Sales that are not sales

Cagey

Cagey

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Everybody likes to make a big deal out of some kind of "Black Friday" sale, even when there isn't one. For example, Guitar Center is spamming emails at a rate just below where they could be formally charged with a DDoS attack telling everyone that this is their "last chance" to take 15% off anything they sell. Anything, that is, except

A. Things that are already on sale, or

B. Anything made by somebody on this list:

65 Amps, A Designs, Adam Audio, AKG, Allen & Heath, Alvarez, American Audio, American DJ, Ampeg, Antoine Courtois Paris, Aphex, Apogee, Apple, Armstrong, ART, Arturia, Audio-Technica, Audix, Auralex, Avalon, Avanti, Avid, Axl, Azumi, B&S, B3 Guitars, Bach, BAM, Beat Kangz, Bedell, Behringer, Belkin, Benchmark, Benchmark Media Systems, Benedetto, Besson, Bixonic, Black Cat, Blackheart, Blackstar, Blue, Bogner, Bosch, Bose, Boss, Breedlove, Bricasti, Brio, BSS, Buffet Crampon, Bugera, Bundy, Carl Martin, Casio, Cerwin-Vega, Chameleon Labs, Chandler Limited, Charvel, Chauvet, Cleartone, Cloud Microphones, Conn, Cordoba, Courtois, Crate, Crown, Cusak, Daking, Dangerous Music, DBX, Dean, Death By Audio, Diamond, Digitech, Disney by Washburn, DLS, Drawmer, DW, EBS, Eden, Edirol, Elation, Electro-Harmonix, Electro-Voice, Elysia, Emerson, EMG, Eminence, EMMA, Empirical Labs, Empress Effects, Engl, Epiphone, ESP, Euphonix, Eventide, EVH, F Loree Paris, Fano, Fender, Fender Custom, Fishman, Focusrite, Fox, Fuchs, Fulltone, Furman, G7th, Galway, Gator, Gemeinhardt, Genz Benz, Getzen, Gibson, Gibson Custom, Gibson USA, Giffin Guitars, GNI, Godlyke, Gold Tone, Golden Age, Golden Age Project, Grace Design, Great Divide, Great River, Gretsch, Gretsch Drums, Gretsch Guitars, Guild, Guyatone, Hagstrom, Hans Hoyer, Hao, Harden, Harmon, Haynes, Hercules, HHB, Hohner, Holton, Ibanez, ISP Technologies, J Puchner, Jackson, JamHub, Jasmine by Takamine, JBL, Jet City Amplifiers, Jody Jazz, Jupiter, K&M, Kanstul, Kawai, Keeley, Keilwerth, Keith McMillen Instruments, King, Koll Guitars, Korg, Kramer, KRK, Kurzweil, Kush Audio, Langevin, Latin Percussion, Leblanc, Lexicon, Line 6, LovePedal, LsL Instruments, Ludwig, Luna Guitars, Mackie, Mad Professor, Malekko, Manley, Mapex, Markbass, Marshall, Martin, Martin-Leblanc, Maxon, Meinl, Meinl Weston, Mesa Boogie, Millennia, Miraphone, Mixosaurus, Mogami, Mojave Audio, Moog, Morgan, Music Man, Music XPC, Neumann, Neve, Nord, Novation, NS Design, N-Tune, Olympus, On-Stage Stands, Option 5, Orange, Ortofon, Ovation, P. Mauriat, Paiste, Parker, PDP, Pearl, Peavey, Pelonis Sound, Perri's, Phonic, Pigtronix, Pioneer, Powell, Prelude, PreSonus, Propellerhead, PRS, Purple Audio, QSC, Radial, Randall, Rane, Reunion Blues, Rickenbacker, Rivera, RME, Rockbag by Warwick, Rockbass by Warwick, Rockcase by Warwick, RockStand by Warwick, Roc-N-Soc, Rode Microphones, Roland, Royer, Rupert Neve Designs, Sabian, Sample Logic, Schecter, Scherzer, Schilke, Schreiber, Schroeder, Schroeder Guitars, Selmer, Selmer Paris, Sennheiser, Serato, Shure, SKB, SM Pro Audio, Softube, Solid State Logic, Sonare, Soul, Soundcraft, Squier, Stanton, Steinberg, Steinberger, Stephanhouser, Sterling by MusicMan, Summit Audio, Sweet Sound, SWR, Takamine, Tama, Tapco, Taylor, TDK, Tech 21, Telefunken, Thermionic Culture, Toadworks, Tobias, Tone King, Tortuga, Traveler Guitar, Traynor, T-REX, True Systems, Tube-Tech, Two Rock, Ultimate Support, Universal Audio, Vestax, Violet Audio, Vito, VMI, Voodoo Lab, VOX, Waldorf, Washburn, Weber Speakers, Western Digital, Xotic, Yamaha, Yamaha Band & Orchestra, Yanagisawa, Z.Vex Effects, Zildjian, Zoom.
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Which is pretty a comprehensive list of people who make musical equipment.

Y'know, they could have offered to take 98% off "everything", or even give away inventory for free if they want to qualify it that way.

Explain to me how this is a sale.
 
It's a sale because you have the opportunity to save a fortune on guitar picks, or something inane.
 
Yippee. Stuff that's already marked up 575%.

I have a niece who's a manager at a GC (of course, everybody is except the cashier, who's probably a vice president) and that's the way to buy stuff there. The employee discount is substantial. It's almost a reason to work there, at least until you have whatever gear you need.
 
I think their used gear buy/sell/trade expo is a joke.  Everyday there is a buy/sell/trade used gear expo.

But like their non-sale sales, you go in to buy their loss leader stuff (what a minute, they don't have any loss leader stuff), and you come out with a new buggy whip because you were already down there.  Their ads are just to get you in there for their business as usual event.
 
My dad used to talk about this local businessman (not that this is really crooked, just a bit slimy. But HE was crooked), who would regularly run 'GOING OUT FOR BUSINESS SALE!", and the people would flock to it thinking they were getting the deal of a lifetime. 

The thing about Guitar Center that makes me refuse to shop there is the cavity search on the way out the door.
 
swarfrat said:
My dad used to talk about this local businessman (not that this is really crooked, just a bit slimy. But HE was crooked), who would regularly run 'GOING OUT FOR BUSINESS SALE!", and the people would flock to it thinking they were getting the deal of a lifetime. 
Click to expand...

We have a furniture store like that in the area. Every sale is made to sound like some sort of panic. Truth is, most of what they sell is junk that they could mark down 75% any day and still make money.

swarfrat said:
The thing about Guitar Center that makes me refuse to shop there is the cavity search on the way out the door.
Click to expand...

Some store owners are more sensitive than others about shrinkage. There's a plumbing supply house not far from here that's guarded like a bank and treats all the customers like criminals. Follow you around, watch you like a hawk, check your bags at the door, etc. I don't know what they think they'd lose if they didn't do that. A valuable 3/4" galvanized elbow? A 1/2" rubber washer? Your occasional 1" - 3/4" brass reducing bushing? I mean, come on! Is all the ill will and bad publicity worth it?

I'm not sure what GC thinks they're preventing.
 
The GC in Indianapolis has the registers out of view from the entrance/exit, so checking merchandise & receipts makes sense.  At the GC in Fort Wayne, IN the register is right by the entrance.
I had on more than one occasion made a purchase, turned 90 degrees on the same floor tile and shown the receipt & merch to the inventory girl to look at.  The first time I had no warning about how it worked, so you'd think I had tried to steal a wall of guitars when I tried to leave with my huge purchase of: 1 set of strings.
 
I've seen customers at other music stores want the "buy 2 get the 3rd set free" deal on strings.  On one occasion when the employee said, "my strings are already marked down enough that even with their free 3rd set, buying 3 sets from me at regular price is still cheaper," the customer said, "but the 3rd set is free at Guitar Center."  :icon_scratch:
 
swarfrat said:
My dad used to talk about this local businessman (not that this is really crooked, just a bit slimy. But HE was crooked), who would regularly run 'GOING OUT FOR BUSINESS SALE!", and the people would flock to it thinking they were getting the deal of a lifetime. 

The thing about Guitar Center that makes me refuse to shop there is the cavity search on the way out the door.
Click to expand...

I see "Going out of business! Everything must go!" commercials and advertisements for furniture stores all the time. Of course, a lot of them really do turn out to go out of business, but others run their commercials year-round. And if you drive by, you will see the windows painted up with "Going out of business sale! 75% off everything in the store!" and such. :dontknow:
 
Yeah I was going to buy the new Bogner Ecstasy Blue there, but found out my 15% off wouldn't work on it, then took a trade-in to at least get 10% off, but they tried to lowball me so bad it wasn't even funny.  It's not like I liked them to begin with, but thats too much, I'm fed up.
 
Not to defend GC at all, but trades really only work among individuals where you're trading in kind. Retailers are the last place you want to unload something, unless you've already resigned yourself to essentially throwing the thing away. For instance, a new Strat that lists for $2,200 that you can buy for $1,500 only has a resale value of about $750. A retailer wants to make 50 points, so trade-in value is going to be about $375 if they're feeling generous and don't already have a pile of used ones collecting dust.

There are rare exceptions, like Mesa Boogie and maybe certain "boutique" amps, but even those unit's pricing schedules and resale values will probably start to fall more in line with everybody else's due to the likes of the Kemper profilers and Axe Fx units available now. They're so good it's getting nearly impossible to justify the high prices the boutique builders want for their one-trick ponies.
 
I greatly prefer the sales between Dec 25 and Dec 31, because is some cases they are trying to straighten out some over-purchasing before the dread Dec 31/Jan 1 inventory. Like if they have 50 Bogner Blues and 7 Bogner Reds, they don't want to look like idiots to Mitt Romney, now that he's back home at Bain*. An all through January till April, individuals are selling stuff cheap because their children turned them into idiots over "toys". And here come de judge, avater'd in the form of Visa.

*( :doh:)
 
StubHead said:
I greatly prefer the sales between Dec 25 and Dec 31, because is some cases they are trying to straighten out some over-purchasing before the dread Dec 31/Jan 1 inventory. Like if they have 50 Bogner Blues and 7 Bogner Reds, they don't want to look like idiots to Mitt Romney, now that he's back home at Bain*. An all through January till April, individuals are selling stuff cheap because their children turned them into idiots over "toys". And here come de judge, avater'd in the form of Visa.

*( :doh:)
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<Waving yellow card>  Let's watch the political shots there...  </Waving yellow card>
 
I meant it in the form of a corporate raider-type guy who doesn't take losing businesses lightly; I'm not going to post the whole article because it's way too long and way too geeky for anyone who doesn't like this stuff, but I'll post the link. The headline summarizes it neatly, i.e.

S&P revises Guitar Center Holdings outlook to negative

http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/05/08/idUSWNA678920120508

Throughout the Aughties (00's?), Guitar Center tried to increase profit by buying up more and more of their competitors. The idea that there's simply fewer buyers & less money wasn't in their business model. They share the"growth-only" model with (perhaps?) a majority of businesses. A maintenance-level model, or (horrors!) a permanent downturn just can't BE!

There may be some really big sales a-coming.
 
Not necessarily GC related, but the Mesa M6 Carbine hybrid bass head was $999 three years ago.  It is unchanged and now $1,299.  Meanwhile, they've discontinued half of their bass combos and smaller bass heads.  I think they will reintroduce a new line or reissue an old line soon.  It's following a page from the Gibson playbook of inflating values with the threat of non-production.  Like when everyone jumped on the Songwriter Deluxe because it was going out of production.  It went out production for a few years, if at all, because one could still find new ones on showrooms or order from existing surplus.
 
Threw in $100 for 50 pairs of sticks. Now I can reenact this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=141o_jwG7cA&feature=BFa&list=FL_y8SbtDsgi50a1PXnbY9Ug
 
The best Goodfriday sales I heard about were at Sam Ash,
http://www.samash.com/opencms/opencms/samash/promo_pages/promo-black-friday-deals

but there was a trick.

If you went to Musician's Friend they had a 150% price match that effectively made them sell Gibson Midtown Standard P90's for $550.00 delivered!

I didn't get 1, (skinny necks), but it was a hell of a good buy.
:rock-on:
 
Cagey said:
swarfrat said:
My dad used to talk about this local businessman (not that this is really crooked, just a bit slimy. But HE was crooked), who would regularly run 'GOING OUT FOR BUSINESS SALE!", and the people would flock to it thinking they were getting the deal of a lifetime. 
Click to expand...

We have a furniture store like that in the area. Every sale is made to sound like some sort of panic. Truth is, most of what they sell is junk that they could mark down 75% any day and still make money.

swarfrat said:
The thing about Guitar Center that makes me refuse to shop there is the cavity search on the way out the door.
Click to expand...

Some store owners are more sensitive than others about shrinkage. There's a plumbing supply house not far from here that's guarded like a bank and treats all the customers like criminals. Follow you around, watch you like a hawk, check your bags at the door, etc. I don't know what they think they'd lose if they didn't do that. A valuable 3/4" galvanized elbow? A 1/2" rubber washer? Your occasional 1" - 3/4" brass reducing bushing? I mean, come on! Is all the ill will and bad publicity worth it?

I'm not sure what GC thinks they're preventing.
Click to expand...

I don't shop at GC any longer for a variety of reasons, including the "cavity search." 

I brought my Warmoth in there so I could try out some amps with it.  They took note of my guitar and what it looked like, what it was, etc.  As I was leaving, they tried to accuse me of trying to steal it.  The situation escalated quite high with them threatening to call the cops.  I picked up the phone, handed to the manager, and told him to call the cops, and after he was done to hand me the phone because I was going to contact my lawyer and press charges for falsely accusing me of a crime.

...Like GC sells any guitar worth stealing...  :icon_scratch: 
 
Daze of October said:
...Like GC sells any guitar worth stealing...  :icon_scratch:
Click to expand...

http://www.guitarcenter.com/In-Store-Vintage-VINTAGE-BENEDETTO-CREMONA-104181863-i1565777.gc

That said, they are the Walmart of music stores, selection is great, prices are fine, customer service is mediocre, and quality is often lacking.
 
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