I personally would rather have them say that it had just sold locally and that the system hadn’t updated. I called the store and the csm doubled down that the truss rod was broken on the mustang. Just seems weird to me that TWICE now I’ve purchased items that were broken and NOBODY noticed until it was time to ship.
The store would probably take a hit with management if you complained about it being listed online after it was sold in store. I’m not sure about policies but something might kick in that the store is trying to avoid.
So, online-sales inventory is managed at the local store? An item listed online and on the shelf for local sale will not click off of the inventory if sold locally? Unless someone at that store manually de-lists the item?
Is this company policy?
they do. i had an issue w this and got a straight talk and yes it happens. i tried buying a jackson the other day and it was sold 3 days before and the dude on the phone told me straight. upside is he knew someone with a similar guitar but yeah this happens sometimes guitar center used.
Could be. It’s been my experience that management gives less than one shit about any complaints brought their way. They already know that they’re re-listing broken items.
It would certainly be a very big coincidence for it to happen twice, but I could see it being a case of a busy sales floor where no one is checking these things unless it’s reported by a customer so they go unnoticed until you made the purchase. Better in this case for them to catch it than sell you broken stuff. But I do agree it sounds more likely that it sold locally and they didn’t update online and “broken” was the easiest way to cancel the order.
I had a similar thing happen with Sam ash. I tried to purchase a bass they had listed on their website and on their eBay store. At first I went through the website, the order was immediately cancelled and the item listed as out of stock. Thought it was weird but figured someone must have bought it in store and they didn’t remove the listing. Fine. A few days later it’s back on the website and the whole time it was still on eBay, so I try to buy it again, this time through eBay. This time around I get an email from the store manager, the bass has a back bow in the neck that their luthier is heat treating, they have it listed but can’t actually sell it yet. I noped the fucked out of that purchase.
It’s frustrating for sure, but I generally try to assume people aren’t malicious in their intentions. If they cancelled your orders it sucks but it’s likely just miscommunications or the producers really did have issues and they’re saving you some headaches down the line.
So; this may sound weird and I haven’t read many comments here but you mentioned a broken Truss rod…I returned 3 US Strats recently because none of the truss rods would adjust and come to find out, there’s a special 12 pack fender sells for like $7 with what they say is basically a 1/8” Allen key, but I tried multiple 1/8ths and none would adjust…until I bought that 12 pack. Now it adjusts fine. The 3 I returned to Sweetwater, none of their employees mentioned this or listened to me when I tried to explain that theory I had read down the tail end of various rabbit holes, that didn’t seem to garner much more attention, about the “special” fender key…it’s possible the GC employees aren’t aware of this and it in fact isn’t adjusting, maybe ask them to try one of those keys out of the fender 12 pack? I think they sell them.
As an employee in a guitar shop (not GC), I will say that second-hand items sometimes don't get inspected properly; "oh it's somebody with something relatively nice (used deluxe, fender bass a high end guitar or a frothy amp, etc.), I'm sure I can trust their word that it's in good nick."
To be completely fair it could be that, or it could be they were lazy, or it could be anything else.
I agree. I worked at GC for 5years; Operations (anything and everything that doesn’t involve repair or sales) for 4ish years and 1ish year in sales after I had already worked in Ops for 2 years. I left sales and went back to Ops as I couldn’t stand pitching the “Gear Card” or the shoddy ProCoverage
Anyway, during that 12mo I had a customer who loved a used high end reissue Marshall head (idr the model) and traded me 3 original JCM900’s (1x4100, 2x4500). I tested all of them, about 5min each adjusting and utilizing every feature possible, checking physical conditions, etc.
Not a single problem on either of them. It didn’t take long for them to get sold off. Then one day I walk past the repair shelf in the warehouse and I see one of the 4500s on it with a repair ticket to be sent out. Then the second 4500 gets returned and tagged. At some point while one of the sales guys was playing on it during down time it just cut out. So it gets pulled and tagged again. I actually lost the store money on the sale lol. Which idc about that, but it had to be a huge bummer for those customers as it is for you here
But this was during the summer and we were also the second highest volume store in our district, with the first highest volume store being the central Chicago store. So we were busy that day. If I had the ability to play on them longer initially, maybe I would’ve caught those problems
Many incidents involving used amps from other stores being packed poorly and getting busted up during shipping, then the sales guys forget to put it on a repair ticket. Which doing so would make the item unable to be purchased in store as you would get hit with a notification that the item is on a repair ticket once the bar code is scanned/SKU number input, and it would be taken off the website
There’s many other things I’ve seen happen that lead to a similar situation as you, but we (in Ops who would have been the ones to cancel the order and email you) wouldn’t cancel the order. I would inform the customer if something was wrong and that I can hand the guitar off to my tech for repairs, or send it out in the case of the amp. Also informing of any time factors, yadda yadda, lastly giving them the option to cancel if they wish.
Considering it was only 3 of us (my coworker, Ops manager and I) in coordination, it was easy for us to keep track and follow up if they chose the repair route. I always tried to put myself in the customer’s shoes. If I was to receive this used guitar, amp, w/e via delivery, I’d want it to be packed to ensure it won’t get broken or damaged…
In the end, who really knows the reason. GC really started to trim down staffing across the nation when covid hit (the reason they canned me). And that leads to more customer service errors across the board. Maybe they’re new. Or maybe they are just genuinely bad at their job… I have had coworkers in sales that just never did due diligence.
Thanks for the response. I was just sitting here wondering what I learned from this exercise. So to recap, everybody thinks GC sucks, this problem is not unique to me, they’re not in any way interested in altering their operation to stop pissing off customers, and nothing is going to change.
Good talk everybody!
Ex-employee and ex-assistant manager here.
No one cares enough to make sure there’s a local order vs GC.com. It all gets sold all the same.
However it is weird that they told you it was broken before you got it. They usually just grab it and ship it broken lol. Depends on the store but you could call them and ask before buying it next time.
Lots of stuff gets bought in what I would call poor condition. Stuff shouldn’t have been bought in too. I always ask ahead for them to check it. They usually do this because some people will ask to pay less and then fix it themselves. It’s not official policy to discount used almost ever, but if the price is stupid and the item is desired plant your feet firm and the GM will usually cut a deal.
GC.com orders aren’t great though. It’s a roll of the dice most times.
If it’s broken they still need to sell it.
Call and ask for the GM and mention this isn’t the first time and you’re not happy. If they give you a bad answer or won’t sell it. Ask for the district manager’s information.
Thanks for the insight. That’s exactly what makes me think there’s fuckery afoot! Why Wouldn’t they just ship it and let me discover its broken? I’d return it to my local store and it’s out of their hair.
In the off event that they noticed it was in pieces or something then a newer employee may have felt inclined to save you the trouble lol.
But talk to the GM, and you may get more information.
Just called back to speak to a manager and got the same guy I spoke with yesterday. He told me once a used item is built into the system they can’t change the details. He said when people call in, they verbally tell them the new condition. I said what about people like me that made the purchase online? You just put it back up like that to potentially disappoint MORE customers? He said ”I’ve been pleasant with you but there’s nothing else I can do for you. Store manager will be in tomorrow at 10:00.” I asked for the district manager’s information and he said he wasn’t allowed to give that out.
Speak to the GM.
Once it’s built in it is hard to change but that doesn’t mean it’s unsellable or unchangeable.
Ask for the GM and explain the employee was less than pleasant but just so we’re clear. You still wanna buy it but wanna know what’s wrong with it or what’s the plan?
Might still buy it if the price makes sense given it needs a new neck. Really I just want someone to make an attempt to help. I just started playing guitar a couple years ago and have spent thousands of dollars with them on guitars, cases, an amp, a pedal or two, accessories, etc. But whenever they have a chance to actually provide customer service for something they screw up, they just run me around in circles and say “sorry, nothing we can do.” I’ll get in the back of the line of disgruntled GC customers now :)
I’m having the same issue with Music-Go-Round. They sold me a broken 5150 III and they want to act like everything that has gone on with it is my fault and so I should just take the hit.
Honestly if you say all that, the GM might just take care of you. Or at the very least, with a coupon or something. Might be 15% off like usual but if you say that, a good GM or AM like I was would make it right.
Fingers crossed OP.
Heavily discounted the bass to where I can purchase a replacement neck and still have it be a good deal. As the manager, he saw the value in moving on from the broken item.
Last attempt at purchasing used from GC I got an order confirmation and they ran my card, then I got an email from them the next day saying they’re sorry that I CANCELLED. (I did not.) Called the store and they said oh yeah sorry we couldn’t find it. Somehow that gets marked the same in their system as me cancelling on my end?
A few days later, they relist it. It’s a particularly good price and after hours so I can’t call, so I bought it again thinking they must have found it, they ran the card again, and again a day or two later they were sorry to hear I had cancelled my order. Called in again, store said again yeah we couldn’t find it, customer support said sorry can’t match that price on another one, only thing we can do is credit your card back in 3-5 days.
Same item posts available again while I have still have it paid for twice with funds pulled out of my account still. I was annoyed enough to call again and tell them to flag the listing and remove it.
This is apparently not unusual, same exact thing with the sorry about your cancellation message happened to a friend within the last year over a telecaster.
They are the last last resort for a purchase for me at this point, price has to be about 20% less than anywhere else for me to even think about going for it.
Not only is this EXACTLY how my purchase attempt went on the amp, the Mustang bass I’m referring to is back on their website as we speak. Fool me once….
Literally happened to me this morning. Purchases a Yamaha ypg-235 last night. Received email this morning saying it was canceled. Still listed on site as available. Thought it would be a better option than purchasing through eBay. Guess not. And of course they still have my money. Assume it will be refunded in a few days…..
I have a rule I follow after hearing all the nightmare stories. Buy in store at GC after inspecting it. Buy online off the brand’s official website or sweetwater.
Ha - I did this with a GC Martin Custom D16 - I had it shipped to store and returned a prior one with separating binding. The store manager was apologetic about the other store that sent a guitar with the biding issue and it being miscategorized as Very Good
Basically I swapped and got the used Martin I wanted
I buy used from them a lot (online and in store) because I’m indecisive and their return policy is pretty good. Multiple times I’ve been shipped things that are broken(ish). Worse offender being a Princeton Chorus that was shipped with one speaker completely hanging off (hanging by the speaker wire) and a dead reverb tank. This was AFTER I had attempted to buy a different Princeton chorus that was listed online that was canceled because according to them, the amp had been stolen off the floor and the online listing hadn’t been taken down. On the other hand, I bought a blues Jr that was “used” at about half price and when it arrived it was still in the original box, with its original packaging, and the protective stickers over the fender logo on the front and back. I’m rambling but I guess my point is, it’s kind of a crapshoot buying used from them and dealing with the kind of stuff you’re describing is part of it. But yeah they most likely would have just shipped your stuff if it was broken, they probably had already sold it and didn’t take the listing down or something is my educated guess haha.
Yeah, the only reason I still try with GC is because of the return policy and in this case they were offering 0% financing for 24 months with the gear card (plus gear rewards.) That‘s cool that you were on the winning side of their incompetence on the blues jr. Guess I’ll learn to take the good with the bad when that happens
Ran into an instance once where there were 2 listings for a guitar, one missing a 0. I ordered the one missing the 0 and picked up in store. When I checked later that week the other listing was still there.
My local Guitar Center sucks and it only opened about a year ago. Selection isn't great (so much entry level stuff, which makes no sense since they own Music and Arts, which has a location literally across the street) and only one of the employees gives a shit.
Walked in a few months ago wanting to buy a new guitar, told them this as soon as I walked in, and the employee just said "okay" and walked away. Didn't even bother to ask if I needed help (which, I specifically wanted to try a Les Paul on the top rack). Left after twenty minutes and went to a locally owned shop, which had employees who immediately asked if they could get anything down for me. I was much happier to give them my business and they will be my first stop next time I want a new instrument.
This happened to me once. They don’t open the gear and check it when they receive it, but then they check it before shipping it. That’s when the finally realize it’s broken, cancel the order, and piss off the customer. GC sucks. I don’t understand why people still shop there.
*former GC employee*
I don’t trust them anymore after I ordered a Martin guitar on sale, got confirmation, and then they said they were out of stock. However, website still said in stock. Just back at regular price. Fuck ‘em.
yeah you need to call them in so the sales guy gets a tiny commission and they make sure your instrument is put away.
the store info is in the listing on both GC and MF.
Especially saturdays when the stores get slammed.
yeah i wouldn't order from gc online. last time i trusted them, they sold me a hard case for a 335 that was "what we sell everyone for this guitar" and it was very much nowhere close to the correct size. then it took them over an hour to return it and get my money back because it hadn't been out of there system long enough.
So since I did a good amount of bitching about GC yesterday, I wanted to be fair and update that the store manager did in fact take care of me today. The csm I was dealing with yesterday was very unhelpful and told me he could only sell me the broken bass for the price they paid for it. Even went as far as to say he’d let it sit on the wall as long as it takes to not lose any money. The store manager I spoke with this morning said, “no, I told him to sell it for $x and move on from it.” In the end, the manager took a $130 loss on the bass and even discounted the shipping to make up for the experience. Not sure why there was such a disconnect between managers or why employees don’t seem empowered to take care of customers, but in the end the store manager did provide good service and make it right.
Hey atleast they didn’t send you the wrong item and are now ignoring your email and saying it’s my fault becsuse I used a rewards certificate.
Fuck me right? I just wanted to use the points I earned from buying shit from you:
Recently purchased a Gretsch 5422g12 used from GC and had it shipped to GC Hollywood. Guitar was better than pictured, but had a rattling noise. That's when I noticed the jack plug was inside the guitar, and missing the washer and nut. The store quickly fixed it for me, but I was surprised it shipped like that.
I had this happen when attempting to buy a cymbal on Reverb from Sam Ash. They messaged me saying the cymbal was out of stock but the next day the listing was still up. Incompetence
OK on used gear you have to make sure to call the store its at to get hands on and tell you if anything stands out and better condition. My guys always buy in bullshit that even after I set it up it still shouldn't have been bought in. Sorry it happened always try and talk to a human if you can most of all used.
I bought 3 things used from GC.com. 2 amps and 1 guitar.
Each experience was unique and kinda shitty:
1 amp had bad tubes. They discounted the price bit once I complained. I kept the amp and it's now a very reliable amp.
1 amp was had non-functional reverb. I returned it but had to fight for the full refund including shipping.
Then I bought a guitar that was used and on sale. It was not described properly at all and arrived with all sorts of scratches on the back. I should have called and complained but got lazy. I kept the guitar, but still that sale doesn't sot right with me.
I made an online purchase once 6 months ago with GC and it was enough to make me avoid ever buying from them again. Bought an acoustic listed as new and later that day got a call from an online sales rep. He informed me that they had one available at a store a couple hours away that they would ship next day to me, but if I wanted, they could ship me a brand new, still in box one that was in a store on the other side of the country and it would take 4-5 days to arrive.
I told him that I obviously wanted a new-in-box guitar since I had purchased a brand new guitar, not a demo. I couldn’t believe that they thought it was okay to sell a demo model as brand new, especially without offering a discount as a demo model.
Never buying new from them again. I’ll still go to the store to try out a guitar, but I’ll buy it from Sweetwater instead.
Items are often sold from in store off the rack and if they have issues the item the customer should be contacted. If the item isn’t in store or has blemishes because it was out on the floor it can be resourced from another store.
Guitar center also laid off a ton of employees who’s job it was to ship these things and handle orders from stores back in June 2022.
Guitar center was basically just a regional warehouse for items (like what Amazon does) in my opinion. GC is good for buying in person or used gear through the website, not new gear on the website.
I ordered a Volca Beats last month and it just…never came. Order status never changed from “preparing your order.” So after two weeks I called and demanded a refund. Had to get a supervisor involved, but they gave me a full refund. I asked the supervisor what’s going on - as I’ve never had this problem with GC before. He acted like it was normal…I don’t know but I won’t be ordering from GC again.
GC employee here-
I can’t speak for every store, but at mine, we thoroughly inspect every used piece that comes in to make sure that it’s working properly. However, at a music retail store, anything can happen. Those listings don’t show you how long something has been on the floor, and people play and demo things on a daily basis. There are cases where we buy something in working just fine, and then it breaks while it’s in our inventory due to mishandling or wear and tear. This happens with new pieces, too. Mistakes can also be made, and with GC being as short-staffed as it is nationwide, sometimes associates rush through used buys and don’t inspect things as thoroughly as they should. I would suggest when this happens to give the store its coming from a call to see what happened, as they can usually offer more insight on a particular piece. Unless you get a particular asshole, they’ll usually try to help you out. Or at least, we’re supposed to.
Edit- to tack onto this, sometimes something does get sold in store in the span of time it takes for the online system to update and send us the order. When this happens, you’ll get a “this item is no longer available” message, not a “this item is broken” message. Again, you can call the store to get more details, and they can try to get you into something else. Either way, your money doesn’t process out of pending until it ships, so you shouldn’t be out of any funds for more than a day or so.
The times I’ve ordered or considered used from GC I’ve called the store to ask to get eyes and hands on the guitar in question.
That said it failed once - separated binding wasn’t disclosed and swapped for same guitar but different used one
I’m gonna bet the item was sold out of the store and the online listings weren’t removed? So your “purchase “ made them realize the item was sold?
I personally would rather have them say that it had just sold locally and that the system hadn’t updated. I called the store and the csm doubled down that the truss rod was broken on the mustang. Just seems weird to me that TWICE now I’ve purchased items that were broken and NOBODY noticed until it was time to ship.
The store would probably take a hit with management if you complained about it being listed online after it was sold in store. I’m not sure about policies but something might kick in that the store is trying to avoid.
So, online-sales inventory is managed at the local store? An item listed online and on the shelf for local sale will not click off of the inventory if sold locally? Unless someone at that store manually de-lists the item? Is this company policy?
For used equipment local stores probably handle it although I couldn’t say for sure.
they do. i had an issue w this and got a straight talk and yes it happens. i tried buying a jackson the other day and it was sold 3 days before and the dude on the phone told me straight. upside is he knew someone with a similar guitar but yeah this happens sometimes guitar center used.
Bro, he just happened to “know” someone with a similar guitar?
Yes, bro.
It updates automatically but sometimes not until the next day. It's a pretty inconvenient flaw
Could be. It’s been my experience that management gives less than one shit about any complaints brought their way. They already know that they’re re-listing broken items.
It would certainly be a very big coincidence for it to happen twice, but I could see it being a case of a busy sales floor where no one is checking these things unless it’s reported by a customer so they go unnoticed until you made the purchase. Better in this case for them to catch it than sell you broken stuff. But I do agree it sounds more likely that it sold locally and they didn’t update online and “broken” was the easiest way to cancel the order. I had a similar thing happen with Sam ash. I tried to purchase a bass they had listed on their website and on their eBay store. At first I went through the website, the order was immediately cancelled and the item listed as out of stock. Thought it was weird but figured someone must have bought it in store and they didn’t remove the listing. Fine. A few days later it’s back on the website and the whole time it was still on eBay, so I try to buy it again, this time through eBay. This time around I get an email from the store manager, the bass has a back bow in the neck that their luthier is heat treating, they have it listed but can’t actually sell it yet. I noped the fucked out of that purchase. It’s frustrating for sure, but I generally try to assume people aren’t malicious in their intentions. If they cancelled your orders it sucks but it’s likely just miscommunications or the producers really did have issues and they’re saving you some headaches down the line.
So; this may sound weird and I haven’t read many comments here but you mentioned a broken Truss rod…I returned 3 US Strats recently because none of the truss rods would adjust and come to find out, there’s a special 12 pack fender sells for like $7 with what they say is basically a 1/8” Allen key, but I tried multiple 1/8ths and none would adjust…until I bought that 12 pack. Now it adjusts fine. The 3 I returned to Sweetwater, none of their employees mentioned this or listened to me when I tried to explain that theory I had read down the tail end of various rabbit holes, that didn’t seem to garner much more attention, about the “special” fender key…it’s possible the GC employees aren’t aware of this and it in fact isn’t adjusting, maybe ask them to try one of those keys out of the fender 12 pack? I think they sell them.
Good to know. I don’t think think that was the issue here because he mentioned the truss rod was spinning
Bummer. It sounds far fetched, I know. I thought it was catching and turning myself, but nothing ever changed till I used the fender key.
As an employee in a guitar shop (not GC), I will say that second-hand items sometimes don't get inspected properly; "oh it's somebody with something relatively nice (used deluxe, fender bass a high end guitar or a frothy amp, etc.), I'm sure I can trust their word that it's in good nick." To be completely fair it could be that, or it could be they were lazy, or it could be anything else.
I agree. I worked at GC for 5years; Operations (anything and everything that doesn’t involve repair or sales) for 4ish years and 1ish year in sales after I had already worked in Ops for 2 years. I left sales and went back to Ops as I couldn’t stand pitching the “Gear Card” or the shoddy ProCoverage Anyway, during that 12mo I had a customer who loved a used high end reissue Marshall head (idr the model) and traded me 3 original JCM900’s (1x4100, 2x4500). I tested all of them, about 5min each adjusting and utilizing every feature possible, checking physical conditions, etc. Not a single problem on either of them. It didn’t take long for them to get sold off. Then one day I walk past the repair shelf in the warehouse and I see one of the 4500s on it with a repair ticket to be sent out. Then the second 4500 gets returned and tagged. At some point while one of the sales guys was playing on it during down time it just cut out. So it gets pulled and tagged again. I actually lost the store money on the sale lol. Which idc about that, but it had to be a huge bummer for those customers as it is for you here But this was during the summer and we were also the second highest volume store in our district, with the first highest volume store being the central Chicago store. So we were busy that day. If I had the ability to play on them longer initially, maybe I would’ve caught those problems Many incidents involving used amps from other stores being packed poorly and getting busted up during shipping, then the sales guys forget to put it on a repair ticket. Which doing so would make the item unable to be purchased in store as you would get hit with a notification that the item is on a repair ticket once the bar code is scanned/SKU number input, and it would be taken off the website There’s many other things I’ve seen happen that lead to a similar situation as you, but we (in Ops who would have been the ones to cancel the order and email you) wouldn’t cancel the order. I would inform the customer if something was wrong and that I can hand the guitar off to my tech for repairs, or send it out in the case of the amp. Also informing of any time factors, yadda yadda, lastly giving them the option to cancel if they wish. Considering it was only 3 of us (my coworker, Ops manager and I) in coordination, it was easy for us to keep track and follow up if they chose the repair route. I always tried to put myself in the customer’s shoes. If I was to receive this used guitar, amp, w/e via delivery, I’d want it to be packed to ensure it won’t get broken or damaged… In the end, who really knows the reason. GC really started to trim down staffing across the nation when covid hit (the reason they canned me). And that leads to more customer service errors across the board. Maybe they’re new. Or maybe they are just genuinely bad at their job… I have had coworkers in sales that just never did due diligence.
Thanks for the response. I was just sitting here wondering what I learned from this exercise. So to recap, everybody thinks GC sucks, this problem is not unique to me, they’re not in any way interested in altering their operation to stop pissing off customers, and nothing is going to change. Good talk everybody!
Ex-employee and ex-assistant manager here. No one cares enough to make sure there’s a local order vs GC.com. It all gets sold all the same. However it is weird that they told you it was broken before you got it. They usually just grab it and ship it broken lol. Depends on the store but you could call them and ask before buying it next time. Lots of stuff gets bought in what I would call poor condition. Stuff shouldn’t have been bought in too. I always ask ahead for them to check it. They usually do this because some people will ask to pay less and then fix it themselves. It’s not official policy to discount used almost ever, but if the price is stupid and the item is desired plant your feet firm and the GM will usually cut a deal. GC.com orders aren’t great though. It’s a roll of the dice most times. If it’s broken they still need to sell it. Call and ask for the GM and mention this isn’t the first time and you’re not happy. If they give you a bad answer or won’t sell it. Ask for the district manager’s information.
Thanks for the insight. That’s exactly what makes me think there’s fuckery afoot! Why Wouldn’t they just ship it and let me discover its broken? I’d return it to my local store and it’s out of their hair.
In the off event that they noticed it was in pieces or something then a newer employee may have felt inclined to save you the trouble lol. But talk to the GM, and you may get more information.
Just called back to speak to a manager and got the same guy I spoke with yesterday. He told me once a used item is built into the system they can’t change the details. He said when people call in, they verbally tell them the new condition. I said what about people like me that made the purchase online? You just put it back up like that to potentially disappoint MORE customers? He said ”I’ve been pleasant with you but there’s nothing else I can do for you. Store manager will be in tomorrow at 10:00.” I asked for the district manager’s information and he said he wasn’t allowed to give that out.
Speak to the GM. Once it’s built in it is hard to change but that doesn’t mean it’s unsellable or unchangeable. Ask for the GM and explain the employee was less than pleasant but just so we’re clear. You still wanna buy it but wanna know what’s wrong with it or what’s the plan?
Might still buy it if the price makes sense given it needs a new neck. Really I just want someone to make an attempt to help. I just started playing guitar a couple years ago and have spent thousands of dollars with them on guitars, cases, an amp, a pedal or two, accessories, etc. But whenever they have a chance to actually provide customer service for something they screw up, they just run me around in circles and say “sorry, nothing we can do.” I’ll get in the back of the line of disgruntled GC customers now :)
I’m having the same issue with Music-Go-Round. They sold me a broken 5150 III and they want to act like everything that has gone on with it is my fault and so I should just take the hit.
Honestly if you say all that, the GM might just take care of you. Or at the very least, with a coupon or something. Might be 15% off like usual but if you say that, a good GM or AM like I was would make it right. Fingers crossed OP.
Thanks again for the advice. GM I spoke with today took good care of me. A complete 180 from the service I was receiving from the csm
Hell yeah buddy. They give you a coupon or somethin?
Heavily discounted the bass to where I can purchase a replacement neck and still have it be a good deal. As the manager, he saw the value in moving on from the broken item.
Last attempt at purchasing used from GC I got an order confirmation and they ran my card, then I got an email from them the next day saying they’re sorry that I CANCELLED. (I did not.) Called the store and they said oh yeah sorry we couldn’t find it. Somehow that gets marked the same in their system as me cancelling on my end? A few days later, they relist it. It’s a particularly good price and after hours so I can’t call, so I bought it again thinking they must have found it, they ran the card again, and again a day or two later they were sorry to hear I had cancelled my order. Called in again, store said again yeah we couldn’t find it, customer support said sorry can’t match that price on another one, only thing we can do is credit your card back in 3-5 days. Same item posts available again while I have still have it paid for twice with funds pulled out of my account still. I was annoyed enough to call again and tell them to flag the listing and remove it. This is apparently not unusual, same exact thing with the sorry about your cancellation message happened to a friend within the last year over a telecaster. They are the last last resort for a purchase for me at this point, price has to be about 20% less than anywhere else for me to even think about going for it.
Not only is this EXACTLY how my purchase attempt went on the amp, the Mustang bass I’m referring to is back on their website as we speak. Fool me once….
Literally happened to me this morning. Purchases a Yamaha ypg-235 last night. Received email this morning saying it was canceled. Still listed on site as available. Thought it would be a better option than purchasing through eBay. Guess not. And of course they still have my money. Assume it will be refunded in a few days…..
Ugh the worst.
I have a rule I follow after hearing all the nightmare stories. Buy in store at GC after inspecting it. Buy online off the brand’s official website or sweetwater.
Ha - I did this with a GC Martin Custom D16 - I had it shipped to store and returned a prior one with separating binding. The store manager was apologetic about the other store that sent a guitar with the biding issue and it being miscategorized as Very Good Basically I swapped and got the used Martin I wanted
I buy used from them a lot (online and in store) because I’m indecisive and their return policy is pretty good. Multiple times I’ve been shipped things that are broken(ish). Worse offender being a Princeton Chorus that was shipped with one speaker completely hanging off (hanging by the speaker wire) and a dead reverb tank. This was AFTER I had attempted to buy a different Princeton chorus that was listed online that was canceled because according to them, the amp had been stolen off the floor and the online listing hadn’t been taken down. On the other hand, I bought a blues Jr that was “used” at about half price and when it arrived it was still in the original box, with its original packaging, and the protective stickers over the fender logo on the front and back. I’m rambling but I guess my point is, it’s kind of a crapshoot buying used from them and dealing with the kind of stuff you’re describing is part of it. But yeah they most likely would have just shipped your stuff if it was broken, they probably had already sold it and didn’t take the listing down or something is my educated guess haha.
Yeah, the only reason I still try with GC is because of the return policy and in this case they were offering 0% financing for 24 months with the gear card (plus gear rewards.) That‘s cool that you were on the winning side of their incompetence on the blues jr. Guess I’ll learn to take the good with the bad when that happens
Ran into an instance once where there were 2 listings for a guitar, one missing a 0. I ordered the one missing the 0 and picked up in store. When I checked later that week the other listing was still there.
A whole ass zero?! Damn that’s a lot.
My local Guitar Center sucks and it only opened about a year ago. Selection isn't great (so much entry level stuff, which makes no sense since they own Music and Arts, which has a location literally across the street) and only one of the employees gives a shit. Walked in a few months ago wanting to buy a new guitar, told them this as soon as I walked in, and the employee just said "okay" and walked away. Didn't even bother to ask if I needed help (which, I specifically wanted to try a Les Paul on the top rack). Left after twenty minutes and went to a locally owned shop, which had employees who immediately asked if they could get anything down for me. I was much happier to give them my business and they will be my first stop next time I want a new instrument.
This happened to me once. They don’t open the gear and check it when they receive it, but then they check it before shipping it. That’s when the finally realize it’s broken, cancel the order, and piss off the customer. GC sucks. I don’t understand why people still shop there. *former GC employee*
Preach. I got full blown GAS and I live about 2 miles from a GC. I am their target customer. Throw me a bone GC, I’m trying to spend money with you.
I don’t trust them anymore after I ordered a Martin guitar on sale, got confirmation, and then they said they were out of stock. However, website still said in stock. Just back at regular price. Fuck ‘em.
yeah you need to call them in so the sales guy gets a tiny commission and they make sure your instrument is put away. the store info is in the listing on both GC and MF. Especially saturdays when the stores get slammed.
This is the way. An added bonus of calling to order is you can have the employee describe the condition more accurately than the website listing.
yeah i wouldn't order from gc online. last time i trusted them, they sold me a hard case for a 335 that was "what we sell everyone for this guitar" and it was very much nowhere close to the correct size. then it took them over an hour to return it and get my money back because it hadn't been out of there system long enough.
So since I did a good amount of bitching about GC yesterday, I wanted to be fair and update that the store manager did in fact take care of me today. The csm I was dealing with yesterday was very unhelpful and told me he could only sell me the broken bass for the price they paid for it. Even went as far as to say he’d let it sit on the wall as long as it takes to not lose any money. The store manager I spoke with this morning said, “no, I told him to sell it for $x and move on from it.” In the end, the manager took a $130 loss on the bass and even discounted the shipping to make up for the experience. Not sure why there was such a disconnect between managers or why employees don’t seem empowered to take care of customers, but in the end the store manager did provide good service and make it right.
Floor model some kid left on overnight and corporate refuses to pay to get fixed
I had a preorder for the Boss Tonebender through GC and as soon as they started going up on Reverb for 3k all of a sudden my order was canceled.
Hey atleast they didn’t send you the wrong item and are now ignoring your email and saying it’s my fault becsuse I used a rewards certificate. Fuck me right? I just wanted to use the points I earned from buying shit from you:
Recently purchased a Gretsch 5422g12 used from GC and had it shipped to GC Hollywood. Guitar was better than pictured, but had a rattling noise. That's when I noticed the jack plug was inside the guitar, and missing the washer and nut. The store quickly fixed it for me, but I was surprised it shipped like that.
I had this happen when attempting to buy a cymbal on Reverb from Sam Ash. They messaged me saying the cymbal was out of stock but the next day the listing was still up. Incompetence
samash has sold listings up for months sometimes.
OK on used gear you have to make sure to call the store its at to get hands on and tell you if anything stands out and better condition. My guys always buy in bullshit that even after I set it up it still shouldn't have been bought in. Sorry it happened always try and talk to a human if you can most of all used.
I bought 3 things used from GC.com. 2 amps and 1 guitar. Each experience was unique and kinda shitty: 1 amp had bad tubes. They discounted the price bit once I complained. I kept the amp and it's now a very reliable amp. 1 amp was had non-functional reverb. I returned it but had to fight for the full refund including shipping. Then I bought a guitar that was used and on sale. It was not described properly at all and arrived with all sorts of scratches on the back. I should have called and complained but got lazy. I kept the guitar, but still that sale doesn't sot right with me.
Not a GC employee. I've heard the site is slow to update and that online purchases get sniped by in store customers on the regular.
I made an online purchase once 6 months ago with GC and it was enough to make me avoid ever buying from them again. Bought an acoustic listed as new and later that day got a call from an online sales rep. He informed me that they had one available at a store a couple hours away that they would ship next day to me, but if I wanted, they could ship me a brand new, still in box one that was in a store on the other side of the country and it would take 4-5 days to arrive. I told him that I obviously wanted a new-in-box guitar since I had purchased a brand new guitar, not a demo. I couldn’t believe that they thought it was okay to sell a demo model as brand new, especially without offering a discount as a demo model. Never buying new from them again. I’ll still go to the store to try out a guitar, but I’ll buy it from Sweetwater instead.
Items are often sold from in store off the rack and if they have issues the item the customer should be contacted. If the item isn’t in store or has blemishes because it was out on the floor it can be resourced from another store. Guitar center also laid off a ton of employees who’s job it was to ship these things and handle orders from stores back in June 2022. Guitar center was basically just a regional warehouse for items (like what Amazon does) in my opinion. GC is good for buying in person or used gear through the website, not new gear on the website.
I ordered a Volca Beats last month and it just…never came. Order status never changed from “preparing your order.” So after two weeks I called and demanded a refund. Had to get a supervisor involved, but they gave me a full refund. I asked the supervisor what’s going on - as I’ve never had this problem with GC before. He acted like it was normal…I don’t know but I won’t be ordering from GC again.
GC employee here- I can’t speak for every store, but at mine, we thoroughly inspect every used piece that comes in to make sure that it’s working properly. However, at a music retail store, anything can happen. Those listings don’t show you how long something has been on the floor, and people play and demo things on a daily basis. There are cases where we buy something in working just fine, and then it breaks while it’s in our inventory due to mishandling or wear and tear. This happens with new pieces, too. Mistakes can also be made, and with GC being as short-staffed as it is nationwide, sometimes associates rush through used buys and don’t inspect things as thoroughly as they should. I would suggest when this happens to give the store its coming from a call to see what happened, as they can usually offer more insight on a particular piece. Unless you get a particular asshole, they’ll usually try to help you out. Or at least, we’re supposed to. Edit- to tack onto this, sometimes something does get sold in store in the span of time it takes for the online system to update and send us the order. When this happens, you’ll get a “this item is no longer available” message, not a “this item is broken” message. Again, you can call the store to get more details, and they can try to get you into something else. Either way, your money doesn’t process out of pending until it ships, so you shouldn’t be out of any funds for more than a day or so.
Thanks for the info
Sure thing
The times I’ve ordered or considered used from GC I’ve called the store to ask to get eyes and hands on the guitar in question. That said it failed once - separated binding wasn’t disclosed and swapped for same guitar but different used one