One thing I do like about Guitar center!!!

I too have purchased many guitars over the price spectrum and have a close friend who owns a small town shop. So I truly see the benefits of both.
 
I had a good relationship with a knowledgable salesperson at a local GC. I bought a lot of things there, including PRS guitars. Sadly, he was a rarity compared to the rest of the staff. There was a lot of staff turnover. My guy made manager about the time GC started restructuring. He was pulling his hair out. He told me he could have sold 2 or 3 times the core PRS guitars corporate allowed him.

In a span of about 10 years they got one PS in to sell. It only lasted about a month. Considering the price tag, that's not so long to have a guitar in stock. Especially when you see the same 20 mid priced other brands gathering dust month after month.

That's why I say GC did it to themselves.
 
That's crazy how stores differ. Here in the Indy area there are no less than 10 hanging on the wall at any given time for the last 5 years or so I'd guess.

A funny thing. I was completely blown away by a beautiful blue 513 a couple of years back I'd guess. I asked the PRS rep if that guitar had 5 single coils because that's what it looked like to me. He said no it was the standard HSH configuration. I just watched a video a week ago that said the 513 had 5 pickups with 13 combinations. Now I don't know what to believe!
 
bodia said:
I was merely stating that I don't agree with your hypothesis that us high dollar guitar buyers shopping elsewhere is the reason that most GC locations have gone from a cool place to the Walmart of musical instrument stores. I didn't say more earlier, and I won't say more now because I was trying to be respectful of your opinion, and didn't want to say anything inflammatory.
Click to expand...
It was not my intention to say it was your FAULT or that you were the REASON.
It is just a fact, isnt it? As a player gets better, and as they start buying better gear, dont they also start looking for better stores to buy that gear from?
So guitar center is going to stock the merchandise they can move the best. That is what their business model is. Nothing wrong with that. Nothing bad about that. They are a store marketing to their clientele.
 
Blues Trucker said:
It was not my intention to say it was your FAULT or that you were the REASON.
It is just a fact, isnt it? As a player gets better, and as they start buying better gear, dont they also start looking for better stores to buy that gear from?
So guitar center is going to stock the merchandise they can move the best. That is what their business model is. Nothing wrong with that. Nothing bad about that. They are a store marketing to their clientele.
Click to expand...

Honestly, I think it has to do with options. It's more the "fault" of the Internet. Meaning, I can find exactly what I think I want in a matter of minutes from the comfort of my own home. Prior to that I would hit up every store in the area until I found what I was looking for. More times than not, that was a GC. Times change and we roll on. Their business model is a little bloated, and they probably have too many stores. Plus, they're a corporation. They don't always act in the best interest of the employee, or the customer. Everything's done with the eye on the investor/shareholder. I get that. Been there, done that with the company that I have worked for for almost 30 years.
 
I have got some really good deals on used gear there over the years. I also like the 30 day return policy!
 
Guitar Center here is the one of two places to get good Luthier work done. There was a mom and pop shop that closed that the guy was working at and afterwards GC hired him to do the work there. They keep a good stock of Fenders and Gibson's there and a few PRSi and others. Good Selection of amps also. The people that work there are players also so the one I got in Fayetteville AR is great.
 
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