Musicians Friend coupons and excluded brands

[Riffster]

Has anyone successfully convince them to apply the coupon discount to one the excluded brands lately?

 

Any experiences or advice?

[surfpup]

Yes and no. I got them to give me 10% off a Marshall cab (1-10) instead of the 20% coupon offer they had going just by talking to a rep on the phone.

[Dennis G]

Yes and no. I got them to give me 10% off a Marshall cab (1-10) instead of the 20% coupon offer they had going just by talking to a rep on the phone.

Talking to a real person is the key. Same applies to the GC. Hey, I got 15% off my Gibby 339 special order a few years ago just because I was there in person, and it was specifically excluded on the coupon (You know, the "everything you want by any manufacturer of substance is not applicable" clause.)

[BobF_]

Make a call or walk in. When buying from MF and GC, everything is negotiable regardless of current promos. I *think* the "Every brand is excluded" policy is used to combat price matchers. Price matching is always against advertised prices that are readily verifiable.

 

The deal you 'negotiate' on the phone or in person is not readily verifiable, so sales are less likely to be lost to price-matching competitors.

 

That's my story anyway :-)

[Riffster]

Yea, I am guessing that is why when a coupon does not apply the "talk to us" message appears.

 

Over the phone I got 20% off my Gibson Explorer in 2008 at GC but then when I tried to get 10% off on my SG they would not budge and ended up at Sweetwater where they did give me the 10% off. That was 2 years ago.

 

I want to buy the Marshall Slash combo but the price has me hesitating, I do want the amp but I need to feel I got a deal.

 

I'll give them a try but just wanted to know what's going on lately.

[cookieman15061]

Just bought a fender for my son and got the 15% but I ask for it and have never been denied even without coupon.

 

They are looking to move merchandise so never ever pay their price.

[rocketman]

The other trick is to show up when a manufacturer rep is there (sometimes they advertise it). I squeezed an extra 10% from the Gibson rep on my 339 purchase, on top of what the store gave me. In the end I got a figured top for only $200 more than the going internet price of a plain top.

[L5Larry]

If you're paying more than 50% of MSRP, you're paying too much!

[RS1976]

PM me

[strat-o-steve]

I had GC take off $200 on a brand new SG faded special, and when I bought my LP Trad Plus, I got them to throw in several packs of strings, a new set of control knobs AND the $200 service plan (which I never used and has since expired). All you have to do is ask, or better yet, point out a defect in the merchandise, such as scratches or the only model available in the color you want being floor model.

[BobF_]

There was a great non-big-box music store I used to shop at that would sell you any Fender or Gibson you wanted for $100 over 50% of MSRP.

 

I haven't lived there for a long time, so I don't know what they're doing now.

 

The down side was the return policy - not nearly as generous as the big ones, so you had to know what you wanted and be willing to accept what came in if they had to order for you. For guitars it was safer to visit once in a while and choose from their stock on hand.

[Riffster]

PM me

 

Thanks and sorry, I did not see this until now.

 

I decided to try a different strategy, I did not even call Musicians Friend and I am glad I didn't because they are now sold out and they will not re-stock, actually the model is gone from their website.

 

I ended up calling the store in Ohio where I bought my Marshall JCM1 six months ago and after a bit of haggling I got $100 which equates to 15% in this case. I am happy and the amp is on its way, gets here Friday.

[Blueblooded]

My experience is similar to most comments here. It pays to deal with a human. I've made a point of getting to know the managers and long time employees at the local GC stores and big independant shop in my area. And if I'm dealing with Sweetwater or MF, I do it by phone. Almost always get a 20% or better discount, as long as it's on a product from a manufacturer that isn't firm on what the retailer can discount on their products. I believe the discount is something the manufacturer kicks in on for many products.

 

So, as for the favorite brands of most here, Gibson, Fender, Marshall, pretty much any of the brands that GC and MF list as brands included in special sale events, discount pricing is allowed and you can negotiate with the retailer with success. Brands that they won't discount or negotiate on are typically specialty brands like Mesa Boogie. The only way to get money off a Mesa is when they are clearancing out a model about to be discontinued and are making room for the replacement. Not sure what other music instrument brands are like this. Maybe Rickenbacker? I compare this to some other products/brands like Temperpedic beds and pretty much any high end Bicycle manufacturer (i.e., Specialized, Trek, Cannondale). I recently was in the market to buy two high end bikes and thought that would equate to a 10-20% discount. Boy was I wrong! Visited several stores and found that discounting was very small and was consistent across the dozen or so shops I tried. It appears the manufacturers control pricing and profits by price fixing and controlling to some extent what discounts can be given on their products.

[cookieman15061]

 

So, as for the favorite brands of most here, Gibson, Fender, Marshall, pretty much any of the brands that GC and MF list as brands included in special sale events, discount pricing is allowed and you can negotiate with the retailer with success.

 

 

Well if you've ever actually looked at the list of nonparticipating companies you'll find just about every major manufacturer there. It took me a while to realize the list meant nothing but in the beginning I'd get frustrated because anything I wanted was not included in the sale.

 

I've even used the 15% off coupon on used guitars. Now it seems as long as the instrument isn't on clearance you can get at least 15 and maybe 20% off even without coupon.

[Riffster]

I am pretty happy with a 15% off on a Marshall product, I got my Marshall JCM1 at the same store 6 months ago and they gave me a 15% off as well. Not too shabby.

 

While I can negotiate in person locally you are swimming against the current with the hefty 9.25% TN sales tax.

[deeman]

When i purchased my LP Studio at Guitar Center the price was $1099. I came to the store with $1,000 cash and told the sales guy that I wanted the guitar and had cash and he gave me the guitar tax and all for the one thousand.

[Namvet]

I've found that calling has always gotten me a discount at MF, AMS and GC. I agree that their motive is to move merchandise as long as they are making some type of profit.