Does GC no longer negotiate price?

[davec]

I went to a local GC yesterday any they had a Fender Jazz plus, just like I like them beat up, poorly intonated and with dead strings and in dire need of a new 9V and a good cleaning....... so I ask what the best price is and am advised that the tag is the best price.... Its been a while since I bought anything from GC but does anyone know if they've changed policy

[wdinc01]

That may be the case. Guitar Center was bought out by some investment firm. I tried selling my Spector Legend to them a few weeks ago, and the guy could only offer me something like $250 for it, which he had to pull by a blue book. So they're pretty bound by some tight rules now.

[Mikeyd74]

You can still haggle with them, but they are not as easy going as they used to be. Just had that experience a few weeks ago. Got them to knock off 50 bucks and got some new strings for free. So it's still worth haggling.

[sleepy_monkey]

GC = the next Mars

[D.A.R.K.]

gc replaced mars around here....
i can still get good deals with enough b.s.in',
but their ordering system is seriously screwed up...
i've been waiting on a few items to come in for a bit too long...

[chris.gotfunk]

Hey all. I used to be the guitar manager at a GC. Here is the deal. All new instruments are negotiable to a certain point. There is always some percentage of markup on the instruments. Different makes and models all have a different amount. The used stuff usually has very little to move on. When they buy something in used, they have to put a "minimum" on it. For example. I give you $750 for your bass. I WANT to sell the bass for $1,300, but I put the "min" at $1,100. The store cannot go below the $1,100 for any reason. Some instruments have very small differences in the min and what they ask. Sometimes, if a piece of gear has been at the store for awhile, they will bring it down to the min and there is no price negotiating at all.
Just some insight.
Peace,
Chris

[Hoover]

Originally Posted by chris.gotfunk

When they buy something in used, they have to put a "minimum" on it. For example. I give you $750 for your bass. I WANT to sell the bass for $1,300, but I put the "min" at $1,100. The store cannot go below the $1,100 for any reason. Some instruments have very small differences in the min and what they ask. Sometimes, if a piece of gear has been at the store for awhile, they will bring it down to the min and there is no price negotiating at all.

A-ha, that explains it. About 15 years ago the GC in Boston had an SWR Interstellar Overdrive in their "Used Gear" rack. I think they were asking $600 or so for it. A year later it was still there in the rack, still marked at $600. I pulled $200 in cash out of my pocket and offered to take it off their hands. They refused. I said "I'm coming back in a year, and I'll only bring $175 then!" but they wouldn't budge. It wound up being 15 months later that I came back, saw the same IO in the rack, pulled out $175 in cash, told them I knew it had been gathering dust for over two years...and they still wouldn't budge. I even offered $200 again. No deal. For all I know it's still in that rack, still marked at $600.

Some GC staffer must've paid way too much for that thing...and probably got fired as a result.

[vegas532]

Sweet...one less (actually, the main) reason to shop GC. Maybe now they'll stop putting all of the other music retailers under. Sorry, I still love the mom and pop shops.

[StoutXXX]

Originally Posted by Hoover

A-ha, that explains it. About 15 years ago the GC in Boston had an SWR Interstellar Overdrive in their "Used Gear" rack. I think they were asking $600 or so for it. A year later it was still there in the rack, still marked at $600. I pulled $200 in cash out of my pocket and offered to take it off their hands. They refused. I said "I'm coming back in a year, and I'll only bring $175 then!" but they wouldn't budge. It wound up being 15 months later that I came back, saw the same IO in the rack, pulled out $175 in cash, told them I knew it had been gathering dust for over two years...and they still wouldn't budge. I even offered $200 again. No deal. For all I know it's still in that rack, still marked at $600.

Some GC staffer must've paid way too much for that thing...and probably got fired as a result.

No they just probably payed more than 200 for it and don't want to lose money. Nobody is in buisness to lose money.

[YCBass]

Originally Posted by vegas532

Sweet...one less (actually, the main) reason to shop GC. Maybe now they'll stop putting all of the other music retailers under. Sorry, I still love the mom and pop shops.

Well, as much as I love the mom & pop's you'll really have to get in good with them to get deals cause they have a smaller profit margin than GC - they probably buy the new for more because their orders aren't as big. The way I see it, no haggling at GC is probably the same price as a mom & pop shop. That said, I would still love to see a bass specialty shop around... But I'm close enough to LA to drive there if I really was intending on buying a new bass.

The best advise I can give is to get in good with the guys there... Get to know them and they'll start giving you deals w/o you having to ask. I have 2 GC's around me and I tend to favor one because I know guys there and not at the other.

[patrickshofner]

No, no one is in business to loose money. BUT, IMO that's ridiculous to let an item sit on the shelf for 3 years unused rather than take less than a 200% profit. I'm pretty sure that a company as large as GC, or whatever investment firm owns them, can afford to not get rich off of one transaction. I'd much rather make a quick $100 then wait around of for years on a bigger return that you aren't sure is coming.

Haha did that make any sense at all???

[Snarf]

Originally Posted by chris.gotfunk

Hey all. I used to be the guitar manager at a GC. Here is the deal. All new instruments are negotiable to a certain point. There is always some percentage of markup on the instruments. Different makes and models all have a different amount. The used stuff usually has very little to move on. When they buy something in used, they have to put a "minimum" on it. For example. I give you $750 for your bass. I WANT to sell the bass for $1,300, but I put the "min" at $1,100. The store cannot go below the $1,100 for any reason. Some instruments have very small differences in the min and what they ask. Sometimes, if a piece of gear has been at the store for awhile, they will bring it down to the min and there is no price negotiating at all.
Just some insight.
Peace,
Chris

That USED to be how it worked. I worked for GC all last summer, and right after I left, they got bought out by Mitt Romney's company, whatever that happens to be. Technically no one's allowed to take anything off GLP anymore. So the best reason to shop at GC is now gone. And all my buddies that are still there hate this fact. I still get my ex-employee discount though. :P

[rhp335]

I disagree, I just bought a GK 1001RB from my local GC and they actually beat the price I was quoted from RMC, granted I've bought quite a bit of stuff from them over the last couple years, but they do treat their pro customers well.

Part of it is finding the guys who have been there a while and establishing a relationship with them.

[rappa29]

Originally Posted by YCBass

The best advise I can give is to get in good with the guys there... Get to know them and they'll start giving you deals w/o you having to ask. I have 2 GC's around me and I tend to favor one because I know guys there and not at the other.

That's pretty much the deal for the mego marts and mom & pop shops.

Our guitar player was in a gear buying frenzy last summer to shore up our PA. Bought stuff from the same guy every time, from mics to cables to power amps to monitors to rack effects, etc. Now when he's in there to buy something small, like a stomp box or something, the guy gives him super deals. Of course what's a $50 pedal after you've spent X thousand dollars on PA gear.

On the same token, bass player friend of mine can get solid discounts at the mom and pop guitar\bass shop b\c he knows all the guys there and been on the scene for a long time. Also gets the inside track on any cool or rare bass finds that they acquire.

I just go to GC to check out used stuff anyway. Their bass inventory does nothing for me after visiting Bass Central in person!

[Rickett Customs]

Originally Posted by D.A.R.K.

gc replaced mars around here....
i can still get good deals with enough b.s.in',
but their ordering system is seriously screwed up...
i've been waiting on a few items to come in for a bit too long...

But still, I liked that MARS that was in Alexandria.

[i_got_a_mohawk]

Originally Posted by StoutXXX

No they just probably payed more than 200 for it and don't want to lose money. Nobody is in buisness to lose money.

When it gets to that stage, most people would cut thier losses and try to get some money back

[blubass]

Well to be honest, that is the best ADVERTISED price, he wasn't lying, he just didn't state it correctly. You can talk them down, just tell them it's not a good enough price, but be aware they do have the option to refuse your service if you lowball them, and i've seen it done, and i've done it personally. The idea is, you are actually cutting a persons wages for your gain. They make minimum wage and actually get paid based on commission, so when you ask for a better price, you actually take money out of someones pocket, not to say i don't do it every time!

[D.A.R.K.]

Originally Posted by Alembicplyr

But still, I liked that MARS that was in Alexandria.

never went to that one, but checked out the one in springfield....
it was actually pretty good having both of those chains and chuck levins, vennemans and rolls all at once- you could actually find almost anything of what you needed,
and get a nice price war going.
bastards at mars would not quote over the phone, but that just made them the last stop.

[StoutXXX]

Originally Posted by i_got_a_mohawk

When it gets to that stage, most people would cut thier losses and try to get some money back

understood...but that also leads me to believe that it really hasnt been there as long as suggested....stuff like that tends to get worked into deals before the two year mark..

[davec]

I'd like to get to know the folks that work there, but they change so fast. I just can't keep up any more.....