Guitar Center Black Friday

[Top_Ten]

On the Music 123 shipping, the quote they initially sent me had a shipping charge. But then I called them to ask why I was not getting free shipping and they removed it. So I got 20% off with free shipping. Maybe it varies by product. Good deal for the Crown power amp anyway.

 

[Bongolation]

Strange how all these are the same company, too, Mitt Romney's Bain Capital owning GCI, which owns all the rest.

With sales tax at nearly 10% here, buying from the local store is a non-starter except in a few rare instances.

 

[bassplayer8953]

That is why you do not get good deals from them. I get GREAT deals from the GC's in my area because I spend money there and I take the time to become friends with the managers & employees. Would you give a deal to someone with a bad attitude? All you had to do is be nice and ask for a price match and they would have sold it to you for that price.

I have a little different take on this. A while ago I stopped into the local GC, didn't see anything that caught my eye, & just decided to grab some picks while I was there. I didn't ask the price, they're picks, for chrissake! The guy rang them up and asked for something like $25... ...(3 dozen) Roughly twice what they'd go for on MF, so the same company, or on GC online. So here I'm discussing price with the employee...on picks!! He wound up charging me the same price as on the website, but the thought was planted: if they will gouge someone on something as basic as picks, why would I shop there for something expensive, knowing they would rip me off? Bad business, to overcharge...nickel/dime stuff, or a boutique instrument, you overcharge people, they don't come back.

 

[BassDudeSA]

I've had GC managers offer up an unsolicited 15% discount on both Fender and EBMM basses without having a coupon. If they have something you like, just ask.

Absolutely! That exclusions list is meaningless. Nothing is excluded, but for contractual reasons, many brands cannot be advertised as being discounted, however most stores, from my experience, will give you that same deal on EVERY brand, nothing being excluded, GC included. BUT, you must speak up and ask!

 

[Dale D Dilly]

Absolutely! That exclusions list is meaningless. Nothing is excluded, but for contractual reasons, many brands cannot be advertised as being discounted, however most stores, from my experience, will give you that same deal on EVERY brand, nothing being excluded, GC included. BUT, you must speak up and ask!

Absolutely right:

Walked in yesterday to see if there was anything worth going in for on Fri. and to ask if they were indeed having the "list" (they confirmed that it would be there as always). And a couple different clerks told me, "if you don't see anything on the list, the whole store is just 15% off anyway."

 

[Jim C]

Just use the price match link on Music 123, put in the price of the product on the GC site less 15%, and then say in the comments that the price you put in is with the GC Black Friday coupon. That's what I did and they immediately sent me back a quote for 20% off the listed price.

Not sure who owns Music 123; will they charge tax if there is a GC in your state?

In MD, the 15% off is really only 9% off when you factor in the 6% retail sales tax; any tax attorneys out there; this seems like a scam as wouldn't it relate to where the corporate headquarters are?

 

[TolerancEJ]

For Black Friday, is a 15% discount really a deal? Companies like MF offer a 15% discount at least one a month throughout the entire year.

I wonder if one company will step up & offer a 20% discount. A welcome challenge.

 

[bassalo]

For Black Friday, is a 15% discount really a deal? Companies like MF offer a 15% discount at least one a month throughout the entire year.

I wonder if one company will step up & offer a 20% discount. A welcome challenge.

Now that's change I can believe in!

 

[duke2004]

Nothing but good experiences with GC in Boston. You just need to know more than they do before you go in, and ask them for the deal you want. Half the time they will work something out if there is a live body with a ready credit card.

Benny is a manager there and has told me they will honor many 15% coupons today Wednesday, even on some used in store items.

As always, if you go into a GC and expect the low level part time salesperson to know anything or to have any influence on anything other than the listed price, then you dont get very far.

 

[invalidprotocol]

Isn't GC, Musicians Friend, Music123 and WWBW still all under the same corporate umbrella?

 

[Wildono]

Yep. Noticed after I posted. What a scam...

"In-Store Offer Exclusions

The following manufacturers have chosen not to participate in this promotion in Guitar Center Stores:

Ampeg, Apple, Apogee, Bogner, Bose, Boss (select models), Egnater (select models), Epiphone, ESP, EVH, Fender, Gibson, Fulltone, Gretsch guitars, Ibanez, Jackson, Korg (select models), LovePedal, Mackie, Manley, Markbass (select models), Marshall (select models), Martin, Mesa Boogie, Neve, Orange, Peavey, QSC, Roland (select models), Royer, SSL, Squier, SWR, Taylor, Voodoo Lab, Vox (select models).


Online Offer Exclusions

The following manufacturers have chosen not to participate in this promotion on GuitarCenter.com:

A Designs, Adam, Allen & Heath, Alvarez, American Audio, American DJ, Ampeg, Aphex, Apple, Apogee, ART, Audio-Technica, Audix, Avalon, BAM, Behringer, Besson, Bixonic, Blackheart, Blue, Bogner, BOSE, Boss, Brio, Buffet-Crampon, Carl Martin, Cerwin-Vega, Chandler Limited, Chauvet, Cleartone, Conn, Courtois, Crate, Daking, Digitech, Drawmer, DW, Eden, Edirol, Electro-Voice, EMG, Eminence, Engl, Epiphone, ESP, Euphonix, Eventide, EVH, Fender, Fishman, Fox, Fuchs, Fulltone, Furman, Gator, Gemeinhardt, Getzen, Gibson USA, Gibson Custom, Godlyke, Golden Age Project, Grace Design, Gretsch, Guild, Guyatone, HHB, Ibanez, ISP Technologies, Jackson, Jet City Amplifiers, Jupiter, Kanstul, Kawai, Korg, Kramer, KRK, Langevin, Latin Percussion, Line 6, LovePedal, Ludwig, Mackie, Manley, Mapex, Marshall, Martin, Maxon, Meinl Weston, Millennia, Miraphone, Mogami, Mojave Audio, Moog, Music Man, Music XPC, N-Tune, NS Design, Ovation, Parker, Pearl, Peavey, Pigtronix, Pioneer, PreSonus, Propellerhead, PRS, QSC, Radial, Randall, Rane, Rivera, Roc-N-Soc, Roland, Royer, Rupert Neve Designs, Sabian, Schecter Guitar Research, Selmer, Selmer Paris, Sennheiser, Serato, Shure, SKB, Solid State Logic, Squier, Stanton, Steinberg, Steinberger, Stephanhouser, Sterling by MusicMan, Summit Audio, SWR, Takamine, Tama, Tapco, Taylor, Tech 21, Telefunken, Tobias, Traveler Guitar, Traynor, True Systems, Tube-Tech, Ultimate Support, Universal Audio, Vestax, VOX, W.Nirschl, Washburn, Weber Speakers, Weril, Yamaha, Yamaha Band & Orchestra, Z.Vex Effects, and Zildjian."

So basically, you can get a set of picks or a mic stand for 15% off. Yay..

I can't wait to lay my hands on a Daisy Girl 5-string!

 

[Bongolation]

Isn't GC, Musicians Friend, Music123 and WWBW still all under the same corporate umbrella?

Do you people ever read the thread before posting?

Yes. They're owned by CGI, which is owned by Bain Capital. All the online stuff comes out of the same warehouse.

 

[SactoBass]

Their asking prices mean nothing, just like a used car lot.

A few years ago, I went into GC with a printout of an on-line deal that was a smokin deal. I told the guy at GC that I only wanted to take a look up close at the product before buying it on-line, and that I already knew that GC could not match such a smokin price. I looked right at the GC guy and said "it's cool...I know you can't meet this price, no prob....I fully understand." He asked me to hand him the print out, he went to talk to his manager, and he came back and said he would meet the price.

The moral of the story? The amount of markup on those items is way more than you would ever imagine, and there is way more flexibility in the pricing than what the public is led to believe.

As for that Black Friday 15% so called "deal"...pffft.....that's a joke. They can easily afford to sell anything in their store at 35% off and still make a healthy profit. Don't let 'em smoke ya.

 

[Jim Roseberry]

I'd certainly ask for a discount from GC...
I do that all the time.

If you know about retail, an "A-mark" dealer typically gets product at 50% of list price.
ie: A unit that lists for $1000 will likely street for around $750... and costs the dealer $500.
Asking for 35% off of the $750 street price isn't likely going to happen (that's $262.50)... which would put the dealer in the red to make the sale.
Sometimes a dealer is willing to take a loss to maintain a client... or to rotate out old (slow moving) stock.
If you randomly walk in to GC and ask for 35% off... I seriously doubt you'll get it. Unless GC has negotiated a special deal, there's no way they can discount 35% and still make profit. GC does have a lot of buying power... so this does happen with some items... but it doesn't happen across the board.

 

[Jim C]

Do you people ever read the thread before posting?

Yes. They're owned by CGI, which is owned by Bain Capital. All the online stuff comes out of the same warehouse.

Do they all charge local state tax if there is a GC in that state?

 

[Bongolation]

Do they all charge local state tax if there is a GC in that state?

No, only GuitarCenter.Com does if you have a Guitar Center store in your state.

 

[audiomitch]

Strange how all these are the same company, too, Mitt Romney's Bain Capital owning GCI, which owns all the rest.

With sales tax at nearly 10% here, buying from the local store is a non-starter except in a few rare instances.

The only reason to subject oneself to the misery at Guitar Center is to try something in person, or you don't want to wait for shipping. I always research it before going to a GC, and get the lowest online price with no sales tax. GC has always honored that price out the door. You get "charged" tax, but the base price is adjusted making the walk out price the same.

 

[MrTAteMyBalls]

i'm gonna attempt to get the 15% off on a used piece i have been eyeballing for a while. we'll see.

 

[Maladroit1]

I just used the 15% off coupon on the Alesis Videotrack they have on sale this weekend. Normally $199. On sale for $79. Price before tax = $67.15. Not too bad!

 

[Tonegasm]

Best deal off the "list", IMO, was 10 sets of GHS strings for $20 ($2 each). I grabbed 2 boxes, a Casio keyboard for my nephew, and got our of there before I started looking around too much.