feel bad about going into my local guitar store

[Gmountain]

We have a GC near here that I fo into sometimes. I'll go into theacoustic room and play a guitar or two that I don't have, just to see what they are like. I don't think I could ever get the right price on an acoustic there.

But I have bought electrics from them for a good price, and amps and other stuff like that. They can be pretty decent on that and have a pretty good used selection of amps online that ship to the store.

[Steadfastly]

Did you ask them if they would match the prices you were quoted here? Most companies will match and some will even beat the price a little bit.

[Mr. Jelly]

I have friends that own music stores. Though they don't have much of anything I would purchase there. They price everything at GC prices. They know everyone is buying online, they're not stupid. Buy walking into their stores you are at least giving them a chance to sell you something. And eventually you will from time to time. We all live in today's world.

[Speedwagon]

Tough one. I prefer buying locally...I generally buy locally but...if buying locally means I’m also losing 10%-20% on an item then chances are very good I will be making my purchase online. The bottom line for me, in all honesty, is making sure I am fiscally responsible. My deal breaker is 5%. If the guitar in the local shop is witin 5% of the online price I will probably take it home.

[The Bard Rocks]

Long ago, I decided that I'd pay a premium equal to our sales tax in order to buy locally. That's anything, guitars, medications, food items, tools....

[LadysSolo]

I will buy locally if they can get close to the on-line price due to:
It is the instrument I tried, and I know I like the sound/feel.
I can take it home today and don't have to worry about it getting lost/damaged in shipping.
I am supporting my local retailer.
However, if they cannot even get close (within $100-$150 or so) then I am more likely to buy on-line. But if they have something I am interested in, my local retailer gets first try.

[guitar george]

I've read it many times in this Forum, "Every guitar sounds different, even guitars of the same make and model will sound different". So, you find a beautiful looking and perfect sounding guitar at one of the stores but decide not to buy that guitar because you can buy a similar make and model guitar off the internet for a bit less money.

I have always been very careful with my money, but, if I find the perfect guitar, I would not take a chance on an unseen, unplayed guitar off the internet even if it saves a bit of money.

[Uncle R.]

My D-18V was bought used from a seller on Reverb.
It was a discontinued model when I bought it.
All of my other acoustics were bought new from brick & mortar stores within driving distance of my home. All were in my home state, if not in my home town.

I payed slightly over internet pricing in every case, but never as much as 10% over. It was usually closer to 5% over internet pricing. I was willing to pay that slight premium to support a local business, and to have the chance to play my new guitar before purchasing.

All of the shops I bought from over the years were locally owned, not big national names. I think it would be fair to call most of them "Mom and Pop" stores. They all managed to sell at very good prices.

I've been to Guitar Center, but I've never been impressed. I once tried in my local GC to negotiate a fair price on an HD-28 with a nasty gouge in the top. I figured it would make a good stage guitar for gigs in rowdy country bars, since it was already beat up. They wouldn't even come close to what I thought was fair, and insisted that a discount of $100 off MAP was the best they could do.

I may have been born at night, but it wasn't last night. I walked out of there shaking my head in disgust. I went to a local shop, and bought a perfect HD-28 with killer sound for less money than GC wanted for their shopworn (Shopgouged?) display piece.

No guilt here. If your local dealer can't even come close to prices in the rest of the world, they don't deserve your business.

Uncle R.

[archerscreek]

And regarding trade-in value as referenced in a post above, one shouldn’t expect a retailer to offer more for a used guitar than they would pay for a new one straight from the manufacturer. Perhaps they should have offered to sell the used one on consignment and that could have worked out for both parties.

[rogthefrog]

Is it all about the price?

I'll gladly pay a non rock bottom price for non commodity items if I value a local store's continuing existence.

I won't pay $7 for a bottle of national brand detergent at the local hardware store, but I happily patronize it and pay $0.24 for a bolt that costs $0.02 in a box at home Depot because I want that store to stick around.

[Ed66]

While I like my local shop, due to space considerations its selection is somewhat limited (for acoustics that is). I have bought one guitar there, but all the rest online. Since I do like dropping in there and playing some of the high end Taylors they have, I always make sure to by picks, capos, straps and even strings there occasionally. I always figured guitar shops were like bike shops which never made much margin on the bikes but did great margin on the smaller stuff. At least it makes me feel better.

[Steadfastly]

Originally Posted by Uncle R.

My D-18V was bought used from a seller on Reverb.
It was a discontinued model when I bought it.
All of my other acoustics were bought new from brick & mortar stores within driving distance of my home. All were in my home state, if not in my home town.

I payed slightly over internet pricing in every case, but never as much as 10% over. It was usually closer to 5% over internet pricing. I was willing to pay that slight premium to support a local business, and to have the chance to play my new guitar before purchasing.

All of the shops I bought from over the years were locally owned, not big national names. I think it would be fair to call most of them "Mom and Pop" stores. They all managed to sell at very good prices.

I've been to Guitar Center, but I've never been impressed. I once tried in my local GC to negotiate a fair price on an HD-28 with a nasty gouge in the top. I figured it would make a good stage guitar for gigs in rowdy country bars, since it was already beat up. They wouldn't even come close to what I thought was fair, and insisted that a discount of $100 off MAP was the best they could do.

I may have been born at night, but it wasn't last night. I walked out of there shaking my head in disgust. I went to a local shop, and bought a perfect HD-28 with killer sound for less money than GC wanted for their shopworn (Shopgouged?) display piece.

No guilt here. If your local dealer can't even come close to prices in the rest of the world, they don't deserve your business.

Uncle R.

I totally agree. And if they can't or won't come close, they will not be in business in the long run.

[Mystery123]

Originally Posted by Steadfastly

I totally agree. And if they can't or won't come close, they will not be in business in the long run.

Already happening.
So many stores are closing due to online shopping.
It's the business rule. Feeling anything won't do anything.

You will go out of business if you can't compete, whether it's small mom and pop store or big chain like toys'r'us that recently closed.

[mrgraveline]

This won’t be popular... but...

The forum sponsers who drop their prices quite low have helped created an environment that makes it difficult to keep nice guitar shops open. They basically steal sales from other businesses by figuring out a system to where their low overhead is sustainable when dropping their price below other shops. They generally don’t add much value beyond a good price (but WOW, they are so nice!). Some have stores... usually one or two man operations... and count on business from outside their market to come at a high enough volume (attracted only by their willingness to make less money per sale) to cover the low margin structure.

This is fine... if you don’t mind having many fewer guitar stores in existence and a much more limited spread of models available at many shops. This is also fine when manufacturers are in weak positions and need this type of distribution mode to move enough product to prop up their own difficult business/financial situation... or greed.

It’s not fine if you value great local guitar stores with awesome selections of quality products.

To the OP... your conscious is trying to tell you something.

[micahwc]

I buy strings, pick, and other consumables locally but generally order my instruments and more expensive purchases online. I prefer Sweetwater when I can.