More GC Stupidity!

[KeithPas]

I wonder if the folks in these big stores read forums like this. It is obvious that they are losing tons of cash in sales because if inexperienced sales staff and rigid and often nonsensical resale rules. If they would just treat the musicians in their stores with a little respect and educate themselves on the true value of the used gear they sell they will all make alot more money.

 

[Dr. Cheese]

I wonder if the folks in these big stores read forums like this. It is obvious that they are losing tons of cash in sales because if inexperienced sales staff and rigid and often nonsensical resale rules. If they would just treat the musicians in their stores with a little respect and educate themselves on the true value of the used gear they sell they will all make alot more money.

I think the point is that business people spend time doing business, enthusiasts spend time reading forums. That said, if GC were creative, they would hire people who are enthusiasts to read TB and other forums to at least give them advice.

 

[Bass7755]

I have been reading all of these threads about GC for
a few weeks now. I have been saving up a little gig
money so I have been looking for a 'less expnsive"
5 string. I thought I would check out the new GC
in Greensboro,NC....today.

They only had a few 5ers... but they had a Fender
MIM 5 that had looked like it had been there for
a while. The strings were about a 1/2" of the F/B!
We had to change the battery and find a good cable
before I could check this POS out.

Well... I ended up buying this "POS". The sales
guy had to go back 3 times to talk to the "manager"
They came down a whole 110.00

After re-shming the neck about 5 times
I finally got it down to about 2/32"(+)@12th without BUZZ.
Its still a WIP. And its about 10lbs.

I thouht at one point this bass was hopeless
and I would have to take it back. But,
it actually tuned out pretty good.
I might have to join the Fender Club.


Dan

 

[KeithPas]

I think the point is that business people spend time doing business, enthusiasts spend time reading forums. That said, if GC were creative, they would hire people who are enthusiasts to read TB and other forums to at least give them advice.

Speaking from a purely business perspective, that would be a smart thing to do. the business admin types that run these places need to be a bit more creative if they expect to see their profits grow.

 

[Brad Johnson]

That was the subject of my conversation w/ Bill Leigh that resulted from this. I had sent him email asking why in Bass Player, and other mags, do they tout these $3000+ super-ultra-fancy-snazzy high end basses; holding them up as the Holy Grail; but make no mention of their near worthlessness if the time comes to sell it. I felt that withholding this information was actually doing their readers a disservice. Especially the ones who (like me at that time) think "Oh...3 grand on a bass...if I ever have to sell it, I can get it all back because it's...FANCY!" Of course, I bought it, THEN looked at their resale value (DUH!). I didn't really care though because I had a great bass; but it would have been nice to have had that knowledge beforeheand to help my purchasing decision.

And it's not just to appease the advertisers; withhold info about an instruments resale value to avoid putting off potential buyers; when's the last time you saw an ad for a Chris Larkin? (He really is a great guy, btw! )
Although he did get a review once...1996 I believe.

The problem with this is that the resale value is largely an unknown... the only thing that people could be informed of IMO is that the resale value can vary.

You can find people on this very site who'll proclaim how some boutique instruments are a safe buy because if you buy them new and don't like them, you can sell them for what you paid. That by and large IME is a load of crap but people keep saying it and if you challenge them they get angry. Imagine Bill Leigh doing that on a national scale.

Just like any other consumer purchase, depreciation is a factor... but look at how many just here on TB say they don't care. I know more than one person who's said that, then got into a situation where they had to sell and squealed like a pig when the sale took a while and they came up well short of what they expected. Then again, what were their expectations based on?

Here's a fact... you stand to lose a heck of a lot more dollar-wise on a custom than a typical off the shelf purchase. That should be a common sense statement... it's much easier to lose $1,500 on a $5,000 purchase than a $500 one... losing $1,500 on a $500 buy takes talent.

I don't think Bass Player magazine's job is to educate people about depreciation... there are all sorts of consumer and financial publications for that. If people are too lazy to take the time to protect their own interests, they can learn the old fashioned way... the hard way.

 

[Brad Johnson]

I wonder if the folks in these big stores read forums like this. It is obvious that they are losing tons of cash in sales because if inexperienced sales staff and rigid and often nonsensical resale rules. If they would just treat the musicians in their stores with a little respect and educate themselves on the true value of the used gear they sell they will all make alot more money.

Part of their bottom line is what they pay their employees. By and large you get what you pay for.

Getting up and staying up on used gear takes time. Most employees don't set used pricing in these stores.

I've always thought that each store should have someone whose job is to make sure instruments on the floor maintain minimum standards. At least that's what I always say I would do. One obvious problem with that is that as a line item it will affect the bottom line... either less profit or higher prices vs. the competition. Not a simple choice.

 

[KeithPas]

Part of their bottom line is what they pay their employees. By and large you get what you pay for.

Getting up and staying up on used gear takes time. Most employees don't set used pricing in these stores.

I've always thought that each store should have someone whose job is to make sure instruments on the floor maintain minimum standards. At least that's what I always say I would do. One obvious problem with that is that as a line item it will affect the bottom line... either less profit or higher prices vs. the competition. Not a simple choice.

I agree with your post, they need to pay their sales staff more in order to attract musicians with the experience needed to properly sell the gear. I also agree that having some system of quality control for the existing instruments with respect to set up is crucial. How many times have we heard about a perfectly good bass being called garbage because of the way it was set up in GC?

 

[lump]

I have been reading all of these threads about GC for
a few weeks now. I have been saving up a little gig
money so I have been looking for a 'less expnsive"
5 string. I thought I would check out the new GC
in Greensboro,NC....today.

They only had a few 5ers... but they had a Fender
MIM 5 that had looked like it had been there for
a while. The strings were about a 1/2" of the F/B!
We had to change the battery and find a good cable
before I could check this POS out.

I went to the local GC a coupla days ago, mainly to check the board for bassist wanted ads (I really liked the handwritten one with a profanity-laden diatribe about how their previous BP ****ed them over--I think I'll call). Anyway, I poked my head into the bass section for S&Gs, and virtually nothing I picked up was playable. I've never seen it that bad. The actions were a mile high and the strings on everything were completely dead. Ugh. I felt sorry for the kids in there trying them out. It did seem to cut down on the slap wanking though (of which I can be guilty)--you'd have to hit the strings with a hammer to get them to hit the fretboard.

I figured I'd fiddle with the keyboards for a bit (which I could actually be in the market for), but none of the workstations had sustain pedals, and there were only a few benches. How can you ops check a keyboard without a sustain pedal or a bench? "Here, let me bend over it and play Chopsticks. Oh, yeah, sounds sweet--I'll take it."

The place was packed though, and I'm sure they turn a nice profit. As long as they do, I can't see any reason why they would change anything. But I'll shop on line, thanks.

 

[TAZ]

Exactly, As long as musicians continue to buy at GC, the GC business plan will continue to reduce overhead (at all possible levels including cheap sales staff and minimum merchandise handling) to squeeze out maximum profits. They are a business first and the only objective is a sale. It has absolutely nothing to do with the music, musicians, art, or a quality customer experience.

As always, consumer be aware.

 

[Musiclogic]

It loses something when you have to explain it.

so very true.


Cool... want to hear a hilarious "inside" trumpet joke? This guy wanted to use a Monette STC-1 on a new Bundy... I almost blew milk through my nose on that one.

Prana Mouthpieces are some of the best made, and maybe it is the only upgrade he could afford until buying a new horn...........sorry...I am sort of a instrument junkie...LMAO

Why would you expect bassists to know or care about guitar amps? They have no relevance to what we do... unless we also play guitar, which many of us don't. No relevance whatsoever.

I was going to be really condescending here but will leave it at, in my day, Good musicians took an interest in all aspects of a group
to learn what can make the group sound better. Maybe these days musicians are not gear junkies, in my time it was different I guess.....we actually cared about the sound of the group and always looked for things to make it better. I guess sound and equipment that would last on the road, playing 6 nights a week for 48 weeks a year, isn't imporant these days.

By the same token I don't expect guitarists to know anything about basses... and most don't, beyond playing one like a guitar

Any expectation of a guitar player beyond "crank it up" and "when's my next solo" is a stretch at best. LMAO


Maybe these days, expectations are a stretch in general

 

[Musiclogic]

Part of their bottom line is what they pay their employees. By and large you get what you pay for.

Getting up and staying up on used gear takes time. Most employees don't set used pricing in these stores.

I've always thought that each store should have someone whose job is to make sure instruments on the floor maintain minimum standards. At least that's what I always say I would do. One obvious problem with that is that as a line item it will affect the bottom line... either less profit or higher prices vs. the competition. Not a simple choice.

The strange thing about GC is that all managers, be it Asst. Mgr, Guitar Manager, Ops Manager and Store Mgr. are all suposed to be trained in proper set-up of guitars and basses. NOT!!! The ethic there for set-ups is "Jack up the strings until it stops buzzing"....That's a GC set-up. It's really sad.

 

[Embryodead]

The strange thing about GC is that all managers, be it Asst. Mgr, Guitar Manager, Ops Manager and Store Mgr. are all suposed to be trained in proper set-up of guitars and basses. NOT!!! The ethic there for set-ups is "Jack up the strings until it stops buzzing"....That's a GC set-up. It's really sad.

Man, i really feel bad for you guys, i wish a couple of Mass guys and Rhode Island guys would post about the North Attleboro, Mass store. Anyone who has been there will tell you while they might not carry everything in stock at all times but they will order it no hassle what they do have is really quality and they take good care of all the gear that's on the floor.

In the Pro audio room (where my bandmate works) they worked really hard to get all of the keyboard gear they have (some Karma's and a couple of nice workstations) all with benches and sustain pedals infront of them.

Very rarely will i pick up a bass where the action is just too insane or the strings are just really terrible. Almost never do i hear my guitarist complain about a guitar either that's just unplayable due to action. Recently our store just got in a whole new line of Peavey's bass and guitar due to a couple asking for them. They go beyond what they are expected to such as i did a Guitarcenter.com return at the store..clearly states online that i'm not supposed to but they did it anyway.

When i had a Kustom Groove Bass 1200 something went wrong with the transformer i didn't have the performance guarantee i was 11 days out of 30 day return, I sold it back to them for the equivilant cost of the GK1001RB and they just handed me it, they sent the Kustom to repair and it was out on the floor and i plugged into it worked perfectly fine.

I guess what im saying is bad workers make a bad environment.

 

[Marley's Ghost]

I got my used SB-2 at the GC on 14th St NYC. It was tagged for $699, a great price for this bass in near mint condition. I tried to offer the sales guy $650 cash, but his response was that they are not allowed to discount used instruments at all.

 

[Embryodead]

I got my used SB-2 at the GC on 14th St NYC. It was tagged for $699, a great price for this bass in near mint condition. I tried to offer the sales guy $650 cash, but his response was that they are not allowed to discount used instruments at all.

when did you do that? because yes that technically is the new policy on gear..some GC's like mine the Managers don't care. My new mesa 2x10 was tagged at 569 or around there, i got it for 400 + tax out the door.

 

[Marley's Ghost]

when did you do that? because yes that technically is the new policy on gear..some GC's like mine the Managers don't care. My new mesa 2x10 was tagged at 569 or around there, i got it for 400 + tax out the door.

Early December. The policy may only apply to used instruments.

 

[Embryodead]

Early December. The policy may only apply to used instruments.

Supposedly the new Policy that was handed out to the employee's in the beginning of December was that no price adjustments could be made to any gear new or used without the floor managers consent.

 

[Brad Johnson]

Prana Mouthpieces are some of the best made, and maybe it is the only upgrade he could afford until buying a new horn...........sorry...I am sort of a instrument junkie...LMAO

LMAOT

I was going to be really condescending here but will leave it at, in my day, Good musicians took an interest in all aspects of a group
to learn what can make the group sound better. Maybe these days musicians are not gear junkies, in my time it was different I guess.....we actually cared about the sound of the group and always looked for things to make it better. I guess sound and equipment that would last on the road, playing 6 nights a week for 48 weeks a year, isn't imporant these days.

The musician makes things better... so be as condescending as you like, it'll most likely be more amusing than such.

Unless you actually play all of the instruments in question, you'll only have cursory knowledge of what makes what "better". Then again, some may appreciate getting advice on something from someone whomay just have bought into some hype elsewhere and is now parroting it. Generic experts are worth their weight in pudding.

In my time (I'm 50 and have been gigging for 30 years... does that precede your time?) knowing that one guitar amp was "better" than another meant zip to me... still does, for a couple of simple reasons.

I don't play guitar.

If the guitarist in question prefers the lesser of the amps in question, why are the other ones "better".

Any expectation of a guitar player beyond "crank it up" and "when's my next solo" is a stretch at best. LMAO


Maybe these days, expectations are a stretch in general

And here you said you weren't going to be condescending...

 

[jacohead]

i bought a used wt 800 head at cs. i payed 900 for, little did i know that the bi-amp switch was not working properly, and the preamp needed to be replaced. I ended up spending 450 on repairs, i could have gotten a new one for that amount. GS is just like every other corporate out their, dont care about anything but the money

 

[agreatheight]

Supposedly the new Policy that was handed out to the employee's in the beginning of December was that no price adjustments could be made to any gear new or used without the floor managers consent.

If that is true I'll never go back. It's hard enough to get in and out of a GC, some purchases have taken me more than an hour to get out the door. I am certainly not going to spend more time to have a sales assoiate look for a manager to OK a price.

Can anyone verify this?

 

[Embryodead]

i bought a used wt 800 head at cs. i payed 900 for, little did i know that the bi-amp switch was not working properly, and the preamp needed to be replaced. I ended up spending 450 on repairs, i could have gotten a new one for that amount. GS is just like every other corporate out their, dont care about anything but the money

bought a used head at CS? GS?

Confused, anyways if it was broke you should have returned it?