GC Catalog came today!

Wakester

Re Member
Joined
Jan 2, 2018
Messages
4,420
Location
south western New York
I was super excited to see a Guitar Center catalog came today. It's like getting the JC Penny Christmas Catalog as a kid. That smell of paper and fresh ink, the colorful pictures of all the amazing toys. :rolleyes:

Then I was super disappointed to find only 3 PRS guitars in the entire book. :(
 
Mine came as well. My wife saw it on the table and asked if I wanted her to throw it in the recycle bin.

"Nah, I haven't had a chance to thumb through it yet." I said.

So what does she do? She starts going through it.

After a bit, she asks me "What's wrong with this? It must be missing pages because the PRS section is missing."

So we went through it together and found 3 PRS guitars. The title of the holiday catalog is "Dream Big" and only 3 PRS?!

Her final comment was "Well that was a waste of time. Do you want me to recycle it? I like Sweetwater better."

I love my wife :)
 
My Guitar Center only had a SE Custom 24 in the store. I asked an employee why they didn't have more. He said he was begging for more PRS guitars. It's almost like they aren't even a PRS dealer.
 
Hit the mail jackpot yesterday, the GC Catalog and Taylor Wood and Steel.
I thumbed the GC book, but it's kind of a weird catalog if you ask me, too many articles and not enough guitars. The collages of "stuff" was sometimes hard to follow and some merchandise wasn't listed in the same order as it was shown-specifically the 2 page amp collage. The Quilter Head is shown on one page, the description for it is on the preceding page and this wasn't the only amp like that. And the cover had that sweet green metalflake Strat, where was the listing for that at? With the supposed state of their finances, you'd think they'd forgo the fluff pieces and maybe show more merchandise that players might buy? Oh well, that one already hit the recycling bin.

I owned 5 Taylor's at one time, but I'm down to just a mid 90's 555 these days, but I still enjoy reading Wood and Steel. Besides their guitars, I have huge respect for what Bob, Kurt and others are accomplishing with their conservation efforts here and around the world. And one of these days, I'd love to add a Lemon Grove Dread to the stable.
 
On an ominous note.. Guitar Center is finally coming to Hawaii. They will be in the Pearl Highlands Center on Oahu, no rumor, in the newspaper and everything. I worry for the smaller couple of chains out here, Easy Music Center and Island Guitars. Both carry High dollar and pedestrian guitars. The PRS official pusher here, Dans Guitars probably isn't worried due to their great selection of PRS's. But the others will be for the regular stuff.. I hope it doesn't happen, but everywhere they go, mom and pops die. I'm still trying to figure out how they will justify astronomical rent and shipping in their pricing when the locals have learned to match the internet pricing and it's a successful strategy. I thought that GC was in trouble, but yet they come to the most expensive place in the union to set up shop...
 
On an ominous note.. Guitar Center is finally coming to Hawaii. They will be in the Pearl Highlands Center on Oahu, no rumor, in the newspaper and everything. I worry for the smaller couple of chains out here, Easy Music Center and Island Guitars. Both carry High dollar and pedestrian guitars. The PRS official pusher here, Dans Guitars probably isn't worried due to their great selection of PRS's. But the others will be for the regular stuff.. I hope it doesn't happen, but everywhere they go, mom and pops die. I'm still trying to figure out how they will justify astronomical rent and shipping in their pricing when the locals have learned to match the internet pricing and it's a successful strategy. I thought that GC was in trouble, but yet they come to the most expensive place in the union to set up shop...

Honestly, all the small shops have to do to stay in business is offer something the big guys or internet can't - SERVICE. As you said, your local PRS vendor isn't going to have an issue as they have the agreement with PRS to carry the Core and higher end stuff. The two smaller chains mentioned need to up their service game. None of them can compete with internet pricing so they have to take a cut on the profit of movable goods. Where they can make up for it is in after sales support.

Take a setup for example. Say a setup costs $30, done by a person who listens to what you want, is excellent at what they do, and can turn it around same day. This shop will have heavy foot traffic and will probably need to hire another guy or two to keep up with demand. At the same time, musicians will drop money on stings, picks, and other inexpensive items. Add in the fact that a shop like this will restring and setup every guitar that comes in (new or used) before it goes on the floor (and adjust it for the purchaser), you have a shop that will succeed. Guitar Center typically doesn't do these things.

It's sad, but Guitar Center is not a place I think of when considering high dollar guitars and gear. At least not where I am. For online sales, I'd rather buy a new or used PRS from an authorized dealer such as Dave's or Sweetwater. Why? They get the service part. For example, I know that Sweetwater sets up every guitar before it leaves the warehouse. I also know from experience, that when ordering a new guitar, you can request that they change the strings from 9s to 10s and then set it up. That's service. Guitar Center will let you walk out the door with a guitar already needing a string change and a setup.

I do like GC for certain things. But they aren't in the same league as the mom and pop shops. You are propably going to see a store that wants to compete in the mid range level. Lots of SE's, ESP LTDs, Epiphones, base model Gibsons, MIM Strats, etc. Nothing wrong with that. They are going after a certain segment of the market. But they can't offer the "after the sale" support that a mom and pop can and should.

Sorry for the rant......hahaha
 
Unfortunately it takes more than service. I ran a small store when a GC came to town. They;'ll lose money to make the sale.
Yeah I got setup fees and such, but they loss leader so much stuff it's tough.

Best to be COMPLETELY different and do what they don't. Brands, etc. You'll waste a lot of time to lose a deal over 10 bux.
 
Honestly, all the small shops have to do to stay in business is offer something the big guys or internet can't - SERVICE. As you said, your local PRS vendor isn't going to have an issue as they have the agreement with PRS to carry the Core and higher end stuff. The two smaller chains mentioned need to up their service game. None of them can compete with internet pricing so they have to take a cut on the profit of movable goods. Where they can make up for it is in after sales support.

Take a setup for example. Say a setup costs $30, done by a person who listens to what you want, is excellent at what they do, and can turn it around same day. This shop will have heavy foot traffic and will probably need to hire another guy or two to keep up with demand. At the same time, musicians will drop money on stings, picks, and other inexpensive items. Add in the fact that a shop like this will restring and setup every guitar that comes in (new or used) before it goes on the floor (and adjust it for the purchaser), you have a shop that will succeed. Guitar Center typically doesn't do these things.

It's sad, but Guitar Center is not a place I think of when considering high dollar guitars and gear. At least not where I am. For online sales, I'd rather buy a new or used PRS from an authorized dealer such as Dave's or Sweetwater. Why? They get the service part. For example, I know that Sweetwater sets up every guitar before it leaves the warehouse. I also know from experience, that when ordering a new guitar, you can request that they change the strings from 9s to 10s and then set it up. That's service. Guitar Center will let you walk out the door with a guitar already needing a string change and a setup.

I do like GC for certain things. But they aren't in the same league as the mom and pop shops. You are propably going to see a store that wants to compete in the mid range level. Lots of SE's, ESP LTDs, Epiphones, base model Gibsons, MIM Strats, etc. Nothing wrong with that. They are going after a certain segment of the market. But they can't offer the "after the sale" support that a mom and pop can and should.

Sorry for the rant......hahaha

Most if not all successful shops in Hawaii match internet pricing, probably at a loss, for extra volume of sale, probably evens out. When I moved to Hawaii almost 20 yrs. ago, the place was nothing but dusty ukulele shops with some guitars as an afterthought. The biggest store was in a mall and they stood over you like vultures and had those little "ask a salesman" signs strung in the strings of every instrument they had. Not an enjoyable experience. None of them lasted, they got absorbed by the smaller chains that apparently the owners of, had visited GC and saw the model as better than what was going on at the time. Now the only thing missing is the mindnumbing music piped through the store, they don't do that and it's much more enjoyable to visit and stay a while. Hopefully the novelty of having "Guitar Church" come to town will wear off soon. I haven't been to GC in over a decade and apparently it isn't the same place as it once was.
 
Back
Top