Yeah, but what is the alternative? Craigslist? Ebay? Reverb? All full of scammers, hassles and fees, etc. You are paying guitar center the same as a pawn shop= convenience and immediate cash payment.
You shouldn't expect a good deal on a trade, ever. 50-60% of what they think they can sell for, that's the offer every single time I've ever traded anything in, anywhere. Considering how you're getting instant cash and don't have to deal with flakes and scammers and tire-kickers and lowballers, I'd say it's not really that bad of a deal for a lot of gear.
Guitar center pays 2/3 of what Reverb would bring on the same item... And if you were buying, they give you another 15% off on what you were purchasing. This isn't hard to figure out.
GC tried stealing back a used Fender Bassman I bought from them. Looking it over when I purchased it THEY discovered a cracked tube. I was told they would replace the tubes and look over the rest of the amp. Got sick of waiting for it so I figured I’d go pick up the amp and swap the tubes myself. I had to repurchase the amp. They took it back. When looking the amp over the GC guy said “this looks like an SVT.” I said “ it basically is. It was designed by the same guy.“ They gave me the run around with the tubes. They wouldn’t give me a matched set. I tried going to corporate about this whole thing. Nobody cares. All big business corporate companies do not care. Well, almost all. The only large music store I buy from is Sweetwater. They care. They follow through with the sale and make sure you’re happy, which I always am. BTW you will never get a fair deal trading anything in.
HOT TIP: Guitar Center sales are pushing bulk guitars that did not pass quality control in the factory. Now you know. Stay informed. There are hundreds of pallets of guitars that did 'not' pass QC that GC buys up and sells on blowout every year going back decades.
depends on the guy, I've talked them into ridiculous in my favor deals...but then again I could walk to the GC here it's not very far at all. AND everyone should know that these places buy up blemished guitars and gear....the one near me, had a brand new Marshall DSL40CRC (the made for GC limited edition in cream w/ celestion Marshall Vintage) that the speaker panel got pushed in and just cut off all the preamp tubes flush with the chassis I found in their dumpster brand new still with tags on it!! I grabbed it took it home took out the panel checked the whole thing out for any damage took the tube legs out with needle nose pliers went through the whole thing, put new tubes in it biased it and it works perfectly!! Also in the dumpster was a PRS Sonzera 50 combo with the same issues... both work perfectly! Did the same thing when Sam Ash closed which is right down the street from the GC here... I was finding all kinds of great stuff..brand new P.A. and guitar cables picks and stuff I was selling this stuff on eBay making good money! That's about all these places are good for anymore...but I will say the GC here isn't as bad as the stories I read here...pretty reasonable if you ask me, Found a nice Edwards LPS there for $800....bought a real nice playing old Ibanez AR350 for a great price and talked the guy into giving a free hard shell case because I paid in cash..I said "since I'm paying in cash why don't you throw in that case right there" he thought for a second as I stared at him, and I got it!
Sounds like GameStop. This is one of the reasons guitar center has had so much trouble staying afloat. It sounds like the second guy looked to see what others were buying or selling for and then changed their offer which is bs. Or it’s a bait and switch, which is also bs, and illegal. Meanwhile I’m getting emails from them telling me what massive savings I’ll get if I trade in my equipment. Not after hearing this! That’s for sure! 🤘
naw, he could have seen some blemishes or something that he didn't see when he first checked out the guitar, first off...always find the guitar you want, THEN show what you got, there's zero chance for what happened to your friend. leaving it there was dumb. AND they probably went to eBay which is what all pawn shops and music stores do, these guys realized they screwed up by NOT looking there and and your pals gave them the chance to change the deal...nothing was set in stone. but as I stated in another comment, this guy doesn't say what Charvel it is he leaves out a lot of pertinent details for anyone to make a good judgement call on this story.
@ Well that’s kinda what I said. They checked other sites to see what others were selling for. I also don’t think GC wants to be known as a pawn shop. Regardless. They gave him a quote and should have stuck with it.
"never attribute to malice what can be attributed to incompetence". the employees don't have any incentive to screw you on a trade in. they can't set a trade in value themselves, it needs to be approved by a manager. it was probably just a screw up by a company that makes plenty of mistakes
No harm was done. Nobody got cheated. They are in business to make money. If the first quote was wrong, they didn’t commit on paper and they have the right to change the deal any time before the transaction. You can’t expect a retailer to offer fair value, as they have to resell it. Changing the quote sucks, but they’re entitled to offer whatever they want. Trade-ins are not the way to go if you want fair value.
Just to give you an idea of who you're dealing with with at Guitar Center, or Sam Ash (when they were open), or any big box music store. I went into a local Sam Ash a few years ago and started talking to a nice kid who just started working there. He said he felt bad, because he didn't know a lot about guitars at that point and wanted to learn more. I told him not to feel bad, that it'd come with time and experience. To further illustrate my point, I had him call the store from his cell, and ask if they had any left handed amps in stock. We stood at the back of the store while a "more knowledgeable" employee searched the floor for ten minutes for said left handed amps, before getting the store manager. The store manager then spent another five minutes searching the store, before returning to the phone and apologizing, with the reassurance that he could order one,vas they like to do. We watched the entire thing from the back of the store. The kid felt a whole lot better after that. That's the caliber of people you're often dealing with at these places. I try to avoid dealing with them, and never trust them beyond the very basics.
Brought a Bugera 50 watt head into them to see what they would offer the tech hooked it up to a cab started playing it, turned to me said it should be so loud it should be melting his face. He never raised the master volume. Then offerd me a 100 and said it needed service. I sold it privately for way more than a 100.
On a trade-in, you should expect about half of what the retailer thinks they can sell it for. 60% if you're lucky. It's been consistently like that for years across all retailers. Don't go in uninformed. Research how much your item is selling for before you set foot in the store. Everyone has instant internet access on their phone. No excuse for not knowing what your gear is worth. My guess is that the first quote you got was from someone who doesn't know the ropes. Not surprising at GC. You might think it's a ripoff as a seller, but if you put yourself in the position of the retailer for a minute and understand what the retailer is having to do and deal with, you might soften up on that. These people are just trying to make a living at selling musical gear, and the profit margin for that is razor thin. The alternative is trying to sell it on CL or FB marketplace or Reverb, and that opens up a whole world of fun when you're just an average joe trying to sell something.
Yeah logic. Even if you have a great relationship with a small independent shop if you bring in some 2 year old modern gear you picked up on Black Friday for trade on another guitar and expect full retail back you're tripping. On anything mass produced that isn't vintage or rare it's just going to sit on the wall for months while the new versions regularly go on sale and the value fluctuates from month to month. It's way too much hassle. Maybe if you are upgrading to a high end guitar or an amp and money is changing hands the shop might do you a solid but you're still never getting full retail back or anywhere close to it. Agreed that if you think the store is wrong and they can "easily" sell it for way more then throw it up on Reverb and see what happens.
I can tell you that dealing with guitar center is insanity and a waste of time. I decided to build a guitar collection of 14 high end guitars 4 months ago and told guitar center I would buy them all from them if I got good deals. They NEVER moved more than 10 percent so I bought every guitar from either Alto music, Chicago Music Exchange or Pro Audio Star. The least discount I got was 30 percent off on a new guitar from those 3 dealers on line. The least expensive one was a new Gibson SG for 1300. The best deal was a new 2750 PRS John Mayer for 1650. Got PRS S2s with American pickups and PRS CE guitars in the 1400 to 1500 range which is a huge discount. If you buy new old stock, you can get a warranty and between 30 to 40 percent off sticker price. Offer until someone takes it because they have to move the new old stock to free up money to get the 2025 models.
Here is the thing though, if you were getting those crazy 30%/40% off deals, GC didn't want your business. Those other stores were off loading dead inventory at dealer cost or even at a loss. I worked in MI retail for a decade and most higher end guitars only make 30% margin. Some don't even make that.
I work at guitar center. First guy just quoted u wrong or quoted u for what it actually sells for. We don’t switch in the amount after u grab something to buy. It makes 0 difference to us sales ppl what u get for a used piece of gear. I’m sure someone probably explained to u what happened after I assume u asked why the price dropped. We do not get a say in how buy ins work and if we fuck it up even remotely, we get absolutely screamed at by corporate. Blame the shitty new ceo and not us
This sounds right to me. I have worked in piano stores most of my life, not as a salesman, but I have observed so many transactions and the sales people never quote a trade-in value until they know what piano the customer is interested to buy. I suspect the first person either made a mistake or there was a miscommunication/misunderstanding.
@TheGreyGhoul the first guy looked at guitar centers own listings on thier online for sale page. He matched the price of the same guitar they have for sale at another location (both guitars in excellent condition btw). Second looked at sold reverb listings...some which were years old and quoted from that. This guitar hasn't even been in production for a decade.
Philip McKnight did a video not too long ago, where he took a few guitars into GC for trade and encountered the same thing, but in his case got two different quotes on the same guitar from the same salesperson. How they quote seems very haphazard. It's not a thing they're really trained on, with strict guidelines and a handbook, but is instead culturally taught to the new guys and very much down to the perspective of the person you are working with. It's crappy that the second guy overrided the first guy, but he's probably in a supervisory position over him. Getting what seems to be a good deal overriden by somebody else at Guitar Center is a tale as old as time. I first encountered this phenomenon in 1985, when as kids we went in to grab a Marshall 4x10" on sale and got endless handoff and runaround by the dudes on the floor and their mysterious "manager" who apparently lived permanently behind a closed door and only emerged during a full moon. That was on an advertised sale. Repeat: there was an advertised sale and the dudes at GC were teaming up to try to negotiate a HIGHER price than the advertised sale. Of course, some things have changed since then and YMMV, but the overall crud at the center of the company is still there and managerially, is worse. From that perspective, you can see why they would feel they have zero obligation to honor a verbal quote for buying or trading your used equipment.
I've been in two independent guitar shops and one GC where "everybody" was too busy until I made a potential selection. In none of those cases was the store busy with regular traffic. If they had been legitimately busy with regulars, I'd understand they wouldn't want to pre-process twice and waste time. I was certain that it would've been a sliding scale of trade-in worth like at a car lot. So, what I do now, is to "trade in" for a real expensive piece, get the value and then change my mind after thoughtful repose. Then, if they can recalculate worth that is mostly close to that (doesn't have to be exact) for what I want , I do the deal.
@@andrewkaufman6788 we did, we looked up guitar center used section, got an idea from the same guitar they had in the used section at another guitar center
@@timjenkins502 The used section is already marked up from where they bought the guitar from price. They make money on both sides: a low used quote and then they jack the price up to make even more money. Their excuse at times is they did a repair or a new set up on it BUT that isn't your issue, it's theirs if they bought it used.
I once went to sell a Suhr SH model to a guy. He traded a Gibson Custom Shop LP that was around $6500 new and a brand new Custom Shop Strat to the store. They didn't even give him enough to buy the guitar from me and I felt so bad. Had to go to the ATM to pull more money out. I didn't want to sell it to him and support the robbery but he insisted. He really wanted the guitar. My dislike for those stores grew exponentially that day
I tried to sell my Atkin acoustic to No Tom Guitars on Denmark street once. The guy at the counter wouldn’t look me in the eye - he just shrugged and off-hand said ‘well I could give you 800 for it’, so I pointed out to him that he had an identical one on the wall for 3000. ‘Yeah, but that’s a special edition,’ he said, and what really pissed me off was he couldn’t even keep a straight face when he said it, like he was basically laughing at me. So I took my guitar and left and I’ve never been back, and that’s the end of the story.
I have bought guitars from them online used and called to verify the condition only to have something arrive completely the opposite of what they described. I remember one particular time I called and talked to the same guy that described the guitar to me and he gave me complete attitude. A real nice way to treat a customer who just spent $1200....seeesh
That's sucks. I had the opposite. I've bought numerous things online calling first for condition report. They've always been super cool, sent me photos on their personal cells, etc. Then the fact they offer a 45 day no questions asked return on used gear is pretty insane. I bought a $1200 amp that ended up being bad. They offered to pay to fix, pay for shipping back to them for return, or instore return, my choice. Couldn't ask for better service. Just bought a $2300 SG and the guy measured the action for me, detailed photos to my cell, played it and told him his opinion on the neck and frets, etc. Showed up and plays and looks EXACTLY as described. Honestly, I do better at GC than on Reverb, or maybe about the same.
I was told they pay 60% of eBay sold price the last time I asked a GC employee. Plus 15% discount on any new items you buy the day you sell something there. You sell at a discount there for convenience.
I did a lot of trade ins when I worked at GC. I doubt it was a scam. First guy probably gave a bad quote. When I worked there we'd have taken the loss and treated it as training opportunity. But I worked there a long time ago before private equity scum bought them.
@JD-vj4go no doubt that could be the case. But it still sucks being told a number then shopping based off the amount you were told then find out at the moment of purchase you aren't getting what you thought.
@timjenkins502 Agreed. I'd have just taken the loss. Then again I worked at GC before the Internet was common. We wanted repeat business. Not sure that's still a thing in retail.
I sold a 93 Les Paul Standard to guitar center a few years back.… Got $2000!!!! They said it was a rare color for that year. They said if I had the original pickups it would've been more. It had been modded by the previous owner
I reckon it was because the acousic was the same price as what was initially offered and they were expecting cash as well as the Charvel for something more expensive. I've that before in a guitar store.
This happened to me twice, almost exactly the same experience, at two separate locations, a few years back. Seems like it's something they do regularly.
Not a good experience at all, a few years ago I applied for their Guitar Center store card and after seeing all the negative videos regarding GC, I terminated my card that I never used once. No retail establishment should have employees that displayed the , for lack of a better word, " work ethics" that you and your friend was put through. Keep the Charvel and get rid of GC.
That sucks. Great playing by the way. The last time I bought something from Guitar Center it was a midi keyboard that I bought online. I paid for a brand new keyboard in the box. I received a best up floor model that was missing its power cable, midi cable, manual and box. Just got the keyboard itself and it was all kinds of beat up. Contacted them online, totally unapologetic. I had to drive it to the nearest GC an hour away to return it. Never bought from them again since that experience.
I mean if you can don't ever buy something online if they have an actual store somewhere around. I did the same thing bought some Milwaukee tools from the Home Depot online because there was a sale ending the next day. Did in store pickup and the ones they picked out for me were in a beat up and crushed box with the batteries drained so much that they wouldn't even charge. The customer that they don't have to look in the face is the one who is going to end up with the dregs from the used it for 30 days and returned it pile.
I called Guitar Center last month wanting a used Alverarez mdr 70 slot head and they had one at a different locations. They said it could be here in two days . I ask how much ? $1100 dollars. I said no thanks but I appreciate your time. Two weeks ago I found on at my local shop for $750 tax included out the door .
I bought an Ibanez 5 string bass from that very guitar center you are referring to. It’s been a minute and I still have that pos. Paid way too much for it and they wouldn’t budge on price. It’s whatever…it’s a chain.
I snagged a killer Ibanez SV with just age wear and great price. BUT, I just bought it.. no trade-in. So Yes Virginia! There IS a Santa Claus! Best Regards and Best Wishes!
It could be the first guy made the mistake. Values of used instruments have never been easier to find. Completed listings on eBay, prior sales on Reverb etc. Asking price on Reverb can be helpful but they can also be very misleading. You can ask $1M for a Squire Tele but you'll never get it. Your friend should do his homework prior to negotiating a deal. Knowledge is power.
i had a fishy situation bought a kramer b special and never came they said the employee accidentally dropped it behind the outgoing table but i think he tried to steal it or maybe even swapped it because the truss rod in this guitar is broken.
@@timjenkins502 yeah i'm gonna wedge the neck at the body already installed a gotoh locking nut and tuners just need to wedge it and add string tree and upgrade the volume knob shread really nice though and luckily the neck is pretty close to straight.
I’m gonna get a job there this summer when school’s out: I’m a teacher. Maybe I can sell Les Pauls & BC Riches. I’m already applying to stores in my area to make sure I get in
Yeah, I decided a few years ago that I would never do business with GC ever again. There is absolutely no reason to besides convenience. If you owe a dope dealer a few hundred and need the money right now, that's where you go. Otherwise, you are better off going ANYWHERE else for any purpose.
I haven't been to a guitar center but 1 time since I started playing guitar again 2 years ago. They don't have the same vibe they used to have back in the 90s
I had gone to do a trade, same deal as you guys and the deal was not good, plus the normal for guitar center is 1 penny for the case. I walked and went to a different store and got a better deal. Not the best place for dealing
Yes, the original offer was based on the exact same guitar they have at another location. The second guy looked up previously sold on reverb. Even though the ones on reverb sold years ago he wanted to use that number to go on. This particular Charvel hasn't been in production for over 10 years
1st guy was probably quoting what your guitar was worth but, not what they would give you for trade value. I had some guitars i was trading in one time and they quoted me some low price and i was like, well, i guess just cause i was looking to get whatever and some guy standing behind me said hey, i`ll give you x amount which was a lot better than gc said they`d do and i said, heck okay. here ya go, and took the money right in front of the g/c guy. i guess it was a win/win for everyone. lol but ya, g/c will not give you what the thing is actually worth so they always plan to make money on trade-ins. not really a scam but just a business policy they have. i get it. it`s a retail business afterall.
Actually I have :( the last three guitars that I have purchased from GC on line have damage and I'm sure not from shipping. I will no longer be purchasing items from them.
Sorry for your experience. Guitar Centers biggest issue is not training their employees. What service you get depends on what day you go and who you deal with. It shouldn’t be that way. Trades will continue to be a bad path for GC as long as customers feel like they are not being dealt with honestly.
OMG!!!! Could you take any longer to get to the point of the story! Geez this was painful, I could only make it to 2:04 minutes into the video before I started dozing off. I don't even care how the story ends or what happened anymore as the way you tell a story is enough weirdness for me.
Seems very odd! In fact if you’re going to buy one of their guitars it would make more sense to give you a little bit more for your trade just to get the deal done!
this happened to me trying to sell a banjo. total scammer. went from getting $600 to another guy coming and saying “we don’t use UVM anymore” (aka, we find the lowest sold one and lowball you to hell) they wanted to give me $330
All of these chain stores have been scammers since the '70's when I use to go to Daddy's Junky Music stores..or even small mom and pop music stores around the New England area. ALL of them went out of business decades ago. Guitar Ctr is no different. I'm surprised that they even have any brick and mortar stores left.
I'm lucky to live in driving distance of quite a few really good legacy music stores that still do the thing. I like negotiating a little. But guitar center knows that there are things people need to touch. Very few players will spend several thousand on a guitar or amp and not want to play it first.
Yah, it’s an exercise in futility to think you can get a good deal when trading in a guitar for a new purchase. I wouldn’t bash GC cuz they’re a brick n mortar business and have to make a buck too. Most don’t take into consideration their carrying cost to handle the trade and eventually get it resold. It’s unfortunate that the sales person that was originally doing the assessment probably was a newb and just didn’t know what he/she was doing. While it can be a hassle, always expect to list and sell your own gear on Reverb or eBay if you expect to get anywhere close to the true value (after selling costs 😮). The disappointing spread when doing a trade should be assumed your ‘convenience fee’.
Guitar Center is SHIT, point blank! Tried to sell me used gear for new... Purchased online, picked up at store, (Spark Mini) opened and obviously used (dirt and dust all over) but still tried to pass it off as new... Also their financer on their "Gear Cards" Synchrony Bank is the worst! Trade in value there is a joke... will never visit them again, online or in person as they are nothing but greedy corporate snakes.
I’ve never been to a GC. I figure if they are so incapable of having a guy taking halfway decent pictures of their sale items. Seriously! Have you seen their photographs???
@KT-fn6me the other guy must have left for lunch or something, he wasn't in the store the second time around. He walking in passed us as we were leaving
I imagine this is probably individuals doing shady deals. The GC here where I live is decent at quotes. Plus you should've been told you get an extra 10% off towards a new guitar when you trade in a guitar(s). it sucks that individuals doing shady stuff ruin the opportunity for one top trade and still Get a good deal. I personally don't like selling on platforms. the scams are over the top.
If you sink to the point where you need to make a trade right away at a Pawn shop or Guitar Center, instead of taking time to sell it on Reverb and making twice as much, you truly have sunk to a low place in life.
@guitarcafeguy this trade in wasn't a "have to" or desperate situation at all. Before going through the trouble of selling online Dan wanted to see what Guitar Center would do, the first offer was decent enough to just go ahead and go through with it....the ending offer was no where near it
@ They are like a Pawn shop where at best you get 30% of what you could sell it for privately. That is never worth it, even if you sell on Reverb and have to pay $100 for offering free shipping you still come out ahead.
It is hard to get a good deal doing a trade in. Time is money. And this type transaction requires the most time and now they still have another guitar to sell. A 1000$ instrument cost a retailer around 500$-600$ . That profit is necessary to pay the bills. So a used guitar that retails for 1000$ is really only worth 500$-600$ to that seller. Bottom line: if you bring in a used guitar worth 1000$ dollars there is simply no way a buisiness can give you more than about 600$ credit on it.
@ If you sell a guitar for half its new value, someone absolutely will buy it quick on Reverb and even with shipping cost youll still make more than what GC or a Pawn shop will offer. They already get new guitars around 50% off so they cant offer more than 30% as they will lose it in taxes.
youngings.......live and learn, we all have to do it to learn the hard way.......cant tell someone what to do until they experience it.......goes for me too when i was young......i will say this though.....get everything and anything in writing, would of taken 2 seconds to get the quote and signed on a receipt at the store and if they dont want to walk out
@Joe-pb3lx crazy thing is it wasn't even just a quote, Dan could have filled out the paper work right then and did the trade in...but wanted to make sure he found something he wanted in there first...should have just taken the first offer I suppose
Price was just fine until he played Stairw... to... Heavn.... Yep all GC sales have been replaced by used car salesmen. Times is tough, keep eyes on that wallet.
Yeah. I don't trust the most of the time. They don't know what the hell they're doing. I brought in a 1985 in the box. Mint heavy metal pedal 19. Yeah, 85 like I said Japan. And the guy wanted to give me 35 bucks for until the manager came out and? Looked it up and I wound up getting I think two fifty
No one tried to scam your friend. The first guy just didn’t know what he was doing. Trust me, they make very little off of trade ins and no matter how the guitar is paid for the store still makes the same amount of money.
@jasonalain5293 it was all around a bad experience, scammed or not. The first guy looked up guitar ceneters own listening of the exact same guitar and matched the sell/trade value of it. The second guy did not. He looked up a previously sold reverb listing and went purely on that. It was even a different model
@@timjenkins502This guy is an employee at guitar center, don't take it personally. He just wants to scam you as much as possible, that's how they stay in business. Until they're not.
The Boise, ID store had been forcing purchase payments via tap to pay on a cell phone the employees would pass around. I mentioned my concerns with it and reluctantly paid. After I posted a YT video about my experience, the tap to pay requirement went away right before Christmas.
It seems people who play Guitar well are the most Naive and don't know Guitar center is nothing more than a Car dealership for Guitars ! It has only one Goal to rip you off for as much money as possible ! Its time to wake up and smell the truth ! But there are still people out there that don't know Democrats are pure Evil !!
only unexperienced clowns go to GC. I've talked them into great deals for me...I never lose a negotiation when it comes to gear. You don't even say what kind of Charvel...not every Charvel is good. They probably found something wrong with it while you went back shopping, you should find the guitar first then show what you got... you left them with it while you shopped and gave them the opportunity to change their mind, take it as a learning situation. But yea, your story falls on deaf ears for not giving better details..who know what you traded, could have been beat up or who knows what. you're a terrible witness, I'd dismiss you in court as a poor witness
Not Guitar Center but I was interested in a trade in, found a guitar I liked, offered my Fender Player Strat for a chunk of the price and they offered me less than 1/3rd of the retail price... It's in mint condition and set up great too. I just walked out. How they can quantify hanging a guitar up on a wall costing them hundreds of dollars... Unbelievable.
,,,imo......no your not out of line,,,.....the first quote should have been honored,..period,.....he works there,,you asked him,,,..(we never go into any store,,get a quote,,and instantly assume we need,or want,another,,..hold your ground,,your the customer,,..you showed your item,,,they know what they saw,...go back and complain to owner,..get your first quote,,.....a Charvel,..wow,,.in any condition,,should bring a fair trade value,.( I know my guitars at 64 y.o.),,..you did not bring a squire,harly,b...!! A Charvel,...........complain,..get what the first quoted you for,,,....period,..................tnx for this reality check,.pat& family,,land o' lakes,wi....(imo,,who are they,,a used car dealer,,,no),,,?...........I will tell all my friends to watch this vid too..........,,,,,peace,brother -,,, great intro run,....you know it..
Always tell the staff to write down the trade value, date, and sign the slip prior to looking for another guitar. Then they are obligated to give you that trade in price. If they won't do it then you know your going to take a beating on your trade...Car dealerships do they same type bullshit!!!!
You should never ever ever ever expect a good deal trading in at Guitar Center!
Yeah, but what is the alternative? Craigslist? Ebay? Reverb? All full of scammers, hassles and fees, etc. You are paying guitar center the same as a pawn shop= convenience and immediate cash payment.
He's not too bright is he?
You shouldn't expect a good deal on a trade, ever. 50-60% of what they think they can sell for, that's the offer every single time I've ever traded anything in, anywhere. Considering how you're getting instant cash and don't have to deal with flakes and scammers and tire-kickers and lowballers, I'd say it's not really that bad of a deal for a lot of gear.
just like that video game store lol
You get 60% of retail value, and they base it off what they actually sell for used.
That playing at the beginning was great
Perhaps the first guy just missed quoted a price.
Guitar Center is a data collection/sale company that has a side gig selling guitars.
Simple mistake = weird . That’s the internet in 2025 😂😂😂
Guitar center pays 2/3 of what Reverb would bring on the same item... And if you were buying, they give you another 15% off on what you were purchasing. This isn't hard to figure out.
28 years since I last visited GC.
GC tried stealing back a used Fender Bassman I bought from them. Looking it over when I purchased it THEY discovered a cracked tube. I was told they would replace the tubes and look over the rest of the amp. Got sick of waiting for it so I figured I’d go pick up the amp and swap the tubes myself. I had to repurchase the amp. They took it back. When looking the amp over the GC guy said “this looks like an SVT.” I said “ it basically is. It was designed by the same guy.“ They gave me the run around with the tubes. They wouldn’t give me a matched set. I tried going to corporate about this whole thing. Nobody cares.
All big business corporate companies do not care. Well, almost all. The only large music store I buy from is Sweetwater. They care. They follow through with the sale and make sure you’re happy, which I always am.
BTW you will never get a fair deal trading anything in.
HOT TIP: Guitar Center sales are pushing bulk guitars that did not pass quality control in the factory. Now you know. Stay informed. There are hundreds of pallets of guitars that did 'not' pass QC that GC buys up and sells on blowout every year going back decades.
depends on the guy, I've talked them into ridiculous in my favor deals...but then again I could walk to the GC here it's not very far at all. AND everyone should know that these places buy up blemished guitars and gear....the one near me, had a brand new Marshall DSL40CRC (the made for GC limited edition in cream w/ celestion Marshall Vintage) that the speaker panel got pushed in and just cut off all the preamp tubes flush with the chassis I found in their dumpster brand new still with tags on it!!
I grabbed it took it home took out the panel checked the whole thing out for any damage took the tube legs out with needle nose pliers went through the whole thing, put new tubes in it biased it and it works perfectly!!
Also in the dumpster was a PRS Sonzera 50 combo with the same issues... both work perfectly!
Did the same thing when Sam Ash closed which is right down the street from the GC here... I was finding all kinds of great stuff..brand new P.A. and guitar cables picks and stuff I was selling this stuff on eBay making good money!
That's about all these places are good for anymore...but I will say the GC here isn't as bad as the stories I read here...pretty reasonable if you ask me, Found a nice Edwards LPS there for $800....bought a real nice playing old Ibanez AR350 for a great price and talked the guy into giving a free hard shell case because I paid in cash..I said "since I'm paying in cash why don't you throw in that case right there" he thought for a second as I stared at him, and I got it!
Sounds like GameStop. This is one of the reasons guitar center has had so much trouble staying afloat. It sounds like the second guy looked to see what others were buying or selling for and then changed their offer which is bs. Or it’s a bait and switch, which is also bs, and illegal. Meanwhile I’m getting emails from them telling me what massive savings I’ll get if I trade in my equipment. Not after hearing this! That’s for sure! 🤘
naw, he could have seen some blemishes or something that he didn't see when he first checked out the guitar, first off...always find the guitar you want, THEN show what you got, there's zero chance for what happened to your friend. leaving it there was dumb. AND they probably went to eBay which is what all pawn shops and music stores do, these guys realized they screwed up by NOT looking there and and your pals gave them the chance to change the deal...nothing was set in stone. but as I stated in another comment, this guy doesn't say what Charvel it is he leaves out a lot of pertinent details for anyone to make a good judgement call on this story.
@ Well that’s kinda what I said. They checked other sites to see what others were selling for. I also don’t think GC wants to be known as a pawn shop. Regardless. They gave him a quote and should have stuck with it.
"never attribute to malice what can be attributed to incompetence". the employees don't have any incentive to screw you on a trade in. they can't set a trade in value themselves, it needs to be approved by a manager. it was probably just a screw up by a company that makes plenty of mistakes
No harm was done. Nobody got cheated. They are in business to make money. If the first quote was wrong, they didn’t commit on paper and they have the right to change the deal any time before the transaction. You can’t expect a retailer to offer fair value, as they have to resell it. Changing the quote sucks, but they’re entitled to offer whatever they want. Trade-ins are not the way to go if you want fair value.
Exactly right.
Just to give you an idea of who you're dealing with with at Guitar Center, or Sam Ash (when they were open), or any big box music store.
I went into a local Sam Ash a few years ago and started talking to a nice kid who just started working there. He said he felt bad, because he didn't know a lot about guitars at that point and wanted to learn more. I told him not to feel bad, that it'd come with time and experience. To further illustrate my point, I had him call the store from his cell, and ask if they had any left handed amps in stock. We stood at the back of the store while a "more knowledgeable" employee searched the floor for ten minutes for said left handed amps, before getting the store manager. The store manager then spent another five minutes searching the store, before returning to the phone and apologizing, with the reassurance that he could order one,vas they like to do.
We watched the entire thing from the back of the store.
The kid felt a whole lot better after that.
That's the caliber of people you're often dealing with at these places. I try to avoid dealing with them, and never trust them beyond the very basics.
Cool story bro!!
Brought a Bugera 50 watt head into them to see what they would offer the tech hooked it up to a cab started playing it, turned to me said it should be so loud it should be melting his face. He never raised the master volume. Then offerd me a 100 and said it needed service. I sold it privately for way more than a 100.
On a trade-in, you should expect about half of what the retailer thinks they can sell it for. 60% if you're lucky. It's been consistently like that for years across all retailers. Don't go in uninformed. Research how much your item is selling for before you set foot in the store. Everyone has instant internet access on their phone. No excuse for not knowing what your gear is worth. My guess is that the first quote you got was from someone who doesn't know the ropes. Not surprising at GC.
You might think it's a ripoff as a seller, but if you put yourself in the position of the retailer for a minute and understand what the retailer is having to do and deal with, you might soften up on that. These people are just trying to make a living at selling musical gear, and the profit margin for that is razor thin. The alternative is trying to sell it on CL or FB marketplace or Reverb, and that opens up a whole world of fun when you're just an average joe trying to sell something.
Yeah logic. Even if you have a great relationship with a small independent shop if you bring in some 2 year old modern gear you picked up on Black Friday for trade on another guitar and expect full retail back you're tripping. On anything mass produced that isn't vintage or rare it's just going to sit on the wall for months while the new versions regularly go on sale and the value fluctuates from month to month. It's way too much hassle. Maybe if you are upgrading to a high end guitar or an amp and money is changing hands the shop might do you a solid but you're still never getting full retail back or anywhere close to it.
Agreed that if you think the store is wrong and they can "easily" sell it for way more then throw it up on Reverb and see what happens.
I can tell you that dealing with guitar center is insanity and a waste of time. I decided to build a guitar collection of 14 high end guitars 4 months ago and told guitar center I would buy them all from them if I got good deals. They NEVER moved more than 10 percent so I bought every guitar from either Alto music, Chicago Music Exchange or Pro Audio Star. The least discount I got was 30 percent off on a new guitar from those 3 dealers on line. The least expensive one was a new Gibson SG for 1300. The best deal was a new 2750 PRS John Mayer for 1650. Got PRS S2s with American pickups and PRS CE guitars in the 1400 to 1500 range which is a huge discount. If you buy new old stock, you can get a warranty and between 30 to 40 percent off sticker price. Offer until someone takes it because they have to move the new old stock to free up money to get the 2025 models.
Here is the thing though, if you were getting those crazy 30%/40% off deals, GC didn't want your business. Those other stores were off loading dead inventory at dealer cost or even at a loss. I worked in MI retail for a decade and most higher end guitars only make 30% margin. Some don't even make that.
I work at guitar center. First guy just quoted u wrong or quoted u for what it actually sells for. We don’t switch in the amount after u grab something to buy. It makes 0 difference to us sales ppl what u get for a used piece of gear. I’m sure someone probably explained to u what happened after I assume u asked why the price dropped. We do not get a say in how buy ins work and if we fuck it up even remotely, we get absolutely screamed at by corporate. Blame the shitty new ceo and not us
This sounds right to me. I have worked in piano stores most of my life, not as a salesman, but I have observed so many transactions and the sales people never quote a trade-in value until they know what piano the customer is interested to buy. I suspect the first person either made a mistake or there was a miscommunication/misunderstanding.
@TheGreyGhoul the first guy looked at guitar centers own listings on thier online for sale page. He matched the price of the same guitar they have for sale at another location (both guitars in excellent condition btw). Second looked at sold reverb listings...some which were years old and quoted from that. This guitar hasn't even been in production for a decade.
u r right.. read my comment above
Philip McKnight did a video not too long ago, where he took a few guitars into GC for trade and encountered the same thing, but in his case got two different quotes on the same guitar from the same salesperson. How they quote seems very haphazard. It's not a thing they're really trained on, with strict guidelines and a handbook, but is instead culturally taught to the new guys and very much down to the perspective of the person you are working with. It's crappy that the second guy overrided the first guy, but he's probably in a supervisory position over him. Getting what seems to be a good deal overriden by somebody else at Guitar Center is a tale as old as time. I first encountered this phenomenon in 1985, when as kids we went in to grab a Marshall 4x10" on sale and got endless handoff and runaround by the dudes on the floor and their mysterious "manager" who apparently lived permanently behind a closed door and only emerged during a full moon. That was on an advertised sale. Repeat: there was an advertised sale and the dudes at GC were teaming up to try to negotiate a HIGHER price than the advertised sale. Of course, some things have changed since then and YMMV, but the overall crud at the center of the company is still there and managerially, is worse. From that perspective, you can see why they would feel they have zero obligation to honor a verbal quote for buying or trading your used equipment.
I've been in two independent guitar shops and one GC where "everybody" was too busy until I made a potential selection. In none of those cases was the store busy with regular traffic. If they had been legitimately busy with regulars, I'd understand they wouldn't want to pre-process twice and waste time. I was certain that it would've been a sliding scale of trade-in worth like at a car lot. So, what I do now, is to "trade in" for a real expensive piece, get the value and then change my mind after thoughtful repose. Then, if they can recalculate worth that is mostly close to that (doesn't have to be exact) for what I want , I do the deal.
Love that opening solo! Reminded me of Mr. Scary! Very cool!
Why didn't you guys do research yourself on how much they go for before even going in
@@andrewkaufman6788 we did, we looked up guitar center used section, got an idea from the same guitar they had in the used section at another guitar center
@@timjenkins502 The used section is already marked up from where they bought the guitar from price. They make money on both sides: a low used quote and then they jack the price up to make even more money. Their excuse at times is they did a repair or a new set up on it BUT that isn't your issue, it's theirs if they bought it used.
@@timjenkins502that’s the problem. Ur looking at the wrong thing. Always check what they actually sold for on reverb not asking prices
I once went to sell a Suhr SH model to a guy. He traded a Gibson Custom Shop LP that was around $6500 new and a brand new Custom Shop Strat to the store. They didn't even give him enough to buy the guitar from me and I felt so bad. Had to go to the ATM to pull more money out. I didn't want to sell it to him and support the robbery but he insisted. He really wanted the guitar. My dislike for those stores grew exponentially that day
I tried to sell my Atkin acoustic to No Tom Guitars on Denmark street once. The guy at the counter wouldn’t look me in the eye - he just shrugged and off-hand said ‘well I could give you 800 for it’, so I pointed out to him that he had an identical one on the wall for 3000. ‘Yeah, but that’s a special edition,’ he said, and what really pissed me off was he couldn’t even keep a straight face when he said it, like he was basically laughing at me. So I took my guitar and left and I’ve never been back, and that’s the end of the story.
I have bought guitars from them online used and called to verify the condition only to have something arrive completely the opposite of what they described. I remember one particular time I called and talked to the same guy that described the guitar to me and he gave me complete attitude. A real nice way to treat a customer who just spent $1200....seeesh
That's sucks. I had the opposite. I've bought numerous things online calling first for condition report. They've always been super cool, sent me photos on their personal cells, etc. Then the fact they offer a 45 day no questions asked return on used gear is pretty insane. I bought a $1200 amp that ended up being bad. They offered to pay to fix, pay for shipping back to them for return, or instore return, my choice. Couldn't ask for better service. Just bought a $2300 SG and the guy measured the action for me, detailed photos to my cell, played it and told him his opinion on the neck and frets, etc. Showed up and plays and looks EXACTLY as described. Honestly, I do better at GC than on Reverb, or maybe about the same.
I was told they pay 60% of eBay sold price the last time I asked a GC employee. Plus 15% discount on any new items you buy the day you sell something there. You sell at a discount there for convenience.
Hint:
Guitar retailers are in it for themselves and in it for money profit only.
They never want to work with trade ins. FACTS
@@RollerCoasterFenatic seems to be the case
@@timjenkins502always get quote in writing and dated
Not even a minute into the video and i get hit with a Megadeth level riff: 0:00
Get your quoted offers in writing unless you
are going to trade right away.
without the details it's a pointless vid mate!
@shaunlynch-u6x im going to make a follow up video regarding some questions and comments
I did a lot of trade ins when I worked at GC. I doubt it was a scam. First guy probably gave a bad quote. When I worked there we'd have taken the loss and treated it as training opportunity. But I worked there a long time ago before private equity scum bought them.
@JD-vj4go no doubt that could be the case. But it still sucks being told a number then shopping based off the amount you were told then find out at the moment of purchase you aren't getting what you thought.
@timjenkins502 Agreed. I'd have just taken the loss. Then again I worked at GC before the Internet was common. We wanted repeat business. Not sure that's still a thing in retail.
@@JD-vj4go Bad quote or not you honor it
I sold a 93 Les Paul Standard to guitar center a few years back.… Got $2000!!!! They said it was a rare color for that year. They said if I had the original pickups it would've been more. It had been modded by the previous owner
That's GC for you.
Don't expect to come out on top!
I reckon it was because the acousic was the same price as what was initially offered and they were expecting cash as well as the Charvel for something more expensive. I've that before in a guitar store.
This happened to me twice, almost exactly the same experience, at two separate locations, a few years back. Seems like it's something they do regularly.
Perhaps first guy was new. More senior employee saw quote and it didn't look right and checked the price himself.
Not a good experience at all, a few years ago I applied for their Guitar Center store card and after seeing all the negative videos regarding GC, I terminated my card that I never used once. No retail establishment should have employees that displayed the , for lack of a better word, " work ethics" that you and your friend was put through. Keep the Charvel and get rid of GC.
That sucks. Great playing by the way. The last time I bought something from Guitar Center it was a midi keyboard that I bought online. I paid for a brand new keyboard in the box. I received a best up floor model that was missing its power cable, midi cable, manual and box. Just got the keyboard itself and it was all kinds of beat up. Contacted them online, totally unapologetic. I had to drive it to the nearest GC an hour away to return it. Never bought from them again since that experience.
I mean if you can don't ever buy something online if they have an actual store somewhere around. I did the same thing bought some Milwaukee tools from the Home Depot online because there was a sale ending the next day. Did in store pickup and the ones they picked out for me were in a beat up and crushed box with the batteries drained so much that they wouldn't even charge. The customer that they don't have to look in the face is the one who is going to end up with the dregs from the used it for 30 days and returned it pile.
Ive never trusted guitar center on anything!!!!
I called Guitar Center last month wanting a used Alverarez mdr 70 slot head and they had one at a different locations. They said it could be here in two days . I ask how much ? $1100 dollars. I said no thanks but I appreciate your time. Two weeks ago I found on at my local shop for $750 tax included out the door .
Is that a tremonti signature or just his pick ups?
I bought an Ibanez 5 string bass from that very guitar center you are referring to. It’s been a minute and I still have that pos. Paid way too much for it and they wouldn’t budge on price. It’s whatever…it’s a chain.
I play the Guitar and have been To South Carolina, Parris Iland 1972. Hello Tim.
All depends on the management at given store. Some Guitar Centers are great, some awful.
I snagged a killer Ibanez SV with just age wear and great price. BUT, I just bought it.. no trade-in. So Yes Virginia! There IS a Santa Claus! Best Regards and Best Wishes!
It could be the first guy made the mistake. Values of used instruments have never been easier to find. Completed listings on eBay, prior sales on Reverb etc. Asking price on Reverb can be helpful but they can also be very misleading. You can ask $1M for a Squire Tele but you'll never get it. Your friend should do his homework prior to negotiating a deal. Knowledge is power.
Yea I bought a guitar from GC and it said free shipping but it cost 100$ extra for shipping
i had a fishy situation bought a kramer b special and never came they said the employee accidentally dropped it behind the outgoing table but i think he tried to steal it or maybe even swapped it because the truss rod in this guitar is broken.
@realanarchobill oh that really sucks!
@@timjenkins502 yeah i'm gonna wedge the neck at the body already installed a gotoh locking nut and tuners just need to wedge it and add string tree and upgrade the volume knob shread really nice though and luckily the neck is pretty close to straight.
I’m gonna get a job there this summer when school’s out: I’m a teacher. Maybe I can sell Les Pauls & BC Riches. I’m already applying to stores in my area to make sure I get in
Yeah, I decided a few years ago that I would never do business with GC ever again. There is absolutely no reason to besides convenience. If you owe a dope dealer a few hundred and need the money right now, that's where you go. Otherwise, you are better off going ANYWHERE else for any purpose.
Killer playing buddy.
Im a Sweetwater man myself i only go to Guitar Center when i have gift cards now lol
I haven't been to a guitar center but 1 time since I started playing guitar again 2 years ago. They don't have the same vibe they used to have back in the 90s
I had gone to do a trade, same deal as you guys and the deal was not good, plus the normal for guitar center is 1 penny for the case. I walked and went to a different store and got a better deal. Not the best place for dealing
Did you ask why the offer was reduced so much?
Yes, the original offer was based on the exact same guitar they have at another location. The second guy looked up previously sold on reverb. Even though the ones on reverb sold years ago he wanted to use that number to go on. This particular Charvel hasn't been in production for over 10 years
1st guy was probably quoting what your guitar was worth but, not what they would give you for trade value. I had some guitars i was trading in one time and they quoted me some low price and i was like, well, i guess just cause i was looking to get whatever and some guy standing behind me said hey, i`ll give you x amount which was a lot better than gc said they`d do and i said, heck okay. here ya go, and took the money right in front of the g/c guy. i guess it was a win/win for everyone. lol but ya, g/c will not give you what the thing is actually worth so they always plan to make money on trade-ins. not really a scam but just a business policy they have. i get it. it`s a retail business afterall.
Actually I have :( the last three guitars that I have purchased from GC on line have damage and I'm sure not from shipping.
I will no longer be purchasing items from them.
Sorry for your experience. Guitar Centers biggest issue is not training their employees. What service you get depends on what day you go and who you deal with. It shouldn’t be that way. Trades will continue to be a bad path for GC as long as customers feel like they are not being dealt with honestly.
OMG!!!! Could you take any longer to get to the point of the story! Geez this was painful, I could only make it to 2:04 minutes into the video before I started dozing off. I don't even care how the story ends or what happened anymore as the way you tell a story is enough weirdness for me.
But you took the time to respond...how dumb
@@timjenkins502❤
lol take your ad/hd meds, bro. Younger ppl don’t understand talking slow and with a story or reason. Get off ya phones, get a flip phone.
Seems very odd! In fact if you’re going to buy one of their guitars it would make more sense to give you a little bit more for your trade just to get the deal done!
@@bigtuna9529 you would think so!!
this happened to me trying to sell a banjo. total scammer. went from getting $600 to another guy coming and saying “we don’t use UVM anymore” (aka, we find the lowest sold one and lowball you to hell) they wanted to give me $330
All of these chain stores have been scammers since the '70's when I use to go to Daddy's Junky Music stores..or even small mom and pop music stores around the New England area. ALL of them went out of business decades ago. Guitar Ctr is no different. I'm surprised that they even have any brick and mortar stores left.
I'm lucky to live in driving distance of quite a few really good legacy music stores that still do the thing. I like negotiating a little. But guitar center knows that there are things people need to touch. Very few players will spend several thousand on a guitar or amp and not want to play it first.
Yah, it’s an exercise in futility to think you can get a good deal when trading in a guitar for a new purchase. I wouldn’t bash GC cuz they’re a brick n mortar business and have to make a buck too. Most don’t take into consideration their carrying cost to handle the trade and eventually get it resold. It’s unfortunate that the sales person that was originally doing the assessment probably was a newb and just didn’t know what he/she was doing. While it can be a hassle, always expect to list and sell your own gear on Reverb or eBay if you expect to get anywhere close to the true value (after selling costs 😮). The disappointing spread when doing a trade should be assumed your ‘convenience fee’.
Music Go Round is sooo much better
Guitar Center is SHIT, point blank! Tried to sell me used gear for new... Purchased online, picked up at store, (Spark Mini) opened and obviously used (dirt and dust all over) but still tried to pass it off as new... Also their financer on their "Gear Cards" Synchrony Bank is the worst! Trade in value there is a joke... will never visit them again, online or in person as they are nothing but greedy corporate snakes.
I’ve never been to a GC. I figure if they are so incapable of having a guy taking halfway decent pictures of their sale items. Seriously! Have you seen their photographs???
He should have gone back to the original guy that gave the quote, not someone else.
@KT-fn6me the other guy must have left for lunch or something, he wasn't in the store the second time around. He walking in passed us as we were leaving
I imagine this is probably individuals doing shady deals. The GC here where I live is decent at quotes. Plus you should've been told you get an extra 10% off towards a new guitar when you trade in a guitar(s). it sucks that individuals doing shady stuff ruin the opportunity for one top trade and still Get a good deal. I personally don't like selling on platforms. the scams are over the top.
If you sink to the point where you need to make a trade right away at a Pawn shop or Guitar Center, instead of taking time to sell it on Reverb and making twice as much, you truly have sunk to a low place in life.
@guitarcafeguy this trade in wasn't a "have to" or desperate situation at all. Before going through the trouble of selling online Dan wanted to see what Guitar Center would do, the first offer was decent enough to just go ahead and go through with it....the ending offer was no where near it
Not everyone wants to deal with Reverb buyers, man. Or the hassle of shipping.
@ They are like a Pawn shop where at best you get 30% of what you could sell it for privately. That is never worth it, even if you sell on Reverb and have to pay $100 for offering free shipping you still come out ahead.
It is hard to get a good deal doing a trade in.
Time is money. And this type transaction requires the most time and now they still have another guitar to sell.
A 1000$ instrument cost a retailer around 500$-600$ . That profit is necessary to pay the bills.
So a used guitar that retails for 1000$ is really only worth 500$-600$ to that seller.
Bottom line: if you bring in a used guitar worth 1000$ dollars there is simply no way a buisiness can give you more than about 600$ credit on it.
@ If you sell a guitar for half its new value, someone absolutely will buy it quick on Reverb and even with shipping cost youll still make more than what GC or a Pawn shop will offer. They already get new guitars around 50% off so they cant offer more than 30% as they will lose it in taxes.
youngings.......live and learn, we all have to do it to learn the hard way.......cant tell someone what to do until they experience it.......goes for me too when i was young......i will say this though.....get everything and anything in writing, would of taken 2 seconds to get the quote and signed on a receipt at the store and if they dont want to walk out
@Joe-pb3lx crazy thing is it wasn't even just a quote, Dan could have filled out the paper work right then and did the trade in...but wanted to make sure he found something he wanted in there first...should have just taken the first offer I suppose
Price was just fine until he played Stairw... to... Heavn.... Yep all GC sales have been replaced by used car salesmen. Times is tough, keep eyes on that wallet.
Just sell it privately, big deal
Yeah.
I don't trust the most of the time. They don't know what the hell they're doing. I brought in a 1985 in the box. Mint heavy metal pedal 19. Yeah, 85 like I said Japan.
And the guy wanted to give me 35 bucks for until the manager came out and? Looked it up and I wound up getting I think two fifty
No one tried to scam your friend. The first guy just didn’t know what he was doing. Trust me, they make very little off of trade ins and no matter how the guitar is paid for the store still makes the same amount of money.
@jasonalain5293 it was all around a bad experience, scammed or not. The first guy looked up guitar ceneters own listening of the exact same guitar and matched the sell/trade value of it. The second guy did not. He looked up a previously sold reverb listing and went purely on that. It was even a different model
@@timjenkins502This guy is an employee at guitar center, don't take it personally. He just wants to scam you as much as possible, that's how they stay in business. Until they're not.
Guitar Sinner
Bait and switch…….
The Boise, ID store had been forcing purchase payments via tap to pay on a cell phone the employees would pass around.
I mentioned my concerns with it and reluctantly paid.
After I posted a YT video about my experience, the tap to pay requirement went away right before Christmas.
Bait and switch. Typical. There is a guitar glut.
It seems people who play Guitar well are the most Naive and don't know Guitar center is nothing more than a Car dealership for Guitars ! It has only one Goal to rip you off for as much money as possible ! Its time to wake up and smell the truth ! But there are still people out there that don't know Democrats are pure Evil !!
only unexperienced clowns go to GC. I've talked them into great deals for me...I never lose a negotiation when it comes to gear. You don't even say what kind of Charvel...not every Charvel is good. They probably found something wrong with it while you went back shopping, you should find the guitar first then show what you got... you left them with it while you shopped and gave them the opportunity to change their mind, take it as a learning situation.
But yea, your story falls on deaf ears for not giving better details..who know what you traded, could have been beat up or who knows what. you're a terrible witness, I'd dismiss you in court as a poor witness
Not Guitar Center but I was interested in a trade in, found a guitar I liked, offered my Fender Player Strat for a chunk of the price and they offered me less than 1/3rd of the retail price... It's in mint condition and set up great too. I just walked out. How they can quantify hanging a guitar up on a wall costing them hundreds of dollars... Unbelievable.
Offered me 800 for my 3600 dollar 2008 custom 22 prs. B bye
Get the quote in writing...just saying
@lyleanderson5407 definitely could have helped
,,,imo......no your not out of line,,,.....the first quote should have been honored,..period,.....he works there,,you asked him,,,..(we never go into any store,,get a quote,,and instantly assume we need,or want,another,,..hold your ground,,your the customer,,..you showed your item,,,they know what they saw,...go back and complain to owner,..get your first quote,,.....a Charvel,..wow,,.in any condition,,should bring a fair trade value,.( I know my guitars at 64 y.o.),,..you did not bring a squire,harly,b...!! A Charvel,...........complain,..get what the first quoted you for,,,....period,..................tnx for this reality check,.pat& family,,land o' lakes,wi....(imo,,who are they,,a used car dealer,,,no),,,?...........I will tell all my friends to watch this vid too..........,,,,,peace,brother -,,, great intro run,....you know it..
Always tell the staff to write down the trade value, date, and sign the slip prior to looking for another guitar. Then they are obligated to give you that trade in price. If they won't do it then you know your going to take a beating on your trade...Car dealerships do they same type bullshit!!!!
@@petedetraglia4776 definitely should have got it in writing!
GC ripoff
Gc sucks