Warning: Buyer beware at Guitar Center

[sludgetail]

GC has a 45 day return policy- get your money back!

This. And you wouldn't be out the shipping fee; let the store manager at your local store know what happened. This happened to me buying a used bass listed with a case. Arrived without and was shipped bad. Easy to refund and no harm done though cash got tied up a couple days. You can also email [email protected]. Beau over there has been incredibly helpful in the past. Wish you all the luck, but def talk to a store manager, based on my experience they will do all they can to help you and won't stick you with the shipping fee if it was damaged or misrepresented (either on purpose or not).

Edit: sorry I just re read and see your a few hundred miles away from a GC. Email that yourvoice email and let him know what happened. I can almost guarantee that he'll take great care of you (and intervene and contact the store), in my experience they were extremely helpful... if not there's always your CC and having them intervene so you're not stuck with any fees. Sorry this happened to you man...

 

[thetragichero]

buddy of mine went to guitar center and bought a 100w bugera tube amp that had two of the power tubes pulled. when he asked me my thoughts about it, i expressed concerns over whether they selected the correct impedance when they did this. it was set to 16ohms so unless they had it hooked to a 32ohm cabinet... the already underspeced output transformer was most likely abused. he correctly chose to return it

 

[The Deep]

Pretty hard to blame GC employees for their interpretation of an instrument's condition when you consider how many variables are at play (age, experience, personal preference, motivations, etc).

I'm not going to defend them in absolution, as they do have their fair share of warts to contend with. I do, however, think there are some good deals to be found there in light of their willingness to allow for various discount coupons, price negotiations, and use of the Gear Card (6 months no interest with 5% rewards).

To top it all off, you get 45 days to try it out and decide if you want to return it for a full refund. I don't know of anyplace else that offers that sort of liberal trial policy on used gear.

Best of luck resolving your issue with the bass.

 

[Chrisk-K]

Life is better with GC than without GC.

 

[kmd88]

GC is a gamble. I bought a used bass once with a broken truss rod. The adjustment wheel had literally been broken off and glued back on. There was a shim under the neck so big I could fit a thick debit card in the pocket and the action was unplayable. Luckily they take things back at a full refund pretty much no questions asked.

The bad part of this story is it was back up for sale on GC used within the week. Ouch.

 

[Jscriv]

I live about 10 minutes from a GC and have everything shipped there. Got a US G&L L2000 in "excellent" condition for 650 once. Was so excited. Got there to find it was shipped without a case, or really any packing. Box was beat up and it looked like the bass was hit with an ax under the control knobs. We had to salvage the old listing for a data base to prove you couldn't see it from the pictures and it was infact listed as excellent condition. After that they refunded me in full. It was back up with the same picture and price a few hours later.

 

[CTBassGuy]

+1 on Calling them.

You never know what they might be able to do for you. Ask to talk to a manager and be polite. It helps.

+1 here. GC managers seem to have a good bit of leeway to make a sale right.

I bought a vintage Ampeg V4 cab online and had it delivered to my local store. Played it in the store when it arrived and seemed OK. When I got it home and started to tear into it, I found that it had a speaker replaced with a Peavey Scorpion and it was torn in 3 places. I called and talked to the manager of the local store and he was able to get a $50 discount on it for me (he had to get approval from corporate). I asked for that amount as that was the approximate cost of an original-type driver on Reverb and provided them the listing as reference.

Since it sounds like you want to keep the bass, just be reasonable in your ask to make all the things right, and they will likely work with you.

 

[dbsfgyd1]

Sorry if this is beating a dead horse, but wanted to make sure that others are aware of some of the things Guitar Center is getting away with.
My latest bass, a 5-string Yamaha BB435 was bought from Guitar Center on May 27th 2019.
I am still fixing the things wrong with this bass:
1) Broken upper strap screw. The broken piece being below the surface of the wood. So (someone?) just drilled a new hole in the back of the guitar body instead of extracting and repairing at the correct location.
2) 2 broken tuners. They function but are rattle and buzz monsters.
3) Bent shaft on one of the volume pots.
4) Neck tension set such that action is waaaay too low. i know this may be nitpicking but this is a major chain that should be held to a higher standard by it's own management but also by it's customer bass. (If we as consumers just accept anything "these guys try to get away with" then we deserve to be treated with disrespect).
5) The nut on this bass must have been replaced by someone ( a total dimwit) who built it themselves. I refuse to believe that Yamaha made this nut to have such obviously unequal string spacing.

When I called to inquire about the bass before buying it online ( my main mistake)
the sales rep at the Indiana #57 store assured me it was in good playable condition and the only thing wrong with it was that the action might be a tad bit low. He also stated that he had played it just the night before. So, based on his report, I bought it.
I could return the bass for a refund and I'd only be out the shipping cost. But, I'd have to drive round trip 280 miles to my closest Guitar Center. Then I'd still have to find another bass. I'll take my lumps on this one, and fix everything myself as a lesson to myself and perhaps others possibly considering an online purchase from GC.
Bottom line is this:
Do NOT trust Guitar Center to give disclosure, be forthcoming, or honest in the condition of their used equipment.

GC has a rating system on their used gear's condition. If that bass was rated in any other than poor condition. I would demand 100% of you money back including shipping cost.

Secondly, and this may be a issue with you being so far from the store, I'll only have gear delivered to the store for this very reason. In your case, lots of pictures, but it's a lot easier when you open the package in the store to negotiate, than over the phone. Besides, who's to say you didn't cause the damage when it comes to your house first? Not that any one would ever try put one over.

I feel bad about your situation. Hopefully this will resolve for you, and help readers and posters here to understand there is significant risk with online purchases.

 

[buldog5151bass]

The one thing that is unclear is whether you picked up the bass in the store, or whether it was bought site unseen and shipped to you. If you picked it up in the store, you should have to pay return shipping. The nut, tuner, and bent pots were things easily seen.

 

[I-play-bass]

At our big national chain in Canada, you're describing the NEW instruments.

Not at the downtown Toronto location. They keep that stuff pretty tip-top.

 

[Stewie]

I've done very well at GC. My used MIM P bass had a cracked nut, but everything else about it was perfect. They probably would have sent me a nut if I had asked. Bought an SVT15E cab for stupid cheap. Condition was listed as fair. Badges were missing, but I could see that in the picture. The cab was in new condition and I got it for less than the cost of the driver.

 

[Koshchei]

Life is better with GC than without GC.

lolno.

 

[Koshchei]

Not at the downtown Toronto location. They keep that stuff pretty tip-top.

Ditto Peterborough.

 

[B-Mac]

Sorry if this is beating a dead horse, but wanted to make sure that others are aware of some of the things Guitar Center is getting away with.
My latest bass, a 5-string Yamaha BB435 was bought from Guitar Center on May 27th 2019.
I am still fixing the things wrong with this bass:
1) Broken upper strap screw. The broken piece being below the surface of the wood. So (someone?) just drilled a new hole in the back of the guitar body instead of extracting and repairing at the correct location.
2) 2 broken tuners. They function but are rattle and buzz monsters.
3) Bent shaft on one of the volume pots.
4) Neck tension set such that action is waaaay too low. i know this may be nitpicking but this is a major chain that should be held to a higher standard by it's own management but also by it's customer bass. (If we as consumers just accept anything "these guys try to get away with" then we deserve to be treated with disrespect).
5) The nut on this bass must have been replaced by someone ( a total dimwit) who built it themselves. I refuse to believe that Yamaha made this nut to have such obviously unequal string spacing.

When I called to inquire about the bass before buying it online ( my main mistake)
the sales rep at the Indiana #57 store assured me it was in good playable condition and the only thing wrong with it was that the action might be a tad bit low. He also stated that he had played it just the night before. So, based on his report, I bought it.
I could return the bass for a refund and I'd only be out the shipping cost. But, I'd have to drive round trip 280 miles to my closest Guitar Center. Then I'd still have to find another bass. I'll take my lumps on this one, and fix everything myself as a lesson to myself and perhaps others possibly considering an online purchase from GC.
Bottom line is this:
Do NOT trust Guitar Center to give disclosure, be forthcoming, or honest in the condition of their used equipment.

Sorry to hear about your situation. I have bought several (5) used basses on Guitar Center Used Bass and had them shipped to the Guitar Center 10 minutes from my place of employment so that I could pick them up during my lunch hour all without incident.

 

[Wesley R]

And the next post will be someone who didn't think they got enough for their trade in.

 

[Kipp Harrington]

Sorry if this is beating a dead horse, but wanted to make sure that others are aware of some of the things Guitar Center is getting away with.
My latest bass, a 5-string Yamaha BB435 was bought from Guitar Center on May 27th 2019.
I am still fixing the things wrong with this bass:
1) Broken upper strap screw. The broken piece being below the surface of the wood. So (someone?) just drilled a new hole in the back of the guitar body instead of extracting and repairing at the correct location.
2) 2 broken tuners. They function but are rattle and buzz monsters.
3) Bent shaft on one of the volume pots.
4) Neck tension set such that action is waaaay too low. i know this may be nitpicking but this is a major chain that should be held to a higher standard by it's own management but also by it's customer bass. (If we as consumers just accept anything "these guys try to get away with" then we deserve to be treated with disrespect).
5) The nut on this bass must have been replaced by someone ( a total dimwit) who built it themselves. I refuse to believe that Yamaha made this nut to have such obviously unequal string spacing.

When I called to inquire about the bass before buying it online ( my main mistake)
the sales rep at the Indiana #57 store assured me it was in good playable condition and the only thing wrong with it was that the action might be a tad bit low. He also stated that he had played it just the night before. So, based on his report, I bought it.
I could return the bass for a refund and I'd only be out the shipping cost. But, I'd have to drive round trip 280 miles to my closest Guitar Center. Then I'd still have to find another bass. I'll take my lumps on this one, and fix everything myself as a lesson to myself and perhaps others possibly considering an online purchase from GC.
Bottom line is this:
Do NOT trust Guitar Center to give disclosure, be forthcoming, or honest in the condition of their used equipment.

For every "good" GC experience I read, I read 10 bad ones. Never again for me. Sweetwater all the way. Sorry you have to deal with this... it's the GC way (for many of us).

 

[clockworkcorpse]

Ditto Peterborough.

Same thing for both winnipeg stores.

 

[BassBrass]

Buying any bass online is tricky and once a bass is in the system at GC, sent down the river to the gulag, it's treatment is as suspect as a 50% chance something will "I am disappoint" (an old internet meme). But for walking in, hands on the instrument, I have found 4 or 5 that were supergood at low prices. Epiphones Jack and Alan, they both do very well recorded. Danvers GC where rock and roll still lives go bruns

 

[pigpen1]

i've gotten some really good deals used at guitar center, enough so that when one needed some work, i was okay with that. but it helps that i live within 15 minutes of our closest guitar center, so returns would be easy for me.

I think guitar center has the best used inventory and prices. I used to go to reverb but everything is sky high over there are far as prices go on used stuff.

 

[mellowgerman]

Yes, always contact them about this stuff. I've had several duds with undisclosed or undetected issues, but they refunded me the cost of shipping every time because it was an actual misrepresentation or oversight on their part, not a case of buyer's remorse. There are great deals to be had on their used site, but if you want to cash in on them, you do often times have to be patient and extra critical when you receive it (check all functions and details).