Here's MY experience with Guitar Center. To be exact, it was the Guitar Center in Winston Salem North Carolina. After 12 years in a Bluegrass group, I was getting back into club gigging in a new 3 piece Classic Rock cover band. I needed to sell my sound system to acquire a different one. I called them a day ahead and spoke with the manager. Before loading the van and driving 2 hours to get there, I wanted to make sure it was worthwhile. So I asked him what kind of offer I could expect and was prepared to give him a list of my gear and it's condition. He said he guaranteed me that he would beat any and every offer I got elsewhere. He said demand for used gear was high and my trip would definitely pay off. He also added that he could offer even more in a trade in deal. I asked who I should ask for upon arrival. He said no one. He told me he would tell the sales staff I was coming and what we had discussed. So I packed up the van and hit the road the next day fully expecting to be returning with a new sound system. Instead, when I arrived, the gentleman at the counter didn't know anything about me or my call. He said just bring it all in and he'd look at it. I carried a few items in followed by an Ashly Dual 31 band equalizer mounted in a Gator case. I noticed that there was no other customer in the store, yet he was still sitting behind the counter playing a game on his smartphone. I had a bad feeling about how this was gonna go because he showed zero interest in serving me as a customer. So I said before I carry anything else in, can you give me your offer on what I've carried in so far. He said sure. I laid the EQ on the counter. He typed on the computer keyboard and said for the EQ, we'll offer $15. I said that can't be right. This is a quality EQ I paid around $400 for and it's in excellent condition. I said I wouldn't sell the case for $15. He said the internet says $12, but he is willing to pay $15. I asked for the manager. The manager came out and asked if there was a problem. I recognized his voice from my call. I said yes there is. I said you assured me personally in our phone conversation that you would beat any other offer. Yet this associate is offering me less that 4% of what I paid for this EQ. He spoke with the man, looked at the computer screen, and said yes, that's our offer. I asked did he really think that would beat any offer I could get. He said he didnt know. I told him this is bait and switch. You've wasted my time and effort and cost me money. You lied to me. He told me I was welcome to go elsewhere. I said I'm heading there now, but out of curiosity, how much more would you have offered me on a trade. He said the same price. I said you lied to me twice. I'll NEVER do business in your store and I will tell anyone of my musician friends who ever asks my opinion of Guitar Center of my experience here today and why I won't spend a penny in Guitar Center. I loaded up, did a search, and 3 hours later, I walked out of a business in Greensboro NC called Music Go Round with considerably more money in my pocket than I was willing to sell for when I left home. With that money, I later went to Stage Sound in Roanoke Virginia and purchased our current sound system and lighting. Guitar Center could have had that business and more from me and my band. But they squandered it all.
I've had very similar experiences to that in the past. I hope my current experience is a sign of change for the company. I used to say they needed better employees but I tend to think these days they really need better culture within the company. Every GC on the country can't be hiring horrible people, it must be the type of behavior the company fosters
mine is awful. Super low inventory, asshole employees, you can hear the crickets chirp in this place. Whole different ballgame at music go round like this guy says ;
Bottom line is nobody that works at Guitar Center gives a crap about customer service. I've been to four different stores. And every salesman thinks they are better than you and don't have time for you. I don't know who oversees Guitar Center but they better get their act together before it's too late.. and it's been this way for 15 years that I've been going to them. It's a shame
I figure any guitar I would sell would be a relatively local sale, someone will drive a county for a guitar that can be had same day. Otherwise a GC or other sale is GC & their shipping & handling making it happen for discounts, because in a way, they are in business together. It's you vs them. Sometimes a buyer still buys it thru GC for a nearest store delivery & pick up. Either way the $ 750 markup on the $ 1,750 GC paid is a good profit on that guitar. Part of the reason I buy the sub $ 200 instrument is to already have the fees & losses of ownership as the ultimate consumer already built into the price of the guitar. It's really a no brainer for me, I'll sell it locally and not have to ship it. Still far from a hassle to unload of the instrument. But the most I can be out, putting it to the curbside is sub $ 200, whatever it gets for resale price as close to the sub $ 200 purchase is a modest rental fee. I just don't get how there are consumers that fall in love with something they can get brand new with a warranty & even Sales Return & Allowance. Those who buy & sell guitars aren't whining about what it takes to resell anything, new or preowned. A new guitar is actually a used guitar for them as a middleman. That's what they do day to day as a retail operation. Every buyer has a a range they are willing to concede/negotiate in a transaction, for some it's 10's of dollars, other's it might be 100's of dollars. When GC went back for with your $ 1,800 offer, they knew they had a potential for $ 2,500 for this guitar. $ 2,500 vs $ 3-4+K for this one and they can probably find a buyer easier for that. Would GC take a walk-in offer for $ 2,100-2,450 for what they listed $ 2,500 ? If there was another in the room when $ 1,800 number was on the table as starting point, Had they offered you $ 1,850, would you have sold it, leveraging GC out of the equation. Probably could've gotten $ 1,850 for it out in the parking lot that same moment if the buyer had coincided. At the very least gone to an ATM nearby and gotten the $ 1,850 as an inconvenience for whatever GC was going to pony up. How bad does one want it gone at a certain point. What situation drives the resale in the 1st place. Paying a bill for a car repair, it's the situation that drives the need to make a deal happen. Our minds all work like that to some extent. The money & mentally we justify it as a reason for a deal or deal killer. GC doesn't fall in love with anything that has ever cycled into their store, they live for the transactions, present & future for the instrument in front of them. They like anyone will take the hassle free transaction, but with enough transactions they have , a more difficult sale isn't the glass of water they drown in. Comes with the territory of being in business as a music store.
that was my experience. listed my old Alembic, no bites through a newspaper, someone bought it from them, for more than I would have charged. they should have looked in the paper.
If a store can’t sell a “pre loved” item for 30-50% more than they pay, they can’t stay in business. That’s just the way retail business works. Those of us wanting to sell gear that still has value and utility need to sell directly to the next user, not a business or auction house.
You’re also avoiding the hassle of dealing with manipulative people which is worth something to me I’ve also developed a relationship with a guy at my local GC and he knows I take care of my gear so he gives me a little more than he’d give someone else
I have sold a lot of stuff on both But Reverb is SICK with there fee's E-bay used to be much better but now they raised there fee's also , But Much better than reverb ...
Not to mention their policies for receiving damaged good or worse selling something and having it get damaged. Good luck getting your money anytime soon. Horrible platforms that YT guitar content creators have shilled for to this day.
Seems like something about the past few years has Americans seeing value in brick and mortar businesses and these are the ways it starts to change. I personally prefer the in-store experience. If pricing makes sense, it's a no-brainer. 🎸⚡️
My favorite brick and mortar, #PitbullAudio, has the massive inventory of a major online retailer and makes the majority of their income online, but they have a great showroom attached to their warehouse, so they will pull anything out for me to try and if I buy it, they cut me a better-than-online price, since I saved them the money of shipping. I am lucky to be in the same city with them.
I concur. Seems the novelty of online shopping is waning. It is now being put on its proper place. Real stores are making a comeback. It has always been a little more than just the merchandise. The shopping experience is a package.
I don’t know how anyone could buy a guitar without playing it first to see if it vibes so it’s guitar store for me. Pedals and electronics are fine online but not guitars.
GC has a new CEO, Gabe Delporto. He admitted earlier this year that GC had forgotten who the core customer was. He is the one responsible for moving the quality instruments back within reach and increasing the inventory of professional instruments. It’s possible the staff at all locations haven’t been fully retrained yet. As an old guy who has worked in a small, high-end guitar shop I must say that people can’t expect a dealer to buy “pre loved” instruments at street price. Why would they pay going rate, invest in possible repair and setup, keep it in inventory, and then resell it for the same going street price. Somehow the labor and inventory investment has to be recouped plus enough margin to pay the rent and keep the lights on.
I noticed a lot of top tier guitars unlocked at my GC as well. I asked an employee about it and he said there was a new corporate policy that anything under $5k would stay unlocked. I also noticed that the store was way more organized the last couple times I was there. I’m hoping they can right the ship cause even though I prefer local shops, it’s nice to have a place that’s open more hours with a lot of options to try out.
I noticed a lot of High end gear was available to try out as well. But at my local guitar center the gear was beat to hell and back. $1000 Ibanez guitar looked like someone threw it on the ground multiple times, guitars had broken strings, rusted strings, amps were broken, guitars were missing parts, it was just an overall bad experience.
Nothing new there, @branflakes1299, way back in '97, I was trying to buy (at a shop across from This exact GC in Encino that flooded) a totally gouged up Gibson LP Deluxe in zurple purple, cut to ribbons (before Relicing even existed). The goof wanted like $1700, I wanted a fair $650. Miles apart. Same as it ever was. 😄
@@bwgoddard here’s my take on it…. You grab a Kramer or cheaper guitar say for $250.00…. Their profit margin is next to nothing… Their higher priced guitars have more meat so to say (meaning profit margin) combine that with the fact guitar center will finance anything they wind up moving more higher end product with a fatter profit margin then a $250.00 guitar that feels like maybe a $150.00 guitar with fret sprouts etc. Then they’ll be there to buy it back at a fraction of the cost only to finance it again to another buyer
I think it's part of GC's new business model. Mine also bought a bunch of higher end used gear to sell. Their new business model is supposed to be stocking more high end gear and less low end, completely opposite of what they have been doing. I'm thinking as a short cut to stocking new high end gear that's potentially hard to move, they are buying high end used gear that has more appeal
Very good point. I forgot to mention that myself. It gets higher end stuff in there that can be sold a bit cheaper while also making the inventory look more appealing
From what I'm hearing, a lot of standard and "budget" gear has flooded the market, and is now sitting there. During COVID, companies made way more than the initial demand was reflecting. The market was in a similar spot after the '07 market crash, recession etc. I think this will be worse. Reverb is bad for buyers and sellers. It's also destroying the market. I do think that a decent GLP, will always get you a reasonable amount back. They're like the Rolex of guitars. Same darn watch, for over 50 years, and they keep going up. Why? Because "it's a Rolex" lol
I heard the same thing. In my opinion I think lower end gear has it's place too especially for more budget conscious and beginner players. Space can be at a premium though too.
If I recall correctly, GC used to would give someone 60% of the USED value, which basically equated to such a low amount that you might as well just keep it unless you were really desperate to sell.
I had a similar experience recently and sold my AOR 50 combo to Guitar Center. It sat on Reverb for weeks getting nothing insultingly low offers or silence, then in a “well let’s see what happens” moment I took it by GC and while obviously still lower than I would have ideally wanted they gave me $100 or so more than anyone else offered with no delivery hassles. This is not praise for GC as much as it is a knock on Reverb as of late.
@@TheDistortionPrinciple Reverb also gave me a lot of trouble with randomly disabling my storefront for a while for “suspected fraudulent activity” without being able to tell me what that activity was for like a month before that when I was trying to sell my Marshall cab on there. I ended up selling that on Facebook marketplace because Reverb hadn’t gotten its act together. Facebook is where I do most of my trading.
Wow that’s good to hear! I have a custom shop strat that I need to part with and will be taking it to a Guitar Center this weekend. Let’s see if I have the same luck!
Guitar Center is selling to an individual. The Reverb shoppers are dealers as you mentioned. For an expensive guitar, having the ability to hold , play and inspect is worth something avoiding the hassles.
I’ve noticed that placement of higher end guitars at eye level and the used inventory is massive now. At my local GC in Vegas they have extended the used wall to accommodate more guitars. Prices aren’t horrible either. I bet if they upped the production value of their online used gear they’d move a ton of guitars. Or maybe they’ll just go out of business 😂😂
I heard rumors of going OOB years ago, too much debt and too little in sales. However, it didn't happen. At least, it didn't happen then. Interesting to see what happens in January...
I've sold several amps & a few lower end guitars in the past year & was very suprised what they gave me. I totally agree trying to sell on reverb or ebay is just a scam with them pocketing the shipping cost from the buyer. I'm just done with trying to sell on reverb or ebay.
I've done the same with GC. When you take into account the Credit Card Fees, Seller Fees, and now the 1099-K that they will send you at the end of the year, it really diminishes your return. I've sold a few things to GC and came at are above what I would clear from Reverb or eBay. Last year I bougth a very clean Player strat at a pawn for $330. I sold it to my buddy and he fell into some hard times and sold it to Guitar Center. He actualy sold it to Guitar Center for $380. So he made $50 selling it to GC. From my experience GC is paying about 50-60% of what they will list it for.
I have sold a lot of gear to Guitar Center and my experience has always been great. I think some people may have unrealistic expectations and may not do enough research. Before I went to GC I made a list of all the items I was looking to sell, found their current online prices for similar condition items and determined the % I was willing to accept. I got more than that so I was very pleased with the experience.
I went to my local Guitar Center in Center Valley Pennsylvania just the other day. First time I have been there in a year or two. Store had decent inventory, good amount of customers, people were trying out gear. I went to the guitar wall and most of the guitars were broken and beat up. Strings had considerable rust on them. Not a lot of budget guitars either. Had a lot of high end inventory and their high end inventory was missing nobs, strings were broken, cracks in the body, etc. it looked like someone took a $1000+ Ibanez guitar and threw it on the ground repeatedly. Same thing with the amps. Not sure why all the gear was destroyed but I didn’t like the atmosphere and I walked out and got what I wanted on Amazon. Also, they low balled me hard in the past on trade-ins.
All too often the used top end guitars have a major issue, over time the good condition ones sell more quickly and the average quality level of the high end used guitar inventory declines…many of us looking for at this price point have saved for years…uhh…decades, so we want good condition OR an appropriate discount(cars, motorcycles, artwork, instruments, tools…it has been and always will be Condition, Condition, Condition that sets the price in the end)
The other issue that you experience with Reverb, Ebay, etc. is that you have buyers using the sale as a free rental. No matter what the item may be; musical instrument, used photo equipment, and so on. The buyer will purchase your item, use it for weeks and then turn around and say it is defective and return it. And because of the strict buyer protection policies you have to refund that person even though the item may now be damaged from the customer's usage; sometimes purposely in order to get the refund. Better off selling it directly on Craig's list or in store.
I’ve had this happen as well. EBay is 100% no way for me. Frankly only international buyers are worth my time there because the shipping back to the USA is too expensive for them to get scammy.
GC has always low balled me in the past. I have 6 guitars listed on FBMP & CL for over 3 months. Guess it's time to try GC again. Thanks for your story! ✌️
@@gunsofsteele someone in the comments said the managers do better rates and in pretty sure the manager did mine. Maybe ask for the manager at your GC?
GC is having a trade in your gear & get 15% off promotion this Saturday 10/26/2024. I hope I can get there. Got a big project same day. Gonna be pushing on time.
Took a EVH $1,000 guitar to Guitar Center and they offered me $300. I told them “F@CK YOU! I’ll keep it and hang it on my wall.” I’ll never take any guitar to them ever again. Rip off artists.
I hope he succeeds. The glory days for me was when there was a GC, a Sam Ash or Thoroughbred, and a MARSS within 20 minutes of each other. The early 2000s were gear paradise years.
@@scott21113 The 80s and very early 90s were serious guitar golden nuggets all up and down Sunset Blvd in Hollywood. Little mom n pop shops selling (then) unknown brands like Pedulla and ESP for dirt cheap! I bought a Pedulla bass brand new with a case for 999! Made in Minnesota and a very beautiful Rootbeer and burnt orange quilt top! Stupid me.. traded it for a Marshall JCM800 1x12 combo. I play guitar and bass. Today that bass is worth around $6K ... doh!
I went to a GC for the first time in many years recently. I was just as surprised to see the layout of products. Seemingly hung up at random. I literally saw a brand new Les Paul Standard on a bottom rack, sandwiched between a Dinky and a Gio. While at the same time, there were many budget models on the top racks. The acoustic room was even more confusing. Most of the expensive guitars were locked on stands, but the $5K Gibson J-200 wasn't.
Reverb requires patience.... Lowballs will always be the first thing that happens when you sell sell something fairly common like a LP but it sounds like you needed cash right away. I worked at GC for over 7 years. They always paid about 63% of what they would sell it for. I've seen them buy a $10k guitar for $3k and then sell it for $4k. Professionals know when the new trade guitars go online every morning and buy up all the employee mistakes within 5 minutes to resell. GC also overpays all the time. After 90 days they will discount used stuff that they paid too much for because it won't move.
Yep I've seen all those things happen. I once had a salesman pay me more for a tc gold chorus reissue than they cost new. I can only assume he thought it was an original.
Odd this showed up on my feed. I was just at guitar center and noticed that most of the guitars there were used. Only had a few brand new higher end guitars, and instead of being on top like they usually were they are now on the bottom. They didn’t look in good quality or new to me. So my question is are they buying guitars from people and then labeling them as new? Or maybe it’s just the one near me. Like you stated, it seemed like a pawn shop type setting to me as well.
I was looking for a Martin 000-15m used, they are 1700 new. Went online to reverb, fb marketplace, and a few others and they asking price was a low of 1300 to a high of 1500. It was ridiculous, until I found one on the GC website for 1160, with a 10% store credit rebate. Had it sent to my local GC in Raleigh for $20. When it came in, I inspected it and it looked brand new, so I closed the deal. In the end it came out to 1,044 bucks which was great, plus free interest for 6 months. I've been dealing with this shop for years, and never had problems. If I ever traded in a guitar, it would be with them.
The manager at my local store said that the company headed in a new direction, trying to get back to their "player's playground" kind of setting, verses catering to entry level players, and in their mind, bring the focus back to access to higher end gear. And at least at my store, there is a great selection of entry level gear as well. It seems like they've just rounded out testing options for everything, and I appreciate that.
I've had similar experiences lately here in Indiana at my local GC. Not only that, but I've been able to get really good deals below asking price for some of their used equipment. The conversations have been related to the market of shoppers looking for used gear in great condition, so that may very well be whats pushing better offers etc. Just my experience lately, certainly not the case a few years ago.
Went into GC yesterday and was shocked by change in store layout, thought it was just local. Yep top shelf guitars and lower levels, and way more free space in store, (local store was always packed and poorly displayed). But didn’t try to sell anything, they never offered close to fair price in past, so seldom even inquire now.
I visited the Murrieta, CA GC, to grab a few sets of stings today. While there, I did a quick drive by the electric guitar section and thought it was odd that all of the high-end Gibson Les Pauls were on the lower rack unsecured.
I was at the same store a few days ago and all the new guitars had locks on them. Besides theft, we have had several moderate earthquakes. The GC in Orange had the same lock protocols.
I noticed they had put all the cheap acoustics out in the main show room too. Yes. They also put the expensive guitars lower in the racks on the walls and the cheap ones are much higher. Very odd. However, the drum sensors are always broken… only the Roland drums ever work…. That’s nice to know…. Didd’t buy the Alexis or zildjian drums because of that. There is something great about having a local store… Honestly, they need more chairs… They need a coffee machine… They need to make the place a hang out place for musicians…. Maybe several different rooms. I love having the acoustic room to myself. May several different glass sound enclosed rooms where people can go and just play the guitars and hang out. Like a dressing room… sort of. Private.
I went into Guitar Center last week and they had a brand new Gibson Les Paul Standard in bourbon burst marked down from $2800 to $2240. It wasn't part of their online Black Friday sales but the local store specifically had that guitar marked way down. I ended up buying it because it's a beautiful guitar that was at a price you're not really going to find it new in 2024. All the nice Gibsons and Fenders they had there were on the lowest and middle racks for people to grab, though most were locked on the headstock holders.
With all of the Reverb problems and costs anymore, GC could take advantage of the used market and make a killing! I really hope to see them get more into that arena. I heard that they were supposed to rebrand as a high end only shop and to me, that would be disasterous. Great video bro!!
Its also a buyers market right now because so many people are in financial straights. It was the opposite 3-4 years ago when everyone was out of work with free covid money coming in. Popular guitars were harder to get because shipping was mostly in gridlock. Sellers were making big profits then.
I was through with guitar center 7 months ago. Couldnt get help because the employees were sitting around showing off thier noodling and shredding skills. Didn't even have the bass strings I use. Wanted to look at a stingray bass so just standing and looking and no help. 1st thing in the morning and 1 other customer besides me. I am on vacation and really wanted a stingray so went to the local guitar center. Walked out with a mid level SBMM Stingray, 5 sets of roundwouds and tw sets of flat wounds, a case and the customer service was outstanding. I dont think its Guitar Center in general but rather the employees and management at individual stores that make it suck.
Even in LA, the 2nd hand market is hit and miss. With shipping prices as high as they are now, it doesn’t make sense to ship. GC already has the shipping infrastructure and end users searching. I’ve done the same thing as you and gotten a good deal
I just sold a BC Rich Mockingbird to guitar center for some store credit on a different guitar I wanted. I bought it for $600 so I was expecting something like $200-300 but they actually offered me $375! Pleasantly surprised!
I just called 2 guitar centers in my area, I told them both I had entry level stuff. One told me not to bother until maybe after Jan, the other was sure we can make you an offer but you need to bring it in. So it really depends on Management of each store, and the Buyer/store clerk you get
Remember, too, that GC may also finance your guitar to that next buyer. So even if they get "low-balled" at maybe $1,900 with financing they will realistically net $500 on the next deal.
At my local GC store they told me a while ago they ruined a bunch of the high end guitars by keeping them up top too close to the lights and the extra heat and no moisture and now they still have em and marked them down but cant move em. That might have something to do with the location change of the merch.
I had the very same experience trading a Fender Princeton amp and a Taylor guitar at Guitar Center. It makes me more likely to make purchases from them in the future. Sweetwater has always been great, but they don't seem to be making any deals anymore. My old sales rep would always take a little off an expensive purchase. But I agree 100% that Reverb just isn't worth it. Really if you can just find the guitars you really like and be content with them it will save a lot of stress. Thanks for the video!
Guitar Center did start as a Pawn Shop and still has a Pawn Shop License but also sells New Gear. They do use a fair value for if you are selling versus trading. You came in reasonably and they tried to meet you in more or less the middle at $1750. Also, realize unless guitars are super high-end or vintage they seldom sell at a catalog price but rather at a street price. It's why I research and really think about the guitars I buy. I get the majority of them to keep, play and enjoy. To make money flipping guitars you have to really know what you are doing or just get lucky in my opinion. GC is on its way back from its flatline a few years ago. Let's see if the new CEO can get it back on track. One way to do that is to carry quality gently used gear and at the same time pay customers fair prices. Nothing upsets customers more than intentional or insulting low-ball offers.
@@TheDistortionPrinciple I think your analysis is right on. When I am not in the Car business my other passion is music and playing guitars. I have two strong local music dealers one who is an exceptional luthier. I have a GC 50 miles away and until recently a Sam Ash that just closed permanently. 12 years ago GC was excellent then went through a real downslide of mostly lower-end insturments and dirty stores. I understand the new CEO is trying to bring them back - I think they need to focus on players at all levels and treat them right as well as cleaning and re-organizing and updating the stores is a great start. They already have a solid online operation 2nd to Sweetwater. People like a strong bricks and mortar store with solid online options that don't live within 20 miles of the location. This can be strong going forward.
The fees and shipping cost going the Reverb routes suck, I only sold one guitar last year but it went for more than I bought it for BECAUSE it was in like new condition and rare.
I visited the Guitar Center in Arlington, Texas this weekend - and they had a GREAT selection of guitars. A wide range of models at different price points. The used gear was fairly priced. Great selection of other gear too. Much better than in years past. Great staff. Shout out to The Dude!
I've found some good deals on guitars at my local GC over the years, some of my favorite guitars. So I'm glad to hear they're still buying used guitars. Haven't been over there for a while, may have to stop by and see what it looks like. Last time I went by there the front room was remodeled with teaching booths which I thought was kind of weird, and there seemed to be a lot less used gear, which kind of turned me off from stopping by. I also have a couple of guitars that I don't want any more and have struggled trying to figure out what the best way to sell them might be, and not wanting to hassle the shipping was a big barrier. I may have to re-think taking them to GC, as I had been figuring the price wouldn't be so good, but the lack of hassle has a lot to be said for it...
Best thing to do is try to find a used on on the GC website and calculate 60 percent of what they are selling it for and that's pretty close to what you should get from them
I noticed the same thing, but I was trying to sell a drum kit, so in this case, I didn't go through the trouble of schlepping the kit to the store to get a trade in value. Instead I waited months and finally had a some what reasonable offer on the kit and got it sold. But, I think it may be worth giving GC a try and if their offer is in the ball park, just let it go.
If you think GC is a pawnshop, you're exactly right. That's what they're licensed as. The takeaway is that with the demise of live music and the glut of Communist Chinese imports, the guitar(and related) market is saturated and you won't get anywhere near what you should. Best strategy is to buy only high-quality gear that you intend to keep for a VERY long time. Hopefully your descendants will be able to realize a profit on Antiques Roadshow in the year 2525.
I travel quite a bit and am always stopping at GC locations and I have to say that the quality of instruments, both new and used varies from store to store. The nicest ones I've been to are Pittsburgh #1 followed by North Portland OR and Boston. The worst were Albany NY and Springfield MA. The main gripe that I have is the amount of shop wear on the new instruments. I was selling left and right on Reverb but in the last year, very very little. People lowballing was bad enough, now I'm getting obvious scam messages. Good video by the way.
@@Fatman-g8k yea I went to one to try out a 2500 dollar Jackson and the strings were laying on the frets, dead notes everywhere. Asked them to set it up so I could try it and they told me they could set it up for a charge of I bought. I asked them how was I to know if I wanted it or if I can't play it.
As a guy who regularly buys and sells guitars as a hobby thr 1500 to 1700 makes sense. I'd also go lower on Reverb because you never truly know what your going to get, and the trouble of sipping something like a les paul adds a lot of factors. I've gotten some worse then advertised guitars on Reverb from private sellers and it's literally such a pain to work the return I end up just taking the loss. I'd rather buy it in person anyway. This all makes sense to me being in that world.
@@ianfralen4838 id counter 1700 makes sense for a person looking to resell. This particular model routinely sells for over 2000. The good thing about reverb though is the company does give you decent buyer protection if someone ships you trash
I may have to try them again. I had a Les Paul, mint condition, one of their exclusives purple quilted figures and they low balled me 1,500! I said no not today. If they would have offered me what they offered you, I would have been happier and likely done the deal. This was in August of this year, by the way.
I am interested to read this. I quit going to GC a few years ago when I moved. I had not seen an interesting instrument, new or used, for quite some time. Next time I am in Lansing MI or Grand Rapids, I will need to take a look.
I took about 10 guitar pedals to my local Guitar Center about a month ago with an idea of what I wanted to get for them, realizing it was gonna hurt a little bit. I actually walked out with more than I anticipated in the transaction was great. I immediately took the money they gave meand bought two pedals that they had in stock it was a killer quick easy process. Now I just need to learn how to play😮
Had the exact same experience selling last month with a high end amp. I was satisfied with what I got and played some AWESOME guitars without having to buy any staff which was awesome great experience
I was at our guitar center a few weeks ago and what I first noticed was that it was empty. I didn’t notice about where the high end guitars were placed. I usually shopped at Sam Ash and they went belly up which is why I went to GC. I never liked GG’s customer service which is basically nonexistent. I also noticed that they had a lot of used guitars at Sam Ash, and I traded quite a few there, but maybe that’s why they went out of business. I got pretty good deals, plus they would give you a gift card for buying something over $200. So it was a win-win situation for me.
That's really amazing; I though for sure that they were going to come back with a super low ball offer like $1200. Although I have never sold them anything, I've seen them offer insultingly low amounts for desirable items, and the sellers took it! I have had very good results in TRADING IN quality gear with GC, but that was over 10-15 years ago. I actually had a guitar listed on CL and a GC salesman called me and offered more than my asking price if I wanted to do a trade, which I did. I ended up doing several trades with this particular salesperson at GC, just because his offers were so generous, and he would also discount the gear that I was trading towards!
I experienced the same surprise selling a '60's Gretsch amp. I think GC has finally discovered internet sales and I think they want to compete against reverb for selling. They have a good deal with UPS that keeps the cost of shipping very low. Buying/re-selling true vintega high end gear is pure profit for them.
‘The used one at GC had one big problem…’ If they are pivoting to sell more vintage and high caliber used guitars, they need to either repair obvious issues in their high end gear or discount accordingly. Over the last few decades of going to Florida GCs, almost every time I was interested in a listed $2,500 or higher vintage instrument…there was always one glaring issue once I held the instrument…and never an offer to repair or discount accordingly…in each case I was able to get a top notch specimen for the same or less on Reverb. I wish them luck because its always better to be able to play in your hands prior to purchase, and that is a huge advantage for brick and mortar who have all the overhead and operating costs to cover.
I have seen a huge decline in the Reverb sales experience. Some people are asking outrageous prices up to 2 or 3x value of gear, while inlist things always slightly less than the lowest comparable, within reason, then get the same few Northborrough, MA located people hutting me up with stupidly low offers. The closest GC is 45min for me, so I havent even tried them. I may plan a trip and see what comes if it.
@TheDistortionPrinciple it stinks that is has become this, it has gotten progressively worse since Etsy bought it. Selling on eBay is like Russian roulette, so I only do that occasionally.
I had a similar experience at my local GC with a PRS. I’ve sold a bunch of guitars to this GC. Usually, they pay 60% of what the guitar usually posts for online. Lately, with the one PRS exception, they are only offering about 55%. They have a lot more used guitars than new. Everything I’ve sold to them could pass for new every single day.
I’ve sold on Reverb a lot more than I have sold to GC and that’s mainly because I’m in a very rural area with the nearest GC being an hour and a half away and my local shops rarely just want people to sell to them but if they will take something it’s 50% of what it is selling for. On the buying side I do feel like reverb has really hurt the used market all around. Sure there are a lot of items whose value has appreciated over the years but it’s full of the “I know what I’ve got” people who want crazy prices. You can ignore them but the issue is If they do eventually accept an offer it’s not reflected on the sold listing and it artificially inflates the asking prices. GC seems to be the last place I can get reasonable deals but it’s a constant roll of the dice. Terrible photographs most of the time has lead to me receiving guitars that I would not have bought if I had seen accurate pictures. I also very recently received I counterfeit knock off from them. I’m a big fan of Dimebag Darrell and a listing popped up that didn’t have pictures but the title was something I wanted. Bought it and called to get pictures. Never got the pictures because they said it was already packed up. Sucks but I was able to send it back. Bad thing is they have two more counterfeit guitars still listed online.
It’s kinda like the CarMax of Guitars I love the fact I can look at a wide variety of brands - and everything is unlocked now everything used to be locked up. I’ve purchased and returned instruments a couple of times,… with no issues.
I walked into a GC in Indianapolis (actually Greenwood), shopping for mid-range tele. I remember maybe one customer in the store and four staff. No one greeted me nor asked if they could help me. With that kind of customer service, I will shop elsewhere.
They are pretty fair about trade-in prices here at the Nashville GC, they turn stuff over quickly. I never trade in anything unless I'm planning on buying something. Most employees won't tell you- but if you trade in ANYTHING you can get 10% off any purchase made that day. I've made out very well a couple times. Sold them a DS-1 for $15 (which was put up for $50), but got over $200 off a Mesa. AFAIK, that "loophole" still exists.
Wow, this is so spot on! I just sold a guitar to guitar center for more than I expected...Christmas is around the corner and money is tight. I have a guitar that I don’t play much ( as I have 3 guitars with the same configuration, so the guitar doesn’t bring anything new to the table) I put the guitar on FB market place and nothing ( cricket city). So, I figured that I would give guitar center a try( and I’m glad I did). I’ve never directly sold anything to GC, I’ve also would trade in and would get a good offer plus the 20% off new gear. I was also caught off guard, when they asked me what I wanted for the guitar...so, I asked $50.00 more than I expected to get...so we can negotiate from there, but much to my surprise they accepted the offer with no haggling! I figured, I came out a head...no having to pack the guitar, then ship it and eBay taking their fees etc...
Guitar Center can afford it. These little shops on Reverb don't have the turnover. They are only going to sell a few guitars a month, maybe some pedals, etc... But that's enough for them to keep going, at least as a side line. Used gear at GC is more than a side line. These days it may even rival the new gear. Used gear is no longer just used gear. An old guitar is a Relic. A decent Tube Amp is Vintage. So quality gear is holding more of it's value, not everything, obviously. But it's like reselling a Toyota vs a Kia.
The trouble is every seller is called a shop. Most sellers are just a person selling 1 guitar. Reverb is kind of stupid that way. Everyone has a "shop".
It's odd, I went into my local guitar center and they only seem to have the low cost guitars in stock and on the floor; I was very disappointment in the selecion. all the expensive guitars are still behind a counter. This might because it is a small store. They did have a lot of used gear; much more than I have seen in the past.
Building the value of the instrument to the customer has become the priority at Guitar Center. When this happens in an engaging and personalized approach people will tend to be more willing to invest more in that instrument 🎸
I always tell people if you buy something you really want a very high-quality thing, just keep it. you might end up with a grandchild or something one day or someone else that would have their lives changed forever when you pass it along to them. and the fact you sell it, you're only going to get half of what you paid for it even if it's in mint condition. and I mean you're always usually going to look back and regret selling it anyways
I’ve never had luck on Reverb. I’ve sold some stuff at Guitar Center recently and it was the standard low ball, which I get since they’re trying to flip the gear. The best I do is selling directly to someone on Craigslist. Probably depends if you live in a city with a lot of musicians if you want to do Craigslist.
Last 4 times I went to GC and found a guitar I wanted, they were unwilling to give less than a 10% discount unless it was a floor model. Each time I went online, found a mom and pop store and got between 15-25% free shipping. I just can't believe they are doing well.
@@TheDistortionPrinciple Doesn't have to be local. I call around. Takes a little bit of work, but seems like invariably there's always one who is willing to do a good deal. I only do this on guitars that come from makers well known for quality control and always check the reputation of the shop for dealing with returns if there is an issue.
Any of my slightly damaged gear, with light chips they always go around that 30% mark of the original sales price. Personally i haven’t sold anything on reverb for the exact reason your talking about. Although when I’ve brought in near mint gear to GC I feel like they offered me around 60% of the original sales price. Which would sorta even me out on reverb with the shipping fees. So for me it’s more convenient to just go to gc, and get a same day offer rather than wait it out on reverb. The payout has been the same for me generally though. The slight amount more I can offer on reverb is always offset by shipping costs.
Do not use prices listed on Reverb as the market price. Most of the items are listed way too high on purpose for shops to point to for thier listings and local sells. The reason is that when something sells on reverb, the site doesnt list what it actually sold for. It only lists the original asking price and that it sold. This gives people a false sense of value to the items they are wanting to sell their gear at.
It's funny you mention this. I have a very rare OD pedal that I put up on Reverb. I was getting offers of less than half of what it was worth. GC gave me 85% of what I wanted. I sure wish I had known you were offloading the wildwood. I would have snatched it up!
@@midwaymonster30 it was such a good guitar but I had something important come up. I think part of the reverb problem is for months now so many TH-camrs have told people to basically low ball everyone because it's a buyers market and if you can't get a deal try someone else because you're going to get one
@@TheDistortionPrinciple Yeah, I think you're right. People have gotten used to low ball offers being accepted, but that'll have to end. I won't sell a piece of gear that I can't stand to keep for a long while.
It's funny you mention that. I have also had a recent experience at Guitar Center where I got more than I was initially expecting. I brought in a Gibson SG standard that I didn't play anymore. I was expecting $600. I was shocked when they offered my $900 for it. I also noticed the expensive acoustic guitars on the middle and lower racks. I don't like this idea. The Gibson J45 standard I wanted to buy had a big ding in it. I still think the high end guitars should be kept up high and out of reach. I like GC but their new guitars tend to have dings and scratches on them. They do give good discounts for that sort of thing, however, when I'm buying a high end guitar new I want it in pristine shape.
20 years ago, GC had much of their high end gear available to play without having to ask someone to unlock it. So it seems they are returning to their original model. Our local store is swamped w used gear, much of it low end stuff. I sell stuff back to them as I can’t be bothered w shipping after waiting for low ball offers.
That's strange to me because I was told recently by a Guitar Center employee that they typically can't offer anybody more than $1,000 for a piece of gear. They told me that that was their cap. 🤷🏽
@DakotaClayBand Could just be the GC or maybe the worker possibly. I did notice that they had used vintage guitars for sale behind the register. Maybe they meant cash sales which would make sense. Anything over 1k they have to cut a check for.
sounds like a shrewd move by GC, some things Reverb will NEVER be able to offer, no fees, shipping costs, packaging materials, time etc. AND more money...For buyers, probably free shipping, secure transaction and test drive, if GC markets this strategy correctly, could work
The CEO is making a bunch of changes. One is making the best stuff more accessible. Another is making sure GC pays more than anywhere else while making the process fairly painless.
I have sold a few guitars on reverb and bought one or two off reverb as well. I had a good experience with reverb but I understand I am a small sample. I also sold a wildwood LP 50s and a slash November burst. I sold them both for 2000, and I paid 2500 for them a year or two before. I saw guys selling the same guitars for 2500 or 2700 on reverb which is crazy to me. If I’m going to buy a used guitar off reverb, and especially if there is no return policy, it’s gonna have to be a significant discount. Otherwise I’d rather pay for a new guitar that has a return policy. Les Paul’s in particular vary so much and it’s not too hard to get a bad one. The great thing about buying used on guitar center is the 45 day return. Definitely get a piece mind with that policy. I will not buy from reverb unless there is at least a 7 day return policy OR it’s a very low price. I guess GC can afford to move this used gear with a smaller margin because of how much product they move.
@@TheDistortionPrinciple oh, man I didn’t even realize that. That’s good to know. Is it a pain? I usually just disregard listings with no return policy unless it’s an epic deal and I get an excellent vibe from the seller.
Sounds like one way to look at it is that Reverb may be more of a buyer's market right now-- given stuff sits on there for months. I've sold a couple of things there though not lately. I've mostly been dissapointed by the low offers I'd have to beat to get it to move, so I haven't bothered. But I've bought a few things too and got reasonable deals. Given the amount of price competition on Reverb, seems to me that at least right now it may be that it's a better place to buy than to sell. GC on the other hand, I'm not sure-- it's been a while since I've been in to my local one, will have to stop by and see what things are looking like these days...
My experience on Reverb has been that’s all I ever received were lowball offers and it was more hassle than it was worth. When you sell at guitar Center you know you’re going to take a loss but I don’t want to deal with all the BS and everyone is protected by PayPal and reverb, so you may get that return before 30 days because someone wanted to “borrow” your guitar.
Did their business model change? I took two Wildwood Spec Les Paul standards that I paid $3100 each. Almost new. I got $1500 each I didn’t care, I wanted something else and selling and haggling takes too long, I like to get what I want on the spot, no waiting They did let me keep all my cases which had the nice paperwork, tools, pick guards that I took off, weird right? They also gave me $600 on the SG standard that I paid $1750 for and $1000 on the Strat that was $1750. All new too, like 1 year old. I walked out with an 81’ Black Beauty HHH, almost mint top, all original- frets, nibs, PUPs, hardware
@@JimMarshallUK they do have a new owner so it's possible they changed. At this store though the manager is very friendly and constantly on the floor checking on customers so it could just be the way he chooses to run it
@ That makes sense man. My local GC is terrible, I have to move/climb the huge ladder myself to get up to the Gibson/PRS’s and they just watch. I don’t mind bc I like to get my hands on everything every 3-6 months. But it’s still off putting knowing they don’t care at all. The place I traded was in Greenville, SC it’s a little nicer and bigger, better city but the manager was definitely not interested in building relations or the experience, he seemed upset to take 4 trade-ins vs sitting around. I prefer boutique shops but unfortunately don’t have any near me, I’m about to move to Cherry Hill, NJ….maybe it’s better there
@@TheDistortionPrinciple I almost drove to Charlotte for a half priced Orange tube amp at GC, so I bet you’re right, they were nice on the phone. So far I found ATL to have lots of amazing shops. Asheville, NC has lots of fake Gibsons in their shops, no serial # but asking $2500-$3000
I already know im gonna get low balled at GC but i dont really mind as it saves me the hassle and fees from going online. But the plus side is you do get like a 10 percent discount which on bigger items is not bad so I just saved my used gear even if its cheap to trade in whenever I want a discount on something new.
Reverb needs a minimum offer option. eBay has this and eBay owns Reverb. I was trying to sell a PRS SE Custom 24 with a hard case a year ago on Reverb for $470 plus $100 shipping. It was the least expensive option for that guitar. It was in nice condition, and the case looked brand new and originally cost $100. And people were low balling me offering $175-250. After a month or so, someone offered $440 which is very reasonable. 5-10% haggling is totally fair to me.
I personally had the opposite happen at the guitar center near me. They couldn't offer me more than $1800 for a guitar worth well over $3000. EVH USA wolfgang Eddie signature series. Like brand new, still in original box. 😐 I was a bit surprised since I have spent much money there over the years. I guess timing and location has alot to do with it, but I don't believe your experience to be typical
Oh yeah, I’ve got two Guitar Centers near me and they are honestly incredible stores. The people are awesome and they’re always very fair if I sell a pedal or something.
I recently sold an amp and two guitars and was ok with the prices I got. It was close to what I’d get on Craigslist or offer up, but without the hassle.
I've had the same experience. I'm typically the individual in the acoustic room. And I noticed all the expensive Martins and tailors, we're on the lower levels. I imagine it's a sales tactic. Why not put an expensive guitar in someone's hand and tempt him more to purchase.. By the way, it worked on me.
Yes, I recently have been getting some good deals from GC when I’ve sold them product, particularly when I was buying something. I had a ton of good pedals and a few decent guitars to trade in on a Gibson. I still had a balance left over, but they overall were very fair.
In the past you'd be lucky to get around the 50% range for your gear at Guitar Center unless there was a special promotion or trade-in deal going on, but it has definitely changed to be much more fair offers for your stuff there. Even some of the cheaper stuff can be well worth it to go ahead and trade-in when you factor in all the potential hassles involved with listing and shipping a guitar on-line. Reverb used to be the absolute BEST, but they got super greedy with their fees and it no longer is the go to. Guitar Center has become much more likely to work straight magic on trade deals and actually give a fair market value instead of only 50% if you're lucky.
I just bought a les Paul from a guitar center and it felt like I was back in the early 2000s with the atmosphere and customer service they’ve definitely came a long way since the last time I went to a GC.
25 years ago my local GC had a bunch of nice guitars and amps and everything you would ever want to go along with them. The place was clean and there was ample staff. Now they are half empty, they only sell student grade crap guitars and crap solid state amps and very few accessories or effects, there is nobody working, the place is filthy…
I've definitely noticed similar vibes over the years. It's probably because they sell more of that beginner stuff in a year than they ever would a 3k boogie amp which would make them more profit
That’s an anomaly. My guitar center pays fractions of pennies on the dollar for high end stuff. You must have a store that is run well. I found a Gibson Les Paul I wanted, made an appointment with the salesperson I like who usually does right by me, then went through a list of what I have. They said “we want All of it” (probably because I’m not bringing in $100 cheapos). I get there and the manager (who is a colossal dbag and lowballs worse than people on Reverb) told me we’re not doing the deal and don’t even bother to bring the stuff in because they have too much inventory.
One time at Guitoy center in Mpls I bought a Korean dbl cutaway Hamer for $200 on a 90 day layaway-plan I wrote down the SN because I didn’t trust the salesman. Just something about him wasn’t right. The guitar tech who set it up, Dave Rusan did a great job. Happens to be Princes luthier that built his Cloud guitar. Great guy.
@ He put in JB 59 PU’s and wired them to not cancel one another out in the middle position when the volume is zero on either one of the PU’s. Pretty cool. He’s worked on all my guitars.
Here's MY experience with Guitar Center. To be exact, it was the Guitar Center in Winston Salem North Carolina.
After 12 years in a Bluegrass group, I was getting back into club gigging in a new 3 piece Classic Rock cover band. I needed to sell my sound system to acquire a different one.
I called them a day ahead and spoke with the manager. Before loading the van and driving 2 hours to get there, I wanted to make sure it was worthwhile. So I asked him what kind of offer I could expect and was prepared to give him a list of my gear and it's condition. He said he guaranteed me that he would beat any and every offer I got elsewhere. He said demand for used gear was high and my trip would definitely pay off. He also added that he could offer even more in a trade in deal. I asked who I should ask for upon arrival. He said no one. He told me he would tell the sales staff I was coming and what we had discussed. So I packed up the van and hit the road the next day fully expecting to be returning with a new sound system.
Instead, when I arrived, the gentleman at the counter didn't know anything about me or my call. He said just bring it all in and he'd look at it.
I carried a few items in followed by an Ashly Dual 31 band equalizer mounted in a Gator case. I noticed that there was no other customer in the store, yet he was still sitting behind the counter playing a game on his smartphone. I had a bad feeling about how this was gonna go because he showed zero interest in serving me as a customer. So I said before I carry anything else in, can you give me your offer on what I've carried in so far. He said sure.
I laid the EQ on the counter. He typed on the computer keyboard and said for the EQ, we'll offer $15. I said that can't be right. This is a quality EQ I paid around $400 for and it's in excellent condition. I said I wouldn't sell the case for $15. He said the internet says $12, but he is willing to pay $15. I asked for the manager.
The manager came out and asked if there was a problem. I recognized his voice from my call. I said yes there is. I said you assured me personally in our phone conversation that you would beat any other offer. Yet this associate is offering me less that 4% of what I paid for this EQ. He spoke with the man, looked at the computer screen, and said yes, that's our offer.
I asked did he really think that would beat any offer I could get. He said he didnt know. I told him this is bait and switch. You've wasted my time and effort and cost me money. You lied to me. He told me I was welcome to go elsewhere.
I said I'm heading there now, but out of curiosity, how much more would you have offered me on a trade. He said the same price. I said you lied to me twice. I'll NEVER do business in your store and I will tell anyone of my musician friends who ever asks my opinion of Guitar Center of my experience here today and why I won't spend a penny in Guitar Center.
I loaded up, did a search, and 3 hours later, I walked out of a business in Greensboro NC called Music Go Round with considerably more money in my pocket than I was willing to sell for when I left home.
With that money, I later went to Stage Sound in Roanoke Virginia and purchased our current sound system and lighting.
Guitar Center could have had that business and more from me and my band. But they squandered it all.
I've had very similar experiences to that in the past. I hope my current experience is a sign of change for the company. I used to say they needed better employees but I tend to think these days they really need better culture within the company. Every GC on the country can't be hiring horrible people, it must be the type of behavior the company fosters
mine is awful. Super low inventory, asshole employees, you can hear the crickets chirp in this place. Whole different ballgame at music go round like this guy says ;
Bottom line is nobody that works at Guitar Center gives a crap about customer service. I've been to four different stores. And every salesman thinks they are better than you and don't have time for you. I don't know who oversees Guitar Center but they better get their act together before it's too late.. and it's been this way for 15 years that I've been going to them. It's a shame
@sparks3423 I've met a couple really great salesmen but most are what you describe
Some of the comments on this thread seem to go on forever.
In a way, you don’t really ‘sell’ your gear to GC, you’re actually ‘paying’ them 30-50% to sell it for you…
@@WinstonWhite-l9j that's true
I figure any guitar I would sell would be a relatively local sale, someone will drive a county for a guitar that can be had same day. Otherwise a GC or other sale is GC & their shipping & handling making it happen for discounts, because in a way, they are in business together. It's you vs them. Sometimes a buyer still buys it thru GC for a nearest store delivery & pick up. Either way the $ 750 markup on the $ 1,750 GC paid is a good profit on that guitar. Part of the reason I buy the sub $ 200 instrument is to already have the fees & losses of ownership as the ultimate consumer already built into the price of the guitar. It's really a no brainer for me, I'll sell it locally and not have to ship it. Still far from a hassle to unload of the instrument. But the most I can be out, putting it to the curbside is sub $ 200, whatever it gets for resale price as close to the sub $ 200 purchase is a modest rental fee. I just don't get how there are consumers that fall in love with something they can get brand new with a warranty & even Sales Return & Allowance. Those who buy & sell guitars aren't whining about what it takes to resell anything, new or preowned. A new guitar is actually a used guitar for them as a middleman. That's what they do day to day as a retail operation. Every buyer has a a range they are willing to concede/negotiate in a transaction, for some it's 10's of dollars, other's it might be 100's of dollars. When GC went back for with your $ 1,800 offer, they knew they had a potential for $ 2,500 for this guitar. $ 2,500 vs $ 3-4+K for this one and they can probably find a buyer easier for that. Would GC take a walk-in offer for $ 2,100-2,450 for what they listed $ 2,500 ? If there was another in the room when $ 1,800 number was on the table as starting point, Had they offered you $ 1,850, would you have sold it, leveraging GC out of the equation. Probably could've gotten $ 1,850 for it out in the parking lot that same moment if the buyer had coincided. At the very least gone to an ATM nearby and gotten the $ 1,850 as an inconvenience for whatever GC was going to pony up. How bad does one want it gone at a certain point. What situation drives the resale in the 1st place. Paying a bill for a car repair, it's the situation that drives the need to make a deal happen. Our minds all work like that to some extent. The money & mentally we justify it as a reason for a deal or deal killer. GC doesn't fall in love with anything that has ever cycled into their store, they live for the transactions, present & future for the instrument in front of them. They like anyone will take the hassle free transaction, but with enough transactions they have , a more difficult sale isn't the glass of water they drown in. Comes with the territory of being in business as a music store.
that was my experience. listed my old Alembic, no bites through a newspaper, someone bought it from them, for more than I would have charged. they should have looked in the paper.
If a store can’t sell a “pre loved” item for 30-50% more than they pay, they can’t stay in business. That’s just the way retail business works. Those of us wanting to sell gear that still has value and utility need to sell directly to the next user, not a business or auction house.
You’re also avoiding the hassle of dealing with manipulative people which is worth something to me
I’ve also developed a relationship with a guy at my local GC and he knows I take care of my gear so he gives me a little more than he’d give someone else
I wouldn't sell a damn thing on Reverb or eBay. The fees are too much and everybody wants the gear for next to nothing. I'm not running a charity.
@@MikeHunt-n4u truth
Most people do jack up the prices though you'd be silly to not try and haggle a bit.
I have sold a lot of stuff on both But Reverb is SICK with there fee's E-bay used to be much better but now they raised there fee's also , But Much better than reverb ...
@@iancain6647 They have to jack up their prices to absorb the fees.
Not to mention their policies for receiving damaged good or worse selling something and having it get damaged.
Good luck getting your money anytime soon.
Horrible platforms that YT guitar content creators have shilled for to this day.
Seems like something about the past few years has Americans seeing value in brick and mortar businesses and these are the ways it starts to change. I personally prefer the in-store experience. If pricing makes sense, it's a no-brainer. 🎸⚡️
@@Punk_Unkle_Guitars exactly. So many cool conversations happen in those places
My favorite brick and mortar, #PitbullAudio, has the massive inventory of a major online retailer and makes the majority of their income online, but they have a great showroom attached to their warehouse, so they will pull anything out for me to try and if I buy it, they cut me a better-than-online price, since I saved them the money of shipping. I am lucky to be in the same city with them.
@@ChrisTopherBunnell I bought from them online. They always offered a fair deal
I concur.
Seems the novelty of online shopping is waning. It is now being put on its proper place. Real stores are making a comeback. It has always been a little more than just the merchandise. The shopping experience is a package.
I don’t know how anyone could buy a guitar without playing it first to see if it vibes so it’s guitar store for me. Pedals and electronics are fine online but not guitars.
GC has a new CEO, Gabe Delporto. He admitted earlier this year that GC had forgotten who the core customer was. He is the one responsible for moving the quality instruments back within reach and increasing the inventory of professional instruments. It’s possible the staff at all locations haven’t been fully retrained yet.
As an old guy who has worked in a small, high-end guitar shop I must say that people can’t expect a dealer to buy “pre loved” instruments at street price. Why would they pay going rate, invest in possible repair and setup, keep it in inventory, and then resell it for the same going street price. Somehow the labor and inventory investment has to be recouped plus enough margin to pay the rent and keep the lights on.
They definitely have way more used gear than I've ever seen before in a GC
This is what usually happens before a company goes under.
I noticed a lot of top tier guitars unlocked at my GC as well. I asked an employee about it and he said there was a new corporate policy that anything under $5k would stay unlocked. I also noticed that the store was way more organized the last couple times I was there. I’m hoping they can right the ship cause even though I prefer local shops, it’s nice to have a place that’s open more hours with a lot of options to try out.
Biggest improvement they need is more friendly and approachable staff. With that they could really be unstoppable
I noticed a lot of High end gear was available to try out as well. But at my local guitar center the gear was beat to hell and back. $1000 Ibanez guitar looked like someone threw it on the ground multiple times, guitars had broken strings, rusted strings, amps were broken, guitars were missing parts, it was just an overall bad experience.
In the GC California stores, all guitars of any value are locked because people will steal them.
Nothing new there, @branflakes1299, way back in '97, I was trying to buy (at a shop across from This exact GC in Encino that flooded) a totally gouged up Gibson LP Deluxe in zurple purple, cut to ribbons (before Relicing even existed). The goof wanted like $1700, I wanted a fair $650. Miles apart. Same as it ever was. 😄
@@bwgoddard here’s my take on it…. You grab a Kramer or cheaper guitar say for $250.00…. Their profit margin is next to nothing… Their higher priced guitars have more meat so to say (meaning profit margin) combine that with the fact guitar center will finance anything they wind up moving more higher end product with a fatter profit margin then a $250.00 guitar that feels like maybe a $150.00 guitar with fret sprouts etc. Then they’ll be there to buy it back at a fraction of the cost only to finance it again to another buyer
I think it's part of GC's new business model. Mine also bought a bunch of higher end used gear to sell. Their new business model is supposed to be stocking more high end gear and less low end, completely opposite of what they have been doing. I'm thinking as a short cut to stocking new high end gear that's potentially hard to move, they are buying high end used gear that has more appeal
Very good point. I forgot to mention that myself. It gets higher end stuff in there that can be sold a bit cheaper while also making the inventory look more appealing
From what I'm hearing, a lot of standard and "budget" gear has flooded the market, and is now sitting there. During COVID, companies made way more than the initial demand was reflecting. The market was in a similar spot after the '07 market crash, recession etc. I think this will be worse. Reverb is bad for buyers and sellers. It's also destroying the market. I do think that a decent GLP, will always get you a reasonable amount back. They're like the Rolex of guitars. Same darn watch, for over 50 years, and they keep going up. Why? Because "it's a Rolex" lol
They really are trying to get more business by dealing better with customers.
I heard the same thing. In my opinion I think lower end gear has it's place too especially for more budget conscious and beginner players. Space can be at a premium though too.
I am glad you did well. GC has always tried to give me pawn shop offers. It is really bad in MN. Thank you-Great video.
@@ShawnShipstad thanks!!
If I recall correctly, GC used to would give someone 60% of the USED value, which basically equated to such a low amount that you might as well just keep it unless you were really desperate to sell.
I always felt that way but needed cash and was shocked they gave me more than reverb peope
That's still the #, though they definitely go lower on items they have high stock on or that take a long time to sell.
60% seems really good to me. They take the item out of my hands, and they need to make money too.
Why would they give 60% of new MSRP for a used instrument? That is essentially market value.
I had a similar experience recently and sold my AOR 50 combo to Guitar Center. It sat on Reverb for weeks getting nothing insultingly low offers or silence, then in a “well let’s see what happens” moment I took it by GC and while obviously still lower than I would have ideally wanted they gave me $100 or so more than anyone else offered with no delivery hassles. This is not praise for GC as much as it is a knock on Reverb as of late.
@@AJ-wh1tw pretty much my same take. GC was always the last resort but reverb seems to be pricing themselves out of being competitive
@@TheDistortionPrinciple Reverb also gave me a lot of trouble with randomly disabling my storefront for a while for “suspected fraudulent activity” without being able to tell me what that activity was for like a month before that when I was trying to sell my Marshall cab on there. I ended up selling that on Facebook marketplace because Reverb hadn’t gotten its act together. Facebook is where I do most of my trading.
Yea,I tried to delete my Reverb Account last year. THEY WOULD NOT DELETE MY ACCOUNT. @@TheDistortionPrinciple
GC has sucked for years. Shut down already!
Wow that’s good to hear! I have a custom shop strat that I need to part with and will be taking it to a Guitar Center this weekend. Let’s see if I have the same luck!
@@Matt-iz5dc hopefully. It equaled out to about 68% instead of the normal 60
Thank you for making this ! Its been decades guitar center has been such a sad place
Guitar Center is selling to an individual. The Reverb shoppers are dealers as you mentioned. For an expensive guitar, having the ability to hold , play and inspect is worth something avoiding the hassles.
Very good point
I’ve noticed that placement of higher end guitars at eye level and the used inventory is massive now. At my local GC in Vegas they have extended the used wall to accommodate more guitars. Prices aren’t horrible either. I bet if they upped the production value of their online used gear they’d move a ton of guitars.
Or maybe they’ll just go out of business 😂😂
@@michaeltaft3454 the online gear thing needs better photography and better packaging when shipped
I heard rumors of going OOB years ago, too much debt and too little in sales. However, it didn't happen. At least, it didn't happen then. Interesting to see what happens in January...
The GC on the south strip is awesome. I buy and return and keep a lot from them. Their used gear rotates a lot which us fun to shop.
I've sold several amps & a few lower end guitars in the past year & was very suprised what they gave me. I totally agree trying to sell on reverb or ebay is just a scam with them pocketing the shipping cost from the buyer. I'm just done with trying to sell on reverb or ebay.
That and they added sales tax as well as increased the fees to the point of being hardly worth it
I've done the same with GC. When you take into account the Credit Card Fees, Seller Fees, and now the 1099-K that they will send you at the end of the year, it really diminishes your return. I've sold a few things to GC and came at are above what I would clear from Reverb or eBay. Last year I bougth a very clean Player strat at a pawn for $330. I sold it to my buddy and he fell into some hard times and sold it to Guitar Center. He actualy sold it to Guitar Center for $380. So he made $50 selling it to GC. From my experience GC is paying about 50-60% of what they will list it for.
I have sold a lot of gear to Guitar Center and my experience has always been great. I think some people may have unrealistic expectations and may not do enough research. Before I went to GC I made a list of all the items I was looking to sell, found their current online prices for similar condition items and determined the % I was willing to accept. I got more than that so I was very pleased with the experience.
I went to my local Guitar Center in Center Valley Pennsylvania just the other day. First time I have been there in a year or two. Store had decent inventory, good amount of customers, people were trying out gear. I went to the guitar wall and most of the guitars were broken and beat up. Strings had considerable rust on them. Not a lot of budget guitars either. Had a lot of high end inventory and their high end inventory was missing nobs, strings were broken, cracks in the body, etc. it looked like someone took a $1000+ Ibanez guitar and threw it on the ground repeatedly. Same thing with the amps. Not sure why all the gear was destroyed but I didn’t like the atmosphere and I walked out and got what I wanted on Amazon. Also, they low balled me hard in the past on trade-ins.
All too often the used top end guitars have a major issue, over time the good condition ones sell more quickly and the average quality level of the high end used guitar inventory declines…many of us looking for at this price point have saved for years…uhh…decades, so we want good condition OR an appropriate discount(cars, motorcycles, artwork, instruments, tools…it has been and always will be Condition, Condition, Condition that sets the price in the end)
The other issue that you experience with Reverb, Ebay, etc. is that you have buyers using the sale as a free rental. No matter what the item may be; musical instrument, used photo equipment, and so on. The buyer will purchase your item, use it for weeks and then turn around and say it is defective and return it. And because of the strict buyer protection policies you have to refund that person even though the item may now be damaged from the customer's usage; sometimes purposely in order to get the refund. Better off selling it directly on Craig's list or in store.
@@mr.b4444 true story
I’ve had this happen as well. EBay is 100% no way for me. Frankly only international buyers are worth my time there because the shipping back to the USA is too expensive for them to get scammy.
GC has always low balled me in the past. I have 6 guitars listed on FBMP & CL for over 3 months. Guess it's time to try GC again.
Thanks for your story! ✌️
@@gunsofsteele someone in the comments said the managers do better rates and in pretty sure the manager did mine. Maybe ask for the manager at your GC?
If you're able, go to more than one GC. I have three near me and it's surprising how different the offers can be.
@@bb_lz9790 I agree. I also have 3. One used to give the better deals now to seems to have switched
GC is having a trade in your gear & get 15% off promotion this Saturday 10/26/2024. I hope I can get there. Got a big project same day. Gonna be pushing on time.
Took a EVH $1,000 guitar to Guitar Center and they offered me $300. I told them “F@CK YOU! I’ll keep it and hang it on my wall.”
I’ll never take any guitar to them ever again. Rip off artists.
New CEO with a different view. He wants to take GC back to its glory days.
Seems that way for sure
I hope he succeeds. The glory days for me was when there was a GC, a Sam Ash or Thoroughbred, and a MARSS within 20 minutes of each other. The early 2000s were gear paradise years.
@@scott21113 The 80s and very early 90s were serious guitar golden nuggets all up and down Sunset Blvd in Hollywood. Little mom n pop shops selling (then) unknown brands like Pedulla and ESP for dirt cheap! I bought a Pedulla bass brand new with a case for 999! Made in Minnesota and a very beautiful Rootbeer and burnt orange quilt top! Stupid me.. traded it for a Marshall JCM800 1x12 combo. I play guitar and bass. Today that bass is worth around $6K ... doh!
@scott21113 yeah Nashville back in the day had all of the above. And we had Chambers, Rock Block etc...
And they don’t have to worry about those morons and idiots that were part of Sam Ash
I went to a GC for the first time in many years recently. I was just as surprised to see the layout of products. Seemingly hung up at random. I literally saw a brand new Les Paul Standard on a bottom rack, sandwiched between a Dinky and a Gio. While at the same time, there were many budget models on the top racks. The acoustic room was even more confusing. Most of the expensive guitars were locked on stands, but the $5K Gibson J-200 wasn't.
Reverb requires patience.... Lowballs will always be the first thing that happens when you sell sell something fairly common like a LP but it sounds like you needed cash right away. I worked at GC for over 7 years. They always paid about 63% of what they would sell it for. I've seen them buy a $10k guitar for $3k and then sell it for $4k. Professionals know when the new trade guitars go online every morning and buy up all the employee mistakes within 5 minutes to resell. GC also overpays all the time. After 90 days they will discount used stuff that they paid too much for because it won't move.
Yep I've seen all those things happen. I once had a salesman pay me more for a tc gold chorus reissue than they cost new. I can only assume he thought it was an original.
Odd this showed up on my feed. I was just at guitar center and noticed that most of the guitars there were used. Only had a few brand new higher end guitars, and instead of being on top like they usually were they are now on the bottom. They didn’t look in good quality or new to me. So my question is are they buying guitars from people and then labeling them as new? Or maybe it’s just the one near me. Like you stated, it seemed like a pawn shop type setting to me as well.
It's going to cost you like upwards of $150 to ship your guitar insured anyways.
@@harryanderson7282 yep not worth. Doing these days
For me it has usually been around $60-$70 shipping iUPS ground insured through reverb.
yeah, no. I just shipped a Fender Cabronita (less than 30 days ago) FedEx from Georgia to Michigan and it was $48 insured.
I shipped an insured PRS SE Custom for $55 from east cost to west cost recently.
@@Yyz1971normally, FedEx being a private company is more expensive and they destroy guitars like it's part of the job
I was looking for a Martin 000-15m used, they are 1700 new. Went online to reverb, fb marketplace, and a few others and they asking price was a low of 1300 to a high of 1500. It was ridiculous, until I found one on the GC website for 1160, with a 10% store credit rebate. Had it sent to my local GC in Raleigh for $20.
When it came in, I inspected it and it looked brand new, so I closed the deal. In the end it came out to 1,044 bucks which was great, plus free interest for 6 months. I've been dealing with this shop for years, and never had problems. If I ever traded in a guitar, it would be with them.
And Guitar Center doesn’t send you a 1099 that you owe taxes on.
@@sgblues4238 oops yea!
That is my biggest complaint selling on Reverb.
@ Don’t blame Reverb, blame those who made the law and vote them out.
The manager at my local store said that the company headed in a new direction, trying to get back to their "player's playground" kind of setting, verses catering to entry level players, and in their mind, bring the focus back to access to higher end gear. And at least at my store, there is a great selection of entry level gear as well. It seems like they've just rounded out testing options for everything, and I appreciate that.
Good info! Thanks!!
@@jeffmaloney3843 glad you enjoyed
On reverb, use the lowball filters, set the price high enough that the lowballs don’t feel like lowballs to you.
@@phladjki true
I've had similar experiences lately here in Indiana at my local GC. Not only that, but I've been able to get really good deals below asking price for some of their used equipment. The conversations have been related to the market of shoppers looking for used gear in great condition, so that may very well be whats pushing better offers etc. Just my experience lately, certainly not the case a few years ago.
Went into GC yesterday and was shocked by change in store layout, thought it was just local. Yep top shelf guitars and lower levels, and way more free space in store, (local store was always packed and poorly displayed). But didn’t try to sell anything, they never offered close to fair price in past, so seldom even inquire now.
I visited the Murrieta, CA GC, to grab a few sets of stings today. While there, I did a quick drive by the electric guitar section and thought it was odd that all of the high-end Gibson Les Pauls were on the lower rack unsecured.
I was at the same store a few days ago and all the new guitars had locks on them. Besides theft, we have had several moderate earthquakes.
The GC in Orange had the same lock protocols.
I noticed they had put all the cheap acoustics out in the main show room too.
Yes. They also put the expensive guitars lower in the racks on the walls and the cheap ones are much higher.
Very odd.
However, the drum sensors are always broken… only the Roland drums ever work…. That’s nice to know….
Didd’t buy the Alexis or zildjian drums because of that.
There is something great about having a local store…
Honestly, they need more chairs…
They need a coffee machine…
They need to make the place a hang out place for musicians….
Maybe several different rooms.
I love having the acoustic room to myself.
May several different glass sound enclosed rooms where people can go and just play the guitars and hang out.
Like a dressing room… sort of.
Private.
That would be great.. I've been to a few high end shops that do similar things to that
I went into Guitar Center last week and they had a brand new Gibson Les Paul Standard in bourbon burst marked down from $2800 to $2240. It wasn't part of their online Black Friday sales but the local store specifically had that guitar marked way down. I ended up buying it because it's a beautiful guitar that was at a price you're not really going to find it new in 2024. All the nice Gibsons and Fenders they had there were on the lowest and middle racks for people to grab, though most were locked on the headstock holders.
With all of the Reverb problems and costs anymore, GC could take advantage of the used market and make a killing! I really hope to see them get more into that arena. I heard that they were supposed to rebrand as a high end only shop and to me, that would be disasterous. Great video bro!!
@@MrRMB1 thanks, glad you dug it!
Its also a buyers market right now because so many people are in financial straights. It was the opposite 3-4 years ago when everyone was out of work with free covid money coming in. Popular guitars were harder to get because shipping was mostly in gridlock. Sellers were making big profits then.
True
I was through with guitar center 7 months ago. Couldnt get help because the employees were sitting around showing off thier noodling and shredding skills. Didn't even have the bass strings I use. Wanted to look at a stingray bass so just standing and looking and no help. 1st thing in the morning and 1 other customer besides me.
I am on vacation and really wanted a stingray so went to the local guitar center. Walked out with a mid level SBMM Stingray, 5 sets of roundwouds and tw sets of flat wounds, a case and the customer service was outstanding.
I dont think its Guitar Center in general but rather the employees and management at individual stores that make it suck.
Yep I've met great people at them and I've met real oxygen stealers
Even in LA, the 2nd hand market is hit and miss. With shipping prices as high as they are now, it doesn’t make sense to ship. GC already has the shipping infrastructure and end users searching. I’ve done the same thing as you and gotten a good deal
Yea they usually have fairly cheap shipping rates when you buy
I just sold a BC Rich Mockingbird to guitar center for some store credit on a different guitar I wanted. I bought it for $600 so I was expecting something like $200-300 but they actually offered me $375! Pleasantly surprised!
Nice!!!
I just called 2 guitar centers in my area, I told them both I had entry level stuff. One told me not to bother until maybe after Jan, the other was sure we can make you an offer but you need to bring it in. So it really depends on Management of each store, and the Buyer/store clerk you get
@@g.sferrazza10-13 seems to be the general consensus
Remember, too, that GC may also finance your guitar to that next buyer. So even if they get "low-balled" at maybe $1,900 with financing they will realistically net $500 on the next deal.
True
At my local GC store they told me a while ago they ruined a bunch of the high end guitars by keeping them up top too close to the lights and the extra heat and no moisture and now they still have em and marked them down but cant move em. That might have something to do with the location change of the merch.
@@infn8loopmusic makes sense I played a Jackson American series one and it was wrecked but on clearance
I had the very same experience trading a Fender Princeton amp and a Taylor guitar at Guitar Center. It makes me more likely to make purchases from them in the future. Sweetwater has always been great, but they don't seem to be making any deals anymore. My old sales rep would always take a little off an expensive purchase. But I agree 100% that Reverb just isn't worth it. Really if you can just find the guitars you really like and be content with them it will save a lot of stress. Thanks for the video!
It does seem the sweetwater deal have gotten smaller or they won't do it if it's a popular item
Guitar Center did start as a Pawn Shop and still has a Pawn Shop License but also sells New Gear. They do use a fair value for if you are selling versus trading. You came in reasonably and they tried to meet you in more or less the middle at $1750. Also, realize unless guitars are super high-end or vintage they seldom sell at a catalog price but rather at a street price. It's why I research and really think about the guitars I buy. I get the majority of them to keep, play and enjoy. To make money flipping guitars you have to really know what you are doing or just get lucky in my opinion. GC is on its way back from its flatline a few years ago. Let's see if the new CEO can get it back on track. One way to do that is to carry quality gently used gear and at the same time pay customers fair prices. Nothing upsets customers more than intentional or insulting low-ball offers.
@@stevedaulton9655 agreed. Lowballs will piss people off faster than almost anything
@@TheDistortionPrinciple I think your analysis is right on. When I am not in the Car business my other passion is music and playing guitars. I have two strong local music dealers one who is an exceptional luthier. I have a GC 50 miles away and until recently a Sam Ash that just closed permanently. 12 years ago GC was excellent then went through a real downslide of mostly lower-end insturments and dirty stores. I understand the new CEO is trying to bring them back - I think they need to focus on players at all levels and treat them right as well as cleaning and re-organizing and updating the stores is a great start. They already have a solid online operation 2nd to Sweetwater. People like a strong bricks and mortar store with solid online options that don't live within 20 miles of the location. This can be strong going forward.
The fees and shipping cost going the Reverb routes suck, I only sold one guitar last year but it went for more than I bought it for BECAUSE it was in like new condition and rare.
I visited the Guitar Center in Arlington, Texas this weekend - and they had a GREAT selection of guitars. A wide range of models at different price points. The used gear was fairly priced. Great selection of other gear too. Much better than in years past. Great staff. Shout out to The Dude!
@@billdo4134 the dude!!
I've found some good deals on guitars at my local GC over the years, some of my favorite guitars. So I'm glad to hear they're still buying used guitars. Haven't been over there for a while, may have to stop by and see what it looks like. Last time I went by there the front room was remodeled with teaching booths which I thought was kind of weird, and there seemed to be a lot less used gear, which kind of turned me off from stopping by. I also have a couple of guitars that I don't want any more and have struggled trying to figure out what the best way to sell them might be, and not wanting to hassle the shipping was a big barrier. I may have to re-think taking them to GC, as I had been figuring the price wouldn't be so good, but the lack of hassle has a lot to be said for it...
Best thing to do is try to find a used on on the GC website and calculate 60 percent of what they are selling it for and that's pretty close to what you should get from them
I noticed the same thing, but I was trying to sell a drum kit, so in this case, I didn't go through the trouble of schlepping the kit to the store to get a trade in value. Instead I waited months and finally had a some what reasonable offer on the kit and got it sold. But, I think it may be worth giving GC a try and if their offer is in the ball park, just let it go.
Seems pretty hit or miss. Maybe I got lucky
If you think GC is a pawnshop, you're exactly right. That's what they're licensed as. The takeaway is that with the demise of live music and the glut of Communist Chinese imports, the guitar(and related) market is saturated and you won't get anywhere near what you should. Best strategy is to buy only high-quality gear that you intend to keep for a VERY long time.
Hopefully your descendants will be able to realize a profit on Antiques Roadshow in the year 2525.
I travel quite a bit and am always stopping at GC locations and I have to say that the quality of instruments, both new and used varies from store to store. The nicest ones I've been to are Pittsburgh #1 followed by North Portland OR and Boston. The worst were Albany NY and Springfield MA. The main gripe that I have is the amount of shop wear on the new instruments. I was selling left and right on Reverb but in the last year, very very little. People lowballing was bad enough, now I'm getting obvious scam messages. Good video by the way.
@@Fatman-g8k yea I went to one to try out a 2500 dollar Jackson and the strings were laying on the frets, dead notes everywhere. Asked them to set it up so I could try it and they told me they could set it up for a charge of I bought. I asked them how was I to know if I wanted it or if I can't play it.
As a guy who regularly buys and sells guitars as a hobby thr 1500 to 1700 makes sense. I'd also go lower on Reverb because you never truly know what your going to get, and the trouble of sipping something like a les paul adds a lot of factors. I've gotten some worse then advertised guitars on Reverb from private sellers and it's literally such a pain to work the return I end up just taking the loss. I'd rather buy it in person anyway. This all makes sense to me being in that world.
@@ianfralen4838 id counter 1700 makes sense for a person looking to resell. This particular model routinely sells for over 2000. The good thing about reverb though is the company does give you decent buyer protection if someone ships you trash
I may have to try them again. I had a Les Paul, mint condition, one of their exclusives purple quilted figures and they low balled me 1,500! I said no not today. If they would have offered me what they offered you, I would have been happier and likely done the deal.
This was in August of this year, by the way.
I am interested to read this. I quit going to GC a few years ago when I moved. I had not seen an interesting instrument, new or used, for quite some time. Next time I am in Lansing MI or Grand Rapids, I will need to take a look.
@@joshwinkelstein407 it seems hit or miss from the comments. Depends on location I guess
I took about 10 guitar pedals to my local Guitar Center about a month ago with an idea of what I wanted to get for them, realizing it was gonna hurt a little bit. I actually walked out with more than I anticipated in the transaction was great. I immediately took the money they gave meand bought two pedals that they had in stock it was a killer quick easy process. Now I just need to learn how to play😮
@@AlanGeer playing is overrated. Cuts into collecting time
Had the exact same experience selling last month with a high end amp. I was satisfied with what I got and played some AWESOME guitars without having to buy any staff which was awesome great experience
Nice!
I was at our guitar center a few weeks ago and what I first noticed was that it was empty. I didn’t notice about where the high end guitars were placed. I usually shopped at Sam Ash and they went belly up which is why I went to GC. I never liked GG’s customer service which is basically nonexistent. I also noticed that they had a lot of used guitars at Sam Ash, and I traded quite a few there, but maybe that’s why they went out of business. I got pretty good deals, plus they would give you a gift card for buying something over $200. So it was a win-win situation for me.
Customer service is absolutely horrible at most of them I've been to
That's really amazing; I though for sure that they were going to come back with a super low ball offer like $1200. Although I have never sold them anything, I've seen them offer insultingly low amounts for desirable items, and the sellers took it! I have had very good results in TRADING IN quality gear with GC, but that was over 10-15 years ago. I actually had a guitar listed on CL and a GC salesman called me and offered more than my asking price if I wanted to do a trade, which I did. I ended up doing several trades with this particular salesperson at GC, just because his offers were so generous, and he would also discount the gear that I was trading towards!
@@PaisleyPatchouli it may come down to the manager and i have a decent vibe together. So maybe he was trying to do me a solid
I experienced the same surprise selling a '60's Gretsch amp. I think GC has finally discovered internet sales and I think they want to compete against reverb for selling. They have a good deal with UPS that keeps the cost of shipping very low. Buying/re-selling true vintega high end gear is pure profit for them.
@@ericadler22 yep a friend of mine bought a Laney aor combo from GC and the shipping I think he said was under 30
‘The used one at GC had one big problem…’ If they are pivoting to sell more vintage and high caliber used guitars, they need to either repair obvious issues in their high end gear or discount accordingly. Over the last few decades of going to Florida GCs, almost every time I was interested in a listed $2,500 or higher vintage instrument…there was always one glaring issue once I held the instrument…and never an offer to repair or discount accordingly…in each case I was able to get a top notch specimen for the same or less on Reverb. I wish them luck because its always better to be able to play in your hands prior to purchase, and that is a huge advantage for brick and mortar who have all the overhead and operating costs to cover.
I have seen a huge decline in the Reverb sales experience. Some people are asking outrageous prices up to 2 or 3x value of gear, while inlist things always slightly less than the lowest comparable, within reason, then get the same few Northborrough, MA located people hutting me up with stupidly low offers. The closest GC is 45min for me, so I havent even tried them. I may plan a trip and see what comes if it.
Yep reverb isn't much fun anymore
@TheDistortionPrinciple it stinks that is has become this, it has gotten progressively worse since Etsy bought it. Selling on eBay is like Russian roulette, so I only do that occasionally.
I had a similar experience at my local GC with a PRS. I’ve sold a bunch of guitars to this GC. Usually, they pay 60% of what the guitar usually posts for online. Lately, with the one PRS exception, they are only offering about 55%. They have a lot more used guitars than new. Everything I’ve sold to them could pass for new every single day.
I’ve sold on Reverb a lot more than I have sold to GC and that’s mainly because I’m in a very rural area with the nearest GC being an hour and a half away and my local shops rarely just want people to sell to them but if they will take something it’s 50% of what it is selling for. On the buying side I do feel like reverb has really hurt the used market all around. Sure there are a lot of items whose value has appreciated over the years but it’s full of the “I know what I’ve got” people who want crazy prices. You can ignore them but the issue is If they do eventually accept an offer it’s not reflected on the sold listing and it artificially inflates the asking prices. GC seems to be the last place I can get reasonable deals but it’s a constant roll of the dice. Terrible photographs most of the time has lead to me receiving guitars that I would not have bought if I had seen accurate pictures. I also very recently received I counterfeit knock off from them. I’m a big fan of Dimebag Darrell and a listing popped up that didn’t have pictures but the title was something I wanted. Bought it and called to get pictures. Never got the pictures because they said it was already packed up. Sucks but I was able to send it back. Bad thing is they have two more counterfeit guitars still listed online.
It’s kinda like the CarMax of Guitars I love the fact I can look at a wide variety of brands - and everything is unlocked now everything used to be locked up. I’ve purchased and returned instruments a couple of times,… with no issues.
One of the best return policies out there
You should check out Music Go Round. The one in St. Louis is amazing.
@@jasonalbert9939 I used to go there but one of the workers there and I don't get along. I do go into the st Charles one from time to time
I walked into a GC in Indianapolis (actually Greenwood), shopping for mid-range tele. I remember maybe one customer in the store and four staff. No one greeted me nor asked if they could help me. With that kind of customer service, I will shop elsewhere.
That's the thing that will cause me to leave a business quickly as well
They are pretty fair about trade-in prices here at the Nashville GC, they turn stuff over quickly. I never trade in anything unless I'm planning on buying something. Most employees won't tell you- but if you trade in ANYTHING you can get 10% off any purchase made that day. I've made out very well a couple times. Sold them a DS-1 for $15 (which was put up for $50), but got over $200 off a Mesa. AFAIK, that "loophole" still exists.
Wow, this is so spot on! I just sold a guitar to guitar center for more than I expected...Christmas is around the corner and money is tight. I have a guitar that I don’t play much ( as I have 3 guitars with the same configuration, so the guitar doesn’t bring anything new to the table) I put the guitar on FB market place and nothing ( cricket city). So, I figured that I would give guitar center a try( and I’m glad I did). I’ve never directly sold anything to GC, I’ve also would trade in and would get a good offer plus the 20% off new gear. I was also caught off guard, when they asked me what I wanted for the guitar...so, I asked $50.00 more than I expected to get...so we can negotiate from there, but much to my surprise they accepted the offer with no haggling! I figured, I came out a head...no having to pack the guitar, then ship it and eBay taking their fees etc...
@@HahahaVille glad it worked out well for you!
Guitar Center can afford it. These little shops on Reverb don't have the turnover. They are only going to sell a few guitars a month, maybe some pedals, etc... But that's enough for them to keep going, at least as a side line. Used gear at GC is more than a side line. These days it may even rival the new gear. Used gear is no longer just used gear. An old guitar is a Relic. A decent Tube Amp is Vintage. So quality gear is holding more of it's value, not everything, obviously. But it's like reselling a Toyota vs a Kia.
The trouble is every seller is called a shop. Most sellers are just a person selling 1 guitar. Reverb is kind of stupid that way. Everyone has a "shop".
It's odd, I went into my local guitar center and they only seem to have the low cost guitars in stock and on the floor; I was very disappointment in the selecion. all the expensive guitars are still behind a counter. This might because it is a small store.
They did have a lot of used gear; much more than I have seen in the past.
Building the value of the instrument to the customer has become the priority at Guitar Center. When this happens in an engaging and personalized approach people will tend to be more willing to invest more in that instrument 🎸
@@71beowulf good point
I always tell people if you buy something you really want a very high-quality thing, just keep it. you might end up with a grandchild or something one day or someone else that would have their lives changed forever when you pass it along to them. and the fact you sell it, you're only going to get half of what you paid for it even if it's in mint condition. and I mean you're always usually going to look back and regret selling it anyways
@@twirlyboggs without all the personal details this has to go for a very important reason
Maybe don't use guitars as a savings account?
Buy affordable quality. Buy only what you need. Limit what you have.
I’ve never had luck on Reverb. I’ve sold some stuff at Guitar Center recently and it was the standard low ball, which I get since they’re trying to flip the gear. The best I do is selling directly to someone on Craigslist. Probably depends if you live in a city with a lot of musicians if you want to do Craigslist.
I’ve had great luck on Reverb. Sold about 10 items over the past 5 years, and their fees are much lower than EBay.
around here gear sits on craigs list foreverrrrrrrrr......................
Last 4 times I went to GC and found a guitar I wanted, they were unwilling to give less than a 10% discount unless it was a floor model. Each time I went online, found a mom and pop store and got between 15-25% free shipping. I just can't believe they are doing well.
My local mom and pop doesn't really do any discounts. It's a cool shop though with great employees
@@TheDistortionPrinciple Doesn't have to be local. I call around. Takes a little bit of work, but seems like invariably there's always one who is willing to do a good deal. I only do this on guitars that come from makers well known for quality control and always check the reputation of the shop for dealing with returns if there is an issue.
@Guitarman007 this is true
Any of my slightly damaged gear, with light chips they always go around that 30% mark of the original sales price. Personally i haven’t sold anything on reverb for the exact reason your talking about. Although when I’ve brought in near mint gear to GC I feel like they offered me around 60% of the original sales price. Which would sorta even me out on reverb with the shipping fees. So for me it’s more convenient to just go to gc, and get a same day offer rather than wait it out on reverb. The payout has been the same for me generally though. The slight amount more I can offer on reverb is always offset by shipping costs.
Do not use prices listed on Reverb as the market price. Most of the items are listed way too high on purpose for shops to point to for thier listings and local sells. The reason is that when something sells on reverb, the site doesnt list what it actually sold for. It only lists the original asking price and that it sold. This gives people a false sense of value to the items they are wanting to sell their gear at.
It's funny you mention this. I have a very rare OD pedal that I put up on Reverb. I was getting offers of less than half of what it was worth. GC gave me 85% of what I wanted. I sure wish I had known you were offloading the wildwood. I would have snatched it up!
@@midwaymonster30 it was such a good guitar but I had something important come up. I think part of the reverb problem is for months now so many TH-camrs have told people to basically low ball everyone because it's a buyers market and if you can't get a deal try someone else because you're going to get one
@@TheDistortionPrinciple Yeah, I think you're right. People have gotten used to low ball offers being accepted, but that'll have to end. I won't sell a piece of gear that I can't stand to keep for a long while.
@@midwaymonster30 pretty much
It's funny you mention that. I have also had a recent experience at Guitar Center where I got more than I was initially expecting. I brought in a Gibson SG standard that I didn't play anymore. I was expecting $600. I was shocked when they offered my $900 for it. I also noticed the expensive acoustic guitars on the middle and lower racks. I don't like this idea. The Gibson J45 standard I wanted to buy had a big ding in it. I still think the high end guitars should be kept up high and out of reach. I like GC but their new guitars tend to have dings and scratches on them. They do give good discounts for that sort of thing, however, when I'm buying a high end guitar new I want it in pristine shape.
20 years ago, GC had much of their high end gear available to play without having to ask someone to unlock it. So it seems they are returning to their original model. Our local store is swamped w used gear, much of it low end stuff. I sell stuff back to them as I can’t be bothered w shipping after waiting for low ball offers.
That's strange to me because I was told recently by a Guitar Center employee that they typically can't offer anybody more than $1,000 for a piece of gear. They told me that that was their cap. 🤷🏽
Guess it depends on location
@TheDistortionPrinciple Interesting, I'm in Boise. May not be a big market for boutique guitars here.
$1000 cap on Cash handed to customer ... if the offer to you was for $1200, then you get $1,000 cash and $200 store Credit .... from my understanding
Never experienced problems selling items over 1k at GC.
@DakotaClayBand Could just be the GC or maybe the worker possibly. I did notice that they had used vintage guitars for sale behind the register. Maybe they meant cash sales which would make sense. Anything over 1k they have to cut a check for.
In the past Reverb was great but i have noticed sales have really decreased on Reverb. So it is good to know that GC is trying to step it up..
sounds like a shrewd move by GC, some things Reverb will NEVER be able to offer, no fees, shipping costs, packaging materials, time etc. AND more money...For buyers, probably free shipping, secure transaction and test drive, if GC markets this strategy correctly, could work
Yep!
The CEO is making a bunch of changes. One is making the best stuff more accessible. Another is making sure GC pays more than anywhere else while making the process fairly painless.
Ahhh nice!
I have sold a few guitars on reverb and bought one or two off reverb as well. I had a good experience with reverb but I understand I am a small sample. I also sold a wildwood LP 50s and a slash November burst. I sold them both for 2000, and I paid 2500 for them a year or two before. I saw guys selling the same guitars for 2500 or 2700 on reverb which is crazy to me. If I’m going to buy a used guitar off reverb, and especially if there is no return policy, it’s gonna have to be a significant discount. Otherwise I’d rather pay for a new guitar that has a return policy. Les Paul’s in particular vary so much and it’s not too hard to get a bad one.
The great thing about buying used on guitar center is the 45 day return. Definitely get a piece mind with that policy. I will not buy from reverb unless there is at least a 7 day return policy OR it’s a very low price. I guess GC can afford to move this used gear with a smaller margin because of how much product they move.
The good thing is even if the seller has a no return policy reverb does so it negates the sellers no returns
@@TheDistortionPrinciple oh, man I didn’t even realize that. That’s good to know. Is it a pain? I usually just disregard listings with no return policy unless it’s an epic deal and I get an excellent vibe from the seller.
Sounds like one way to look at it is that Reverb may be more of a buyer's market right now-- given stuff sits on there for months. I've sold a couple of things there though not lately. I've mostly been dissapointed by the low offers I'd have to beat to get it to move, so I haven't bothered. But I've bought a few things too and got reasonable deals. Given the amount of price competition on Reverb, seems to me that at least right now it may be that it's a better place to buy than to sell. GC on the other hand, I'm not sure-- it's been a while since I've been in to my local one, will have to stop by and see what things are looking like these days...
@@Syncopator reverb is definitely better place to sell currently
My experience on Reverb has been that’s all I ever received were lowball offers and it was more hassle than it was worth. When you sell at guitar Center you know you’re going to take a loss but I don’t want to deal with all the BS and everyone is protected by PayPal and reverb, so you may get that return before 30 days because someone wanted to “borrow” your guitar.
@@tonymarinelli7304 very true
Did their business model change? I took two Wildwood Spec Les Paul standards that I paid $3100 each. Almost new.
I got $1500 each
I didn’t care, I wanted something else and selling and haggling takes too long, I like to get what I want on the spot, no waiting
They did let me keep all my cases which had the nice paperwork, tools, pick guards that I took off, weird right?
They also gave me $600 on the SG standard that I paid $1750 for and $1000 on the Strat that was $1750.
All new too, like 1 year old. I walked out with an 81’ Black Beauty HHH, almost mint top, all original- frets, nibs, PUPs, hardware
@@JimMarshallUK they do have a new owner so it's possible they changed. At this store though the manager is very friendly and constantly on the floor checking on customers so it could just be the way he chooses to run it
@ That makes sense man.
My local GC is terrible, I have to move/climb the huge ladder myself to get up to the Gibson/PRS’s and they just watch. I don’t mind bc I like to get my hands on everything every 3-6 months. But it’s still off putting knowing they don’t care at all.
The place I traded was in Greenville, SC it’s a little nicer and bigger, better city but the manager was definitely not interested in building relations or the experience, he seemed upset to take 4 trade-ins vs sitting around.
I prefer boutique shops but unfortunately don’t have any near me, I’m about to move to Cherry Hill, NJ….maybe it’s better there
@JimMarshallUK maybe so. Charlotte used to be ok for GC when I lived over there
@@TheDistortionPrinciple I almost drove to Charlotte for a half priced Orange tube amp at GC, so I bet you’re right, they were nice on the phone.
So far I found ATL to have lots of amazing shops. Asheville, NC has lots of fake Gibsons in their shops, no serial # but asking $2500-$3000
@JimMarshallUK wow I always thought Asheville was Richie people. Shocked so many fakes
I already know im gonna get low balled at GC but i dont really mind as it saves me the hassle and fees from going online. But the plus side is you do get like a 10 percent discount which on bigger items is not bad so I just saved my used gear even if its cheap to trade in whenever I want a discount on something new.
@@kayvonabbaszadeh yep that's a good way to get an even bigger discount on new stuff
Reverb needs a minimum offer option. eBay has this and eBay owns Reverb. I was trying to sell a PRS SE Custom 24 with a hard case a year ago on Reverb for $470 plus $100 shipping. It was the least expensive option for that guitar. It was in nice condition, and the case looked brand new and originally cost $100. And people were low balling me offering $175-250. After a month or so, someone offered $440 which is very reasonable. 5-10% haggling is totally fair to me.
It has one. You can reject offers below a certain discount.
I personally had the opposite happen at the guitar center near me. They couldn't offer me more than $1800 for a guitar worth well over $3000. EVH USA wolfgang Eddie signature series. Like brand new, still in original box. 😐 I was a bit surprised since I have spent much money there over the years. I guess timing and location has alot to do with it, but I don't believe your experience to be typical
It definitely seems an outlier from the comments here. The store manager is a genuinely nice guy so he may be trying to do better
Our GC is high end is in a ROOM with a door. The cheap stuff is on the floor. The median prices are high up.
Oh yeah, I’ve got two Guitar Centers near me and they are honestly incredible stores. The people are awesome and they’re always very fair if I sell a pedal or something.
Nice glad they treat you well
I recently sold an amp and two guitars and was ok with the prices I got. It was close to what I’d get on Craigslist or offer up, but without the hassle.
Nice
I've had the same experience. I'm typically the individual in the acoustic room. And I noticed all the expensive Martins and tailors, we're on the lower levels.
I imagine it's a sales tactic. Why not put an expensive guitar in someone's hand and tempt him more to purchase..
By the way, it worked on me.
@@Win_Crowd_Win_Freedom nice congrats on the new guitar
Yes, I recently have been getting some good deals from GC when I’ve sold them product, particularly when I was buying something. I had a ton of good pedals and a few decent guitars to trade in on a Gibson. I still had a balance left over, but they overall were very fair.
Nice! What guitar did you get?
In the past you'd be lucky to get around the 50% range for your gear at Guitar Center unless there was a special promotion or trade-in deal going on, but it has definitely changed to be much more fair offers for your stuff there. Even some of the cheaper stuff can be well worth it to go ahead and trade-in when you factor in all the potential hassles involved with listing and shipping a guitar on-line. Reverb used to be the absolute BEST, but they got super greedy with their fees and it no longer is the go to. Guitar Center has become much more likely to work straight magic on trade deals and actually give a fair market value instead of only 50% if you're lucky.
@@gurleyz yep typically 60 now but the manager gave me 68
I just bought a les Paul from a guitar center and it felt like I was back in the early 2000s with the atmosphere and customer service they’ve definitely came a long way since the last time I went to a GC.
I'm hoping they are going to do a grand reset and get back on track as it seems they are
25 years ago my local GC had a bunch of nice guitars and amps and everything you would ever want to go along with them. The place was clean and there was ample staff. Now they are half empty, they only sell student grade crap guitars and crap solid state amps and very few accessories or effects, there is nobody working, the place is filthy…
I've definitely noticed similar vibes over the years. It's probably because they sell more of that beginner stuff in a year than they ever would a 3k boogie amp which would make them more profit
That’s an anomaly. My guitar center pays fractions of pennies on the dollar for high end stuff. You must have a store that is run well. I found a Gibson Les Paul I wanted, made an appointment with the salesperson I like who usually does right by me, then went through a list of what I have. They said “we want All of it” (probably because I’m not bringing in $100 cheapos). I get there and the manager (who is a colossal dbag and lowballs worse than people on Reverb) told me we’re not doing the deal and don’t even bother to bring the stuff in because they have too much inventory.
Ahh man that sucks. I will say the manager at this location is a genuinely nice guy
One time at Guitoy center in Mpls I bought a Korean dbl cutaway Hamer for $200 on a 90 day layaway-plan I wrote down the SN because I didn’t trust the salesman. Just something about him wasn’t right. The guitar tech who set it up, Dave Rusan did a great job. Happens to be Princes luthier that built his Cloud guitar. Great guy.
Oh I bet that was set up perfectly
@ He put in JB 59 PU’s and wired them to not cancel one another out in the middle position when the volume is zero on either one of the PU’s. Pretty cool. He’s worked on all my guitars.