PRS vanishing from GuitarCenter?

[Itzed]

Went into my local GC yesterday. Some SE's on the main wall, and just a couple MD guitars. Notably, two new DC3's on clearance for about $1,000.00 each (great bargain if you want one). The Platinum room had not a single PRS in it, but they did now have a few very expensive Knaggs, which have NEVER been carried before. Seemed odd.

 

[Tracy Goldstein]

The GC in Raleigh has at least a dozen PRS from high end to SE models but a clerk there told me they are phasing out. Outstanding guitars but too expensive for most. Not big sellers.

 

[PMlaxer90]

I did notice this at my local guitar center. Currently there is only one PRS in stock. I asked the guy there why there was only one PRS and at least 3 of the same telecaster on the display wall. Basicly he just said Fenders are in more demand than PRS's. It's a shame.

 

[Toledo Bob]

VANISHED in my part of the world sorry to say.

 

[kbprs]

I'll play devil's advocate here and point out that the huge list of unsold PRS guitars that recently went on sale by GC, many of them several years old, suggests that they weren't selling.

Are we sure that sales of PRS haven't taken a bigger hit than other brands?

One thing to keep in mind is that GC is terrible at selling high-end guitars. Gibson and Fender branding sells guitars in spite of the management of GCs stores, not because of it.

The guitars in the platinum room that I've been in have been locked away, never cleaned, and/or 15 feet up the wall. I once decided to try out a 408 in the platinum room at the SJ GC. The sales guy I talked to was a cool guy, but he had to call a manager to open the platinum room. 45 minutes and three overhead announcements for a manager to help a customer in the platinum room, I walked out.

It takes extra effort in our long-standing disposable economy to sell quality. GC is spread too thinly and is sliding down into the same bargain-bin grave that other box stores are faced with. Like the Epiphone vs PRS SE example, there's no reason you couldn't sell PRS SEs and S2s in much higher proportion to the other makes. I haven't met a Gibson dealer that doesn't make a "I just threw up a bit in my mouth" face when Epiphone is mentioned.

IMHO.