Guitar Centers New Pricing

[emrr]

I just want to say I've never been in a Guitar Center, though I certainly notice the disappearance of all the other stores.

[RefD]

I just want to say I've never been in a Guitar Center, though I certainly notice the disappearance of all the other stores.

when GC moves into a new market they employ the Walmart tactic: undercut the locals on price until they all sink and then jack it back up and stick it to the consumer when there is no longer any competition.

almost always works.

i hope this recent development means they're starting to get it up the ass from their own past misdeeds.

[TheForgotten]

What's with the HUGE avatars???

Big avatar... small brain.

Whoops!
My bad.
Should be fixed now.

P.S. Up yours.

[Meriphew]

What's with the HUGE avatars???

Big avatar... small brain.

Whoops!
My bad.
Should be fixed now.

Thx!

[hobbycore]

What's with the HUGE avatars???

Big avatar... small brain.

Whoops!
My bad.
Should be fixed now.

P.S. Up yours.

[Cojonesonasteek]

One of the co-owners of the studio I work out of is a pro audio guy at GC and now that the buddy deal is gone forever, he fully expects business to simply walk out the door to the nearest local music store who will go for a little haggling. It's a little strange for him to all of a sudden have to alert his long-time customers that there are no more deals, no more bargaining.

[syrupcore]

it won't make a bit of difference because they'll still have better prices than most average customers can get at mom and pop stores, so they'll continue to shop there, because people just HAVE to have their fucking deals, regardless of service or quality.

wal*mart 101. Kill all the competition, then raise prices.

I hope it turns people away. We do have this crazy thing called the internet and if you live in a city, there's just no reason to go there.

[RefD]

it won't make a bit of difference because they'll still have better prices than most average customers can get at mom and pop stores, so they'll continue to shop there, because people just HAVE to have their fucking deals, regardless of service or quality.

wal*mart 101. Kill all the competition, then raise prices.

I hope it turns people away. We do have this crazy thing called the internet and if you live in a city, there's just no reason to go there.

unless you want to actually try before you buy, then you need a brick and mortar store.

but yah, in alot of places GC ran most of the locals out of business by cutting prices to below cost until the damage was done and then went back to SRP or more.

i look at books on guitar shows from the 70s and 80s and see hosts of defunct music stores listed among the exhibitors and it makes me pretty angry.

also, again, musical instrument/pro audio retail is nothing like grocery stores.

[HeavyHand]

i've worked in a small drum shop for a very long time and a GC recently opened nearby. all I can say is FUCK. once the GC opened I went over to check them out. i found a few people that used to take lessons at our store working in their drum department. i chatted them up a bit about gear and just about everything they said to me was ridiculous. there was sincerely no one stupider than those few people I knew. wow.

corporatization of anything (to the degree of Wal-mart or GC) is almost always unhealthy. how many jobs are lost because Wal-mart demands low cost goods.

fuck them.

p.s. i have yet to find their prices any better then the other stores in my area. and this is especially true for really good gear.

[Gentleman Jim]

cgarges wrote:

So, what makes being on tour worthy of a discount? If you'd rather know the prices up front, then why would you feel the need to demand a discount. Technically, their stuff IS discounted. Thousands of people tour every year. Why should one guy touring be eligible for a discount in a tore where he doesn't know anybody?

I'm with Tony. I don't go into a grocery store and start haggling. Why should I do that at a music store? Maybe it's because I don't so this that I was always treated well at GC.

Back before the internet, I used to tour with bands nationally/internationally. As the tour manager or main backline guy, I was generally responsible for equipment and supplies purchases. So my loyalty was worth something to GC. If I was in Dallas and they could see that in the previous year I'd spent $4,000 at the GC in San Francisco, $3,000 at the the GC in downtown Chicago, $2,500 at the suburban Chicago store, etc. it was obvious that I could be a good customer. Remember that old marketing maxim: it costs 4 times as much to get a new customer than to retain a current customer. (But then again, I'm not going to fool myself into thinking I got cost plus 10. I got good deals, but I never wanted the salespeople to get completely creamed either.)

As far as haggling generally, my feeling is that if the company allows or initiates it, it's because they think it will be advantageous to them. Some customers will pay more, some less. I don't need to be the guy who paid the least for the car, but if I can pay less than average I don't feel like I've been taken.

But to use your grocery store analogy, do you price shop grocery stores? I happen to live within 2 miles of 5 different grocery stores. If one has a sale on something I want, that's where I shop that week. Price matching, loss-leader sales, Bonus Savings Club Cards, they're all basically haggling.

[syrupcore]

I hope it turns people away. We do have this crazy thing called the internet and if you live in a city, there's just no reason to go there.

unless you want to actually try before you buy, then you need a brick and mortar store.

of course. that was the "and if you live in a city" part. I'm lucky to live in Portland. There are lots of options. Been here 3 years and haven't had a reason to go to guitar center.

[the brill bedroom]

I'm sure some of you know this already, but the changes in Guitar Center's pricing policy (and the getting rid of commission for salesmen) is due to the chain being purchased by Bain Capital, a huge, Boston- based investment firm with $50 billion in assets started by our former governor, Mitt Romney. They also own and run Staples office supplies, Domino's Pizza and a big percentage of Toys R Us and Burger King. Within that context, you can imagine why haggling for the best price is not going to be part of their culture anymore. It was already the Wal Mart of music stores, now it's gotten even more generic. Luckily, where I live, there a few really good mom & pop music stores still thriving. I occasionally buy things at GC, but not if I can get them through a locally owned independent store. I'll sometimes even pay a little more (gasp) to support something I believe in.

[tunesbybill]

Honestly, I'm kind of stoked about this. I fucking hate Guitar Center, and now I have 0 reason to ever go there again. We have had some amazing deals from them (the former owner of the studio bought huge amounts of gear, all from the same sales guy), but I prefer to support a small company- of which there are plenty in this neighborhood. Fuck 'em. Let 'em rot. Cheers,
Ryan
ps. There was nothing lamer than having to convince a GC dude that you deserved a discount while on tour on the other side of the country. I much prefer to just know the damn price up front.

Again? If you "fucking hate Guitar Center" why go there? This is exactly what's wrong with things. Why sell your integrity like that? If you want a good deal nut up and stop fucking complaining about it. If you don't want to support the corporate giants pay more. It's not rocket science. If you don't like a company DON'T GIVE THEM YOUR MONEY!!!!

[Archmart]

Hey Hey!

When I was building up my percussion collection, I'd stop in once a week or so and inevitably when I hesitated on something, I was offered something like 50% off. Well, naturally, the next time I wanted something I couldn't quite afford I asked if they could do any better. Take that and add a friend working there telling me I could pretty much count on 55% off anything LP and I quickly came to expect it. When you get used to it, you feel something's wrong when some new guy (or manager) won't budge from 10% off.

Whether I like to haggle is irrelevant. You walk in, begin to figure out the system, and then take the best deal you can get. I always assume the salesman won't screw himself so why feel guilty about taking a discount?

My best deal, BTW, a couple years ago, was a Neumann U87Ai (Set Z) for $2100.00, including tax. I didn't want the (Set Z) but they wouldn't break the set, so I 'left'. The guy came and found me in the drum dept. and gave me my price.

But here's what totally turned me off GC. The old, "Just buy it, try it, and if you don't like it bring it back". The last thing I bought there was a PreSonus DigiMax FS. I was going on a tour and wanted to expand my interface with the Toslink in. I had just picked up a used original DigiMax from Sam Ash and stopped at GC for a cable I needed. They talked me into taking the FS and comparing it. I did. I brought back the FS. They just wouldn't take it back. They looked me up in the system and instead of looking at the total I'd spent there in recent years they looked only at the fact that I'd returned a couple of things. They completely missed the fact that each thing I brought back was to exchange for a major upgrade. I spent hours there battling with this guy and the end result was simply finding other things to exchange for while other salesmen quietly told me they didn't know why he was being such a jerk.

Now I have a guy I go to at Sweetwater who always gives me a great deal without having to beg or haggle. He's not an idiot. He knows the best prices are a click away on the web and he's not going to lose my business to some other box house. Of course I'll also go into places and browse, but I'm going to try to give him some loyalty.

Archmart

[radiationroom]

I've never been in either of my local Guitar Center stores, never bought anything from them, and NEVER WILL!

For me it's

1. Medley Music - http://www.medleynet.com
2. Mercenary Audio - http://www.mercenary.com
3. or if Medley doesn't have it, I go to Sweetwater - http://www.sweetwater.com