Interesting trip to GC, a little guilty feeling

[GullyFoyle]

Stopped into the local Guitar Center (yeah I know, bleah). Went to the high end room, a nice quiet weekday afternoon, no ona around, got to play everything in there all by myself. No Guilds, but Martins, Taylors, Gibsons, Breedloves. Out of all of them I found nothing that I would put up against my '98 D55, even the Martin HD-28, which I have always felt was a very fine instrument. Except for possibly these two: A brand-new Martin D18GE, magnificent instrument, $3300. Yeah, right. The second one surprised me. Gibson Songwriter Deluxe Studio, marked used but looked to be in mint condition $1500. Very fine all-around guitar, to coin a cliche, could be used for any style. This isn't even one of Gibson's high end models and I've never been a big Gibson fan to start with! Here is the model:http://www2.gibson.com/Products/Aco...Gibson-Acoustic/Songwriter-Deluxe-Studio.aspx. Now I'm feeling guilty for lusting after another brand. But I feel like the guitar is worth every penny, and seeing as it's apparently used, I might even be able to negotiate. Ahh, guilt.

 

[kitniyatran]

I've always liked some Gibsons, but you have to actually try them out to find the good ones, as far as anything from the 1960's forward.

 

[jcwu]

Guitar Center actually won't negotiate on used prices. I tried, they wouldn't budge. Said they don't have room to negotiate on used gear, but are willing to talk on new gear.

 

[dapmdave]

Stopped into the local Guitar Center (yeah I know, bleah). Went to the high end room, a nice quiet weekday afternoon, no ona around, got to play everything in there all by myself. No Guilds, but Martins, Taylors, Gibsons, Breedloves. Out of all of them I found nothing that I would put up against my '98 D55, even the Martin HD-28, which I have always felt was a very fine instrument. Except for possibly these two: A brand-new Martin D18GE, magnificent instrument, $3300. Yeah, right. The second one surprised me. Gibson Songwriter Deluxe Studio, marked used but looked to be in mint condition $1500. Very fine all-around guitar, to coin a cliche, could be used for any style. This isn't even one of Gibson's high end models and I've never been a big Gibson fan to start with! Here is the model:http://www2.gibson.com/Products/Aco...Gibson-Acoustic/Songwriter-Deluxe-Studio.aspx. Now I'm feeling guilty for lusting after another brand. But I feel like the guitar is worth every penny, and seeing as it's apparently used, I might even be able to negotiate. Ahh, guilt.

There are some nice Gibsons, but you have to turn over a lot of rocks to find them. Not nearly consistent as Guilds, IMHO.

Dave

 

[NEONMOONY]

If you can find a resource that works at GC, they can see on their computer how much buffer is on a particular product. They do have a few things sometimes that are real close to cost, leaders, lets say. I have never bought used from GC but on everything new I have bought there, other than low cost accessory things they had a surprising amount of commission room to haggle.

The other thing is to find a guy working there that's willing to take a big cut in his commission. I have actually got the biggest cuts dealing with the sales manager of that particular department, rather than a newer salesman.

 

[adorshki]

The other thing is to find a guy working there that's willing to take a big cut in his commission.

That's how I got my D25. I can't even rememebr now but I think it was $799.00 with case when it was listing for $1199.00. And I only asked him one time, "What can you do on this?". I think the real answer is it's gonna be a unique scenario virtually every time cause circumstances are always changing. It can vary by store and region and time of year and salesman as you pointed out.
As a commissioned salesman I have a little sympathy for the guys, and I know some customers aren't comfortable negotiating either. I think the politest way to ask for a better if something's already showing a "sale" sign is: "I know it's already marked down but my budget's still pretty tight. Do you have any more room there?" It's a face-saving technique for both parties and leaves the door open to keep talking.

 

[AlohaJoe]

To me, it's all about the sound and the neck. If you like what you hear and love the neck, grab it. When you play a guitar that you can't put down... that's the one. Good price on that one too. Gibsons can be inconsistent but the good ones are great.

 

[timbo2]

After shopping aroun forever I saw a Martin uke once at GC for a good price but I couldn't get them to budge. I then went to Chuck Levin's (a big local music store) and they told me that the GC's asking price was the actual dealer cost from Martin! (They actually showed me their shipping invoice from ol' CF & Co). Of course I went right back and grabbed the uke. When I asked the GC folks about the price they said they needed to make room ( a uke takes up a lot of room?)
Lesson?...It pays to patiently shop around. Have fun shopping.

 

[adorshki]

When I asked the GC folks about the price they said they needed to make room ( a uke takes up a lot of room?)
Lesson?...It pays to patiently shop around. Have fun shopping.

Probably a blanket edict from headquarters to clear the decks for fresh inventory. I bet that uke had been sitting there for a long time. It's all about "turns": sell what you got even if it has to be at a loss sometimes so you can re-invest in something that hopefully more than covers that loss. A lot of "clearance" sales really are legitimate clearance sales! :lol:

 

[ac1dt3st]

to me, Gibby acoustic bridges always look like silly cartoon mustaches... :-})

 

[Firebird]

I know how much many folks on this forum detest GC and don't disagree with any of it, but over the years I have made some down-right incredible deals for used equipment there.

The trick is to speak only with the top Manager and no one else. He will wheel and deal with you if he thinks you are a real buying customer and not just a tire kicker.

Just before last Christmas, I bought a flawless Guild S70 solid body guitar. They had it marked at $500 which was a good deal already and after talking to the Manager for a while, he sold it to me for $400. I usually find the best deals in November because they are clearing space to make way for the low-end Christmas junk.

It may take twenty trips to GC before you find something worth buying but when you do, speak only to the top Manager, no one else. He'll deal every time.

 

[chazmo]

I'll second the "buy in November" suggestion -- not just for GC and not just for used guitars. My experience has been that November is when the clearance rack gets rolled in, just as holiday shopping season is about to begin. I've gotten two excellent deals on new guitars at that time of year.

As for Guitar Center... I guess I've become an acoustic snob, but I rarely run into anything interesting there. Surely used stuff, rather than new, is likely to be more exciting there.

 

[Bikerdoc]

Well, my take on the whole thing is that you have to play that Gibby all day for a couple of days in a row. I've played some wonderful Songwriter's but I bought one that just drove me up the wall. I got rid of it; one issue after another. I now have a Hummingbird Artist Series Gibby; a replacement guitar for the first piece of junk I bought. Gibson tech is alright in my book since they did replace the guitar and I like it alot. Preference for sound though is my Guild D15M; definitely not high-end but that doesn't always mean anything.

If you lust for that Gibby just play it a few more times until you're satisfied there aren't unknown issues. Good luck.

Peace