Guitar Center Ghost Town

Ben Randolph

Power User
I know Guitar Center is going through Chapter 11 bankruptcy. It was really no surprise, given the amount of corporate debt they have. But, I'm beginning to wonder if suppliers have cut them off and/or they're planning to shutter some stores. I was in a couple of Dallas area Guitar Centers recently and it was crazy how barren the walls were. Take a look.

People bag on Guitar Center, sometimes rightly so, but I'd hate to see them go away. I'd hate to go back to my teen years, where the only music store in town was a small place that only seemed to stock a few solid state Peavey amps.

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Lewisville?

It’s been said that a number of suppliers cut them off months ago. The North Fort worth one is pretty barren as well.
I imagine they will have no choice but to shutter a number of underperforming stores. Fortunately, we have two platinum room stores here and I would think those would be the last to go.
 
Phil McKnight of the Know Your Gear podcast speculated that it is actually a supplier issue. Many guitar manufacturers are purportedly months behind on production due to the pandemic related shutdowns. There were comments from listeners that their local mom & pop music shops were also unusually barren, so this is probably not related to GC's financial troubles.
 
Demand is up for guitars in 2020, but supply is down, so I wouldn't jump to any conclusions about what this means about GC. Sweetwater's guitar inventory is also way down compared to a year ago, but it's not as obvious as the empty racks at GC.
 
Demand was great over the last year, but It is more than re supply. There are definitely vendors who cut off re supply some time ago. I want to say PRS was one that They were way behind with, and I seem to remember some pedal company announcing they were pulling product from GC. Why would you send product to a retailer that is into you for seven figures and has no ability to repay in the near term?
 
The two GC’s in my area are fully stocked with every beginner-mid level guitar crafted on the planet. One of them has a platinum room so it was nice to at least see some high-end guitars the other day.

Sam Ash, on the other hand, is worse off than the pics in the OP. (Ft. Lauderdale) I couldn’t believe how empty that place was last time I was there.
 
If I was a supplier I wouldn't ship them anything. They have a notorious history of not paying their bills.

This.

One of their managers told me that Gibson made them jump through a pile of hoops lately just to stock the guitars. Even as far as making them offer assets to stock high end guitars. (This was a Platinum store BTW.)

This is a good thing for the industry. Good riddance.

Look local!
 
Nothing's going to change. The Guitar Bankruptcy Center will carry on as usual. The lack of stock is also evident at places like Sam Ash. Manufacturers can't keep up with the demand. It's been discussed ad nauseum on the Know Your Gear channel.
 
This is a good thing for the industry. Good riddance.

Look local!

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.
 
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.
When the local shop refuses to help you with a warranty problem for something you bought from them, they've lost my business for good.
 
When the local shop refuses to help you with a warranty problem for something you bought from them, they've lost my business for good.
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.
 
This.

One of their managers told me that Gibson made them jump through a pile of hoops lately just to stock the guitars. Even as far as making them offer assets to stock high end guitars. (This was a Platinum store BTW.)

This is a good thing for the industry. Good riddance.

Look local!
Having gone through chapter 11 several times from a couple of different employers over the years, anything delivered becomes cash on delivery to get product. I feel sorry anyone that looses their job over managements poor business decisions, in the end its people that loose their jobs, over the years GC in my area has always been a positive experience and I will miss them if they do not survive.
 
Last time I went into mine, it was cleaned out of anything on the lower end. I think there was a hot pink JEM Jr left. They all the EBMM Majestys, Custom Shop this and that, but the sub $1000 guitars were gone. It wasn't just the guitars. The keyboards were cleaned out as well. Maybe three models of Yamaha keyboards were all that was left. I didn't check the drum room.

This was about the time GC was first saying it was in trouble. There is an older thread on here. So I could kind of see that maybe they weren't wanting to order things, but I'd bet more a supply issue. People were clearly buying anything they could get their hands on. They probably could have sold a lot more.

I know they can be a shitty company, but a lot of times, if I want something now, they've had it. It's often been a fun store to just go to to play around, and you can see some crazy shit in there at times. I'll definitely miss them if gone. I like my low key local shop, but it's apples and oranges to guitar center.
 
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.
 
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.

@Mr.Modeler was replying to my post, which isn't about the Pro Coverage but regarding the Pro Coverage, I almost always buy it because it covers wear and tear which most warranties, including manufacture warranties, don't cover. I admit I buy a lot of low to mid priced gear and having Pro Coverage Warranty has saved me a lot of money. The only thing that sucks is when you buy a 3 year warranty and the item breaks after a year bc they've never offered to do a repair and always sent me a refund as a GC gift card and sent me a box to ship the defective gear back.
 
I know Guitar Center is going through Chapter 11 bankruptcy. It was really no surprise, given the amount of corporate debt they have. But, I'm beginning to wonder if suppliers have cut them off and/or they're planning to shutter some stores. I was in a couple of Dallas area Guitar Centers recently and it was crazy how barren the walls were. Take a look.

People bag on Guitar Center, sometimes rightly so, but I'd hate to see them go away. I'd hate to go back to my teen years, where the only music store in town was a small place that only seemed to stock a few solid state Peavey amps.

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Their finances are now under control of the trustee who is not going to be buying more guitars while they are "cramming down" the very same suppliers...
 
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