Guitar Center Ghost Town

I stopped by Sam Ash last week to pick up a mixer, the walls were very bare as well. I asked if the store was shutting down and the manager told me that they're doing fine other than they can't get any inventory - lots of backlog with many manufacturers.
 
Chris Hurley said:
I stopped in my local GC (heck, we just got one a year or so ago) and see the same thing.

I'd rather go to a local store but it became tough in the 90's.

Option 1: Buy from Musicians Friend, AMS, etc..., get a great price (that was still at least 50% margin based on my wholesale cost as a small time amp builder), get a fantastic return policy if you didn't like the gear
Option 2: Buy from the local store that didn't have it in stock, pay a significantly higher price, no returns because it is special order.

For me, the value in local stores is the used stuff. It costs more than craigslist but its not as dangerous.
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Exactly, it's a no-win situation. Local stores vary in quality. Some are fantastic, some specialize in higher end gear (such as Dallas, TX's The Guitar Sanctuary), some are junk shops, some absolutely suck. I love to support local shops, but not everyone lives near one that's worth a flip. That's why many of us just order from Sweetwater. It's a great online retailer, they have a big selection and decent prices. Plus, the free warranty is nice.
 
I'm pretty lucky that Bob's Guitars, a local shop in Cedar Falls, Iowa, is doing well. They told me that there is a backlog on getting more guitars in from manufacturers due to the pandemic, but they still have pretty good stock, even though they sold a truck load of guitars in December. They have the middle and high end guitars, and only stock the entry level guitars in the fall for Christmas. Very nice folks to deal with. I've known Bob personally since I was 16, so about 40 years, when he worked at a different shop.
 
I've heard since that there's just a supply problem with guitars now. Demand is outstripping supply and GC's bankruptcy doesn't help. It's probably a temporary thing.
 
So would it still be safe to buy from them online at this point? Or would they just take my money and not ship anything?
 
Ben Randolph said:
Are you referring to GC's Pro Coverage by any chance? They push Pro Coverage on anything and everything, it seems. For an in-stock item, such as a pedal or a tuner, you can't simply go to Guitar Center and swap it out. You have to call a number to a 3rd party (It think Asurion).

I did buy Pro Coverage once, and that's just because the girl selling me a used Blues Junior was hot. Yeah, laugh at me all you want, that's a stupid reason to buy something. The amp did wind up needing service, so I did recoup the money I spent. But I had to call a number and they referred me to a repair shop clear on the other side of the Dallas metroplex from me. The amp did get fixed, but I would have preferred a closer shop.

Oh well, if you buy a service plan and it's not the manufacturer's plan, or they make you call a 3rd party, then nope, I ain't buying it.
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Agree with this opinion
 
GotMetalBoy said:
The problem is that GC caused a lot of local music stores to close because they couldn't compete with their low prices and return policies. Before GC, most of the local stores in my area didn't allow returns, even if the item was DOA, and then you had to fight with the manufacture about their warranty and pay shipping for the repair or replacement. Most local music stores that were able to survive against GC have now closed for good due to Covid19. It's hard to even find a guitar repair shop in my area now.
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Guitar Center didn't cause any local music stores to close. The music stores allowed themselves to close shop, simply because, as someone else already pointed out, they generally carried Peavey gear, and low end product. I grew up in a small town in the upper mid-west and if I wanted a simple 1/4 connector, I was waiting weeks for it. And, being friends with one of the Owner's Sons, it had nothing to do with not having the cash on hand to stock...they preferred it that way, because they KNEW you were going to be a Customer. That all changed when a Guitar Center opened up about 2 hours south of me, and everyone started going there because they could get nearly anything they needed the same day. Other than that, there was always Daddy's that could ship within the same week :cool:
 
I was told manufacturing on many things has suffered from pandemic. For example , refrigerators other than old ones sitting in stores, are backordered.
 
mtripp said:
Guitar Center didn't cause any local music stores to close. The music stores allowed themselves to close shop, simply because, as someone else already pointed out, they generally carried Peavey gear, and low end product. I grew up in a small town in the upper mid-west and if I wanted a simple 1/4 connector, I was waiting weeks for it. And, being friends with one of the Owner's Sons, it had nothing to do with not having the cash on hand to stock...they preferred it that way, because they KNEW you were going to be a Customer. That all changed when a Guitar Center opened up about 2 hours south of me, and everyone started going there because they could get nearly anything they needed the same day. Other than that, there was always Daddy's that could ship within the same week :cool:
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Nail on the head, imo. In a race to the bottom small guy cannot compete, so it’s stupid to even engage. I feel like there’s still space for higher end stuff which you’d want to handle in person before you buy it. The issue though is how to pull this off without becoming a defacto Sweetwater showroom where people never buy anything because you have to charge like 5% more to cover your cost of doing business. IMO this country should consider taxing small businesses much less, and making eg Amazon pay more than zero it pays now. My small business pays through the nose while Bezos is rolling in his trillions, WTF.
 
plexi59 said:
Nail on the head, imo. In a race to the bottom small guy cannot compete, so it’s stupid to even engage. I feel like there’s still space for higher end stuff which you’d want to handle in person before you buy it. The issue though is how to pull this off without becoming a defacto Sweetwater showroom where people never buy anything because you have to charge like 5% more to cover your cost of doing business. IMO this country should consider taxing small businesses much less, and making eg Amazon pay more than zero it pays now. My small business pays through the nose while Bezos is rolling in his trillions, WTF.
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Exactly. And there is a reason bezos just stepped down...
 
Now the guy's got Paulie as a partner. Any problems, he goes to Paulie. Trouble with a bill, he can go to Paulie. Trouble with the cops, deliveries, Tommy, he can call Paulie. But now the guy's got to come up with Paulie's money every week. No matter what. Business bad? ** you, pay me. Oh, you had a fire? ** you, pay me. The place got hit by lightning, huh? **** you, pay me. Also, Paulie could do anything. Especially run up bills on the joint's credit. And why not? Nobody's gonna pay for it anyway. And as soon as the deliveries are made in the front door, you move the stuff out the back and sell it at a discount. You take a two hundred dollar case of booze and you sell it for a hundred. It doesn't matter. It's all profit. And then finally, when there's nothing left, when you can't borrow another buck from the bank or buy another case of booze, you bust the joint out. You light a match.
 
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