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Went to Guitar Center Looking at P's

Or you can sell it to GC and then use the cash they give you back to pickup the P bass with the 20% Off coupon. That's what I would do


One could do that, but i've had the experience myself where they said, well you won't get as much on a sale as you would a trade.
Guess it depends on who you're dealing with at a particular location and what it's worth to them.
 
If I did my research correctly, the 8.5+% sales tax rate in either Overland Park or KC makes it only a 12% discount anyway. I would sell the P on my own, get a discount from an online retailer, ordered what I really wanted instead of what was on the sales floor, and use their zero interest for 36 month financing. Pay it off when the bill comes or at my leisure.
 
Here's how used trades work:
They look the item up on Ebay and then give you half of what it is selling for there. It's a hassle, but selling yourself is more profitable. If you are trying to get rid of something anyway, then it might be worth it.
As far as the P bass, I tend to feel a P is a P is a P. Unless there is a specific reason to not like what you have (poor craftsmanship, bad electronics, wrong color, etc) I personally wouldn't bother.
 
Call or go in and ask... Fender and Markbass are always excluded - but I've always been given the dicount when I've purchased them.
Same here. And yesterday I was at Sam Ash getting a Fender guitar for my son in law for xmas and they honored the 20% as well. FYI SA has pretty much always matched GC for me in San Antonio even if they didn't have a sale on themselves.
 
Unless you don't care about getting screwed out of at least $150, don't trade. I had $300 invested in 2 basses worth at least 2.5 times that and GC gave me a $300 Sub 4 for both. I took the deal only because I broke even. They will turn around and sell both basses for at least $300 each if not $400 each, it's just the way they do business.
 
So I went to GC to look at P-basses,they have a 20% coupon so was looking into that Honeyburst Nitro USA with the coupon its $720.Well they where really busy so I sat down with an AM STD P and really liked it the price tag said $1099 but with the 20% off it would be $880.I wonder what kind of trade they would give me for my 04 Mexi P. Any opinions?
Just to put it out there, I recently (just last month) was offered a trade-in value of 70% resale for my old bass in addition to 10% off the purchase price of the new bass at Guitar Center. The sales staff is authorized to offer 40-50% resale for your trade, but managers can approve up to 70%.
The only reason I didn't do it was because I found the bass I was looking for new at another shop in mint condition for 300 dollars less than at GC, and the difference in trade value for my old bass was only about 75 dollars less.
So if what your buying is new, the sales assoc. should be able to get approval to offer 70% resale for your trade in.
 
This. GC will always screw you over on a trade in.

I can't believe I am sticking up for GC, but really how much do you expect from a trade in? You have to realise that they are paying to keep the lights on 12 hours a day trying to resell your old gear that even you don't think is worth holding on to.
GC is as fair as any other music store I have been to, they will give you between 50-70% of what they will sell it for.
If a MIM Fender is going to be sold for $300 expect to get between $150-175.
But here is why GC sucks to trade to:
1. If it is a rare item, they won't know what it is, and will lowball you to play it safe. I have a Les Paul that I tried to sell once to a couple different shops, and privately, but its rare enough that nobody knows what it is and mistakes it for a different model that is far less expensive. So I just kept it.
2. They price their stuff to sell. So maybe they are only giving you $150 and selling it for $300 and you know you could sell it on CL or Talk Bass for $$350-$375 but they aren't trying to sit on it for a month, they are pricing it to sell quickly.
So no its not the greatest place to sell/trade, but it is why buying used from them is really difficult to resist.
 
Just to put it out there, I recently (just last month) was offered a trade-in value of 70% resale for my old bass in addition to 10% off the purchase price of the new bass at Guitar Center. The sales staff is authorized to offer 40-50% resale for your trade, but managers can approve up to 70%.
The only reason I didn't do it was because I found the bass I was looking for new at another shop in mint condition for 300 dollars less than at GC, and the difference in trade value for my old bass was only about 75 dollars less.
So if what your buying is new, the sales assoc. should be able to get approval to offer 70% resale for your trade in.

Yeah exactly, if you can barter, and aren't afraid to just walk away from their offer you can squeeze 70% out of them, maybe I am just better at negotiating than most? It helps to know what the value of the item is. And to be selling an item that actually has value.
I have never been offered anything as low as 40% maybe if the condition is bad, or you just look exceptionally clueless they might offer you that low?
 
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Yeah exactly, if you can barter, and aren't afraid to just walk away from their offer you can squeeze 70% out of them, maybe I am just better at negotiating than most? It helps to know what the value of the item is. And to be selling an item that actually has value.
I have never been offered anything as low as 40% maybe if the condition is bad, or you just look exceptionally clueless they might offer you that low?
Definitely. Go in having researched current sales of the used item, familiar with lowest and highest sale values relative to the condition. Wait for their offer, and straight up tell them that you need that 70% resale. Those guys are trained no better than pawn brokers, and will settle for any sales commission they can get away with. Let them do their little 'I need to talk to my sales manager' song and dance, and don't act like you're in a hurry.
 
You might want to check that the coupon will apply to a Fender. Sometimes GC excludes certain brands from their promotions.

Every single time I go to use a coupon for MF, GC, Sweetwater, etc., it does not apply to what I am trying to buy.
 
right...they sent me that 20% coupon too, and there's a bazillion brand names in the disclaimer list at the bottom.
Here, this is the list from the bottom of the current 20% off coupon that i was emailed:
Products from the following manufacturers are excluded: 3rd Power Amps, 65amps, A Designs, Access, AC-CETERA, Antelope Audio, Apogee, Apple, Arturia, Ashdown, Avid, Blackstar, Bogner, Bose, Budda, Bundy, Dangerous Music, Dave Smith Instruments, Dean Markley, Diezel, Earthquaker Devices, EBS, Electro-Harmonix, Elektron, Elysia, Empirical Labs, EVH, Fender Custom Shop, Focal, Fox, Friedman, Fryette, Fuchs, Fulltone, G7th, Gemeinhardt, Godlyke, Hao, HK AUDIO, Keeley, Kemper, Korg, Kurzweil, Kush Audio, Lag Guitars, Laney, Mad Professor, Malekko Heavy Industry, Manley, Meinl Weston, Miraphone, MOTU, Native Instruments, Neumann, Neve, Pigtronix, Pioneer, Pro-Ject, Randall, Rickenbacker, Rivera, Royer, Rupert Neve Designs, Schroeder, Selmer Paris, Shure, Soldano, Solid State Logic, Teenage Engineering, Tortuga, T-Rex Engineering, VOX, Wampler, Westone, Xotic Effects, ZVex.
 
Well I see Fender Custom Shop on there but not plain Fender!
Here, this is the list from the bottom of the current 20% off coupon that i was emailed:
Products from the following manufacturers are excluded: 3rd Power Amps, 65amps, A Designs, Access, AC-CETERA, Antelope Audio, Apogee, Apple, Arturia, Ashdown, Avid, Blackstar, Bogner, Bose, Budda, Bundy, Dangerous Music, Dave Smith Instruments, Dean Markley, Diezel, Earthquaker Devices, EBS, Electro-Harmonix, Elektron, Elysia, Empirical Labs, EVH, Fender Custom Shop, Focal, Fox, Friedman, Fryette, Fuchs, Fulltone, G7th, Gemeinhardt, Godlyke, Hao, HK AUDIO, Keeley, Kemper, Korg, Kurzweil, Kush Audio, Lag Guitars, Laney, Mad Professor, Malekko Heavy Industry, Manley, Meinl Weston, Miraphone, MOTU, Native Instruments, Neumann, Neve, Pigtronix, Pioneer, Pro-Ject, Randall, Rickenbacker, Rivera, Royer, Rupert Neve Designs, Schroeder, Selmer Paris, Shure, Soldano, Solid State Logic, Teenage Engineering, Tortuga, T-Rex Engineering, VOX, Wampler, Westone, Xotic Effects, ZVex.
 
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