As mentioned above, it only makes sense if you live close to a GC and if you remember to go at least once a month. And if you give them your email address, they'll send out an email at the beginning of the month to remind you. My local GC is 5 minutes away, and I probably go about 2-3 times a month. For me, it was a no-brainer. I signed up for a card last year, and then at Thanksgiving, they had a deal where if you were one of the first 25 people to buy something, you got a card for free. So, for the next several months, I have two String Club cards. You're allowed to have a maximum of two (or so I was told). The only issue is that you have to ring up each purchase separately. And you can't combine the two to get $10 off one set.
When I signed up, there was no mention of "rollover", so there was no dishonesty on their part. When I first got the card, there was a clearance sale on Martin SP strings - each set was $2. So I got 3 sets for $1. Since then, I've gotten a couple sets of Martin coated strings, some D'Addario's and some Elixers. GC's price may be higher than online, but I doubt they're more than $5 more per set. And maybe you can buy in bulk and save, but I like trying out different strings, and I use at least 3 different gauges for my collection of acoustics and electrics.
I don't change my strings all that often, so I figure after both memberships expire, I'll probably be good for another year or so. But if they offer it for free again around the holidays, I'll probably get another card.
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