According to The Guitarist blog, haggling prices at Guitar Center may now be a thing of the past.
The Guitarist writes:
It came to my attention today as I bought a set of pickups from a guy at Guitar Center who usually gives me good deals, that he wasn’t giving me a discount like he always did. I felt it odd, but for what I was buying I figured maybe they couldn’t do it with accessories, despite getting pretty big discounts on a single pack of strings. In my venture, I needed something from Radio Shack, and oddly enough, a former Guitar Center employee was there at Radio Shack.'
I asked him why he does work at Guitar Center any more, and he says:
'Mitt Romney’s Equity firm bought Guitar Center, and we’re not allowed to discount or haggle any more. All the prices that are on the tags are what you have to pay.'
You can read about it here.
Posted by Stacey
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Guitar Center is a business known for haggling. If Wal-Mart used to haggle, taking that privilege away from customers would mean suicide for their company. Big changes within a company that inconvenience a customer during a recession will only send customers elsewhere, especially when you can find almost anything you want for half the price on the internet. All arguments are void because Guitar Center took a nice privilege from customers, customers whose small deals made them feel like insiders at guitar center – bottom line. I never asked for insane deals but it was nice having the tax taken off. When I walked into guitar center a few months ago with the intention of dropping a pretty penny on studio equipment, I thought the sales person was making a funny when she told me the price and literally wouldn’t take a dollar off, I just went to pro sound and lighting down the street and picked up everything I needed. I own a restaurant where we give free RC’s with ever purchase of a large pizza. This is a privilege for customers we have been continuing for thirty years. we tried to stop it once and business dropped 30%. Bad time to screw your customers Guitar Center, after dropping easily over 10 grand over the years, I will not be returning for anything more than to dick with equipment and buy some picks.
This is just my opinion so I hope that I do not offend anyone.
I think it is reasonable to ask for price matching, but if you think you deserve a deal when you walk in the door you are wrong.
I have spent a ton of money at wal-mart, but I don’t get discounts there. Should I?
I realize music retail is different, but try to see it from a salespersons perspective.
I am disappointed when I spend a sufficient amount of time explaining to a customer how a product works, or making phone calls on their behalf to inquire about or to order gear/parts, and then they ask if I can give them a better deal.
By bragging about how many thousands of dollars you’ve spent, you are only making yourself look foolish. Trust me, there are studios, schools, churches, and many other organizations, as well as individuals that spend more money at GC in a month than you’ll ever spend on musical equipment, ever. Guitar center sales associates are payed comission, so when you buy something from them, you are esentially paying them for their help.
Its tough working retail sales, so if your GC associate takes care of you, take care of them.
It goes round full circle. If you don’t think they do a good job, inform the manager on duty rather than belittling GC associates on web forums and blogs like I have seen before.
If you think your money is better spent at a “mom pop” store, by all means go there. If you want a awesome showroom where you can play a thousand different guitars, electronic drum kits, play with turntables, or demo a wide range of other gear, you are probably going to have to stick with GC or another large music retail store.
Places like GC offer many more incentives than a small shop would that most consumers overlook. Things like price protection, no hassle return policies, and financing. If you want to pay less money for some gear, then you probably should get something of lesser quality that doesn’t cost as much.
That has worked for me….I was told the same thing…..pay what is marked…I said “See ya”. Next time I was there big discounts were back!!!!!!!! Let the buyer beware…You have all the power
This is b.s. Threaten to walk out and you WILL get a discount, especially on the larger ticket items (not on picks or a $30 pedal, of course). In this economy, they have no leverage WHATSOEVER. In the past six months – during which the purported “no haggle” policy has been in place, I continue to get $$$ knocked off of my purchases here in California.
To clarify….. This was a project in the works far before the company sold to Bain. The “haggle” is an old way of doing business. Haggling started when prices used to be marked at retail and you could give huge discounts and still make a profit. Since the internet and M.A.P., nothing is marked at retail anymore. Also, I’m sorry to break your hearts but, those of you who “spend thousands” which I hear from everybody by the way does a company nothing if there is no profit. It doesn’t matter how much someone spends with us; if there isn’t any profit, it doesn’t help keep the business strong. Besides, those sales guys slave everyday for just a small commission of the sale which until now has been absorbed by those so called “great customers.” This price policy should have been put into works years ago. Guitar Center will continue to be fiercely competitive with their prices. Have you been to any of the recent sales? There has been HUGE discounts right on the boxes unlike ever before. We know our REAL “best customers,” understand and thank us for the huge amounts of money we saved them throughout the years and will continue shopping at the best M.I. chain in the world.
Fark You Guitar Center!