Guitar Center Corporate saw my FAKE ESP Video.......
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- Опубликовано: 18 сен 2024
- My new Guitar Center Affiliate Code, which works on EVERYTHING including USED GEAR! - guitar-center....
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My new Guitar Center Affiliate Code, which works on EVERYTHING including USED GEAR! - guitar-center.pxf.io/c/2923549/1125892/14264
Kyle - no discount on used gear showing up - any ideas?
@@edwardgrassel872 sorry man, it's an affiliate link. there's no discount attached to it, I just get a percentage of whatever you buy. I realize that's not much incentive to buy other than just knowing that you're helping me out
@@belligerentamateurdo you still get a piece on used gear?
@@texashatemachine420 i do! 10%
Without knowing how the corporation is structured I would think that all used equipment should go to one Central hub where everything is checked out by experts working together,
full description of the product and also yes beautiful pictures taken with a quality camera that you can zoom in on and see some detail,
we want to see the country of origin,
we want to see tags and labels,
we want to see and know as much as possible,
Perhaps a checklist !😉
The untrained people are also sometimes a value: undervalued, incorrectly labeled used equipment is a great goldmine.
i dont disagree there. haha
also for selling gear 😈
I got a USA Dean ML Custom Shop (probably around $2000+ EASILY, likely more) for $350 because it was a one off and the staff had no idea it was worth anything. I had to make sure it wasn’t a fake but serial number checked out
May have got a used hammer
standard for under $300 like that.
Worst customer service at the store.
I won't even buy strings there anymore. No reason to go back.
My local store has excellent customer service.
Mine has mediocre service but is typically very dirty with a lot of empty rack spaces where they're out of inventory. Not just once, like on three occasions over more than a year. Nothing is ever in stock.
I went recently to get a speaker cable. Online showed a 6.99 cable. They only had $16 and up. Had to order the cable in so I just bought the Ernie ball one. They didn't even have a variety of ghs strings
wah
@@ericskinner7355 and Kyle thinks it's a good idea to align himself with the sinking ship what a moron. And he obviously thinks everybody in here is a moron because he expects you to use his link so he can get some money. I take that back he's not a moron he's a total douche canoe.
I used to go to Guitar Center all the time. The store here in Greenville, South Carolina has gone downhill more than any retail establishment I’ve ever seen. It used to be very nice. Staffed well with knowledgeable employees and a huge selection of items. Now you cannot get help at all. I’ve gone in to spend over $1000 on a guitar and felt like an inconvenience to the employees there. They act like taking used gear is a hassle, and have even said they don’t do it unless it’s certain days and times. They don’t even keep strings in stock. I live 10 minutes from that Greenville location and will drive 40 minutes to Spartanburg to buy from their location. The Spartanburg store is a shining example of a Guitar Center. The difference between the two is night and day, and it’s sad because Greenville is a large market and deserves better. If anybody who works for Guitar Center sees this, please do something about your Greenville location.
I don’t know if things have changed at that location. I was playing at a club in the South Carolina 10-12 years ago. It was in the Greenville area, Handlebar I believe. The opening act had a member that worked at the store. The entire band was outfitted with gear from the store. They’d bring it back and sell it as new after gigging with it. That’s why most of the gear they sell is beat to hell. I’d imagine it’s not the only location that does this.
Went in there today and got picks and just about every guitar in there is in deplorable condition had $1499 bass on the wall with broken tuner like someone had dropped I pointed it out and they just said when it gets bought they’ll fix it.
I was in there a few weeks ago. I kinda agree. Its definetly the smallest guitar center ive ever been to. Asheville location is much nicer.
GC sucks now days. Tried to bring a new Jackson in to the Katy Tx location to have it setup and was told "Sorry we don't setup guitars with Floyd Rose's" What kind of BS its that?
I got to North Charlotte and Pineville and have similar experiences. Honestly I just tell them I’m browsing and don’t need any help until I’m ready to make a purchase (IF I make a purchase) to minimize the interactions I may have. Besides, I’m pretty sure most people that watch channels like Kyle or Fluff or Agufish already know what they’re going for. I won’t set foot in a GC without looking at their store website to see if they have the item in stock anyways lol
Being underpaid is the biggest issue. I work in a department that makes no commission so I have 0 incentive. But I WANT to do good work. I asked for a raise after a year of working and was met with laughter. In one year of shipping used items, I've had ONE be damaged. So instead of giving someone that does good work a raise, they'd rather fire me or wait for me to quit and hire someone else for 11 bucks an hour. I shipped you two different amps and I feel very confident saying they arrived safely. They pray on cheap labor, not people that know what they're doing. I'm quitting at the end of the year. (I'm doing the holiday because Im too nice to leave right before)
Also, imagine being in a position where your employees WANT to spend their money at your company. Wouldn't paying them more allow them to buy more of the things they want? I almost bet if they paid employees a living wage, they'd see a PROFIT.
That’s almost certainly a trickle down from the attitude at the top of the company. Really sad and disgusting.
Almost word for word how O'Reilly Auto Parts operates xD. Hire dum dums for cheap and cycle through them. Buy out competition and constantly open more stores without being able to properly support said expansion. Left that dumpster fire not long ago.
Employee: "They don't pay me enough to do a good job, so I won't."
Employer: "That employee does a crappy job, so no raise for them until the job performance improves."
This is a shitty ying-yang isn't it. Pick your side, but don't dismiss the other. When you go to work for someone, it's a contract, you agree to do the work, they pay you the agreed wage/salary. Want higher wage? Show them you're worth it. This attitude of "they don't pay, so I'm going to do a crappy job" is one I don't understand. Kyle is right, doesn't require loyalty to the job, it's loyalty to yourself. Make them regret not paying you to keep you. Granted, the regret is short lived, but still, you leave there knowing you did your best.
@@okayestguitar66 100%. I go above and beyond for myself mostly. That and the customer. I know the reputation of GC shipping. That's MY job and my reputation. If anyone gets something packed and shipped by me, you're probably going to be annoyed at how well I packed it. It just can get so discouraging.
"You do great work, you get like 8 hours worth done in 4"
OH COOL, THANKS FOR THE 44 BUCKS BEFORE TAX. 😍
Unfortunately for guitar center, Sweetwater came along and improved the buying experience 10 x
Guitar center just could not match Sweetwater for quality, customer satisfaction, price, guarantees, or selection
I bought a rack case from guitar center. Asked the guy behind the counter if the screws were inside the case. He said you don't need any, it's already assembled 🙄
That sounds about right.
😂😂😂😂😂
I was looking for electric guitar strings with gauges larger than 52 and got handed a single 58 ACOUSTIC String as the biggest they had in the store 😂
@@infinidominion Should’ve said “Perfect I will take 6 of them”
They have a Fake Ibanez JEM on the site as of writing this.
I currently work at GC, I agree with everything you've said. Cool to see them finally give out affiliate links given that Sweetwater has been doing it for a while now. New CEO agrees with a lot of this (supposedly). I'm lucky to be at a store with lots of knowledgeable salespeople but as someone who's also a customer, there are SO many apathetic employees. It'd be cool if I didn't have to focus so much on being an insurance (pro coverage) salesman in addition to a guitar salesman, but c'est la vie de retail I guess. It'd be cool if our commission structure wasn't changed in a way that pays us so much less.
I hear that a lot from current employees about the virtually unattainable commission structure. AND the lower starting hourly wage! I considered applying there part time for the heck of it because I love gear but those guys don't even have time to mess around with any of it. And yea...constantly getting harped on about pushing the coverage. Bummer.
Agree. Absolutely love how the commission structure was cut and corporate used December of 2022 as an example for sales numbers and price inflation, literally just before the guitar boom died out and prices started to come back down to normal. Also love how the commission structure is exactly the same for big market stores with huge big ticket pro audio items and platinum rooms as it is for my third tier store that sells $6k-$9k total per day. As a seasoned musician who helps actually sell items it would be nice to get paid more than the street hires who are basically just cashiers.
That pro coverage is a big plus for GC, no doubt… BUT… it’s also saved me thousands of dollars. For one example, a $3000 Les Paul got damaged in transit. Luckily I had pro coverage, and got a brand new Les Paul that was on sale, so had enough left over to get a couple of boss pedals.
Definitely worth the extra money, if it’s in your budget.
@@TheRoyalGenerationiTunesyeah it’s pretty cool but we get f*cked if we don’t hit the right pc numbers
@@PookieWookieBear-on2ln I’ve worked there as well. If memory serves me correctly, you have to be somewhere around 35-40% PCA.
That’s honestly not hard to do, if you have the right pitch. I consistently stayed around 45% or higher.
And I worked in the Spartanburg SC location….Not exactly prime real estate for big budgets.
With commission, I averaged making about $25-$35 per hour. Not too shabby for a part timer that only worked 2 week days per week.
Just gotta dig in and work on your pitches. Hitting 40% is definitely realistic. (But it also helped that I had personal experience using the pro coverage..so throwing something like my example in your pitch could help)
Tell them to reinstate layaway. It’s insane they took it away.
THIS!!
That isn't going to happen. Credit is way too easy to get, and the bank gives them a cut of the interest.
How is that ? I applied with a 745 credit rating and got denied.. my first Guitar Center purchase was 1990 in Farmers Branch Texas off 635 & Spring Valley road and have bought lots of uswd gear from them in the good old days.. that pissed me off about being denied credit though.@@war2thegrave
I get better service from my local gas station.
Me too… mine are self service 😂
I remember when The Guitologist used to do dumpster dives on GC stores because they would simply throw away gear which just needed some minor fixing to get working. Then they caught up to it and made it harder for that to be done. There was also that story when they screwed Greg Howe over. He had a signature guitar with Laguna, then GC just decided to discontinue the brand altogether, which left anyone who purchased those guitars, and Greg Howe, in the dust with nothing.
U gotta be dog styling me, they screwed Greg like that!!! What a fiasco.
I stopped going to GC in Greenville because of the amount of noise from kids playing crap and not being able to find a seat to test any equipment. I now buy from Sweetwater for their selection and service.
@@Chris-yq7xv I posted my last horror story with GC above, but a time before the I went in and stood in line for over 10 mins with no one behind me, 4 people in the store, watching the guy struggle to price the gear trading in from the person in front of me. While the whole time 3 other employees were standing 10 feet away, chatting with each other, and I said out loud "Yo, why cant they help me?" He said they can't "Cause they work in different departments." I said "Are you F'kn kidding me?", and one of the guys come to me and said If I can't keep my tone down, I'll be asked to leave. I said don't worry, I'm leaving anyways, This is F'kn pathetic, and I will be talking to your corporate office. Which I did, and they actually let the person who approached me go. Ha. Lol. I really miss the days when the customer is always first in corporate America.
Here is how they become successful “model yourself after Sweetwater” enough said
Honestly, yes
My Guitar Center experience:
"Do you have x?"
"No, but we can order it for you!"
If I wanted to order online something I'd just do it myself - from a cheaper outlet. Guitar Center's value was interactive window shopping. It drove a desire to purchase gear and try new things. They are now a guitar pick and extended warranty dispensary.
I recently traded about 7 or 8 items in on a cabinet. The process took about 3-4 hours for no good reason. First, they had 0 clue how to test any rack gear. Second, the guy helping me casually went on lunch in the middle of it all and didn’t say anything until he came back a half hour later. The whole process was clunky and unprofessional. I heard one employee tell a customer “they don’t pay us enough to care” and I also heard another employee who th ought they knew everything spew total BS to pretty much every customer he “helped”. I felt bad for all the customers who were helped by that guy, he was completely full of shit. This was at the Fort Collins, CO location. Horrible experience every single time
...at where? lol
@@CS-ru4xdit’s in northern Colorado
I go to that guitar center all the time and know a few of those guys there personally. I’ll show the bosses your message. To put em on blast.
@@frontline205 Although I have little faith of improvement, I appreciate you showing them. The guy who was spewing nonsense to customers was the slightly bigger guy with glasses. If you say he's a bit of a know-it-all they should know who I'm talking about. While I was there a customer was picking up a guitar that got set up and was pointing out that the strings were buzzing a lot (they were), but this employee just played it lightly, said he thought it felt fine, and then said it's only buzzing because "acoustic guitars aren't meant to be played that hard." This was a BS move to not have to deal with the problem. Pissed me off. I could tell that the customer was more experienced than the employee and I could feel that he had just made a mental note to never go there again.
I purchased a used "mesa" 112 cabinet from a small local guitar shop for a good price. Got home and sat staring at it and decided to remove the back and check the innards. Was a complete fake. Particle board, cheap crimp connectors. Called them, and they said bring it back for full refund. Was really good looking fake. Buyers beware!
Should’ve taken it to guitar center and flip it
GC Davenport Iowa. Made 2 phone calls so everything would be on order on a deal I set up with an employee. I have to drive an hour to get there so MADE SURE OF EVERYTHING! When I got there the guy who I talked to was on a phone and his two buddies acted like they had no idea what I was talking about. Guy on the phone just looks over and mouths that it was a miscommunication. I was then gestured at and made fun of as I left in front of other customers. I will never spend one more dime at any GC. I will add that I am 60 years old and know about using manners and I was polite thru the whole thing. It also means at this point in my life I have a ton of cash for gear and they will get no more of it. Good luck GC.
I worked at guitar center for almost 5 years. Beginning of 2022 they more or less doubled their commission structure to pay their employees less. I got most of my money from commission. it amounted to a 7k pay cut selling nearly the same amount from the previous year. Needless to say I am no longer there. It really was a slap in the face. They don’t value their employees and it trickles down to the diminishing quality of their brand.
It is cool Kyle got an affiliate link. But the average employee there probably struggles to make 1% commission now. By comparison he could sell 2 Les Paul’s and get more than most of their employees do in commission per month. Just further drives home the point. Nothing against Kyle though. Like good for you dude.
The "corporate" way of guitar center goes back much further than you mentioned. I worked (briefly) at the Sunset Blvd location way back in 2000. I was excited when I got hired because I had some experience with gear, etc. From the moment I hit the sales floor, I was hammered with SELL, SELL, SELL - even if that meant pushing (junk) product on customers that I didn't believe in - even a little. And I was threatened with, if you don't pull your weight in sales, you'll be fired. It was aless than fun learning experience in poor treatment of employees - so I very quickly quit. They wouldn't even send me my paycheck, unless I went in to the store to have a meeting with the store manager, where he tried to bully me for quitting. It was complete horse shit. I've never trusted GC since.
I can tell you stories..
One time the guy behind the counter told me to buy a certain guitar string..
I buy strings by the case...
I told him no I fine..
He's slightly went off and set out loud that I don't know what I'm doing and I should just take his guitar strings because he knows strings..??. I ignored him and ask for what I wanted which they did not have and left..
He wasn't offering advice.
He told me I didn't know what I was doing..
It was a horrible experience
In Vegas, I was looking for a simple electric 7string set and got handed an Acoustic 58 string as the only option they had in that giant ass store full of crap
Bring guitar center back on our radar
I'm surprised ANYONE would still shop at GC, much less advertise them.
Just got an amp shipped last week and I wish I could show you the photo. So bad I thought it was a joke. 50lb tube head, no bubble wrap around it, just in a box loose with some brown paper.
I have some crazy pictures too
same experience about 10yrs ago on a carvin head i will never do that again
They shipped me an amp last year, it was well packed mind you, but it was listed as "like new" and unblemished... The tolex was bubbling off of it and peeling off in spots.
My Jcm 900 was just put in a huge box not even with paper in it, the good thing is it wasn't damaged and I'm still playing it today (got it about 4 yrs ago)
Oh yeah I've ordered a couple of combos from them. None of them survived the trip unscathed. Meanwhile I've shipped dozens of huge amps myself and have NEVER had a problem.
Dude I worked in retail for 20 year, 12 in management, and the lack of employees is universal. The people who run the company don't give a shit about the customer service. They see employees as an expense and is usually the first to be cut. GC is on the way out and corp will be there wondering why.
every job... if you ask the employees are underpaid, overworked, and undertrained.
I recently had to return a used amp from guitar center. as soon as it delivered I checked it out and first play it was making terrible noises (pops and screeches and farting noises) and it was described as in "Great" condition. Ended up just buying a new amp through sweetwater
Definitely down to do more digging into GC used, thanks for advocating for us.
For used gear, guitar center has always been my go to, for all the reasons you listed. Can't get burned with a no questions asked return policy. I'll use your link
Dude, back in 99-2005 era, I use to go to guitar center and check out gear all the time ! The Sacramento store even use to have local bands play shows in the parking lot ! It was a hub for the music scene out here. I miss those days.
Now the store feels sterile and boring….
Oh, One thing I really wish they would bring back are the isolation rooms ! It was awesome to be able to crank an amp a little bit without feeling like you’re putting on a show for the entire store ! 🤘😆
Elusive Furs!!
I have personally used that 45 day return period. It’s really awesome that they have it. It actually encourages people if they are not a fan of their purchase for one reason or another time to upgrade.
Dude !! I am totally with ya and your brain !! I bought 2 amps from them. One was a Friedman JJ-100 head. Opened the (sold as new) box, hooked it up and nothing. Went thru everything and saw there were no power tubes. No tubes in a ( New) Friedman JJ-100. Happened to a PRS Archon 100, this one someone changed the tubes on a ( New) head and sold it as new. I was pissed and did complain. They were not really sorry for it.
I had three great, amazing sales associates. Took care of me really well. Spent a good amount of money. Always came back to them for business. They left and now GC is a shell of what they used to be. Don't do much business with them.
Good job, man!!!🙌
I love that you're actually making a difference.
Dude, I'd love to see gear in the store that's a bit more modern.
I've been coming here for years, bro, and I know, or at least I feel it to my bones, that you've always given your honest opinion. Thank you for that, bro. Love ya for that. 🤘
one thing i hope they focus on ,is getting competent guitar techs for repairs and setups .
So glad you did this! I go on GC's used gear website every day, and i buy used amps all the time. I just used your link right now to buy some used Kali monitors. I'm always looking at GC and also your used amp list. More purchases to come! Keep up the great work, Kyle!!
I live in NJ and frequent the Paramus store. I have been shopping at GC since 2001, was briefly a Digidesign merch rep for that same GC. I have definitely become recognizable by the few select employees who are exceptional at that location, and I agree with your statement. Make friends with the good employees. I have also seen a MARKED change in the store layout and what is available. Some great guitars ON THE FLOOR (not the locked wall hangers) ready to be played on the amps on the floor. It’s a tremendously upgraded experience. While there are definite improvements to be made online and in store for them, the in store experience has definitely gotten a make over and I greatly appreciate that. Hopefully that trend improves. I also hope maybe someone from GC gets to see how well I think the Paramus location is doing. Oh and I will usually stop in to ONLY check out the used stuff. Always looking for a gem. Great video Kyle!
Great video! It’s nice to see someone care about the things we all love!! I used to really look forward to going to G.C.!!!
Lowly GC associate here! Like another commenter said, I too work in a store that I feel has a great group of employees who actually know their stuff- and it surprises me that that isn't the norm... why work in a music store if you don't know, or care, about the gear?? Same goes for the Ops team with packing: why work here if you aren't going to pack things right. I know there are times when they get absolutely swamped with work but still. Fault should also be put on the shipping companies as well and not just GC... but ooooweeee some of the packing jobs I've seen were dreadful!
The stories I've heard about how GC used to be sound like a dream. The commission tier took a big change last year and is great for big sellers, but sucks for those who don't work the "good days" or have a busy store. You're attitude isn't going to be nice when you know you're only making base pay when commissions rolls around and there's an easy fix for that.
There's so much to say about GC (good and bad) and I totally get why people use Sweetwater over GC. Hopefully things change for GC because they really need to up their game in order to stay around.
I'm glad to hear they've made you an affiliate and i hope the deal works out in your favor. It's a good step in the right direction for them to reward constructive criticism.
I'd rather not play guitar than do business with Guitar Center. Their customer service has been garbage and I'd rather support either a mom and pop shop or a corp that actually gives a shit like Sweetwater.
The only thing I'll buy from GC is strings and it's strictly out of convenience. Anything else is Sweetwater all day everyday. Sweetwater needs to get into the used market.
Sweetwater has a Reverb presence and the store is listed as "Gearnuts" I believe. If you watch their listings regularly you can sometimes find them selling new overstock as used for a discount and used gear.
Sweetwater rocks. They REALLY go above and beyond.
They already have a used storefront. They’ve had it for a while now. It’s called gear exchange on the website.
Shows how much you know.
@@beefnacos6258you could've just informed him they have a used section instead of just being a snob about it.
I have dealt with Guitar Center 2 times. Have never been a big fan. I have dealt with Sweetwater for over 10 years. They are amazing. They have the most knowledgeable salespeople and their Customer Service and Repair Personnel are second to none. I have on my Bucket List to visit their campus. It's like a city. A Facebook friend of mine works there. That would be my dream job (only I'd be afraid of spending my entire pay check on gear).
Sweetwater for life. Love that company. They take good care of me, and are always available.
I would never order from another company again.
I bought a used Wampler phenom distortion from GC about a year ago.
10$ off because it was a store demo model.
Well, it was broken.
I would have rather have spent the 10$ and had one that works. I am suspicious that they knew it was crap and sold it to me to get it out of there rather than just throwing it out.
Truly, thank you for the constant fight to try to improve the corporate hellhole, that is the company we once loved and called home. From a nearly-recent past employee who has shipped to you, (I hope you enjoyed the note in the Les Paul JR from North Olmsted
Guitar center in Clearlake TX won’t talk to unless you bang on expensive shit.
The one in Arlington and a couple in Ft Worth Texas used to be really good and I bought lots from them..then my friends that worked there said they just went to shit and quit taking care of customers so I quit going..now the closest one to me is in Tyler Texas about 90 miles away and it's a nice clean store and have had a few good experiences buying / selling there.
the last time i bought an instrument through GC used, they handed me a box. i said "do you want to open this up so we can check it out?" they said "nah, if there's a problem just bring it back". didn't care for that. bought an amp head last year. asked to test it out, and they were happy to oblige. better. there was also the time i bought a microphone that never shipped. i was refunded. then it was listed again. so i bought it again. and i was refunded again. maybe the mic didn't actually exist. nothing lost there, just a week of being really frustrated.
it's inspiring to see you helping them find their way again. so much of the music community needs what i've been calling "common sense advisors". lots of gear manufacturers just aren't paying attention to what we want. the buying experience feels like a gamble most of the time. they need to be listening to more of us. and you are a great representative for that.
I’ll say this I’ve been to a guitar center to get a quote or trading in a guitar and I could easily see how the employees could get distracted or rushed through the process of correctly identifying a guitar. Here’s what happened when I went in I was at the counter, waiting to have my guitar looked at, there was one kid helping and the other employees were taking care of other customers and the counter was so busy and quickly escalated to seven or eight people waiting in line and not enough staff to help people out and customers were getting frustrated and it was somewhat of a nightmare just getting thetrade-in price for a guitar and sitting there and observing all of the other action happening.
"... I'm not selling out... I'm buying in!"
GC employee here. My coworkers all care a lot, we love gear and love our jobs, but you have to keep in mind that customers will try to sell us literal piles of junk every single day - boxes of crusty old cables, toy Casio keyboards with 30 years of dust on them, their kid’s First Act guitar with 3 strings missing, sketchy Amazon drop ship brands, and yes, Chibsons and other counterfeits. 99% of it gets turned away, but on the right day at the right time you get a situation where the employee buying in guitar gear is actually a drummer or keyboard player and just doesn’t have the expertise in that area. If we did full teardown inspections of every piece of used gear that came in, no one would sell us anything because the process would take twice as long as it already does. As Kyle mentioned our 45 day return policy is ridiculously lenient for exactly that reason - it’s not like Reverb where you have to message the seller who immediately denies that anything is wrong with the item and refuses to refund you until you escalate.
I used to work for Guitar Center and store employees are under trained unless they're already passionate about a specific gear type. I can also relate to how corporate focused that they are and how frustrating it is especially being a former employee. Props to them for making you an affiliate though and maybe the company will learn from their mistakes!
Dude you’re the man, as a ops associate at guitar center who’s packing used gear every day, I agree with everything that you’re saying. I try my hardest to pack everything , as hard as it is sometimes, as if it’s going to my favorite musician.
My local Guitar Center in NE Portland has always been great when I shop there. Sounds like most aren't as good as mine, but I do want to give some props to a deserving store. No pushy sales, no dimwit employees, returns are a breeze when needed, etc. No, I'm not affiliated with them in any way- just a customer that has spent a pretty penny over the years there
On rare occasion the lack of attention-to-detail pays off. I just bought a used '65 Fender Deluxe Reverb RI that was a 1 of 100 Fender limited edition originally, then it was fully hand-wired and customized by George Alessandro. It's possible it's now 1 of 1. From my view, GC sold it for 20-30% of its value (was less than a used tone master version). I'll continue to look for that $4k Dumble they don't realize they have...
I appreciate your honesty and transparency a lot!! Keep on!
There's a fake Ironbird going around on their site, it's been bought and returned and resold several times.
I do appreciate Guitar Canter giving young musicians a chance at a job.
But they need some old-ass managers who have been in the game for a long time...
I was one of those people who discovered your channel from that video
I recently moved to Canada and have visited Guitar Center’s Canadian counterpart Long & McQuade. I’ve only visited the one local to me but it is night and day difference from most Guitar Centers. The staff is very knowledgeable, friendly and helpful, I bought a guitar and the sales guy was almost as pumped with my guitar choice as me 😆. Their store is well stocked, clean and organized. I was expecting the same experience as most Guitar Centers in the US but I was pleasantly surprised.
I just did some business with them at the Eugene Oregon store and it was a nightmare. Took me 2 weeks to trade in some gear to pick up a Katana Artist. Gentleman I was dealing with had no clue about guitars, pedals, amps. He didn't even know what a Tonex pedal was as it was one of the items I traded in along with a Blackstar head, Bugera cab and a Dean ML. He was always busy with other customers as well throughout this process. Hopefully it is the last time I ever deal with Guitar Center.
I remember going into Guitar Center a few times, and knowing more about the amps, and pedals I was looking at, more than the employees working there!!!
Im glad to hear this man. Hopefully they improve their business practices. It helps when you call these things out. Keep it up.🤘
A few years ago I bought a used BC Rich online. Lots of pointy parts. It arrived literally sticking out of the box and badly damaged. I realize this can happen, but they should also realize it. It was very poorly packaged and was just asking to be destroyed. They accepted it back without any fuss, but it was a Warlock that perfectly matched a Mockingbird that I already had. Never found that matching finish again. They suggested I have items delivered to the store, it might be safer. So, I ordered a Orange 112 cab in excellent condition. The picture was decent. I went to pick it up and they'd dropped it on the corner and crushed one of the corner protectors. No longer excellent. I refused to buy it. He said, "fine with me. I'll sell it to someone else in no time." I wasn't impressed with the TLC or attitude regarding used purchases. It might go fine if I tried again, but burn me twice...
Kyle you rock and seeing your channel grow is great! Rock on brother!
I sympathize with GC, I was always surprised how well they weeded out the irresponsible party animal vibe considering it's a music store, but I've had so many bad experiences with feeling unwelcome there I just dread going now. I got my first guitar there when I was a little kid.
The "Message Us" button that is on every used ad; I have never gotten an email response about a product and I often try hoping things will change at Guitar Center. I have had pretty good luck but I've also bought vintage amps that only showed a photo of the front, or not very good photos of the back, and didn't show that someone had drilled holes in the back or that the serial number does not match the year the amp is supposed to be.
That said if any of you are looking for US made stratocasters for under $1,000 they have a bunch of Highway One models right now (15 all under $1,000, as low as $650). 2006 and newer should have the big '70s style headstock and nitro laquer paint. The earlier ones had the regular headstock and I believe poly paint. Both have the vintage 6 screw style trem system.
I’ve had the same stance that’s similar in the sense that, whenever I’m being critical about ANYTHING, it’s because I DO STILL CARE and want to see them either GET BACK or MOVE FORWARD successfully because the open market needs healthy and good competition for the consumer to get the best out of a product for the companies that want to draw you in. At the end of the day, if I REALLY don’t care, I’m not gonna waste my energy, let alone make a RUclips video about it. So awesome to hear!
Kyle! You couldn't be more on point! Kudos!
You know what’s crazy? Knowing guitar center they probably had like a dozen customers come in and tell them the guitar was fake. But their employees just didn’t care enough to do anything about it, and let it get shipped off.
I’m so hesitant on buying any used guitars from them because anytime I find one I’m interested in, there’s usually really crappy pics and little to no description. The few times I’ve emailed them about an item, zero response. Frustrating because they used to be decent and I have one right down the road from me so it’s convenient.
Honestly, big props to you for this. The GC used site has been a goldmine for used gear at a reasonable price. Especially cabinets. The $29 freight shipping is lifesaver. Hopefully your recommendations will result in some changes!
I bought a really nice used Michael Kelly from G.C. in February. I've worked for them in '03, and have been buying from them since just before Daddys Junky Music closed for good. The staff today doesn't care at all and seem like you're bothering them by being there. It's a bad look.
Bought my first guitar at Daddy's Junkie music. 91 or 92. It was a white Ibanez.
Manchester NH.
Kind of a bummer they are gone for sure..
I once went in guitar center..
And the guy who serviced My guitar..
Was one of the best guitar techs I've ever seen..... He was only working there for a couple months while he was on tour with his band...
This old guitar center style was awesome.
Those guys knew what they talked about..
My local Guitar Center is great, a lot of the staff have been there almost since they opened in 2003, and they know their shit. I understand this is likely an isolated incident, as another Guitar Center is currently on attempt #3 to properly fulfill an order I made over two weeks ago
I met you at guitar fest and was so shook that you were there my mind went blank couldn't even remember your name I felt so stoopid! Haha I literally watch your vids all the time it's a huge past time of mine lol. Your always so blunt and I love it! I'm super excited about this because I love gc as a kid and teenager and past years I've been so disappointed literally avoiding gc like the black plague! I hope this works out and I look forward to it!
This is actually a great video. I loved guitar center when I was a kid. Feel the same way with what’s going on right now. I hope they figure it out because I used to love going in and finding something that caught my eye.
I went to the guitar center in Evansville, IN once and was browsing gear. It was about 2 hours from closing time and I was being followed thru the store by a single employee. Sat down to try out a Laney amp and the employee starting walking around to the other amps sighing loudly to make it apparent he was annoyed that I was trying out an amp. Ridiculous. I had planned to purchase more than just some strings and strap locks but that employee made the experience miserable. Went to another store that was a locally owned business and ended up buying a guitar because they pointed me to instruments in my price range and left me alone to try out what I liked.
GC always treated me well. I just picked up a 90s Fender solid state Stage 112. Told them it had scratchy pots, they gave me 20 bucks to buy some dioxit. I just comes down to who you get and what store you goto.
Very nice of them. A local independent store would have fixed the pot for you while you waited.
Support the local guys too or they will be gone! At that point, GC is the only option and we all know how that shakes out.
You know something Kyle I'm actually pretty happy you're working with Guitar Center. Someone like you needs to be talking to the higher ups at a company like this to set a lot of things straight. If more companies like Guitar Center start listening to their customers the better their business practices will turn out. Somebody like you could turn things around for these guys, and that would be a great outcome..
I worked for Guitar Center early 2000s. We were well-trained and had weekly visits from product managers and had to be certified on product lines and specific products. It made us deadly as sales people because we knew the ins and outs of everything. For five years, I was running two departments managing 15 people. It was a blast. Then we lost Gibson, Mesa and they cut costs and employees and I was working 12 hour days / 5 days a week.
There are some great people who work there from the old regime that really care. however the new people couldn’t give a shit less
My guitar center had a used 35th anniversary PRS se, the coil split. switches , didn’t work. No sound when activated, the kid working there, said” are those kill switches “.
I have a friend who used to work at the local Guitar Center... while working there, he bought a used guitar from another location that was not only fake, but not even working. It was a cheap Chinese copy with a very lawsuit-worthy headstock, and then it had a sticker that covered the logo and name of the company that made it and replaced it with the brand and logo of the company that would be legally able to sue over the headstock shape - NOT Gibson - it was a fake Jim Root Fender model. It had fake EMG's, and it did not work at all. It had really bad fret sprout, a warped neck with a fake truss rod adjuster that didn't work, and even plugging it into his 6534+ nearly blew his amp. He noticed it was fake immediately, as he was in charge of the used guitar and bass department, but he was curious, and since it was an obvious fake, his manager let him bring it home, anyway, as long as he brought it back to file the insurance claim the next shift. The sound that amp made... I was there, it was loud and unpleasant. The face he made as he rushed to turn it off... We laughed way too hard afterwards... my sides, lmao.
Thank you for making this video
I always suspected something was going on with the used sections but I am not knowledgeable enough etc..
Omg thank you for exposing them.
Definitely work with them they and your fans need a honest guy in there…
As a former employee of a leisure industry retail store where staff are overworked, understaffed and underpaid, and exploited for their 'passion'. Thank you for taking one of these businesses to task.
It's miserable to go into one of these places every day for years and see your best efforts completely going to waste because you simply don't have the resources to do it all and do it right because someone higher up the food chain is shooting for a bigger bonus.
Guitar Center here in St Louis (Watson Rd) sold me a used Jackson Dinky with Grover Jackson's signature on the head stock. Well, the whammy bar they gave me didn't even work with the trem. Wouldn't thread in at all. After removing the string plate, I noticed the serial number had been scalloped out. Worthless. Paid $1K for it. They refused to take it back because it was purchased used. Never EVER trust the people at GC. They KNEW it was worthless and still sold it to me.
Well said. The number one issue here and across the US .Pay employees a living wage and train them.
I love that you're so open about us and the integrity of your channel. I value your opinion and insight. Never change! I've bought a few used things from Cigar Center ( yes, i lovingly call Guitar Center that) and have no bad experience with those items! I am friends with my local GC manager because she's also a local musician herself, and I trust her and her staff. Hope you all have good day! Cheers, Peace. 🤘❤️🤘
I dealt with Guitar Center 1 time, and I was lied to. Game over. I work 24 hour shifts as a paramedic on an ambulance, most of the time with little to no sleep. So being overworked is unlikely. My guess would be that if Guitar Center is in a lot of debt, overtime over 40 hours for most employees is probably non-existent.
Why do you assume that, just because you have the training and ability to work 24 hour shifts at a time in a high stress job where people can die if you make mistakes, that GC employees aren't overworked, just because your work situations are incomparable?! 😂
Hamer guitars are direct order and are guaranteed like sweetwater does !(?)
@@SamBrockmannI bet your glasses may have need another level of thickness due to fog
@DosHemperor , worry about your own thickness, clodpoll. You probably walk into walls, because it requires too much thinking to avoid them. 🤣
@@DosHemperor , oh, worry about you walking into walls, bud. Why? Well, it requires thinking for you to move away from walls. Most folks? They just move. You? You have to consider it.
I worked at GC in the early 2000's for 5 years. Things have gone down hill since then. I have noticed lately, they have tried a lot harder to try to bring back the golden age. I am glad to hear of the changes and I am glad to see the changes.
I worked there for 10 years they DO NOT CARE ABOUT THEIR EMPLOYEES OR CUSTOMERS! Literally I have recorded video and audio of a former boss that treated like S#$t ,outright discrimination. Horrible Company sold out values for the $$$ . Everything you said is true !!
I live 30 minutes away from the Sweetwater HQ. I'm so happy I'll never have to deal with Guitar Center again. I've not had a lot of good experiences with them.
I’m with you, I’ve got a long purchase history with GC, and with their used section, it’s actually one of my secret places to buy gear, because yea the GC employees do a bad job of photographing and documenting the used gear they’re selling, but if you have a good eye, and stick with electronics and pedals, you can get bargains on there for sure, but like you’re saying, buyer beware for sure with them, it shouldn’t be risky for newbs to shop there (which is unfortunate, but it’s never too late to turn that around.
Cheers to your partnership, I’ll always have a soft spot for them, as rough as the retail biz is for them
As a former GC Ops employee, one of the major issues I encountered was the regional manager cutting quantities on packing supplies to get a bigger bonus by saving costs. It was a tough gig. As much as I wanted to love tue job, that with the points you gave makes it very difficult to do so
Legit question here but when you placed an order after the video, do they know who you are?
Could they be paying more attention to your orders?
Good for you bro 👍. Love the channel and what you do ☮️❤️🎸.
Not like it matters. Guitar Center won't ship anything from their used shop to us here in Hawaii (or Alaska) or any of the APOs.
Using that affiliate link in the next couple of days. Great timing.
I live 3 mins from a Guitar Center and only buy picks and strings there . Sweetwater gets all my real music gear purchases . The idiots that work at GC aren’t even musicians. Lol
You'd probably make more money as a musician than working at GC.
You hit the nail on the head. Emploree's from Guitar Center need to be trained by someone in the field actually that is gigging or really need's actual help with repair's and such. I was sold wrong gear before with no trial of the product. I'm not saying I was the perfect shopper, but I'm not claiming I was right conveying what I needed, but I think you were right in saying thing's need to change.❤
Essentially, support local music stores. I would much rather support a small business that is passionate about what they do rather than buying from corporate companies that openly sell fakes (this isn't the first occurrence of this) don't test used gear etc. Bobby did a good job however the company as a whole is garbage.
Yes, they need a Guitar Center Cafe and Lounge for real that will be so rad for us musicians hanging out chilling eating food like a home away from home. Not too much overboard though. There are so many of us online around this beautiful place we all call home that yet they as well as all the others are now being more small business family oriented focussed! That is what is needed to turn survival into Triving in Excellence!!!
Thaks for the video Kyle Appreciate all the content :)
I worked GC as a warehouse manager many years ago, and there were issues when it comes to shipping even then. Packing materials weren’t provided. When I shipped something, I had to reuse boxes and packing mats from items we received. Finding a box that actually fit well was a pain at times, especially when items had to go out that day. I believe there was technically a way to order boxes/etc but that was out of my hands and took money from the stores profits, so that wasn’t really in a cards.
Still, I only had one item damaged in shipping (an out of box and very heavy Williams digital piano that was impossible to ship with random sized boxes and no firm styrofoam packing).
I can’t speak for how things are now, but sales were the only thing that mattered. It’s was all about the numbers and everything on the operations/warehouse side doesn’t directly generate money. Commission sales and pressure to hit/beat the numbers is not a good mix, and how the company treated operations then was bad. From what I’ve heard, it’s gotten much worse since I left over a decade ago.
I hope they turn things around, but I don’t have a lot of hope. The shopping experience and sales team may improve, but I not sure they are going to do anything to improve things behind the scenes with operations. That side will continue to be short staffed, underpaid, overworked, and get the blame for a lot of things beyond their control.
They can train staff all they want, but it’s not going to make a lick of difference if qualified and knowledgeable people don’t want to work there. Can’t imagine turnover has decreased over the years.