Mislabeled Instruments at Guitar Center (Resolved)

[BergerHead]

1. If you do, you risk them fixing their mistake and potentially raising the price

2. Thats a philosophical question. According to Kant’s Categorical Imperative, the right thing to do would probably be to inform the business, as you would hope a customer would do so if the situations were reversed. There’s a certain degree of dishonesty here. But, on the other hand, there’s certain expectations of a business exchange, including that the consumer will try to get the best for them as will the seller. So, to answer your question, I dont see this as ethically wrong, but it’s also not something to be particularly proud of. Im sure most consumers would just gloat about screwing over GC

3. I think they can cancel the order if they realize their mistake.

Maybe he should read The Critique of pure Reason first and then Shakespeare's Hamlet: " To buy or not to buy ...".
Btw, you got the perfect nick to give valuable advice, good one, dude!

 

[Chaputa]

Back in the early 2000s, I found a 99 Brubaker NBS-1 in a GC used center listed as a "Bartolini" bass. Price was about $1k shy of what it should have gone for. Did the "right" thing by trying to correct them and show them it was a Brubaker, and they just said whatever. So I've been a very happy Brubaker owner ever since. Was intending on flipping, but it just had so much mojo...

 

[Snakeman1066]

Something kind of similar happened to me a few years back...I was online looking at bass sales when I came across a store blowing out their remaining inventory online...I saw a Warlock Listed for $350.00 upon closer inspection it appeared to be the Neck-thru signature edition Paolo Gregoletto (which at the time sold for roughly 4X that retail) I checked the listing and the pictures several times and just figured somebody accidentally swapped the pictures in the listing...So I pulled the trigger! I figured the Bolt on Model was about $500.00 new so either way it was a pretty decent deal for me...much to my surprise when it arrived it was indeed the much more expensive Neck-Thru signature edition and not the cheaper bolt on...

Paid $350...received this one!:

and not this one:

 

[Potomuss]

Had this happen with a cabinet once. GK Neo 212 labeled as a 112 for $250. Purchased and received without issue.

 

[alaskaleftybass]

When it comes to ethics all you have to do is imagine the scenario in reverse. If you had misidentified a bass you were selling and were ripping yourself off, what would you want the buyer to do?

Some folks expect the buyer to watch out for the sellers interest because that results in a fair and honest exchange.
Some folks think the buyer deserves the deal because its the seller's responsibility to know his product.

Both are perfectly valid perspectives. One is realistic, the other idealistic. But only you can determine which camp you fall in.

That is a kind point of view on using yourself as an example. Trouble is I argue with myself and would say, "yeah but I don't own dozens of stores worth 10's of millions throughout the country and they probably paid pennies on the dollar or it anyway..." and the flip side of that is, "because a sales person misidentified an item they undercharged. It's this kind of carelessness that is causing me to bleed missions every year...." two sides of the story...

 

[JoeWPgh]

I would have a minor ethical dilemma, that would be offset by the knowledge that there have been aggressive store managers who low balled someone who they identified as a fish. Aside from that, GC (or any seller) has the responsibility to make certain their ad is correct before posting it. As far as I am concerned, once an ad is posted, that is the price they must accept.

 

[Exemonium]

Because of the interface that is used to label the gear, the pictures are rather small. And often times the wrong picture will get uploaded. The description, title, item #, and price are the actual purchase.
Also, people make mistakes. Sometimes a higher end piece is bought in as a lower end one and vice versa. Once it’s offered at a price they can’t change it, so no worries there.

Currently GC has set buy-in and selling prices, so the individual stores don’t really have a say in that as well.

 

[buldog5151bass]

They are the entity putting to object up for sale. If they fail to do their due diligence, it is their own fault.

 

[Maxdusty]

I bought an Ibanez Ergodyne EDA900 online from the GC used site that was listed in Excellent condition. When I got it, sure the body and neck was in great shape but the Piezo pickup underneath the bridge was shot. To their credit, I had no problem returning it, but pointed out the problem to my local GC store so they could either fix it or re-list it accordingly. Nope, went there the following week, bass was on the wall for the same price, and the ad online listed it as "excellent". Again pointed out to the Manager that the bass was defective, I didn't want a prospective buyer buying that thing without knowing about it's true condition..."sure, sure, we'll fix it".....
Another week later, nothing was done or fixed. I just gave up.
In other words, I give little credence to the condition rating they use on their website, they don't seem to be as careful with their listings or descriptions so sometimes use the wrong pictures too. They have a policy that protects them on the outcome of any transaction. They can cancel or correct a sale if the price is mis-marked and they notice it later before they ship it out, if they mistakenly miss a defect, you can return the bass/guitar and be refunded.

 

[Nev375]

That is a kind point of view on using yourself as an example. Trouble is I argue with myself and would say, "yeah but I don't own dozens of stores worth 10's of millions throughout the country and they probably paid pennies on the dollar or it anyway..." and the flip side of that is, "because a sales person misidentified an item they undercharged. It's this kind of carelessness that is causing me to bleed missions every year...." two sides of the story...

You'd be getting into some dangerous rationale when you start assuming facts about their business model to justify what you want to do.

I'd still say don't overthink it and don't do anything you wouldn't be comfortable with being done to you.

 

[el murdoque]

Can’t help thinking this is vacuum cleaners

I had a good laugh.
Rest assured, it's not.
It's one of those where grown people spend thousands of hard earned dollars for their hobby.

 

[TN WOODMAN]

I recently saw a Telecaster guitar shown while listing was for a Precision bass.

My buddy and I frequently spot CV Squiers not IDed as CV for great prices-he collects CVs and has scored a couple this way. On the other hand we saw an Affinity with decal removed listed as a CV just last week.

My story-a few years back was watching an ESP Vintage 4 in CAR. Price had dropped a few times from $899 to $699. Called for an in hand description. Representative was clueless. Does the bridge say Babitz? Yes. Are those EMG X pickups? Yes. Looks like no strap pins. Do you see flush holes? Yes. Can you go any lower? No. Can I get free shipping? No. Throw in a gig bag? No. Dealbreaker? No. Shipping was $7. See in my avatar. Love this bass.

 

[DuluthDank]

I suppose it’s also possible that the photo is incorrect, not the listing info. I’m interested to see what you receive!

In my experience this is the most likely scenario. I bought a bass that had a picture of an american pro precision but priced and labeled as a standard P. I bought it online, and called the store early the next day to confirm before it was shipped, and they were about to send me a standard P they had in stock. They may be uninformed compared to the average TB user, but they usually aren't dumb enough to price something that poorly. This isn't the pre-internet days where you could expect to take advantage of people's ignorance. Honestly, everybody is so dang well researched and savvy, I don't even bother with craigslist anymore.

 

[singlemalt]

I say roll the dice on anything that looks like a deal at GC.

It’s not even a gamble. If you get what you want, great. If it’s a deal gone wrong, they will refund you and cover shipping.

Sharp eyed, informed buyers sometimes manage to snag great deals.

 

[TN WOODMAN]

The flip side in dealing with GC-when I got the black LTD in my avatar. Saw it in store used when helping a buddy get a guitar. I had agreed to a temporary self and wife imposed buying moratorium.

Couldn’t get this bass out of my mind. It had 62p and Duncan vintage j pups, tort guard, electro socket jack, Wilkinson bridge-nice mods agreeable to me. Next day off told the wife-what if I trade something I have for this bass? Your’s , do as you please. They had marked as $399. A fair price. I took a Taylor Big Baby and Danelectro U2 reissue , bags for both and said I will trade both with no $ diff unless you pay me or no deal. They prob listed each of mine for $400 , but I had $400 in total in them and they threw in a new Roadrunner gig bag on my insistence since mine had bags. I’m happy, got something I wanted and gave them a good deal. Karmic balance maintained.

 

[pigpen1]

In 2017 I spotted the drum machine I wanted for demos at a GC out of state, and like you describe the listing was wrong and the price was much lower than it should have been. Order went through, credit card was charged. I was taking a shot at saving 60%.

The next day someone at GC must have caught it because the order was cancelled and my card was credited back.
Probably the person who pulled the item from the floor and was going to pack and ship it noticed the mistake.
One of those people who care about doing a good job and are paying attention to details.

One of my favorite online transactions.

Yeah but did GC go back and give the person who traded it in the higher price they should have? The price the advertise is based off of what they gave for it.

 

[DeliriumTremens]

I guarantee you'll get the D'Angelico. Source - I used to upload the pics at the GC I worked at and I'm sure whoever did it for the store you ordered from made a mistake putting the pics on

 

[ToneMonkey]

What’s the return policy on used items? If I’m able to return it for any reason at my local GC, it seems low risk to me. I’m the only person I care about. Caveat emptor cuts both ways.

 

[Bander]

Glad it was resolved without loss of sleep . GC routinely gets the images mixed up. Just another thing to consider.

 

[Crockettnj]

I bought a brand new fendr delux P bass that was marked as a MIM P bass. I asked the clerk about the price, he looked it up and said yep. I dont recall exactly, but I paid around 500 for a 1600 bass.

It was stolen about a year later.

Karma man... karma.