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Post by swurveman on Oct 14, 2016 10:56:08 GMT -6
I am looking at a used piece of pro audio gear that a GC store in Illinois is selling for $1,200.00 off its $4.500.00 list price. The GC salesman told me the unit was 6 months old. Thinking GC was selling this on consignment, I asked the GC guy if he'd give me documentation of the original sale. He said he bought the unit outright from a guy who got in over his head, and he's not sure the guy has any documentation of when he bought it. You'd think the GC guy would want the original sales date documentation of when the original owner bought it, instead of thinking people would take his word for it. Anyway, he said he'd ask the guy about the documentation, but couldn't ensure that the original owner had any of the paperwork.
This brought up a question: Why would GC buy something with cash and not just sell it on consignment? Do they do this a lot?
I had a bad experience with CG Pro. So, I'm already skeptical. Nevertheless, if anybody can give me insight into GC stores and pro gear sales I'd appreciate it.
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Post by popmann on Oct 14, 2016 11:15:33 GMT -6
Because it's cheaper for them to buy it in cash....and the person selling it wants it that way. I "sold them" a bass and amp recently--even though I was trading them in my mind, they wrote it up as a "cash sale" and just took the cash value off the trade--but, I could've chosen bills. Which if I were a crackhead or in debt and not a guy looking for change up in bass tone, I'd have taken.
I don't know why they would EVER ask for original purchase paperwork--what advantage does that have to anyone? They don't want to remind ANYONE how much they paid originally....the buyer doesn't get any warrantee as they're nearly never transferrable, and if they are--you just register the SN with the company as "I own this now"....
I don't like dealing with them at all for a number of reasons, so my experience is fairly anecdotal...but, yes--they wrote it all up like it was cash, except that they DID apply the "cash" to the new sale pre tax, like a traditional trade in....
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Post by NoFilterChuck on Oct 14, 2016 11:35:26 GMT -6
If they asked for original paperwork, it might help with the sale of stolen gear. maybe GC is the new pawn shop, without the notification of police when expensive audio equipment arrives?
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ericn
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Post by ericn on Oct 14, 2016 11:38:09 GMT -6
Consignment is a pain in the ass and GC knows this!
GC buys used gear at about half of what they offer it, they discount as time goes by to move it and clear space. Space and money are important recourses so having either tied up in somebody else's gear
Where you have to contact the idiot selling to agree to a discount for say 10-15 % is a no go! Ask anybody who's felt with a broker how much fun a middle man is !
On used gear it's like dealing with a pawn shop, any story is just that a story, nobody cares as long as the gear doesn't come up as stolen.
The best way to buy used from a GC that isn't local is to have it shipped to your local GC ( it's cheaper as well) inspect and deal with any problems right there and then !
I have done this and found it works , much , much better than dealing with a problem remotely, store managers are more likely to give away the farm on somebody else's problem child than have it part of their inventory, so you are going to find it's easier to get money back rather than get them to take it back!
Dealing with GC is like dealing with a Walmart, buying used is like buying a used car but with a great return policy.
Over the phone with a GC sales weasl is shopping blind, you could be dealing with a guy who's working his first day, he could be a guitar dude covering somebody's lunch or he could know something ( the exception ) !
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ericn
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Post by ericn on Oct 14, 2016 11:46:02 GMT -6
If they asked for original paperwork, it might help with the sale of stolen gear. maybe GC is the new pawn shop, without the notification of police when expensive audio equipment arrives? In most areas if you buy and resale used you have to deal with all the same regulations as a pawnshop, but GC is mostly forgotten by the authorities. The flip side is GC can't afford to be seen buying stolen gear very bad publicity! requiring paper work is hard so much gear gets bought and sold direct, most dealers don't track serial # so proveing that a receipt is tied to a specific piece is pretty much impossible! Gear isn't like land or cars, no big old registry of who owns what and no additional price of such! |
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Post by ragan on Oct 14, 2016 12:10:26 GMT -6
Consignment? So the guy who's looking to sell his gear has to wait till it sells? Not what people looking to liquidate gear and get paid usually want to do.
I buy stuff off the GC Used site all the time. Good prices and you get a return policy, which is almost never the case with used gear.
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Post by swurveman on Oct 14, 2016 13:45:49 GMT -6
GC buys used gear at about half of what they offer it, they discount as time goes by to move it and clear space. In this case, that would mean they bought a $4,500.00 list item for $1.600.00  Kind of hard to believe in this day and age where it is so easy to go to GS or Ebay and sell it that anybody would take that kind of hit. On the other hand, another dealer is selling this item on Ebay as "Manufacturer B Stock" for $3,599.00. So, I guess it's possible it was originally bought B Stock. If it is stolen, who is liable down the line if I buy it and somebody tracks it down to me if I try to sell it down the road. |
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ericn
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Post by ericn on Oct 14, 2016 14:08:25 GMT -6
GC buys used gear at about half of what they offer it, they discount as time goes by to move it and clear space. In this case, that would mean they bought a $4,500.00 list item for $1.600.00 Kind of hard to believe in this day and age where it is so easy to go to GS or Ebay and sell it that anybody would take that kind of hit. On the other hand, another dealer is selling this item on Ebay as "Manufacturer B Stock" for $3,599.00. So, I guess it's possible it was originally bought B Stock. If it is stolen, who is liable down the line if I buy it and somebody tracks it down to me if I try to sell it down the road. Anybody who's going to buy a used item to resell is buying at what is called used wholesale, not used retail . Anybody who trades or sells to a GC or Pawn is either looking for a quick or easy sale, many don't like to deal with the BS of selling and more and more it is a ton of BS. You pay for the ease of cashing out ! In most cases the only stuff with a higher mark in GC are the cables and accessories, that's why they get so much floor space and inventory dollars and why more and space is going to their house brands ( note about any bias I have Known GC VP of private labels John Larabee for 25 years) . the other side of this is not all these high Margin SKUs turn all that quickly . this is the problem with used , as well, how long is this thing going sit ? That's money and space, and that's why GC will take big discounts if used stuff sits. |
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Post by popmann on Oct 14, 2016 20:47:13 GMT -6
It's actually higher than 50% for instruments, which is all I've ever sold to them....but, I mean even the mom and pop I usually deal with gives like 70% of Ebay value as trade--though they're never offering cash (that I'm aware of)....but, still when I'm buying new stuff is really the only time I round up stuff I'm not using, and since it also saves even MORE here where it's 10% sales tax to take it off the new item, it's really even closer to the value you'd get for it, because you'll be giving 10% of that to the government.
And sure they gave less than $2k for a $4500 retail of esoteric kit. I'd be surprised if they gave $1600. But, I bet it was a package deal....someone sold the whole everything for $15k to get out of debt or get out of town and they're parting it out for full market value. Nothing wrong with that--it's happened for as long as musicians have been dying and studios closing. I actually personally ran an estate sale for a friend's family when he passed because otherwise they were going to take his whole house of gear and sell it in bulk for $4k or something....me and another friend played to our strengths--I don't mind people coming to my home, so I handled the local craigslist with some kind of open house/garage sale type events....whatever was left he put on Ebay as auctions....gave the family all the cash. Anyway--that's where I would imagine they get lots of "pro audio"--personal foreclosures....studios liquidating en masse....people giving up on dreams and wanting the whole thing gone....people dying and families just wanting to get something for all the "stuff" and move on....it's less about some guy selling them a single piece of kit....
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Post by johneppstein on Oct 15, 2016 0:10:23 GMT -6
I am looking at a used piece of pro audio gear that a GC store in Illinois is selling for $1,200.00 off its $4.500.00 list price. The GC salesman told me the unit was 6 months old. Thinking GC was selling this on consignment, I asked the GC guy if he'd give me documentation of the original sale. He said he bought the unit outright from a guy who got in over his head, and he's not sure the guy has any documentation of when he bought it. You'd think the GC guy would want the original sales date documentation of when the original owner bought it, instead of thinking people would take his word for it. Anyway, he said he'd ask the guy about the documentation, but couldn't ensure that the original owner had any of the paperwork. This brought up a question: Why would GC buy something with cash and not just sell it on consignment? Do they do this a lot? I had a bad experience with CG Pro. So, I'm already skeptical. Nevertheless, if anybody can give me insight into GC stores and pro gear sales I'd appreciate it. To my knowledge - and I worked for GC for a short tine many years ago - they never sell on consignment. They purchase outright at a lowball price or take stuff in trade - at a lowball valuation, and then mark it up. If the list on that piece was $4,500 they probably gave no more than 2 grand for it (and probably significantly less), assuming that it's a C mark wholesale (wholesale is 70% of retail), which is common for a lot of the better pro audio gear. If it's an A mark (50% of retail) or a B mark (60%) the amount paid is correspondingly lower. GC generally cleans up on used gear, unless you're lucky enough to be really tight with a manager who can give you a buddy deal - but with the financial problems the chain has been having I'm guessing that that's probably going away, as there's a lot of pressure on the managers to perform these days. |
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Post by johneppstein on Oct 15, 2016 0:12:29 GMT -6
If they asked for original paperwork, it might help with the sale of stolen gear. maybe GC is the new pawn shop, without the notification of police when expensive audio equipment arrives? I don't know about elsewhere, but in CA they have to keep it on police hold for 30 days and report serial numbers. |
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Post by junior on Oct 15, 2016 2:37:45 GMT -6
If they asked for original paperwork, it might help with the sale of stolen gear. maybe GC is the new pawn shop, without the notification of police when expensive audio equipment arrives? I don't know about elsewhere, but in CA they have to keep it on police hold for 30 days and report serial numbers. Yep. |
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Post by jcoutu1 on Oct 15, 2016 5:14:32 GMT -6
If they asked for original paperwork, it might help with the sale of stolen gear. maybe GC is the new pawn shop, without the notification of police when expensive audio equipment arrives? I don't know about elsewhere, but in CA they have to keep it on police hold for 30 days and report serial numbers. 30 day hold in MA too. Also, over the past year or so, Guitar Center (and Musician's Friend, FWIW) is MUCH more rigid with their pricing. I've tried online chat, email, calling the store manager, etc and they will rarely budge for me. New policies. On used gear, it seems like they won't move on price until it hits at least 90 days now. One piece I was trying to get took 6 months before they would budge, then I finally grabbed it. MF used to be super cool, just shooting them an email would initiate a price break on new gear and they would email back a link to buy at the better price. I got more than 50% off retail a couple times just by asking. Regularly would get 30% off. Now, even if I call, they won't give me a better deal than whatever generic promotion is running. |
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Post by sparqee on Oct 15, 2016 9:21:36 GMT -6
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Post by ChaseUTB on Oct 15, 2016 17:11:33 GMT -6
GC buys used gear at about half of what they offer it, they discount as time goes by to move it and clear space. In this case, that would mean they bought a $4,500.00 list item for $1.600.00 Kind of hard to believe in this day and age where it is so easy to go to GS or Ebay and sell it that anybody would take that kind of hit. On the other hand, another dealer is selling this item on Ebay as "Manufacturer B Stock" for $3,599.00. So, I guess it's possible it was originally bought B Stock. If it is stolen, who is liable down the line if I buy it and somebody tracks it down to me if I try to sell it down the road. In USA and in most there is punishable crime for theft by receiving which entails purchasing stolen items unknown or known.. please look up your state laws if this worries you and you are in the United Staes  |
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Post by johneppstein on Oct 15, 2016 22:56:00 GMT -6
GC buys used gear at about half of what they offer it, they discount as time goes by to move it and clear space. In this case, that would mean they bought a $4,500.00 list item for $1.600.00 Kind of hard to believe in this day and age where it is so easy to go to GS or Ebay and sell it that anybody would take that kind of hit. On the other hand, another dealer is selling this item on Ebay as "Manufacturer B Stock" for $3,599.00. So, I guess it's possible it was originally bought B Stock. If it is stolen, who is liable down the line if I buy it and somebody tracks it down to me if I try to sell it down the road. Probably some poor schlub who had to pay his rent... |
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Post by Guitar on Oct 20, 2016 11:09:51 GMT -6
Consignment? So the guy who's looking to sell his gear has to wait till it sells? Not what people looking to liquidate gear and get paid usually want to do. I buy stuff off the GC Used site all the time. Good prices and you get a return policy, which is almost never the case with used gear. The entire reason I shop at GC Used and Musician's Friend (stupid deal, used/return/repair/etc gear) is the low prices and decent customer service. I can't tell you how many smoking deals on great gear I've got from this company over the years, some of my favorite stuff. There's a Mesa Boogie Mark III coming to the house to morrow that I helped a friend find. It wasn't listed on ebay or anywhere else, and the price was sort of a no brainer. The phrase "hidden gems" comes to mind with GC/MF. |
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Post by Bender on Oct 20, 2016 11:19:38 GMT -6
I've actually scored some killer deals selling things I've flipped off craigslist to GC...though this was right around the time Reverb was starting to Pop off so maybe the spread's diminished a bit the past year or two- however even now I find the occasional deal!
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Post by ericn on Oct 20, 2016 14:37:54 GMT -6
For every Great GC used deal I have had a bad one, but it has always been made good in the end. My best deals have been guys on eBay who have had "no ship" where I arranged pick up packing and shipping , no ship limits the buyer pool and keeps prices low!
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Post by Johnkenn on Oct 20, 2016 15:46:09 GMT -6
The GC Pro guy I use has always given me the best deals...unfortunately, tax screws it up often...He still gives me the best deals, though.
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Post by svart on Oct 21, 2016 8:22:09 GMT -6
I've bought used things from them from time to time. You can usually find mis-labeled things in their online "used gear" section if you look long enough. Usually they will also mistakenly post monitor pairs for single prices, etc. Sometimes you can find broken things for ridiculous prices too, if you're willing to fix it.
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Post by ben on Oct 21, 2016 14:38:15 GMT -6
.
If it is stolen, who is liable down the line if I buy it and somebody tracks it down to me if I try to sell it down the road.
[/quote]
Depends on what state you're from. in RI you would be liable but the more circumstantial evidence you have the better you can prove your case that you shouldnt be prosecuted. I could win this one. Lol.
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ericn
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Post by ericn on Oct 21, 2016 16:17:02 GMT -6
. If it is stolen, who is liable down the line if I buy it and somebody tracks it down to me if I try to sell it down the road. Depends on what state you're from. in RI you would be liable but the more circumstantial evidence you have the better you can prove your case that you shouldnt be prosecuted. I could win this one. Lol. [/quote] I'm sure GC would refund a customer who purchased stolen gear from them, nobody wants to see GC in the news buying and selling stolen equipment and screwing a buyer! |
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Post by Guitar on Oct 22, 2016 17:43:14 GMT -6
You won't believe this shit. My buddy gets his Mesa Mark III box and it's all falling apart, we open the box and the amp is in 5 or 6 pieces with broken tubes and everything. Worst amp packing job I have ever seen. After the nightmare was over the local GC got him ANOTHER Mark III Mesa from a Washington store, so we're going for round 2 of cross country shipping, fingers crossed. I just hope the poor schmuck who packed this amp gets to hear about it.
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Post by ericn on Oct 22, 2016 19:10:14 GMT -6
You won't believe this shit. My buddy gets his Mesa Mark III box and it's all falling apart, we open the box and the amp is in 5 or 6 pieces with broken tubes and everything. Worst amp packing job I have ever seen. After the nightmare was over the local GC got him ANOTHER Mark III Mesa from a Washington store, so we're going for round 2 of cross country shipping, fingers crossed. I just hope the poor schmuck who packed this amp gets to hear about it. At least he's covered ! This is why I always have it shipped to my local store! |
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