Best Buy Musical Instrument Section: Really? - Page 2

kjpollo · #21 12-10-2012, 10:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Got2SadowskyNYC

I was in the Arlington TX GC over Thanksgiving. They have an Ibanez Ashula Bass. It's the 6 string bass with 2 strings fretless. The "C" string was missing. I asked the "salesman" about it. He said "I've been here for 5 months and it's always been this way". I said well, seems your tech isn't trying to hard. I'd really like to try it. He replied "If you're really interested in buying it I'll get it put on". I had a blank stare.

Yeah, this is a GC thing. One near me had an Epi Tbird Pro marked wrong- they had a price tag for a 5er on it and it was only a 4 banger.
I said something to the sales guy and he said "we'll fix it when you buy it" or something like that. Imagine some less-informed buyer coming in and buying it? Unless they knew that it was priced wrong, they'd end up paying too much for it.

Going back OT, the 2 BB's near me never had much in the way of instruments-and just like the one somebody else mentioned, one of them is directly across the street from a decently stocked GC (though its the same GC where they wouldnt fix the pricing error).

I dont remember BB ever really advertising much about the instruments they carried so I never made an effort to check one out. But it sounds like I didnt miss much in the long run.

srxplayer · #22 12-10-2012, 10:35 AM

This whole Best Buy instrument store experiment was destined to fail from the beginning. People who shop at a BB store are not their to purchase mid range to pro level musical instruments and pro audio. It's the wrong demographic and marketing scheme. The BB in San Bernardino, CA has had the same guitars and basses on the wall for two years. People going in there would impulse buy a guitar for the kid as a gift but they are shocked at the cost of a MIM Stratocaster at $500.00. They see that as crazy expensive and we as musicians see that as a lower mid range cost for an instrument that needs additional investment for it to be playable. They are appalled at the cost of a MIA Fender and they don't understand the difference. Having sales people working the instrument department who knows nothing about the instruments compounds the problem. The business model just doesn't work there and the braniac executive who came up with this idea should be canned (with his giant severance of course).

However I have seen some incredible deals there. Like an MIA Jazz bass with no issues (other then bad set up and dead strings) on sale for $700.00. Had I had the money I would have bought it.

Chef FourString · #23 12-10-2012, 10:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dabbler

WHAT!?!? Can't they even shut down a department correctly?? EVERYbody KNOWS that to properly shut something down you have to let all of the remaining stock go at like 10% over cost, right?

Dude, its Best Buy. They don't care. It's a billion dollar corporation.

Tractorr · #24 12-10-2012, 10:44 AM

I think the Gainesville FL Best Buy was one of the first if not the first Best Buy to have a music section, and as such it was fairly impressive when it was first introduced. They carried all of the best stuff in more or less the low to mid level price categories you would find at GC. They didn't have a ton of stuff but what they had was mostly decent (ie it wasn't mostly Behringer).

At any rate, they had a close out sale on a Peavey half stack tube amp I wanted to show my guitarist. So we went in and I was checking some of the bass amps and they wouldn't leave cables out you had to ask for one. I asked and the guy gave me one. When I was finished I set it on the counter and there it sat. My guitarist was about to play the amp that we came to see so he picked up the cable I just set down. The guy working there who had been ignoring us this whole suddenly turns and yells "who said you could touch that? You have to ask me if you want to try an amp." My guitarist sets down the cable and turns to walk away. At that very moment the guys boss walks in and starts to talk to him, my guitarist interrupts them, and says "I wanted to buy that amp but this guy isn't being very helpful." He reaches in his pocket and produces the couple hundred cash he was going to spend on the amp and walks out. The look the boss gave the worker and the worker's reaction was perhaps the most priceless thing I have ever seen in my life.

k-Plunk · #25 12-10-2012, 10:50 AM

Best Buy's whole music shop experiment was just meant to cash in on the Guitar Hero craze. Not surprised to see it wither.

agent77 · #26 12-10-2012, 11:34 AM

The Best Buy here only has Fender Starcasters and Gibson Maestros still in the box.

Brad Johnson · #27 12-10-2012, 11:47 AM

Every one I ever stopped in might have had one five string at the most, everything else was fours. Apparently they thought that these things were just another commondity like a flat screen, which requires no trussrod adjusment either.

Immigrant · #28 12-10-2012, 11:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Got2SadowskyNYC

I was in the Arlington TX GC over Thanksgiving. They have an Ibanez Ashula Bass. It's the 6 string bass with 2 strings fretless. The "C" string was missing. I asked the "salesman" about it. He said "I've been here for 5 months and it's always been this way". I said well, seems your tech isn't trying to hard. I'd really like to try it. He replied "If you're really interested in buying it I'll get it put on". I had a blank stare.

Hmm. Good thing he didn't try. I think the Ashula was EADGDG.

Handyman · #29 12-10-2012, 11:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Brad Johnson

Every one I ever stopped in might have had one five string at the most, everything else was fours. Apparently they thought that these things were just another commondity like a flat screen, which requires no trussrod adjusment either.

Whoa. You mean to tell me you've never adjusted your television's truss rod? Luddite!

lowfreq33 · #30 12-10-2012, 12:21 PM

The one good thing about BB having the instrument section was being able to pick up consumable items (strings, sticks, etc) in areas that either don't have a proper music store, or only have the one mom & pop place that wants $50 for a set of D'Addarios.

Crater · #31 12-10-2012, 12:47 PM

I was in my local Best Buy's (Dallas, TX) music department a couple of weeks ago. Stores that are about to go under have this weird vibe to them - I remember this because I visited a Circuit City a few months before they went out of business and also a Mars music before they went out of business. Things like the stock not being maintained and missing price stickers, and workers that avoids customer interaction.

Well my little visit to the Best Buy music department reminded of that. For some strange reason, the store designers made the music department dark...I guess it's supposed to be 'mood lighting' or something? Remind of the bar that I'm not playing in? Best Buy's "haunted house" section? There's a decent selection of instruments, but really no comparison to the GC less than a mile away. Apparently Best Buy decided to locate these music stores in close proximity to Guitar Center stores? Seems like they'd have done better to open their music stores in places where GC isn't in direct competition with Best Buy, because let's face it, as a music store GC *STOMPS* Best Buy for selection and can't beat them on price. If they were in smaller markets where there wasn't a GC close by, they'd have a better chance of selling Squiers and practice amps to beginners. But nooooooo....let's position our stores to compete head-to-head with the industry leader, we'll stomp them by having 10% of the selection, worse service, and the same prices!

lowfreq33 · #32 12-10-2012, 12:51 PM

You guys do realize BB and GC are owned by the same company?

Handyman · #33 12-10-2012, 12:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lowfreq33

You guys do realize BB and GC are owned by the same company?

Got a citation for that? I can't find any reference to Bain Capital having anything to do with Best Buy. In fact, BB is still a publicly traded company on the New York Stock Exchange.

lowfreq33 · #34 12-10-2012, 01:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Handyman

Got a citation for that? I can't find any reference to Bain Capital having anything to do with Best Buy. In fact, BB is still a publicly traded company on the New York Stock Exchange.

It appears I'm mistaken. My bad.

mpdd · #35 12-10-2012, 01:14 PM

best buy took over 5 weeks to let me know that my red mim precision was on back order and they couldn't get any, i bought a store model hwy one the next day on ebay, merry xmas no new bass till way after the holidays, i'm just glad i got my money back and they didn't want to give me store credit

Kmonk · #36 12-10-2012, 01:16 PM

I've never seen musical instruments other than a couple of keyboards in any Best Buy. A couple of them in my area stock a few guitar strings but nothing else. I wasn't even aware that they were selling instruments.

Silver Blues · #37 12-10-2012, 01:26 PM

The BB nearest to me that has a music section has a quite large one, TBH, but the selection is SHITE. On the bright side, I did get my Micro VR stack there for just over half price, so I'm not complaining.

At first I thought it was a good idea but now I don't. Stores like Long & McQuade thrash anything BB could attempt. I go to L&M sometimes just to check out the cool used stuff... doing that got me two basses. And good service. And free setups.

Not a plug, just pointing it out.

--Silvie

Spinal Tapper · #38 12-10-2012, 02:43 PM

This is silly.

Who cares where instruments are being sold?

Why wouldn't it be a GREAT thing to potentially get an instrument into a kid's hand at a young age who may have never picked one up in the first place? What if Dad is Xmas shopping for Xbox and Blu-Ray players at Best Buy and he buys his kid a decent guitar or bass to start out on. Maybe that kid becomes the next Jimi Hendrix or Marcus Miller?

That dad might've otherwise never stepped into an actual music shop, or even thought for a second to buy his son or daughter a guitar.

The Best Buy near me sells mid level instruments like Geddy Lee Fenders (~$899) and lower level instruments like Starcasters for around $120.

If you find that the setup on a beginner level instrument is horrible, maybe talk to someone in that department and inform them how easy it is to give the truss rod a tweak with an allen wrench. Maybe they'll fix it.

I don't see what the big deal is for a company who is losing MAJOR money on CD & DVD sales over the years to try and expand their product line.

Just my $.02

pablomigraine · #39 12-10-2012, 05:52 PM

GC gets a lot of heat from the community, much of it well earned.... but when I hear the "WalMart of Guitars" comments and the guys who just endlessly trash GC and brag about ripping them off or abusing the return policy etc... I have to think to myself, what would these people say if they saw how bad it really can get when a Big Corporation gets involved with music gear.... GC really does do a great job most of the time considering....can you actually imagine walmart selling Gibsons and Fenders?

"Hey man, can you tell me if this bass has active pickups?"

*Employee scratches himself, gives you an ugly look, and walks away from you.... cuz he's got earbuds in and dind't hear a word you said.... and it's time for a whippet-break in the men's room*

*** and by the way... talkbass automatically inserts the hyperlink when you type "Walmart".... try it!

R Baer · #40 12-10-2012, 07:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chef FourString

Dude, its Best Buy. They don't care. It's a billion dollar corporation.

Yes, and on the verge of bankruptcy, because they don't have a clue what customers want from a store of this type. I would be very surprised to see Best Buy still around a year from now. Their musical instrument experiment is just a glimpse into the ineptitude of the people running that company.