L & M Ripoff

[aqsw]

I think this would have been an actual rip-off if they guy behind the counter pulled out a gun and robbed the OP. Instead, he felt insulted by the offer and is complaining.

Anyone who has been doing this music thing more than 6 months knows that YOU NEVER TRADE GEAR IN AT A STORE UNLESS YOU WANT TO GET HOSED. EVER.

I guess it all comes down to "my fair market value" and" their fair market value" as promised four years ago when I bought the SG. We should of clarified then.
I have learned my lesson, and I apologise for saying rip-off. I should have used a different phrase, but I can't edit it now.

 

[LilloEsquilo]

Yeah the thing is, that's truly not a rip off. It's them wanting to make money off your gear.

Post it on Craigslist and see what a real low ball is, you'll get people writing to offer you 200 bucks for it. Seriously.

Now that is low and you should be able to get more, why not list it on the classifieds here and see what you can get fair market value for it?

 

[Staccato]

Ouch, that sounds like wholesale $$$. That's what we're used with GC in some locations. Here in town, they offer/pay 1/2 of current ebay 'sold' prices.

Sell to an individual (if you haven't already).

 

[martyman5000]

I thought the same thing the first time I asked about trading in stuff...Over the years I mainly buy from there discount table at the back of the store that is mainly returns they mark down...I just don't think they want to deal with your used equipment when they already have New and returned stuff.

 

[ondaone]

Not sure if this is in the right forum or not.
Long and McQuade Canada ripoff.After spending about $8-9 thousand there in the last 6 years, I went there today to order a Fender American deluxe Jazz, using a 4 year old Gibson SG guitar(mint-which I bought there for $1250.00) as a trade.
They offered me $360.00 for a trade in. Oh well, Kijiijii here I come. I will never step in their door again.

I think I'm going to have to spend an extra grand now and get that Dingwall Super J!!

In my experience(+15 yrs) with Long and Delayed(order something from them you'll see) I find they are good for somethings, strings cables , straps, picks that kind of thing but are by far the worst in my area at least at giving far trade on anything, I think it has to do with the fact they carry alot of stuff that nobody else does and they do enough business even with there poor customer service through rentals and sales to large groups that your 8-9 grand is small potatoes for them, and proble told you 300 bucks to see if you'll take or just leave them alone to sell the walls of brand new stuff they have in stock, heck last drummer I played with spent that in a month PA,mics, lights, drums the works, He basiclly set up a whole jam room in 3 visits and they didn't even throw in a set of sticks for him(even over charged his visa ).fixed the visa deal right away but still and you know what I see him there every once in a while , gotta do what you gotta..only place around us with a decent selection of stuff you need to work.

Business is business when you deal with chains that really can afford to lose a customer or two your never going to come out ahead, for trade or resale go with smaller more Mom and Pop style place that might let you put your stuff up on consignment in there store for 10-15 % give kijiji a shot , I use it around me a fair amount and have bought and sold a bunch of stuff , I find it hard to sell larger ticket stuff but anything at a decent fair price moves pretty quickly , lots of opions out there, no need to claimed to be ripped of buy a place that is simply looking out for its self first.

where are you at? wasn't L&M Windsor was it,

take care
jim

 

[Jazzdogg]

Not sure if this is in the right forum or not.
Long and McQuade Canada ripoff.After spending about $8-9 thousand there in the last 6 years, I went there today to order a Fender American deluxe Jazz, using a 4 year old Gibson SG guitar(mint-which I bought there for $1250.00) as a trade.
They offered me $360.00 for a trade in. Oh well, Kijiijii here I come. I will never step in their door again.

I think I'm going to have to spend an extra grand now and get that Dingwall Super J!!

In my world there's quite big difference between being dissatisfied with an offer and being ripped-off.

This thread makes me wonder how you react to genuinely bad events in your life.

Life is too short to take such things personally.

 

[SanDiegoHarry]

I guess it all comes down to "my fair market value" and" their fair market value" as promised four years ago when I bought the SG. We should of clarified then.
I have learned my lesson, and I apologise for saying rip-off. I should have used a different phrase, but I can't edit it now.

Since I popped off, let me make sure I have this right: A store tells you that they will trade you "Fair Market Value" at some point in the future for a guitar they sold you...

Well, The amount they offered you IS "Fair Market" if they intend to make a buck on it. Did you expect it to be an price as if you sold it used? Really?

I don't mean to sound like a jerk, but you consider yourself schooled: A guitar shop is a BUSINESS, not a charity. You can't expect them to not want to turn a buck! So don't be mad at them for doing what they are supposed to do - just sell the thing on Ebay. Honestly, no musician who has been around knows that no store will give them fair value for gear - and they know that the stores CAN'T. I had to learn this the hard way, very much like you just learned it.

That's one of the reasons I always try to buy used gear - I end up losing so little money on gear that it's more like I'm investing my money in non growing (usually) funds - I buy the used "thing", use it, then sell it for usually right around what I paid - sometimes more (like the last Fender I bought on ebay - woo hoo!). But you can feel pretty certain that I never sell my gear to stores.

So live and learn. Someone out there really wants that SG, so sell her and buy something cool - Heck, go back to this L&M place if they have good stuff at reasonable prices. Just never forget the old saw "Buyer Beware" . Heck, the Romans coined the term - so this is nothing new!

 

[The Bass Clef]

This thread reminds me of "Pawn Stars". A lot of people don't seem to realize that a retail store can't pay retail price for used items. They must have meant fair "trade-in" value because if retail stores paid fair market value for their items, they would have no profit margin. Fair trade-in value for most places is 33-50% of the market value.

A few years ago GC offered to buy my CS '64 NOS Jazz Bass for $650. I paid ~$1800 for it when it was new (prices have gone up a lot since then). I laughed at them and sold it for $1300 on ebay. But I didn't get offended, instead I just made the $$ that GC wanted to.

 

[SanDiegoHarry]

This thread reminds me of "Pawn Stars". A lot of people don't seem to realize that a retail store can't pay retail price for used items. They must have meant fair "trade-in" value because if retail stores paid fair market value for their items, they would have no profit margin. Fair trade-in value for most places is 33-50% of the market value.

A few years ago GC offered to buy my CS '64 NOS Jazz Bass for $650. I paid ~$1800 for it when it was new (prices have gone up a lot since then). I laughed at them and sold it for $1300 on ebay. But I didn't get offended, instead I just made the $$ that GC wanted to.

THIS

 

[JMac- Wiskerface Designs]

I am singing the same song as the rest of the guys here. Music stores are in the business to make money. They will offer You half of what they believe they can sell it for. So as long as You didn't let GAS get the best of You and take the low-ball offer, You're safe. You can sell the gear Yourself (here, ebay, CL, whatever) and get what it is reasonably worth, without getting nailed.

 

[f64]

Not sure if this is in the right forum or not.
Long and McQuade Canada ripoff.After spending about $8-9 thousand there in the last 6 years, I went there today to order a Fender American deluxe Jazz, using a 4 year old Gibson SG guitar(mint-which I bought there for $1250.00) as a trade.
They offered me $360.00 for a trade in. Oh well, Kijiijii here I come. I will never step in their door again.

I think I'm going to have to spend an extra grand now and get that Dingwall Super J!!

I understand your disappointment - I really do, I've been there and learned as you are. L&M are a big box store and need to turn a profit to stay open. They have much too high an overhead and make to little profit on new guitar sales. It's just too competitive. The only other avenue they have for profit is used equipment. When they take a look at your piece they immediately look to see what the market is. L&M, GC, SA, MF all use the same bible and it’s a site mash.
The following link lets you know every SG that’s for sale across the US that’s not in a store.
Link Removed
Right now there are 1279 SG's for sale on eBay, CL and other platforms. The average sale price asked (asked on CL isn't what it goes for and the eBay prices move) is from $ 600 to $700. What L&M can and do offer is 1/2 what it is presently selling for - no more and no less. If yours is exceptional and has a great case they offer a little more. If it’s a beater they offer less.
Best you get into the market on your own to get a higher price. For you the unfortunate issue is that SG's are pretty common and that keeps the resale down.
Good Luck

 

[Baird6869]

L&M is a weird store.

I have traded things in there and got amazing deals. other times I have taken things in and been totaly insulted by what they offer.

+1.

It vaires from store to store from what I can see. Mississauga? The sales people are morons. I had to physically be escorted out of the store once as I was going to pound out a salesguy for blatently lying to me and making me drive 2.5 hours round trip (pretty funny as I was in a suit/tie at the time) Markham? Better. Brampton? OK. Scarborough? Too busy all the time. Toronto? really knowledgeable.

I LOVE the Oshawa team as an example as ALL of them have been there for years and know their $h!t. I have spent well over $20,000 there in the last 5 years. BUT... a lot of what I bought was discounted to meet or beat other local retailers of Musicians Friend, Sam Ash, GC in the US.

Anyways, eventually getting to my point.... L&M pays 80-85% of what they will put a guitar on the wall for basically 100% of the time. This is policy. This isn't good for you when a) you expect retail (or new) or b) the salesperson screws up the appraisal.

In your case, your $1250 SG is likely now $1099 (or maybe $999) new with the strong CAD$. That means they would likely sell it for $700-800 used. That means they SHOULD have offered you in the $550-650 range on trade. TOPS. A used SG just isn't worth a ton. Maybe even $100 more if they were nice and discounted the Fender.

I strongly believe they just didn't know what they were doing when they did the appraisal. I would have asked for a manager.

Bottom line? Sell it for retail on Kijiji, CL, eBay or TB or a similar site.

I personally only trade stuff in at L&M when they give me within $100 or so of what I would get in a private sale. Avoiding shipping and saving the 13% tax on the trade in value can make up for the difference. This is rarely and I know a bunch of the employees personally.

P.S. Never worked there in my life....

 

[Wildono]

aqsw,

If I had the money (US$600-800), and I don't, I'd be interested in getting a closer look at your SG. You should list it in the classified with pics. Someone here can afford the GAS for what surely must be a nice ride.

 

[neversilence]

I have never done a trade in for that simple reason!

I also, personally find L and M to have the same prices as other stores that ship to Canada. They have matched axemusic.com for me in the past as well.

 

[aqsw]

aqsw,

If I had the money (US$600-800), and I don't, I'd be interested in getting a closer look at your SG. You should list it in the classified with pics. Someone here can afford the GAS for what surely must be a nice ride.

If it was a bass I would, but it's a guitar. Just put it on Kijiijii about two hours ago. Thanks guys for all the comments (good and bad).
I have learned a valuable lesson about the music instrument business.

 

[DiabolicLow B]

With Craigslist and Kijiji so easy to use I would never trade anything into any music store, you will never get even close to what you are hoping for.

Regarding L&M I have had mixed dealings over the years but you cannot say they are overpriced, they will price match any store in Canada if you can prove it is cheaper somewhere else.

They took almost $300 off an Ibanez Prestige for me that was cheaper at L.A Music.

 

[Tonegasm]

Low ball - yes.

Rip off - no.

Sell your guitar elsewhere, get more money, buy whatever you want.

 

[Bassdirty]

Usually, you'll get no more than half of what they think they can sell it for.

This.

I've seen them check ebay for going used prices..average them out..and offer me half of that.
It sucks, but its the way it is.
Sure you can do craigslist...but them you have to wait...and wait.and try not to get scammed...rifle through 26 emails about your "Item"..and the buyer's "shipper"..and so on.

 

[mophead]

If you are too lazy to sell it yourself, take that CASH into the store and beat them up on their pricing because you have CASH, then you should expect exactly what the offer was.

Trade ins on ANYTHING will get you soaked. Cars, houses, guns, motorcycles, furniture, anything. Take a set of golf clubs in for a trade and you will have the same thing happen. When you finally learn you don't have to have it right now you will do better on business transactions instead of having a tantrum.

 

[JustDavid]

Just kinda getting used to L&M down here. Finding them VERY good to deal with.

They seem to have 2 tiers of Used. Demo & occasional rentals are slightly marked down from New. Trade-ins can be INCREDIBLY good deals, even before you factor in the ability to get an extended warranty.

Long story short, I'd never trade anything in but I'll haunt there looking for trade-ins.