A safe experience buying used from GC

[geelinus]

My experience is that -- if you purchase the guitar and have it shipped to your local GC -- you can just return it there with no return shipping charge. The guitar will then get resold from your local store, rather than shipped back to the original GC.

[Mayfair]

Originally Posted by Mark L

You don’t have to pay shipping if the guitar is not as advertised in any way, such as case missing, worse condition than indicated, wrong model etc., all of which I’ve experienced more than should have been.

The return policy is by far the best thing about GC, imo.

Sounds like a lot of folks could easily get around paying shipping then! From what I've seen, their descriptions online are rarely more than 3-5 words. "Good!"

[Ralph124C41]

Originally Posted by Mayfair

Sounds like a lot of folks could easily get around paying shipping then! From what I've seen, their descriptions online are rarely more than 3-5 words. "Good!"

What I do ... and strongly suggest ... is to call the store and talk to a sales person. Recently I was shopping for a lower-cost Epiphone Masterbilt or a Martin and I called and got some surprises ... such as a "good" condition guitar with a surface crack and another with large grooves in the back of the fingerboard as if Godzilla was trying to play it. Of course, there is where the return policy helps you out. I take a page grab of the original ad always just to help me out.

[dkstott]

I've bought a lot of my guitars over the years from GC.

Heck, I bought my Froggy Bottom H-12 deluxe used from the local GC.

I got it almost immediately after the prior owner had sold it to them & before all the weekend and lunchtime beaters got a chance to get their hands on it.

I've had 2 guitars over the years that had minor issues upon arrival. Both guitars were purchased used from other stores and delivered to my house.

After taking them to my local store, their 30 day no questions return policy worked like a charm.

I like guitar center.

[UncleJesse]

Originally Posted by dkstott

I've bought a lot of my guitars over the years from GC.

Heck, I bought my Froggy Bottom H-12 deluxe used from the local GC.

I got it almost immediately after the prior owner had sold it to them & before all the weekend and lunchtime beaters got a chance to get their hands on it.

I've had 2 guitars over the years that had minor issues upon arrival. Both guitars were purchased used from other stores and delivered to my house.

After taking them to my local store, their 30 day no questions return policy worked like a charm.

I like guitar center.

Wow I wonder what caused someone to sell a Froggy to a GC? Probably some widow. Great score for you though! They sometimes have great deals but I've never pulled the trigger. There's a custom NAMM 2018 D28 Guatemalan up there now for $2800 that seems pretty good.

[Ralph124C41]

Originally Posted by dkstott

I've bought a lot of my guitars over the years from GC.

After taking them to my local store, their 30 day no questions return policy worked like a charm.

I like guitar center.

It has been a 45-day return policy for some time now AFAIK.

[SFCRetired]

This is why I have never bought a used guitar from GC, I never trusted their evaluation. And from a business model perspective, why would any business do a trade or buy a used item that is not in near perfect condition, aside from your usual nicks and dings?

[Goodallboy]

Nothing more fun than boxing and returning a guitar!

[Ralph124C41]

Originally Posted by SFCRetired

This is why I have never bought a used guitar from GC, I never trusted their evaluation. And from a business model perspective, why would any business do a trade or buy a used item that is not in near perfect condition, aside from your usual nicks and dings?

I agree about the evaluation . I've had people make even model mistakes. For example among the electrics you can go right now and find, for example, a lot of guitars labeled "Squier Standard Stratocasters." Many, many of them, however, are actually the Squier SE models which came as part of a "kit" mainly with a small amp and some accessories. The true Standard has the upgraded alnico pickups while the SE has the cheaper alnicos and cost probably half of the Standard. One easy telltale mark is the wording on the headstock where the SE says "STRAT" not Stratocaster. (The Affinity model also just says STRAT but it also includes in very small print the word Affinity.)


However again there is that 45-day return policy.

As for the selling of a used item in not near-perfect condition, I don't see your point as this is not pivotal I think in the general market ... look at any used car lot for example. I sometimes think of GC as having its own version of a giant car lot ... just guitars and music gear instead of Fords, Dodges and Yugos.

[archerscreek]

I tried to follow the advice of others to call the store and inquire about condition over the phone. Twice. Each time I got shuffled around and never ended up getting anything. Seemed there was never anyone from the acoustic department available.

So on a Saturday morning back in December, I think it was, I saw a used Gibson fern mandolin listed for $4000. It was listed as in Great or Excellent condition. With GC's return policy, it was a no brainer. $4k for a Gibson fern is a steal. Bought it online. Debit card was charged. Never got any shipping info. Monday the status was changed to backorder. How do you backorder a used mandolin?

So I called to see what the deal was. They said the mandolin sold in the store and the online listing was never taken down. I said then refund my money. It took over a week and multiple calls to get my money back. $4000 is a significant amount of money to have taken from your account for nothing in return.

When this went on, I poked around google and other forums. Apparently, it's not uncommon for local store employees to buy the good deals right out from under the online customers who've already paid.

[swampyankee]

I found a guitar I wanted, advertized as "alligator case included" on CG used gear a few weeks ago. I called the store and had the guy give me a description. He mentioned that it might have a fret that needs dressing but I figured, easy enough to cure, so I pulled the trigger and had it shipped to my local GC.

When we opened the box- surprise, no case. I thought, well it still looks nice and maybe they will discount for the missing case. I had the clerk look up the original listing and sure enough it said case included. As he was doing that, I tuned it up, and not until I had it to full pitch could I get a single note out of it that wasn't totally fretted out. I sighted up the neck and it looked straight enough but the saddle had been lowered to the point that the high E was touching the wood on the bridge. I passed it back to the clerk and showed him, and told him to credit me back for the purchase as it had too many problems. He gave me my money back, minus the shipping. I thought, that's cheesy, but he was not too bright so I wasn't going to argue with him over $22.

Curious to know what went wrong, I called the store where the guitar came from and talked to someone in Used Gear and told him what happened. He looked up the listing and was surprised to see it listed with case, since he knew it had none. I started talking to him about the possibility of getting the guitar at a discount because of the issues. Then he looked up the guitar's history and found that it originally had come from another store and was returned because "the neck was warped" (which would explain someone trying to make radical adjustments to the saddle). And apparently whoever returned it kept the case since he knew it went out in one. I told him someone at his store misdiagnosed the buzzy fret problem and he said he was sorry and that his people are supposed to be trained in what to look for when evaluating guitars.

He asked if I was refunded and I said all but shipping. He said since I returned it because it had undisclosed defects they should've refunded shipping as well, and he went ahead and credited me for that.

It was relisted at the local GC for the same price, still says "alligator case included". I should drop by and see if they did anything to correct the saddle problem but I'm guessing not.

[Ralph124C41]

Originally Posted by archerscreek

I tried to follow the advice of others to call the store and inquire about condition over the phone. Twice. Each time I got shuffled around and never ended up getting anything. Seemed there was never anyone from the acoustic department available.

I've never had anybody from the so-called "acoustic department" but maybe there is one at a large GC store but the ones I've called it's just whoever is available in the guitar department.

Yes it's sometimes very hard to get somebody; I would say my batting average hovers around .300 to .400, so not great. Many times I get "Hey, I'm busy right now but give me your phone number and I promise to call you back the first moment I'm free." And then ... no call. Nothing. Try not to call on weekends or at lunch, dinner or at other busy times. Get the person's name so you can call and say, "John/Mary didn't call me back." etc. I found that is important. Sometimes I ask to speak directly to the store manager or department head when I am just ghosted by whomever I called ... I do this only after repeated attempts to get some information.

[swampyankee]

Originally Posted by Ralph124C41

I've never had anybody from the so-called "acoustic department" but maybe there is one at a large GC store but the ones I've called it's just whoever is available in the guitar department.



Yes it's sometimes very hard to get somebody; I would say my batting average hovers around .300 to .400, so not great. Many times I get "Hey, I'm busy right now but give me your phone number and I promise to call you back the first moment I'm free." And then ... no call. Nothing. Try not to call on weekends or at lunch, dinner or at other busy times. Get the person's name so you can call and say, "John/Mary didn't call me back." etc. I found that is important. Sometimes I ask to speak directly to the store manager or department head when I am just ghosted by whomever I called ... I do this only after repeated attempts to get some information.

Best time to call is half to and hour after opening on a weekday. The fulltime-ish staff is there and they shouldn't be too busy with customers at that hour.

[rmoretti49]

Originally Posted by Ralph124C41

What I do ... and strongly suggest ... is to call the store and talk to a sales person. Recently I was shopping for a lower-cost Epiphone Masterbilt or a Martin and I called and got some surprises ... such as a "good" condition guitar with a surface crack and another with large grooves in the back of the fingerboard as if Godzilla was trying to play it. Of course, there is where the return policy helps you out. I take a page grab of the original ad always just to help me out.

My very recent experience confirms the wisdom above. Yesterday I picked up a used guitar from the local GC store. It had been shipped halfway across the continent. GC had advertised it as "great condition" and priced accordingly. When I picked it up at the store, it had a repaired centerline crack from the bottom of the guitar to the bridge. It also had another 4 inch crack on the back. The guitar was outfitted with a preamp system that the tech had never seen before. The manager was very apologetic, and said that someone at the store of origin had clearly dropped the ball.