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Went into Guitar Center, Wow

#101
tbz said:
Yeah the original owners of Guitar Center, and Bain when they bought their stake, honestly didn't do any homework on this whole "growth" thing.

It's like they looked at profit projections for prior years and never thought "well, people may not need more than 1-3 guitars". Unfortunately they did not really track their saturation points, or test them. Does 50% of the country want to own a guitar? How many want more than one? Etc etc. They kept expanding despite not having a handle on those crucial questions.

To be fair GCs "minimal haggling" prices were not common when they started expanding. Before GC you would go to a semi-grungy music store and pay whatever you talked them down to. If you knew your stuff you'd get a deal. If you were grandma and they were having a bad week....you'd pay a bit more.

Then GC comes around during the music boom of the late 90s and brings the Target/Walmart/Macy's department store approach to the industry. They moved the instrument purchasing

Unfortunately they never really accepted that guitars aren't jeans, groceries, towels, etc. You do not need to replace them often. They are incredibly sturdy and are built to last for 20-50+ years.

So. Yeah trying to be the Walmart of musical instruments was just a bad call to begin with. IMHO.
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Oh come on. Music stores have been making money carrying good musical instruments for years. But today, not many people buy more expensive guitars/basses in stores - their either buy from a boutique (Lull, Sadowsky) dealer, or buy online. The great majority of people buying from brick and mortar stores are those buying beginner instruments for themselves or a child.

Honestly, why should GC stock expensive instruments, if they are only going to be used as test models for the tire kickers? As @Immigrant said, most of the expensive ones get beat up, and therefore can't be sold.
 
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#104
I know each store is different and everyone's experience are different but I've mostly had good experiences at the GC near me (Tulsa). They have a decent selection of basses and there's usually a cool used bass or two there. The employees are pretty friendly and are active in our small music scene
 
#108
Immigrant said:
That made me wonder… How much has GC been hurt by people going in and test driving instruments then buying them somewhere else (even MF) online? One complaint that is prevalent regarding GC is how banged up their "new" basses can be. How can they NOT be thrashed with all the noodling going on?

I used to like GC a LOT. Anyone who remembers music stores charging MSRP and getting a good deal meant haggling down to a somewhat lower price surely remembers how GC moved in and two things happened:

1) Local stores had to lower prices to compete or
2) Close their doors because of unwillingness to change or inability to make ends meet. (Same argument that usually is used towards big box home improvement stores)
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I agree test driving may have hurt business but they could have helped it if they would offer a discount for ordering it online through them. The question is why are people test driving at GC and ordering through Musicfriend, Sweetwater etc when GC matches prices? Could it be saving in sales tax? If so advertise a 10% discount for online purchases and continue to match prices. Also provide quick shipping i.e. 2 day business at no cost. When I ordered my Pbass from Sweetwater I got free shipping, lower cost, great customer service and I was playing it in 2 days. I was emailed pictures of the bass before it even arrived and emails concerning shipping status. I also received a follow up email to check and see if I like my purchase. The bass had a warranty that if I didn't like anything about it I could ship it back at their cost. That's customer service. You don't get that at GC. GC is like shopping at WalMart. Over the years I have spent a ton of money at GC because they are close however, now that their selection isn't that great I go to where I get the best service for the price.
 
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#110
spaz21387 said:
But alot more of the lower priced stuff. I was in there about a week ago that black sterling ray 34 that buzzes on the first fret is still there. It has been since summer 2014... there was 1 blue double humbucker musicman. Alot of high end ibanez maybe 3 mia fenders the rest were squiers and subs. Id say 80% of the clackamas gc is stuff under $400
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Yeah, I was in the Clackamas GC about a month ago and I remember seeing one Japanese made Ibanez SR5000. I did however get a totally unexpected score. I went there to pick up a GK MB212-II (badass, fyi)...expecting to pay the $799 price...as it was $799 everywhere online, so I couldn't try to price match or anything. HUGE props to Jeffrey there, who told me I should quickly sign up for their promo code special that was running at the time. Got 15% off....$680 for the MB212-II. Total score. Thanks again to Jeffery for alerting me to that...totally didn't have to and I never would have been the wiser.

There are definitely some amazing deals to be had there, from time to time.
 
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#111
owendavis said:
I just wish they'd do a little set up, there's no way to get a feel for the instrument if the neck is bowed or the strings are a mile high.
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I absolutely agree! I actually worked at GC in Covina, California for about 8 months when I desperately needed a job about 5 years ago. I told them that I would set up the basses on the wall since they all played like garbage. They would not let me do it. "We don't need you to set up guitars and basses - we need you to sell them". I was going HOW CAN I SELL SOMETHING THAT PLAYS LIKE CRAP???" I never listened to them and did it anyway and sold a couple basses because I had set them up properly. I think I was on my way to being fired when I found the job I have now and quit. Haha.
 
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#112
jwilson67 said:
I absolutely agree! I actually worked at GC in Covina, California for about 8 months when I desperately needed a job about 5 years ago. I told them that I would set up the basses on the wall since they all played like garbage. They would not let me do it. "We don't need you to set up guitars and basses - we need you to sell them". I was going HOW CAN I SELL SOMETHING THAT PLAYS LIKE CRAP???" I never listened to them and did it anyway and sold a couple basses because I had set them up properly. I think I was on my way to being fired when I found the job I have now and quit. Haha.
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I was at a GGc as a customer one time, and one of my friends was trying to sell a Bass that played like poopie. He knew that I knew how to set up a Bass, so I adjusted the truss rod and saddles for him. I'm not sure if it resulted in a sale or not, but it definitely played better after I gave it some love. Go figure.
 
#113
buldog5151bass said:
Oh come on. Music stores have been making money carrying good musical instruments for years. But today, not many people buy more expensive guitars/basses in stores - their either buy from a boutique (Lull, Sadowsky) dealer, or buy online. The great majority of people buying from brick and mortar stores are those buying beginner instruments for themselves or a child.

Honestly, why should GC stock expensive instruments, if they are only going to be used as test models for the tire kickers? As @Immigrant said, most of the expensive ones get beat up, and therefore can't be sold.
Click to expand...

Did you quote the wrong person? That response doesn't make a lot of sense in the context of my comment.
 
#117
buldog5151bass said:
Fact is, since so many people are buying on line, and not using the stores for anything other than to test drive before that, for most stores it makes no sense to carry the more expensive instruments and amps. We reap what we sow, people.

My local GC is this way for basses, but my local independent shop carries more of a range.
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Exactly, it's called show rooming and is the reason I lost my job in a small independent camera store last year.All I did most of the day was demo cameras, mostly Canons and Nikons have the customers ask a million questions about the differences and eventually walk out without buying anything. It got to the point where the owner just stopped stocking the more expensive stuff since nobody was buying them anyway, they were basically just props to show the customers and answer their questions. Probably not a whole lot different at GC so they are making the same business choices, not carrying more expensive equipment because it just doesn't move. Jim
 
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#118
tbz said:
Did you quote the wrong person? That response doesn't make a lot of sense in the context of my comment.
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My point was not that they decided to change the business model to be more like other retail stores, but that because of the behavior of buyers, it just does not make sense to stock more expensive instruments in retail music stores.
 
#119
GC is catering towards beginners and intermediate players for their stores. They pretty much carry a limited stock of things and most of it is simply relatively low end stuff geared towards kids. I don't even go in there for strings anymore.
 
#120
The only reason I EVER go to GC is for an occasional strap, cable or guitar stand. Anything else is a waste of my time. The abundance of low end gear tells me they are only in business for kids and parents of kids. NO OFFENSE MEANT FOR THOSE WHO LOVE THEIR SQUIERS.
 

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