Can I Talk GC Down From Their Price?

In 2007, the Supreme Court ruled in the case of LEEGIN CREATIVE LEATHER PRODUCTS, INC. v. PSKS, INC., dba KAY'S KLOSET that manufacturers and retailers can enter into "minimum selling price agreements".

 

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 time.

Got2SadowskyNYC that was an interesting post. I always wondered how that worked out.

 

I get those deals over the phone all the time when I complain and Guitar Center isn't worried about most vendors because being the biggest chain of it's type carries some weight. I agree with your other points.

 

They are owned by Bain capital.

And that's all I am going to say. Google is your friend.

 

This is true!

 

Just did it a month ago, 100% wrong

 

And FYI there's MAP pricing and Unilateral.... Big difference depending on brand and line w/in a MFG

 

And we found the lawyer.

Let me clarify because I didn't know I was going to have to put on my legalese cap. They Can come up with a contract, BUT they can NOT as a matter of selling their require the retailer to sell at a price. The kicker is the CONTRACT. Out side of a the contract they can't.

I don't know of one company, other than some "prestige" lines, that have this clause in the dealer agreement. All dealer agreements have MAP pricing clauses, save some very small companies. These companies can't do business with GC because they can't produce the numbers that GC requires.

Yes GC does have some sway with vender because of it's size. This is why they can get limited exclusive pedals (like the golden cello) or special colors of guitars or amps etc. There are somethings venders will not tolerate. For example, Apple and Bose are ALWAYS on the excluded list. Do you really think they care about GC? The people that are going to buy their products will regardless.

Also, these are very low margin brands so it's in the stores best interest to not allow coupons. Apple's profit margin is about 10%. There ain't no room for coupons once you figure the store had to pay to ship it to retail.

 

Bain Capital doesn't OWN GC. Never did. They did prop the company up several years ago through capital investments (i.e. loans) because it was about to go under. It's standing on it's own now.

If GC would have defaulted on the loans then Bain would have taken it. Remember Mars Music? It's what happen to them.

 

For those really interested look into unilateral pricing, it is not a contract as much as cost structure that dealers choose to participate in or not... And can be dependent on specific product lines

And don't have a lawyer hat. At the end of the day GC business model supports deal making like a used car lot... It makes good sense to take advantage of it for yourself.... Or showroom and buy new product on ebay. It your money

 

Not Yet. Again, as I've stated 3 times now, just because you were allowed to do it doesn't means it's not against company policy.

No one is allowed to make "deals" period. You can be written up and fired for this including the guy that made you this deal. Private message me the store and the name of the associate and I'll forward the info on to the district manager over that store. You can go back in about a week or so and see if you get that special deal. You won't.

If you can get away with going 100MPH in a school zone doesn't mean it's legal to do so.

 

Get right on it.... I'll make sure to pay sticker on next car I buy too. You may be right, I may be right, but enough... Time to get into fearful bashing now

 

Be careful buying new product on eBay. If it's not an authorized dealer the company will not honor the warranty. Read the warranty card if you don't believe me. The first question they will as you if you call will be "Where did you buy it?" If you say eBay it's end of discussion with very few exceptions. You can know the legit dealers by the price because it's the same as what you'd have at a store.

 

I am 100% right.

I was one of the top sales people in my store consistently. Sometimes even the top. I was in the top 20% of the sales guys in the chain. I was finally gaining on the top 10% when I left. I was knocking down about $30,000 a year. That's a lot of gear seeing as I was in a smaller store. I was in line for management.

I hated the place so I left before I got any deeper. So much so that I won't even shop there. The crap and stress ain't worth the money.

That said, I'm pretty sure I know the policies better than you.

 

Oh. One other way to get an instant 10% off is trade in anything.

Here's a funny loop hole in the trade discount. You don't have to accept their offer to get the 10% off. Some stores may require you to, but according to the policy the discount is NOT contingent on you accepting their offer. It's not something they advertise, but I personally let several customers do this if it meant closing the deal.

And this is REALLY funny. You can trade in a Boss DS1 that they may give you $5 bucks for and you can get 10% off a $3000 Les Paul. You just got $305 for a Boss DS1. In this case, it's worth spending $20 on a new one for sole purpose of trading it in.

Every 3 months or so they do a "Trade in Expo" the discount is raised to 15%.

 

GCs financials are made available to the public. http://biz.yahoo.com/e/120327/142755310-k.html And they will offer discounts to anyone with the balls to ask.

Again, you have to have the balls to ask. I never fail to get a discount.

No they haven't. They can and do offer discounts every day to those willing to ask.

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.......

 

Look at the notes of the summary financials I posted. A subsidiary of Bain owns 100% of GC.

 

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

 

And that's the sound of the thread closing.......

 

I have never payed full price on any bass I ever bought from GC. New or used.
As some people have said, online discounts. Musician Friend prices 15% to20% off.
If I'm buying from GC I always bring cash.
I request the manager, an offer a cash price.
8 out of 10 time they accept offer. Another thing is go the last few days of any month. The need to make monthly quota's.
The are more likely to say no the first week of any month.
I've gone in offered a price on a bass, been turned down.
Gone back a few days later, offer accepted. In any deal, someone needs to be willing to walk.