PSA/headsup - GC coupon sale

[flyingvee]

I'm sure most of you have your Easter weekend coupons in hand from GC; normal exclusions; very little of value is actually on sale - except - PRS.

but- before you drive or rush on down (assuming GC is more than a 5 minute drive from wherever you are or will be) - you may want to check first.

I was all set to grab the CE I'd been watching - its been at my nearest store since the dawn of time, they had it for half price last time I was there. Now with the pickups and coupon - figured time to pull the trigger.

Not so fast, dude - turns out the CE now has a slightly higher price - 15% to be exact - which just coincidentally matches the discount on my coupon. :rolleyes:

My words to the mgr - "Never mind." I don't need another that bad, and I'm already in for 3 sets, so - never mind.

[ibanez4life SZ!]

That's their system...whenever they put up a series of coupons, they do a markup to balance it all out.

Tricky buggers, huh? :mad:

[BeatnikTom]

Make them an offer anyway for the lower price you spotted earlier MINUS the 15%. They seem motivated to move inventory so they might take it.

[Austion440]

All the PRS at my GC are the same prices as they have always been, and people have been snatching them up with the coupons in hand!

[sleepingtiger]

My words to the mgr - "Never mind." I don't need another that bad, and I'm already in for 3 sets, so - never mind.
__________________

And he let you walk?!! Idiot! I'm really surprised.

Tony

[flyingvee]

And he let you walk?!! Idiot! I'm really surprised.

Tony

claimed he had to - they were losing money at that price. (I'm pretty sure the DsM store lost money on the McStd they sold me - but they were happy to let it go.)

[BeatnikTom]

claimed he had to - they were losing money at that price. (I'm pretty sure the DsM store lost money on the McStd they sold me - but they were happy to let it go.)

When I picked up the LE a few weeks ago, they said they were losing $1k on the deal - he showed me the screen where it calcs P/L on a sale. Yet they were very happy to see it go. Revenue - ANY revenue - is clearly the name of the game right now.

[PRSOPHILE]

claimed he had to - they were losing money at that price. (I'm pretty sure the DsM store lost money on the McStd they sold me - but they were happy to let it go.)


Yeah, we don't want GC to go out of bidness like the way they put MARS and the Mom & Pop stores out on the skids! ;)

Another reason some are willing to take a loss is they have to pay taxes (yearly) on property/merchandise that doesn't move. So the attitude of cutting losses may prevail on those occasions.

[ChrisCst22]

Guys, we don't jack these prices up. The manufacturers do. You'll see the "Retail" prices going up everywhere. PRS, Fender, Gibson. Hell there was a thread about 2 months ago here about PRSs' new price list. They determined that, not Guitar Center. Anyone else that sells these guitars are raising the prices just the same.

It has nothing to do with our coupon sales. That's actually a really good way to get a great deal and pay a price you wouldn't find anywhere else. That's it.

[Grapeshot]

I would think that a retail price increase would not apply to stock that has been in a given store for a while.

[flyingvee]

I would think that a retail price increase would not apply to stock that has been in a given store for a while.

well - can argue that either way...

my local (non-GC) dealer always works with his old customers - same as your experience, I would imagine. When there is a price increase (thinking specifically on Gretsch and Rickys he had in stock at the time) - he'd mark them at the new price, but for anyone who knew they were NOS, or just plain good customers, he'd work off the old, far lower in some cases, price.

I'm probably just not quite that good a customer at the above-mentioned GC. Luckily (for me and my marraige) they're an hour away. :p

And really, I don't need another PRS. today. :D

[Geosh]

Who needs GC? A local shop is selling PRSi at cost and still doing the free pickup deal. I almost pulled the trigger on a Mira on Thursday, but my "conscience" (read: my wife) was speaking to me and directed me not to. :rolleyes:

[Chrislosacco13]

Who needs GC? A local shop is selling PRSi at cost and still doing the free pickup deal. I almost pulled the trigger on a Mira on Thursday, but my "conscience" (read: my wife) was speaking to me and directed me not to. :rolleyes:


What shop? And what's Cost on a Mira?

[Geosh]

What shop? And what's Cost on a Mira?

They wanted $1340 w/ tax included. It was a vintage cherry Mira with moons and not a mark on it that I could see, unlike many of the guitars that GC has hanging.

[Rusmurf]

well - can argue that either way...

my local (non-GC) dealer always works with his old customers - same as your experience, I would imagine. When there is a price increase (thinking specifically on Gretsch and Rickys he had in stock at the time) - he'd mark them at the new price, but for anyone who knew they were NOS, or just plain good customers, he'd work off the old, far lower in some cases, price.

I'm probably just not quite that good a customer at the above-mentioned GC. Luckily (for me and my marraige) they're an hour away. :p

And really, I don't need another PRS. today. :D

Not knocking your dealer, but I know many stores that leave the prices of old stock alone.

GC does quite a bit of markup and then discount. After awhile, people stop paying attention to that stuff. They nail the first time shoppers though, which is who they target.

[flyingvee]

Not knocking your dealer, but I know many stores that leave the prices of old stock alone.



I know...but can also see some logic to it - in that the replacement items will be at higher cost. I know. Not as critical with guitars - but I can understand with commodity type inventory. (i.e., when I sell rebar, do I sell it at the "old" price, even tho I know that replacement price is now double that?)

and as I said, my dealer has always worked off the old price - maybe he does that with everyone... honestly don't know - I can only speak to my experience.

[prsisbest]

I would think that a retail price increase would not apply to stock that has been in a given store for a while.


I would agree with that. You shouldn't have a retail price increase(IMO) on NOS items. Besides, how do you have a retail price increase on a discontinued model (CE) ?? Ah, you gotta love GC!

[JasonE]

Who needs GC? A local shop is selling PRSi at cost and still doing the free pickup deal. I almost pulled the trigger on a Mira on Thursday, but my "conscience" (read: my wife) was speaking to me and directed me not to. :rolleyes:


This is not a business model for staying in business.

I agree that stock that has been in the store should be sold from the price list that it was purchased under. However, if these shops don't make some money on the sales, they will close. Then you are going to be left buying everything online and hoping it is really what you want when it gets to your house. At that point the guitar centers that you are all complaining about are going to be your only choice for a place to actually get your hands on an American PRS before you purchase it. I will also tell you that it is not that far away. In my area, nearly all of the smaller shops that sell American PRS have closed up and guitar center is the only place where you can see them.

Consider the profit that the smaller shops make, insurance that they will be there for you next year, next month or even next week. I do not own a guitar shop or even work in one. I have watched all of my favorite shops close one by one and really miss them. All of the shops left in my area are all selling imported guitars almost exclusively now. That is what sells. They don't make a lot of profit on them. If you want the good stuff to stay near you, let them make a little money.

[fng777]

The only non-GC store near me is still in business, but mostly sells lower end instruments. They have a few items that would attract bigger spenders (things like the new Taylor electrics, a Peavey 5150III amp, etc) but mostly it's mid-range to low-range Ibanez and Fenders, lots of ESP LTD's. They appear to be targeting the lower budget buyers.

In college I taught lessons in a small guitar store in a small town, and the owner admitted that he just couldn't afford to stock the higher end equipment. According to him, the market just wasn't there, the majority of college students can't afford to buy high-end instruments and smaller towns have less people making higher wages willing to spend them on frivolous things like guitars.

In an ideal world, there would be guitar stores everywhere that sold all instruments at a reasonable markup. I'm not privy to the account books at a GC, but their actual percentage markup over what they pay has to be enough to cover all the overhead associated with running the business. I don't know what a "perfect" markup would be though... something that would keep them profitable enough to continue to run and feed the families, but leave the customer feeling they paid a reasonable amount. Would 15% over invoice do that? A second question would be, does anybody know what the actual markup over invoice is at the typical GC? My understanding is that their prices are set by corporate offices and almost all negotiations are no longer an option because of abuses (by a few) that were 'supposedly' costing the company some serious money.

[prsisbest]

I just bought a used amp from GC in Houston(against my better judgement, but thes things rarely come up used), and they would not stray from the marked price. I'm not sure if that was due to the amp being used, or due to company policy. I did get them to ship it free though, and I'm also getting new tubes from them since the warehouse guys are apparently not quite as smart as a rock when it comes to packing and shipping things such as tube amps.......nuff said.

[GC Ron]

I would agree with that. You shouldn't have a retail price increase(IMO) on NOS items. Besides, how do you have a retail price increase on a discontinued model (CE) ?? Ah, you gotta love GC!
CE prices in my store have not changed.