Strategies for used online purchases

[GalenB]

I'm speaking about national chains. I haven't had a lot of luck dealing with them and am ready to stop. I'm not a collector, but enjoy trying out different specific models from time to time; think obscure but not necessarily collectible models. It seems everytime I contact one of these stores (Guitar Center, etc...) the staff simply don't know how or want to do any kind of description or provide any details. If I call, I might get some details, tell them I want to purchase it, they tell me they'll write the ticket and call or email back, and then if (a big IF) I hear back, the guitar was sold. If I email, I usually get no response of any kind or the guitar is removed from the website within a day or two of my email. This has happenend several times, with retail stores all over the country.

I'm left with the following conclusions:

1. I am picking some really sweet models, and the staff doesn't realize how sweet they are until I bring them to their attention, and they or their buddies buy them, further prolonging my GAS. Conspiracy theory, I know. Maybe some of them have been sold already, certainly not all of them though.
2. I am living some kind of weird guitar based Twilight Zone episode/Purgatory where I am unable to complete a successful retail transaction unless its through the bay or a new purchase.
3. The employees of these places really don't care about service, and are confounded by complex terms like "saddle", "string height", "cleats", and "tuners".
4. And before anyone jumps on the easy one, maybe its me. Surely not? Naaaahh.

So I ask you, have you had good fortune dealing with these places? I've always had good experiences locally, and when dealing with the smaller shops remotely that I find through Gbase, places like Elderly, etc. Have you found a process that helps facilitate the transaction? Or should I just move on and stop considering these places for purchases. Rant off.

 

[fronobulax]

Two possibly relavent comments.

First, if someone calls me and asks a lot of questions, I will make a good faith effort to answer them but I won't drop everything else to do so. Answering your questions takes time away from the customer who is standing in front of me waiting for me to get off the phone. Furthermore, if someone comes along and will pull the trigger without having all of those questions answered then I'm ahead of the game since I didn't spend time answering your questions. So you are a high maintenance customer in a high volume business and I can almost certainly meet my quotas without selling to you. So it seems like your exception of high quality personalized service from a high volume chain might be worth revisiting.

Second, most of the Guitar Center stories I hear involve people who were willing to take risks. In particular they would call and make the decision to have it shipped to a local store while they were on the phone the first time. They would pull the trigger, get to inspect it themselves and, if it was not satisfactory, at worst they were out $25 or so for shipping. So that is definitely a different strategy - risking $25 to do an inspection.

 

[GalenB]

Reasonable suggestions. I've tried it both ways, simply asking for the ticket so I can purhcase it. If I have asked questions, it's a question or two when the model wasn't specific, or the product is miscategorized. I try not to set my expectations too high with the chains of any type, as I understand the points you've made, and they are quite valid. I haven't thought it as unreasonable to ask if a guitar with no description of condition needs a neck reset or has several repairs if you're dropping a couple grand. But maybe so if the return policy is as slam dunk as you say.

I wasn't aware they ship it to the local store. Haven't got that far in a transaction yet. Good to know.

I'm pretty patient. I've had a dozen or so of these in the past couple months. Being a little factitious in my first post, I was wondering if others run into this. Based on a general lack of effort in photos and descriptions, incorrect models and miscategorized items, I've come to believe GC and a few others, on the average, aren't really serious about online retail of used merchandise, maybe using web listings to more to draw in the local purchases for the reasons you've stated. And that's ok.

Sorry if I got anybody's shoulder wet with my tears!
Darned sour grapes anyway.....

 

[Scratch]

Interesting thread.

I've had the same experience twice in three weeks (two different stores). Just completed telephonically purchasing an M20 from a GC in upstate NY. They called back within ten minutes to apologize after stating an in-store customer had just bought it as I hung up the phone. Just this week, I inquired concerning an F30 at a Houston GC. The person who answered stated the guitar had just recently arrived and that he would have a store guitar tech describe the condition to me over the phone. When the tech answered about five minutes later he said just two words and hung up. His words: "Its sold"...

Worst example of customer support I've encountered in some time.

 

[fronobulax]

Darned sour grapes anyway.....

I'm probably going to get some detail wrong and be corrected, but my understanding is that if you buy used gear at a remote GC, they will ship it to a local GC, charge you a pittance for shipping, and give you anywhere from 10 to 30 days to inspect and return for a full refund, minus shipping.

It is also true that almost any retailer is going to favor a local, in store, transaction over something that involves shipping. My over the top snarkiness aside, it sounds like you may just have had a run of bad luck in that GC underpriced something and the locals were smart enough to figure that out.

 

[GalenB]

I appreciate the posts. At least I know I'm not the only one! There's a cultural thing going on for sure. I've dealt with Elderly's, for example. It's not a small operation by any means. Always helpful, over the top informative, courteous. I've purchased used and consignment, even making a lower offer than the asking price of a consignment, and they've called me back with a counter offer 10 minutes later, requiring 2 phone calls, one to the owner and one back to me.

My local GC, not to bash them (too much) has a high employee turnover rate and it seems the guitar counter folks have really limited knowledge of instruments and accessories. Sound department is really good, but forget the acoustic room. If they are all like this, Frono's probably right; I need to expect the Mickey D approach then I'll be pleasantly surprised when it goes normal.

So many great guitars, so little time (and money). Sigh.

 

[Scratch]

I've purchased two guitars from Elderly's Instruments. Elderly is a class act organization and you get a mature respectable opinion when you deal with them over the phone. They offer a full set up to your specs (at least they did with me) and follow up customer assistance. My experience with GC reflects dealings with clueless kids who could care less about customer service or if they sell a guitar.