share your experiences with guitar center

[rllink]

Originally Posted by fazool

You are angered that GC sent you an apparently returned guitar while you buy four guitars fully planning on returning three of them...... but you don't want a returned guitar yourself?

I think I see the problem.

That pretty much nails it. Everybody loves GC's return policy but no one wants a returned guitar.

[Ralph124C41]

I've bought a lot of used guitars and other music gear from GC in the past 10-12 years and my results are all over the place.

Consider my last two purchases.

I bought one used acoustic. I called the store and talked to a sales rep and asked him if it had any cracks or other structural issues. "No cracks," he replied. I got the guitar and had it sent to my local store where I opened it ... and found five cracks. Five! I got all of my money back.

A few days ago I ordered a nearly 20-year-old guitar. I got it ... and except for a tiny bit of fret wear I can not find any sign of use on it. I took it to my luthier buddy who looked it over and said it was a fine guitar. Even the pickguard had no or few scratches. It did need a string set change but that is to be expected.

But GC's return policy is a great one.

[Mbroady]

Never had a bad experience and you can’t beat the return policy
As with any (guitar related) transaction do your due diligence then the risks are minimized.

[KevWind]

I have only ever purchased accessories or electronic gear from GC
That as far as guitars, I love the selection available but am often off-put by the cacophony of noise while trying to listen to a guitars tone

[Bluenose]

I bought online, a used Martin OM18 Authentic 1933 from GC back in 2019. It was shipped to me in excellent condition and it just needed a setup and a little TLC. No complaints at all, it's a keeper.

[Ryan51]

I have been buying from GC's in California and New Jersey since the early 80s. Now I am in SC and there are none nearby. GC sent me 15%-20% off coupons a few times a year which was an incentive to buy there. As I've mentioned here before I got a Martin OM-28E for 15% off with four years to pay 0% interest. I had looked around and nobody else had that kind of deal. In the 80s I made several big purchases and back then I would make a cash offer which they usually accepted.

[Jamolay]

My experience has been fine. If I was looking to buy a lot of guitars, I would be looking at their nationwide used options. It is a bit of a crapshoot, I think, but inexpensive to potentially get a nice instrument at a good price.

I bought a MSRP $2300 classical at a discount for $750 due to a crack in the back that didn’t look bad or important. They shipped it to my local store where I opened it, found the crack suffered a poor attempt to repair, but still not much issue. Sounded ok at first try. I took it to my Luthier, who promptly found that the whole back was coming off and a lot of braces were loose as well as the ugly back crack and other signs of dehydration.
$600-$1000 to repair depending on what they found if they got into it.
I brought it back and they offered to sell it for $450, but I declined (I offered less, but they wouldn’t do it) and paid the $17 shipping or whatever it was.
What concerns me though, is that a month later the same guitar (with its signature crack) appeared on their wall in the local store apparently repaired and ruined. It sounded like it was wrapped in a blanket. At least they still were asking the low price for it, but it isn’t even worth a tenth of that now. I would have taken it for $200 and learned by trying to fix it myself, but that wasn’t in the cards.

The crapshoot for a small price could be worth it. They handled the dealing well, and I can’t really complain. I would try again with them.

[Belbein]

It's like everything else in life. If it's all ya got, it's all ya got. And it's a big box store, so it has a little bit of everything you don't need. I mean, Walmart has great prices but I'd never go there for dry flies. They are what they are, aren't what they aren't.

I play banjo, mandolin, mandola, tenor guitar and some djembe: they never have anything I need for the first four, and crap for the 5th. But they've really got good prices on the bottom of the line stuff that they have. When I've seen used instruments there, they are of particularly lousy condition even when marked as "as new."

For repair: No f***ing way. They're not touching any of my acoustic stuff: not for a set up, not for diagnostic, not for the most minor thing that involves touching one of my instruments. I briefly considered a few weeks ago giving them a new tenor guitar to do a string change and then thought, "No, hell, I'll just take the tenor down to my shop and beat it with a hammer and I'll get to GC quality work."

[Skarsaune]

Originally Posted by lapetrarca

... he stated, "I sold you a new one for the same price as the used one. A sale is a sale in retail."....

I got this deal just this week. There was a used microphone showing in inventory at our local GC. I went in to get it, they couldn't find it, so they sold me a new one at the used price. I can't complain.

[jseth]

Overall, I have had positive experiences with Guitar Center... I always go there knowing that I probably know more about guitars than most of the folks who work there, so I take their comments/advice with many grains of salt!

It has always helped me to be straightforward about what I want to know or see or buy, and I've never bought a guitar from them, mostly various other accessories and PA equipment.

One major purchase was my first Bose L1 system. There was only a minor discount on the Model II at the time, so I decided to bite the bullet and pay the rate for what I REALLY wanted. As it was well over $2,000, I called the store manager and set up a time to come in with my own guitars and mic and truly audition the thing before I plunked my money down.

I showed upa t the appointed time, and the manager couldn't have been nicer! I had one fellow "assigned" to me, to show me the in's and out's of the rig. We set it up very close to the entrance, and I sat and played and sang like I was doing a gig - doing complete songs of all different types, with both my 6 and 12 string guitars.

After a few minutes, the manager came over and asked if I needed anything, and that he was going to cut-off the in-store music so I could hear things more clearly!

When I finally was ready to buy the rig, the salesperson told me that he thought there was a used unit in the back that would be far less expensive! I had him haul it out and we set it up... worked great, sounded wonderful. It was one of the earlier versions, the L1 Classic, but I loved it... and the price was well under $1,000 less than I was prepared to spend! When all was said and done, the sales guy threw in a new Shure Beta 58A, gratis!

I think if you know what you want, and are clear about that, and communicate with the folks there, you'll do fine. If you just "buy it and walk out"? Not so much.

[Ps346]

I remember, years ago, when I was just becoming familiar with high-end guitars, I loved the Martin "growl." I was convinced that I would eventually purchase a Martin. I just wanted to be sure to get the right one.

Long story short: GC allowed me to take home a half-dozen different Martin guitars – some I had two and three at a time with other Martins – during about a one-month period. On top of this, they were matching an online price that I showed to them, resulting in very little profit margin.

I eventually decided to go with a custom build, but I was so appreciative of their gesture, that, when I brought in the last Martin that I had kept, I thought a $20 "loaner" fee for each guitar was reasonable– so I gave the assistant manager $120.

I did eventually purchase the all-koa GS Mini from a different GC because my wife went in to support me, and she ended up really liking the GS Mini and is now practicing on it. I enjoy it as well when I want to give my left hand some needed rest from my full-scale-length custom-built dread.

[Mark Stone]

My local GC is great - I’ve never had a problem with them.

[zeeway]

I appreciate GC for keeping a store open near me and having an online presence that gives me access to a giant inventory. As always, you have to be on guard to protect your interests as in any transaction. They are in business to make a profit (no surprise). Sometimes their staff are helpful and sometimes they are not. While their buying policy on used gear is a bit brutal, it is very upfront.

In the past, they tried to slip me a used amp, but they corrected the situation quickly. I bought an Epiphone 335 a few months back from GC online, and the transaction and the guitar were flawless. So as always, caveat emptor, and while I like to bash them occasionally, I would surely miss them if they were gone.

[airborne1]

I have recently posted about this practice of ordering multiple guitars with the intent of returning some, if not all.

It’s something I wouldn’t do, but others have different opinions.

Whatever gets you through the night!

[rllink]

Originally Posted by airborne1

I have recently posted about this practice of ordering multiple guitars with the intent of returning some, if not all.

It’s something I wouldn’t do, but others have different opinions.

Whatever gets you through the night!

A few years ago someone here suggested buying a guitar from GC when you go on vacation somewhere and then returning it instead of renting one. It's cheaper they said.