STLBlues Posted April 16, 2010 Share Posted April 16, 2010 Is Guitar Center fair about what they are willing to pay for your used gear? I know once you buy a brand new guitar, it's value depreciates greatly so I'm not expecting to get a whole lot of cash back. I'm just wondering if anyone here ever delt with them and what to expect. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blackie Posted April 16, 2010 Share Posted April 16, 2010 They are crooks don't deal with them unless you need money fast for crack. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim Plains Posted April 16, 2010 Share Posted April 16, 2010 Expect to get lowballed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zombiebear Posted April 16, 2010 Share Posted April 16, 2010 Craigslist. Just deal locally. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
STLBlues Posted April 16, 2010 Author Share Posted April 16, 2010 Expect to get lowballed. Looks like I'll be staying away from them. So is it really that bad over there? Are we talking a few hundred bucks back for a 2k guitar? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dem00n Posted April 16, 2010 Share Posted April 16, 2010 I pity the fool who sells gear at GC! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zombiebear Posted April 16, 2010 Share Posted April 16, 2010 Looks like I'll be staying away from them. So is it really that bad over there? Are we talking a few hundred bucks back for a 2k guitar? Well think they have to make a profit. My friend took his mew standard squier strat. 230 new. gave him 80 bucks. I've seen it happen a lot Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
STLBlues Posted April 16, 2010 Author Share Posted April 16, 2010 My friend took his mew standard squier strat. 230 new. gave him 80 bucks. whoa.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blackie Posted April 16, 2010 Share Posted April 16, 2010 Well think they have to make a profit. My friend took his mew standard squier strat. 230 new. gave him 80 bucks. I've seen it happen a lot Thats a good deal from them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Riffster Posted April 16, 2010 Share Posted April 16, 2010 The rule of thumb is that they look at completed listings on eBay and give you 50% of the average sold price. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GIANTRobOT420 Posted April 16, 2010 Share Posted April 16, 2010 I bought a MIM strat there new for $400, brought it back one year later and they offered me $50 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blackie Posted April 16, 2010 Share Posted April 16, 2010 The rule of thumb is that they look at completed listings on eBay and give you 50% of the average sold price. Nah the percent would be %10 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KL Posted April 16, 2010 Share Posted April 16, 2010 Is Guitar Center fair about what they are willing to pay for your used gear? I know once you buy a brand new guitar' date=' it's value depreciates greatly so I'm not expecting to get a whole lot of cash back. I'm just wondering if anyone here ever delt with them and what to expect. [/quote'] Well . . . nobody has much good to say about Guitar Centre on here. Whatever you think of GC or any other shop you're always going to get a better price for your gear if you sell it locally or through ebay etc because there is no middle man. Then you have the additional benefit of being a cash buyer at whichever guitar store you choose to buy your new gear from, and if you're paying cash you stand a good chance of making a better deal on the purchase price. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gibson4life Posted April 16, 2010 Share Posted April 16, 2010 NEVER sell gear at GC, Unless of course, you want to be ripped off. I bought a Les Paul Studio for around $1300, and one year later they offered me $600 for it. You'd be better off doing business on Craigslist, that's where I sell all of my gear. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShredAstaire Posted April 16, 2010 Share Posted April 16, 2010 Never sell to any store....sell to a person who is not marking it up and selling it again. Simple!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tazzboy Posted April 16, 2010 Share Posted April 16, 2010 agree just like in Pawn Stars on history channel. They buy low and sell high to make a profit. Now if you are trading they will give a little bit more, but not much. So if you want get more you are better off selling through the local Classifies or the trade post here http://forums.gibson.com/default.aspx?g=topics&f=82. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NeoConMan Posted April 16, 2010 Share Posted April 16, 2010 YOU WILL GET SCREWED. HOW BADLY DEPENDS ON YOUR WILLINGNESS. Read link in my signature, scroll down and you'll see it - a little wordy, but a true story. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vette77 Posted April 16, 2010 Share Posted April 16, 2010 god i hate selling them stuff. i once went there with my taylor acoustic trying to get a trade in for a gorgeous rickenbacker 330 and the guy offered about 350 for it(a 1000 guitar mind you). i tried arguing with the guy telling how i have spend thousands of dollars in their store and how i could easily take my business to house of guitars(a 2 hour drive for me, so not "easily" necessarily) and i was infuriated with what he was doing while i was trying to talk to him. he was literally sitting on the ground, playing MY taylor acoustic, not listening to a word i was saying. he just kept saying that he cant change the price every time i finish a sentence. immaturity to an astounding level. so the story ends with me leaving the store with my taylor, and that week someone else buys my sought after rickenbacker. i hate those people so much, i wish there was a better alternative for me to get my gear but since virtually everything in my local area is a generic store(like walmarts, targets, etc.) i cant go to any other guitar places and get the level of quality i require. i shouldnt be expected to take a 2 hour drive just to get gear i need, its horrible. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NeoConMan Posted April 16, 2010 Share Posted April 16, 2010 Once you have an idea what they pay for new guitars, then you get a better idea what they will do to you on the used ones. They DO NOT WANT your used guitar, because it's too hard to sell used gear. The only way they will take it, is if they can steal it from you. I'm not stretching that a bit. They have to get into used gear dirt cheap, because if it doesn't move soon they have to sell it dirt cheap. They paid maybe $600 for your $1,000 Taylor. Why would they pay that for a used one? They might be able to sell your used Taylor for $750 tops. If it doesn't move, they'll blow it out for $500. Which means they can't or won't give you more than $350. If they can't make a profit, why would they want it? They are in business to MAKE MONEY - not friends. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rockstar232007 Posted April 17, 2010 Share Posted April 17, 2010 Here's an emphatic, HELL NO! I took over $2k worth of gear (a couple of brand name/almost new guitars, amps, and effects) in there one day just to see what they would offer me, and after telling me how awesome it all was, they tell me $900! I laughed right in their faces, and told them that I had offers of $1,000 or more for each of the guitars alone, and they about **** themselves! And here's a little insight of how it works (just a scenario): You walk in, buy a brand new guitar for $2000, take it home and leave it in it's case, then the next day you decide you want a different guitar, so you take it back (unplayed and still "new). They (GC) offer to buy it back for less than half of what you paid for it, then relist/restock it with a sticker price of the same amount (and sometimes more than) what you paid for it! They are like the pawnshops of the "new" instrument world! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
retrosurfer1959 Posted April 17, 2010 Share Posted April 17, 2010 thet will tell you if you ask they will pay 40% of what they can sell your gear for they will give you 50% of the value towards trade on something they have already marked up so then you can get screwed twice. It's not evil really it's business. ruthless business without any loyalty to the customer but business. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DiamondJig Posted April 17, 2010 Share Posted April 17, 2010 GC or any other store is going to give the same deal, about 1/2 off the used retail price they will sell it for, this is nothing new, this has always been the deal. So anything you paid full retail for you will get screwed on. Now some times it does pay to trade in a piece of gear, I traded in a used pedal that I paid $20 for to them for $5, but then I got 15% ($75) off another piece of gear with a trade in coupon. I use ebay to sell off unwanted gear of value. 15% off http://gc.guitarcenter.com/tradeup/coupon/TITU_coupon.pdf Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cookieman15061 Posted April 17, 2010 Share Posted April 17, 2010 Here's what you do. Check through the used section on their website. You can do a national search or a specific store. Find a guitar like the one you want to sell and what they are charging for it. Then place your add on craigslist at 25 bucks more than that. When people come to check it out and ask if the price is firm tell em you'll knock of another 25 bucks if they got the cash and buy it today. SOLD!! It takes a little bit of your time and you might have to weed through the lowballers but with a little effort you can sell for a reasonable price. Remember the rule of thumb is that once a guitar leaves the store its value drops 40%. No one cares what mods you've made or if ya just had it set up with new strings or if Buckethead once fingered it. They do care if it comes with original hard case. I've sold numerous guitars on craiglist and always got what I was looking for price wise. Good luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sgbass Posted April 17, 2010 Share Posted April 17, 2010 Sam Ash does I guess the same as GC, 50% of original purchase price on a trade in. I'm not sure of their formula for selling a guitar to them. Must be about the same as GC. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
STLBlues Posted April 17, 2010 Author Share Posted April 17, 2010 Wow. Well, looks like I'll take my chances with Fleabay or Craigslist. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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