I'm in SoCal, one of the biggest areas with lots of big box stores, think: Guitar Center, Sam Ash and a multitude of mom and pop music stores.
I decide to give myself a Christmas gift for the first time on Christmas eve. An Ampeg PF-50 T, Tube amp
Not one store had any in stock or even a floor model. Everyone was more than willing to order me one.
But Like a car, I would never buy one without test driving it first.
Every store has the exact same price of $999.99. No deal or discounts especially when they are flying off the shelves. Open Box or factory refurbished were $856.00. But I can hear the hum even though it was never turned on,
Craigslist only had a few but they were mostly '70's rigs on trolley wheel and you had to purchase as a set; Amp and a 2x10 or 1x15 speaker cab. Cheapest on I found was $1,400.
It cover tears all over it, dirty as the mind of a pervert and the last sentence of the ad stated, "You might want to take it to a good amp shop and get pretty much all the tubes, caps and other goodies, I am not familiar with, before you use it.
What is the dealio with trying to find a store where you can test drive a the new, hum eliminated PF-50-T? It was too close to Christmas?
Or are they that good they can't keep up with demand? I don't know....