Basically get to know someone who works at a music store...get them to give you a ridiculous price quote...then GC would have to beat it by 10%. I've seen it happen.
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How much will Guitar Center come down on a price ???
- Thread starter Davyo
- Start date
This logic dates back to when money first replaced the trade and barter system.
Then I think your services are worth minimum wage.
Done.
edit: Look, if you don't want to pay for the extra perks that come with buying at a brick and mortar store, buy it online. Good luck asking questions, making returns, trying it out, instant gratification. You aren't paying for those.
If you think you are entitled to a discount, well then GC has to make up their margin somewhere. The first thing they do is kill off the commissions of the salesperson. When the salesperson can't make any money then he leaves to find another job. When you have a constant, high rate of turnover you can't expect to find any veteran salespeople at a store that doesn't pay. Stop complaining about the service you get there. It's what you're willing to pay for.
Fair enough.
This is why I always say "fair price".
I want the store and the sales guy to make money so he stays in business to service me.
Even if I drive him down on a bass or expensive instrument, I often won't whine about paying an extra $5 for a new set of strings or a strap or Strap-Lok - stuff like that. Heck, the sales guy may make a quick $5 spiff on a strap where they maybe made a total profit of $25 on a guitar (likely without a dime of commission).
If I do not like his service, then I do not want him to make money, and I want him or the business to go out of business.
I won't whine about it though.
You can't have it both ways. You either pay a bit for the service, or you should expect no service.
I really hope you weren't telling me to shut up. I don't care about how much the sales rep makes and more importantly, I get the deals I want.
One thing about buying it online, IMO you don't get a deal at all. Yeah they might have the advertised lowest prices but the price you see is the price you're going to pay. Then you have to incur shipping costs. Its almost always cheaper to buy from a regular store than online for new gear IMO, because of the room for negotiation.
You folks do realize that most of the biggest online retailers are owned by Bain Capital, and, as such, are essentially the same as shopping at Guitar Center?
to wit: wwbw.com, musiciansfriend.com, music123.com, giardinelli.com, musician.com and musicarts.com.
to wit: wwbw.com, musiciansfriend.com, music123.com, giardinelli.com, musician.com and musicarts.com.
They may be the same company, but the local GC salesman has a commission to earn, so he is effectively competing with the online retailers. If he is hungry enough for a sale, he will figure out how to make a sale.
Does Guitar Center have to care about my financial problems?
Nope.
Neither does the QT where I get gas, or the Taco Bell where I get a stomach ache, on the way to the Guitar Center.
Do I have to care about Guitar Center's (or the salesman, or the gas station attendant on the way, or the Taco Bell drive through babe's) financial problems?
Nope.
This is a grown up world, where we generally take care of ourselves, and don't live in glass houses and throw entitled rocks.
Get the best deal you can, every single time.
Nope.
Neither does the QT where I get gas, or the Taco Bell where I get a stomach ache, on the way to the Guitar Center.
Do I have to care about Guitar Center's (or the salesman, or the gas station attendant on the way, or the Taco Bell drive through babe's) financial problems?
Nope.
This is a grown up world, where we generally take care of ourselves, and don't live in glass houses and throw entitled rocks.
Get the best deal you can, every single time.
Hungry enough to make a sale != whoring it out the door because you think you deserve it at cost. As soon as the commission incentive for him is gone, he might as well take that shiny new bass out of your hands that you're trying to bargain down underwater, hang it back on the wall and tell you it's suddenly out of stock and show you the door.
I used to work in retail as sales and management. When someone walked up to me and pointed at the sticker and told me they weren't going to pay that price, my first question was what ELSE are you going to buy to pay for the discount on that? If the money wasn't there for me, I walked the guy. The salesman's and store's motivation are the same.
The disrespect in this thread is disappointing. We might as well start a new one called "How much can I shill up my buddy's Ebay auction so he can sell his POS bass for more money?"
We're lucky we live in a world of Guitar Centers and the internet. Before both of those were around, if you wanted a bass/etc you went to a local store and the price they were selling it for was the price. If there was another store across town, you could stop there to see who had it cheaper.
Now with instant information online, and GC being a retail giant where the sales clerks are disassociated with the management, you get some interesting situation. You read online where someone gets a discount, and now suddenly everyone wants that discount. A lot of people use GC as their testing ground, and then order online where they might get it cheaper (and in brand new condition).
What may happen is that Bain Capital might see bad sales numbers at GC, and decide the stores are not worth keeping open. Then what? You have online deals only, on gear you can't find anywhere to try out. And the online places will price match, but most are priced at exactly the same price anyways. (and MAP will not allow you to get super deals anyways)
I used to work selling new cars on commission. I was terrible at it. I knew a ton about cars, every feature, model differences, etc - but didn't know how to sell them. I worked for a dealership for 2 months. I sold 3 cars - all with the consumer low balling the heck out of me, and dragging the sale over a week's worth of time. I sold each for under invoice. I got paid commission based on a % over invoice of the sale price. In the end I made minimum commission of $50/sale - so 2 straight months of working 40+ hours a week, and I made $150 - before tax.
I'll suggest this - if you want a good deal on something, grease the wheels a bit. You want an extra $100 off something, be prepared to slip the salesguy a $20 after the sale is done (ask for help bringing it to your car). Think he'll remember you? Get in good like that with the same salesguy and he will get you deals, and you spot him a little on the side for his efforts. It's like tipping at a bar - if the bartender gives you a free round of drinks, tip him 1/4 of the price of those drinks. See how many more drinks you get for 1/4 the price going forward.
Personally, I like to see people who are serving me earn their money, and I also like to see them rewarded for it.
Now with instant information online, and GC being a retail giant where the sales clerks are disassociated with the management, you get some interesting situation. You read online where someone gets a discount, and now suddenly everyone wants that discount. A lot of people use GC as their testing ground, and then order online where they might get it cheaper (and in brand new condition).
What may happen is that Bain Capital might see bad sales numbers at GC, and decide the stores are not worth keeping open. Then what? You have online deals only, on gear you can't find anywhere to try out. And the online places will price match, but most are priced at exactly the same price anyways. (and MAP will not allow you to get super deals anyways)
I used to work selling new cars on commission. I was terrible at it. I knew a ton about cars, every feature, model differences, etc - but didn't know how to sell them. I worked for a dealership for 2 months. I sold 3 cars - all with the consumer low balling the heck out of me, and dragging the sale over a week's worth of time. I sold each for under invoice. I got paid commission based on a % over invoice of the sale price. In the end I made minimum commission of $50/sale - so 2 straight months of working 40+ hours a week, and I made $150 - before tax.
I'll suggest this - if you want a good deal on something, grease the wheels a bit. You want an extra $100 off something, be prepared to slip the salesguy a $20 after the sale is done (ask for help bringing it to your car). Think he'll remember you? Get in good like that with the same salesguy and he will get you deals, and you spot him a little on the side for his efforts. It's like tipping at a bar - if the bartender gives you a free round of drinks, tip him 1/4 of the price of those drinks. See how many more drinks you get for 1/4 the price going forward.
Personally, I like to see people who are serving me earn their money, and I also like to see them rewarded for it.
I think this is a lot easier if you've been giving a good salesperson your money for a while. You buy enough strings and cables and straps and etc, they'll work with you on your big purchases. I'm one of those people that will pay a fair price for something. If it's on mega sale, that's a bonus, but I'm not going to gripe about the price until I get it for cheaper. I guess it's the retail manager / manger of my father in law's small fast food business talking. I'm definitely for giving people a deal, but at a point, I would rather tell them to F off, then sell my product for below what it should be sold for.
Thats right. The thing you are not getting is; he doesn't have to work for you. If he can get a job somewhere else that pays more then he will take it. Capitalism is about supply and demand, on every side of equation.
rpsands -
You clearly refuse to actually read what I'm writing. I don't know why. I don't know why this got personal.
I understand that getting the best deal is important. As a May 2008 graduate that indebted myself through private college and moved out of state to live on my own with $1700 in the bank and no job, 100 dollars probably means as much or more to me than you. This is assuming you've had a solid job for some years, whereas I'm just lucky to have a salary at all. Regardless, this is why it doesn't make any sense to shop retail when I can get a much better deal used. I worked my butt off to get the job that I have, and thanks to the fact that my rent and student loans eat up 70% of my post-tax income, I'm quite price-sensitive. I understand the warranty thing, but to be honest, that's a luxury. Maybe that's why I tend to sympathize with minimum wage workers, because I know it's rough for them. Yeah, some are stupid, cocky college kids, but some are struggling musicians that never made it and perhaps didn't have the opportunities or guidance to make the life moves to put them in a better position. What about the guy that IS trying?
I'm not rooting for the corporations. I'm just pointing out that other people that are struggling are being hurt by this behavior, which, excluding the instance of a warranty, is nonsensical because you can get a better deal used. That's it. If you want the best deal, buy used. If you need the best deal, you have to buy used. Period. Even if it means forfeiting the luxury of a warranty, you have to buy used to get the best deal.
I don't know. If you still don't agree, then I guess we just see the world differently. I'm not down with this "screw everybody but me" mentality. No, I don't think you, or anyone else is necessarily ball-busting for the sake of trashing the salespeople, I just think that you (everyone) don't think about it. That's the problem. If you get bad service, screw 'em. If you're legitimately a few bucks from being able to afford something, talk a deal. But if you know what you want, you know what it costs, and you just want to beat down the price because you can, DESPITE the fact that you could get the same thing used for cheaper if you really wanted to save money, think about who you're beating down. It's not just the bigwigs. That's all I'm trying to say.
cassanova -
There's no excuse for crappy service. I've been speaking in general terms because this discussion was started without reference to customer experience at all. It's simply people going into the shopping experience trying to not pay full price for something. The whole point of my original posts was to point out that this (often) selfish mentality is in fact affecting other people. I was angry and chose my words poorly, thus rocking the boat.
You clearly refuse to actually read what I'm writing. I don't know why. I don't know why this got personal.
I understand that getting the best deal is important. As a May 2008 graduate that indebted myself through private college and moved out of state to live on my own with $1700 in the bank and no job, 100 dollars probably means as much or more to me than you. This is assuming you've had a solid job for some years, whereas I'm just lucky to have a salary at all. Regardless, this is why it doesn't make any sense to shop retail when I can get a much better deal used. I worked my butt off to get the job that I have, and thanks to the fact that my rent and student loans eat up 70% of my post-tax income, I'm quite price-sensitive. I understand the warranty thing, but to be honest, that's a luxury. Maybe that's why I tend to sympathize with minimum wage workers, because I know it's rough for them. Yeah, some are stupid, cocky college kids, but some are struggling musicians that never made it and perhaps didn't have the opportunities or guidance to make the life moves to put them in a better position. What about the guy that IS trying?
I'm not rooting for the corporations. I'm just pointing out that other people that are struggling are being hurt by this behavior, which, excluding the instance of a warranty, is nonsensical because you can get a better deal used. That's it. If you want the best deal, buy used. If you need the best deal, you have to buy used. Period. Even if it means forfeiting the luxury of a warranty, you have to buy used to get the best deal.
I don't know. If you still don't agree, then I guess we just see the world differently. I'm not down with this "screw everybody but me" mentality. No, I don't think you, or anyone else is necessarily ball-busting for the sake of trashing the salespeople, I just think that you (everyone) don't think about it. That's the problem. If you get bad service, screw 'em. If you're legitimately a few bucks from being able to afford something, talk a deal. But if you know what you want, you know what it costs, and you just want to beat down the price because you can, DESPITE the fact that you could get the same thing used for cheaper if you really wanted to save money, think about who you're beating down. It's not just the bigwigs. That's all I'm trying to say.
cassanova -
There's no excuse for crappy service. I've been speaking in general terms because this discussion was started without reference to customer experience at all. It's simply people going into the shopping experience trying to not pay full price for something. The whole point of my original posts was to point out that this (often) selfish mentality is in fact affecting other people. I was angry and chose my words poorly, thus rocking the boat.
Exactly, and the store can do the same to whatever offer you make.
My work is only worth X to you? I think it's worth X+Y, if you cannot pay Y extra I won't do the job.
What's funny is when they come back (on either side) and meet whatever demands.
I'd like 20% off.
I can do 5%.
How about 10% off?
nope, can only do 5%.
OK, ring it up.
The previous job I left to work where I am now didn't want to match where I was going (didn't think I'd actually leave) and now they're offering me more then I was asking to stay...They tried to save a few bucks and now are offering to lose more.
Hi all, an up-date from me, the starter of this thread.
Thanks again for all the input.
Went into my local Vegas GC yesterday and luckily the sales person I had bought my Acoustic rig from was working, (I had purchased the B600H head and B115 cab from him a few months ago),, really really love my Acoustic rig.
Anyhow, with no presure I just asked him what was the best cash price he could do on the Ampeg BA115HP I wanted, (current sale price is 549.00), he went in the back room and pulled out a new one still in the box, scaned the box bar code and said 499.00, I said cool, paid the cash and took the new Ampeg to rehearsal last night,, I think everyone is happy and I think they gave me a very fair price for a new in the box BA115HP.
On a side note, I see a bit of bitching about GC on this thread, for what its worth, I have had nothing but good experiences with GC and they have always treated me great.
Cheers
Davyo
Thanks again for all the input.
Went into my local Vegas GC yesterday and luckily the sales person I had bought my Acoustic rig from was working, (I had purchased the B600H head and B115 cab from him a few months ago),, really really love my Acoustic rig.
Anyhow, with no presure I just asked him what was the best cash price he could do on the Ampeg BA115HP I wanted, (current sale price is 549.00), he went in the back room and pulled out a new one still in the box, scaned the box bar code and said 499.00, I said cool, paid the cash and took the new Ampeg to rehearsal last night,, I think everyone is happy and I think they gave me a very fair price for a new in the box BA115HP.
On a side note, I see a bit of bitching about GC on this thread, for what its worth, I have had nothing but good experiences with GC and they have always treated me great.
Cheers
Davyo
