Guitar Center in Trouble

[JMW01]

Originally Posted by JeffreyAK

There are 6 stores in the SF bay area where I live, with two more a bit farther out, so one problem they might have is, too many stores competing with each other. Especially given the strength of online dealers who can usually undercut their prices, and have the advantage of delivery to your door with no driving at all. Shopping in person has advantages too, but 6 stores within a 45 minute driving radius?

There are 10 GC stores within a 30 mile radius of my house. That doesn’t seem smart from a business perspective, but it is nice for me.

[AZLiberty]

Originally Posted by fazool

The shame of it is that the new story is crummy and the old store is much, much nicer.

If they close the nicer older store, I'll probably stop shopping there altogether.

Yeah, They closed the old one in Tempe in October and moved to a new smaller one in Tempe back in October.

The old one had character, and had a smaller room inside the first acoustic room where they kept most of the used stuff and classicals.

The new one is one big room with everything kind of smushed together.

[ChapinFan]

Originally Posted by menhir

Me too..

GC doesn't stock everything I may be interested in but, who does? Also, there just aren't a whole lot of brick and mortar options around here even though I live near a city. I find my GC has a better selection of equipment at one location and frankly, a larger selection and range of decent acoustic guitars than most of the other places near me. The sales staff has been helpful, too.

Add me to the list. I'm digging GC more and more these days. (I probably go to the same GC, since i live in the 'burgh area too.)

First time I bought a guitar there it was just a small Ibanez Travel Guitar. I bought it for a trip I had coming up, but it never really connected with me. The more I played it, the more it sounded like a plastic uke.

I packaged it up and took it back to GC. I was preparing my speech as to why it took me almost a week to make up my mind on it. The manager actually took my return because everyone else was busy. When he asked me why I was returning it, I started winding up to my excuse, and he said: "SO, basically, you just didn't love it?"

I said, "Ummm... I guess that's right. I didn't love it."

"Good enough for me!" he said -- and cheerfully refunded my purchase.

That sold me on GC. I buy everything I can there. The prices are pretty similar to online, TBH. I have a GC credit card there, I get interest free financing on most things. And that is the best return policy I have ever heard of.

If they go under, I will miss them for sure.

[Steadfastly]

We know that GC is owned by MF and MF also owns Music123 and who knows what else. If they did go bankrupt, I can only see a restructuring going into effect.

[patrickgm60]

Originally Posted by Steadfastly

We know that GC is owned by MF and MF also owns Music123 and who knows what else. If they did go bankrupt, I can only see a restructuring going into effect.

It's the other way round - MF is a subsidiary of GC. GC made the purchase several years ago.

[Steadfastly]

Originally Posted by patrickgm60

It's the other way round - MF is a subsidiary of GC. GC made the purchase several years ago.

I wondered if I had it wrong. Thanks for the correction.

[jessupe]

If Romney had half a brain he'd cut a deal with Bezos

[dkstott]

I may be wrong, but the downfall of Daddy's Junky music was the result of a major lawsuit by employees.
The court imposed major payments that the owners couldn't fulfill. Prior to that court finding, Daddy's was a thriving business.

Originally Posted by DupleMeter

For those in the Northeast, this is a similar scenario to what happened with Daddy's Junky Music. In that case the investors (I believe it was GE Capital) just closed all the stores to recoup whatever they could.

[NotValid]

I just don't understand buying guitars, especially acoustic, online. I spent a year looking and playing as many guitars I could get my hands on in different cities in different countries and there is just too much variation between even the same guitar of the same model of the same year. No two D-18s sound the same, no two J-45s sound the same. Sure they shared the same character but I would not call them the same guitar. Every piece of wood is different and will sound different as well. Electronics and other accessories on the other hand can have very little variation but I still like to try before I buy.

[Bob from Brooklyn]

If you like test-driving guitars for 45 days GC is terrific

[Gasworker]

There's no Guitar Centres in Toronto

Whats that?

Never mind.

[CycleBob]

Yikes. I don’t hear of S&P ratings that low very often... the official definition is that they have approximately the same capacity to pay their debts as my deadbeat brother-in-law [emoji3]

[The Bard Rocks]

Originally Posted by JMW01

There are 10 GC stores within a 30 mile radius of my house. That doesn’t seem smart from a business perspective, but it is nice for me.

There are 1 Guitar Centers within a 75 mile radius of my home (while its rural here, it's not exactly the boondocks as I am sandwiched between 2 metropolitan areas, each 45 minutes away). And that one GC just gets worse and worse. Their high end room now has only 2 guitars priced about $400, and none above $800. On the main floor are still a few above those figures, Taylors and Martins only, but those are placed so high you cannot even touch the end pin without a ladder. There never has been more than 3-4 used guitars in the store. I have watched what they stock decline each time I enter. And of course the help is not the sharpest either, nice enough guys (never gals) and they generally mean well. Some of them hide behind tattoos.

[geetaruke]

Sounds like I shouldn’t take Long & McQuade for granted. At least they kinda try.

[nitram]

L&M is a kind of GC here in Canada and as such I've tried to shop mom and pop shops for obvious reasons, I have to say,the L&M store in my area is staffed by knowledgable and very helpful folks. I've found really good deals and great service so I'm a happy picker.