Guitar Center 1, Larry 0.

[Steadfastly]

Being a shipper in my early days, I don't understand why there are not standards on how things are shipped and employees trained. It doesn't take much.

[markrj]

Sorry to hear this Larry. I cannot imagine my anger level if that happened to me.

Hope you get full satisfaction.

[jemartin]

That is a bummer.... I had the same thing happen this past week when I received an older Taylor 555 12 string in “as is” condition from Elderly. It did have a repaired headstock on it from a previous crack, but the shipping was just too much for it. ... it was trashed. Also it ended up with some bad lacquer checking (1988 Vintage). Elderly took it back with no questions asked.
No more used 12 strings with a repaired headstock...and no more winter shipments for me!

[gfa]

My scorecard:
Larry -1
GC -1
Shipper -10

[AZLiberty]

Was this the pretty burst one?

Shame either way.

[mdshax]

Originally Posted by Larry Pattis

True...actually, Larry 1, GC 0, and vintage Guilds -1...

...but I feel that *I* am really the loser...it was a good example of a fairly well-cared for guitar from 1977. It made it 41 years, and then GC maimed it for life. Sigh.

Jeez. I successfully shipped a 77 Guild last year. I think the packing might have weighed an extra 10 pounds, I was so desperate for it to arrive unscathed.

[Rockysdad]

Sorry to hear that Larry, definitely a real let down for you. It also is sad that a fine Guild that made it through the years, is now junked.

[Larry Pattis]

Originally Posted by AZLiberty

Was this the pretty burst one?

Shame either way.

It was a non-sunburst F-212.

It was mostly unscathed in its 41 years, and was not a neck reset candidate.

Sad.

Originally Posted by Rockysdad

Sorry to hear that Larry, definitely a real let down for you. It also is sad that a fine Guild that made it through the years, is now junked.

Yepper.

[downtime]

Originally Posted by KenL

They could really do MUCH better, with very little effort, in the "Used" department of their business.

Get in a used guitar? Pull off the old strings, clean the fretboard, polish up the body, maybe vacuum the case, and make it look good for the next buyer.

How long could it take, 45 minutes? They ask a premium price, the buyer should at least get a clean instrument.

Agreed, the low quality pictures and complete lack of description make it very difficult for me to consider buy a used guitar from their website.

[SecondCity]

I saw an OM-21 on there a while ago. Rosewood fingerboard, so I knew it was a little older, but thought it might have the old 2 1/4 spacing at the saddle. I called, and it did.

Almost as an afterthought, the woman says "oh, there's also a crack in the heel." This guitar was listed as in "excellent" condition on their website. She claims the neck was cracked through the heel, but glued and "seemed stable." I'm not saying that such an injury is a reason not to buy a guitar--but c'mon. Its not "excellent" if there's a crack in the neck, no matter how stable the crack is.

I want to like GC's used gear, but they make it so hard.

[jaybones]

Wait, another dissatisfied GC customer?

I thought you actually had to go there to get poor service...

[rogthefrog]

Originally Posted by Larry Pattis

The guitar itself was packed improperly (in the case, full string tension

Full tension is the only thing they did right.

The breakage was likely due to a drop with the weight of the tuners making it worse. The string pull is what kept the headstock from breaking clean off the neck.

That said, it sucks and I hope you arrive at an acceptable solution.

I'm curious what specifically made you seek out a Guild, given your existing inventory of fine guitars.

[VJP5]

Hard to believe they could even close the box given the size differences. Hope you can find another soon.

[Toby Walker]

Originally Posted by rogthefrog

Full tension is the only thing they did right.

I'll respectfully disagree with this. There are a number of dealers who loosen the strings before shipping. The first piece of sage advice - of dozens of examples - comes from Gruhn Guitars:

http://guitars.com/packing

https://reverb.com/news/how-to-ship-...waAjTAEALw_wcB

https://www.sweetwater.com/insync/how-to-ship-a-guitar/

http://www.lutherie.net/shipping.html

https://www.maurysmusic.com/shipping_acoustic_guitars

http://www.cbguitars.com/Packing.htm

https://rocknrollvintage.com/how-to-...-packing-tips/

[BFD]

Big bummer Larry; it's drag to get your enthusiasm cranked up and then have that kind of disappointment happen. They sure messed up.

I thought I should balance out the 'Hey I got no experience here but am happy to bash GC' posters. I've purchased at least a half dozen used guitars from distant GCs to check out. All of them were shipped either to my home or local GC and all were properly packaged and arrived w/out any damage. Additionally, all were as described and photographed by the hands-on salesperson I spoke with prior to each purchase.

Most were conveniently returned to my local GC for reasons that could only be discerned by personally playing and inspecting them, an opportunity I'm both thankful and willing to pay extra for.