you read that the same way?

I didn't read it in detail, but I assumed it was Bain's SOP: companies owned in various "funds", which are controlled Bain with the occasional minority investor. I don't believe Bain is ever a passive investor in a company.

[dhagler]

Originally Posted by ksandvik

Don't they have a $100 discount just now for all Fender guitars/bass guitars?

Now that you mention it, I think I did see that. In the midst of all the replies, I want to make sure I'm not coming off as being sarcastic, so let me say it: thank you for mentioning that. :-)

[dhagler]

Originally Posted by P. Aaron

By all means make an offer. What's the worse that can happen?

You are correct, sir. Thanks. :-)

[dhagler]

Originally Posted by Bassist Jay

Tell them you can get the same bass online from Musicians Friend with a 15% discount, free shipping and no tax. My GC always takes off 22% to match that as a result. That would leave you at $850.00 minus $187.00 to equal $663.00 for the bass plus tax. or if it is at $900.00 minus $198.00 equaling $702.00 for the bass plus tax. That will honestly probably be the best deal you can get. Sometimes they will move more but not often or unless you are a pretty big regular customer who always drops lots of coin at the store. Asking them to take 1/3 off of a popular brand bass though is probably not going to happen.

Thanks. :-)

[dhagler]

Originally Posted by steamthief

Show up with $600 cash, put the paper stack on the counter and make your offer. Cash talks, worst thing that can happen is they say no.

You are correct, sir. Thanks. :-)

[dhagler]

Originally Posted by Got2SadowskyNYC

GC doesn't haggle the price. They can offer a coupon, price match a competitor, use a competitor's coupon etc.

Price matching is not common because of a thing called "minimum advertised price" or MAP. This happens all the time. Notice that an Apple product is the same price where ever you go? Electronics, certain brands of clothing etc. are the same. The item is MAPed.

A company can not tell a retailer what they can sell something for. This is called price fixing and is illegal. They can tell a retailer what the MAP is. This is perfectly legal. It's in the store's best interest to sell at MAP because it keeps what is usually a very low profit margin intact. In Fender's case the store is generally making about 20% of the tagged price. (Tagged price and suggested retail price are different.)

They shouldn't match with sales tax included, because this is not part of the selling price. Blame your state and city for this. Some stores may do it but it is against the GC policy. People can get written up and possibly fired for it.

They can take freight into account, but this usually is not in the customer's favor because of MAP. For example let's say something is $100 less online but there's a $50 freight change. You'll only get a price match $50 discount.

Keep in mind that when you use a coupon, price match etc. that the sales guy is payed based on commission. Although some of the commission is based of the actually selling price, the bulk of the sales guy's pay is based off the profit (that 20% I mentioned above). Depending on when he was hired he's getting either 7% or 10% of the profit. So when you go for a deal you're actually taking money out of someones pocket. Someone you probably would call a "friend".

A note about Will's claim that they are $1.6 Billion in debt.

GC and it's sister companies are one of the largest PRIVATELY held companies in the USA. This information is either made up by him or someone else. If it's actually true, then someone has violated a confidentiality clauses in their employment contract and can be sued. Since there is rumor that GC is wanting to go public, this would be called insider information it's illegal to disclose at this time.

Just so you know, I worked for GC for almost 2 years. I recently quit. I will be happy to answer any questions about their policies. After my time there I refuse to do business with them. It wasn't a pleasant experience.

Thanks for your response. I sure didn't mean to get you into a fight with all those other folks. :-)

[cybersnyder]

Does cash really talk at a store where the manager doesn't really care if they pay the 2.75% fee or not? They'd probably rather have you use the GC card to pay for it since they likely have a targeted quota for GC card usage per store.

[BlueLine1]

Got2SadowskyNYC, after my latest FIASCO with GC, I will never spend another dime there. 4 salesmen and the district sales manager have since tried to get me interested in another guitar, and I told them all to go fly a kite. Instead, I bought my son a Gibson SG Standard from a local store/ non-chain and paid cash, and was quite pleased. I'll pay a little more to keep the local guy open now...
Alan

[dhagler]

Originally Posted by edbass

Why are you asking an internet forum?

If the bass is worth $600 to you, try them on! Who freekin' cares what a bunch of people on a forum think; they have absolutely no bearing on whether or not you can buy that bass for $600.
Put on your big boy pants and wave some cash (or plastic) at them!

Thanks for your response. To your question, I am asking THIS particular forum because I have found it to be a valuable source of information, as well as a community of generally nice folks. And despite your "big boy pants" comments, I count you among them because I know you meant it tongue-in-cheek. :-). Or at least that's what I choose to believe.

[dhagler]

Originally Posted by Herrick

I think that if the bass is no longer made in that color, then it would be more desirable/rare & worth a bit more...unless it'a a color most people dislike and it's been sitting in the store for a long

Thanks for your response. I'm hoping the fact that its been there since April might factor in more than the color. Then again, I'm an optimist. :-)

[dhagler]

Originally Posted by guy n. cognito

I don't think you'll get that much of a discount, but you'll certainly get something.

Thanks. Something is certainly better than nothing. :-)

[dhagler]

Originally Posted by DrSpunkwater

Last time I went to GC, they were all too ready to make deals. Considering these guys work on commission, and GC is hard for cash in this economy, they WILL make deals. You might have to do a bit of haggling to get it, but you'll get the right price eventually.

Thanks for your response. Hoping so in my case. :-)

[dhagler]

Originally Posted by D.M.N.

To get back on topic to the OP, go right ahead and try. Regardless of whether these employees are breaking company policy or whatever, dealing still goes on, at least in the GCs I've been too. I remember when I bought my AVRI 62 Precision, it had been in the store for months as the floor model. Still listed at full retail, at the time something like $1500. When I went to buy it, I brought it to the sales associate or whatever you'd like to call them, and noted the fact that it had a few minor dings, and had obviously been played a fair amount. I ended up walking out of the store with it for $1100, paid in cash and waving tax, with the case, a free set of strings of my choice (Swing 66s) and a very nice heavy duty leather strap. I didn't use any coupons or whatever. Granted this was a few years ago, so maybe they don't haggle so much anymore, but a friend recently bought a guitar at one and got it down by about $200.

So maybe Got2 has a point, that the sales folks are using other discounts to somewhat deceive you into believing you're getting a better deal, but I think the OVERALL POINT is that you CAN often get instruments for less than the prices listed on their sales tags. Go in an try it, the worst that happens is they say they can't pull that deal.

Thanks for your response. Well stated. :-)

[dhagler]

Originally Posted by jwr

OP why not look on their used section? Or hell look through the TB adds.

Good suggestions both. Thanks!

[343 Salty Beans]

dhagler - check for dings, scratches, etc. too! a bit of buckle rash will help your case! floor models at GC rarely escape the store without some sort of blemish.