glp2012 Posted March 4, 2012 Share Posted March 4, 2012 OK, you can look at my second post to see the history, but essentially, Guitar Center sold me a used Les Paul as new. The original owner returned the guitar with a pickguard and Dunlop straplocks installed. I bought the guitar 12/24/2011. The final resolution...I got the three year extended warranty free (approximately $160) and a $150 discount. I doubt I will ever use the extended warranty, but I am satisfied that GC tried to fix the problem. The other issue was that my version has the rosewood fretboard and the guitars made around and after September 2011 are baked maple (according to a Gibson CS). I would like to make it clear that GC was very helpful throughout the process and tried in every way to accommodate me. I would do business with them again. Oh, and I absolutely love the guitar. I never really cared for the Gibson brand, but this guitar is fantastic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigKahune Posted March 4, 2012 Share Posted March 4, 2012 .... I never really cared for the Gibson brand, but this guitar is fantastic. ..... Gee . . . . That's swell. GC resolved their fraudulent sale to your satisfaction . . . not surprising. . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charlie brown Posted March 4, 2012 Share Posted March 4, 2012 Gee . . . . That's swell. GC resolved their fraudulent sale to your satisfaction . . . not surprising. . Yeah, that's one way, to avoid law suits! What they Should have done, besides NOT selling you a used one, for "new,"...was to replace it, with a brand new one, in the first place! No questions asked! But, I'm glad your happy/satisfied, with what they did do. CB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phalaris Posted March 4, 2012 Share Posted March 4, 2012 Yeah, that's one way, to avoid law suits! What they Should have done, besides NOT selling you a used one, for "new,"...was to replace it, with a brand new one, in the first place! No questions asked! But, I'm glad your happy/satisfied, with what they did do. CB Agreed. The problem you now have, although you may never need it. New Gibsons do come with their "limited lifetime warranty" Since this is used, you will not be getting that warranty from Gibson. I would have held out for a 1 to 1 swap, your mislabeled "new" guitar for one that actually is new. Guess I won't be dealing with Guitar Center anytime in the future. Shame really, as they are the only one I found that will give me free shipping. lol Phalaris. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
glp2012 Posted March 4, 2012 Author Share Posted March 4, 2012 They did offer to replace it. They took the time to find an unopened one in another GC. However, I didn't like it as much as the first one. Then, the offered to order another on from Gibson. Being that I figured my taste in a guitar was subjective, I opted to take the free warranty. I mean, it has been two and a half months since I actually bought the guitar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigKahune Posted March 4, 2012 Share Posted March 4, 2012 They did offer to replace it. ..... Sometimes sticking with a "known quantity" is the best way to go. . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charlie brown Posted March 4, 2012 Share Posted March 4, 2012 Well, all is well, that ends well...glad you're satisfied, finally. CB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T Bone Posted March 4, 2012 Share Posted March 4, 2012 I bought the guitar 12/24/2012. Might want to edit that one... Glad you ended up pleased' date=' and that is the most important thing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jotto4 Posted March 6, 2012 Share Posted March 6, 2012 then there is hope! sorry for the upcoming rant, but i just gotta let it out. beginning of jan 2012, i purchased a Gibson Les Paul Trad Pro from GC. they didn't have the color i wanted, so they ordered from their website "for me" and matched advertised price from both musician friend and amazon ($100 off a $2000 guitar). guitar arrived on day my band gets together. I was PSYCHED! opened box in quiet corner, looking forward to opening my new, hopefully favorite guitar. what a disaster. grimy fingerprints everywhere, chipped headstock, scratched all over back, pick guard looked like it had been on a 12 month tour. insult to injury…neck PU didn't even work. took back the next day to exchange at another GC that had the color i wanted (heritage cherry). told "it has barely been played" by sales rep when I called to see if they had one in stock. this one had chips in 3 places on headstock, and noticable flaws in finish from the factory. at least both pick ups worked. they said, "take it home, play it and see if it is cool. if not, you have 30 days to bring it back". the more i looked it over, the more flaws i found. super rough binding on the neck, weird half-moon separation at top of lower horn, scuffs that were clearly in the wood during the finishing process. 2 days later, I called the original store and talked to my (very helpful) original sales rep. he said my first delivery was a floor model that was beat up and not working. i told them my second one was barely better and asked if they would order me one directly from gibson. I asked if I could keep the guitar until it showed up. I mean, i just dropped over $2k and wanted to play a gibson (my other 2 guitars are ibanez and total less than 30% the cost of this one) This took manager approval, since that goes against their policy, but they said it was ok and they would order me one "brand new" from gibson to ensure that it was new. that was 7 weeks ago!!!! i took guitar #2 back at the end of my original 30 days. as a consumer, i just don't trust going past a printed return policy (30 days) on a sales rep and manager's "word" that it is cool. if i messed up the second guitar, i'd have been screwed. so, GC has my $, my credit card is accruing finance charges and I am playing my ibanez afs80t. now, don't get me wrong, i LOVE this hollow body ibanez. this part kills me…my $500 ibanez is flawless. as a matter of fact, i've purchased 2 new ibanez guitars and they were perfect/flawless right out of the box. I've worked in sales/marketing for over 20 yrs and sold very high end, enthusiast driven items. I appreciate the history of Gibson and ultimately desire a well made product…but I have to say, I feel like i'm being bent over on this one. I have no faith that, after waiting xxx weeks that the guitar that finally shows up will not have flaws that I've seen in 2 guitars, nor do i trust GC to make anything right. i mean, what is waiting 2 months for something you paid for, after getting 2 substandard deliveries worth? i know how much I charge my clients hourly. i know, if i screw something up, how much i'm going to give back to make it right and keep a customer. i have a feeling that I'm going to get the shaft and the big box GC won't care one bit about me or where i spend my band's $. hearing they took care of someone gives me a glimmer of hope. reading lots of posts about how gibson quality has sucked the last 10 years, seeing it first hand and not even getting a future delivery date for my already paid for guitar is disheartening. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charlie brown Posted March 6, 2012 Share Posted March 6, 2012 I've never bought a guitar, from Guitar Center, and most likely never will! Your story, is one more reason why! I have purchased pedals, accessories, and amps, and all were just fine=brand new (not floor models, or demos)... I made sure of that! But, buying guitars there...I seriously doubt it! CB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
budglo Posted March 6, 2012 Share Posted March 6, 2012 I am leary of GC . I still shop there ,but when I went looking at 335s in november, I spied a satin one for the normal price of 2249. Pulled it off the wall and played it.Noticed it had a 2007 serial. Pointed it out to the salesman.He just shrugged it off .Told him I wasnt interested in a used guitar . Especially an 07 at 2011 prices.As far as I know it still sits there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dg77 Posted March 6, 2012 Share Posted March 6, 2012 then there is hope! sorry for the upcoming rant, but i just gotta let it out. beginning of jan 2012, i purchased a Gibson Les Paul Trad Pro from GC. they didn't have the color i wanted, so they ordered from their website "for me" and matched advertised price from both musician friend and amazon ($100 off a $2000 guitar). guitar arrived on day my band gets together. I was PSYCHED! opened box in quiet corner, looking forward to opening my new, hopefully favorite guitar. what a disaster. grimy fingerprints everywhere, chipped headstock, scratched all over back, pick guard looked like it had been on a 12 month tour. insult to injury…neck PU didn't even work. took back the next day to exchange at another GC that had the color i wanted (heritage cherry). told "it has barely been played" by sales rep when I called to see if they had one in stock. this one had chips in 3 places on headstock, and noticable flaws in finish from the factory. at least both pick ups worked. they said, "take it home, play it and see if it is cool. if not, you have 30 days to bring it back". the more i looked it over, the more flaws i found. super rough binding on the neck, weird half-moon separation at top of lower horn, scuffs that were clearly in the wood during the finishing process. 2 days later, I called the original store and talked to my (very helpful) original sales rep. he said my first delivery was a floor model that was beat up and not working. i told them my second one was barely better and asked if they would order me one directly from gibson. I asked if I could keep the guitar until it showed up. I mean, i just dropped over $2k and wanted to play a gibson (my other 2 guitars are ibanez and total less than 30% the cost of this one) This took manager approval, since that goes against their policy, but they said it was ok and they would order me one "brand new" from gibson to ensure that it was new. that was 7 weeks ago!!!! i took guitar #2 back at the end of my original 30 days. as a consumer, i just don't trust going past a printed return policy (30 days) on a sales rep and manager's "word" that it is cool. if i messed up the second guitar, i'd have been screwed. so, GC has my $, my credit card is accruing finance charges and I am playing my ibanez afs80t. now, don't get me wrong, i LOVE this hollow body ibanez. this part kills me…my $500 ibanez is flawless. as a matter of fact, i've purchased 2 new ibanez guitars and they were perfect/flawless right out of the box. I've worked in sales/marketing for over 20 yrs and sold very high end, enthusiast driven items. I appreciate the history of Gibson and ultimately desire a well made product…but I have to say, I feel like i'm being bent over on this one. I have no faith that, after waiting xxx weeks that the guitar that finally shows up will not have flaws that I've seen in 2 guitars, nor do i trust GC to make anything right. i mean, what is waiting 2 months for something you paid for, after getting 2 substandard deliveries worth? i know how much I charge my clients hourly. i know, if i screw something up, how much i'm going to give back to make it right and keep a customer. i have a feeling that I'm going to get the shaft and the big box GC won't care one bit about me or where i spend my band's $. hearing they took care of someone gives me a glimmer of hope. reading lots of posts about how gibson quality has sucked the last 10 years, seeing it first hand and not even getting a future delivery date for my already paid for guitar is disheartening. Sorry to hear this. I bought my trad plus from GC. I did not trust to,get one from a store wall, so,I had a new one ordered from their distribution center. Showed up with some gauges in the fretboard, not their fault, it was poor qc by Gibson. They ordered me another one no questions asked and i had itin my hands in a week. Good call on retuning it within 30 days though. Did you get an email,confirmation of your order? Should have a tracking number in it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dg77 Posted March 6, 2012 Share Posted March 6, 2012 I am leary of GC . I still shop there ,but when I went looking at 335s in november, I spied a satin one for the normal price of 2249. Pulled it off the wall and played it.Noticed it had a 2007 serial. Pointed it out to the salesman.He just shrugged it off .Told him I wasnt interested in a used guitar . Especially an 07 at 2011 prices.As far as I know it still sits there. To be fair, something hanging on a wall for 4 years can be "new" and never sold. It prob should be put on clearance but if it's a current production model, then it technically isn't a discontinued model,so they don't have to clear them out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Danner Posted March 6, 2012 Share Posted March 6, 2012 I've never bought a guitar, from Guitar Center, and most likely never will! Your story, is one more reason why! I have purchased pedals, accessories, and amps, and all were just fine=brand new (not floor models, or demos)... I made sure of that! But, buying guitars there...I seriously doubt it! CB I totally agree. GC is a retail zoo run by the unscrupulous grubbing for a commission. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CajunBlues Posted March 6, 2012 Share Posted March 6, 2012 My experiences with guitar center have always been good... I have had to return items before with no issues at all... But, if you don't have one, get an American Express card... Buy your high dollar items like $2000 guitars with the card... If you have any issues at all, and the merchant does not resolve them, you then dispute the charge with American Express... Or at least threaten to do so... Merchants hate disputed charges... They will back down and give you a refund or whatever is fair... I have disputed charges about 3 times with AMEX, and all 3 times they took my side and I got my refunds... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T Bone Posted March 6, 2012 Share Posted March 6, 2012 then there is hope! sorry for the upcoming rant, but i just gotta let it out. beginning of jan 2012, i purchased a Gibson Les Paul Trad Pro from GC. they didn't have the color i wanted, so they ordered from their website "for me" and matched advertised price from both musician friend and amazon ($100 off a $2000 guitar). guitar arrived on day my band gets together. I was PSYCHED! opened box in quiet corner, looking forward to opening my new, hopefully favorite guitar. what a disaster. grimy fingerprints everywhere, chipped headstock, scratched all over back, pick guard looked like it had been on a 12 month tour. insult to injury…neck PU didn't even work. took back the next day to exchange at another GC that had the color i wanted (heritage cherry). told "it has barely been played" by sales rep when I called to see if they had one in stock. this one had chips in 3 places on headstock, and noticable flaws in finish from the factory. at least both pick ups worked. they said, "take it home, play it and see if it is cool. if not, you have 30 days to bring it back". the more i looked it over, the more flaws i found. super rough binding on the neck, weird half-moon separation at top of lower horn, scuffs that were clearly in the wood during the finishing process. 2 days later, I called the original store and talked to my (very helpful) original sales rep. he said my first delivery was a floor model that was beat up and not working. i told them my second one was barely better and asked if they would order me one directly from gibson. I asked if I could keep the guitar until it showed up. I mean, i just dropped over $2k and wanted to play a gibson (my other 2 guitars are ibanez and total less than 30% the cost of this one) This took manager approval, since that goes against their policy, but they said it was ok and they would order me one "brand new" from gibson to ensure that it was new. that was 7 weeks ago!!!! i took guitar #2 back at the end of my original 30 days. as a consumer, i just don't trust going past a printed return policy (30 days) on a sales rep and manager's "word" that it is cool. if i messed up the second guitar, i'd have been screwed. so, GC has my $, my credit card is accruing finance charges and I am playing my ibanez afs80t. now, don't get me wrong, i LOVE this hollow body ibanez. this part kills me…my $500 ibanez is flawless. as a matter of fact, i've purchased 2 new ibanez guitars and they were perfect/flawless right out of the box. I've worked in sales/marketing for over 20 yrs and sold very high end, enthusiast driven items. I appreciate the history of Gibson and ultimately desire a well made product…but I have to say, I feel like i'm being bent over on this one. I have no faith that, after waiting xxx weeks that the guitar that finally shows up will not have flaws that I've seen in 2 guitars, nor do i trust GC to make anything right. i mean, what is waiting 2 months for something you paid for, after getting 2 substandard deliveries worth? i know how much I charge my clients hourly. i know, if i screw something up, how much i'm going to give back to make it right and keep a customer. i have a feeling that I'm going to get the shaft and the big box GC won't care one bit about me or where i spend my band's $. hearing they took care of someone gives me a glimmer of hope. reading lots of posts about how gibson quality has sucked the last 10 years, seeing it first hand and not even getting a future delivery date for my already paid for guitar is disheartening. I've bought a couple of guitars from GC, and am very happy. But you need to be proactive (as with anywhere else!). Shouldn't have accepted the dinged up model on the second one, that was your own fault. First one was theirs. On ordering from Gibson and waiting, this should not be a surprise. They don't produce individual guitars to order, they make runs of models (typical production practices, just imagine how much higher costs would be if they didn't!). On Gibson quality, that's a whole other matter for a whole different thread (nothing to do with GC) but suffice it to say that the majority of the guitars they ship are very nice, but they like any manufacturer will have some QC issues. Now on price, you only got 5% off their advertised price? I'm constantly emailed with offers of 15% off (well okay, not constant, but one seems to always be only weeks away). Used to be 20% off. In fact their "trade in, trade up" policy got you 15% off for trading in used gear- I once used an $11 eBay pedal (new!) to get almost $130 off an $850 Gibson). On to MF and GC, same company. Don't believe it? I once used a GC coupon on an MF order (done several times under "price matching"), and while talking Sales Tax got the order taker confused. He stated "we charge Sales Tax when shipping to any State where we have a retail facility". I asked "well you don't have any in Florida do you"? (was staying there short term) and he said "yes, we've got several there" (AFAIK, MF doesn't have ANY retail facilities ANYWHERE, and are strictly mail order). I said "Wait a minute, MF has retail in FL? Where"? And he stopped. I said "you meant GC, right? And he admitted yes. Answers phone orders for both... There ya' go. I hope your new Gibson comes in and is perfect (and probably will be). Until it does, you need to get a credit back on your card (refund), then have them charge a deposit for your order if they need to (they may or may not), and get a bigger discount. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
budglo Posted March 6, 2012 Share Posted March 6, 2012 To be fair, something hanging on a wall for 4 years can be "new" and never sold. It prob should be put on clearance but if it's a current production model, then it technically isn't a discontinued model,so they don't have to clear them out. Maybe not , but they shouldnt be trying to sell them at 2011 prices.Even when I pointed that out , the salesman just kind of shrugged it off. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dg77 Posted March 6, 2012 Share Posted March 6, 2012 I've bought a couple of guitars from GC, and am very happy. But you need to be proactive (as with anywhere else!). Shouldn't have accepted the dinged up model on the second one, that was your own fault. First one was theirs. On ordering from Gibson and waiting, this should not be a surprise. They don't produce individual guitars to order, they make runs of models (typical production practices, just imagine how much higher costs would be if they didn't!). On Gibson quality, that's a whole other matter for a whole different thread (nothing to do with GC) but suffice it to say that the majority of the guitars they ship are very nice, but they like any manufacturer will have some QC issues. Now on price, you only got 5% off their advertised price? I'm constantly emailed with offers of 15% off (well okay, not constant, but one seems to always be only weeks away). Used to be 20% off. In fact their "trade in, trade up" policy got you 15% off for trading in used gear- I once used an $11 eBay pedal (new!) to get almost $130 off an $850 Gibson). On to MF and GC, same company. Don't believe it? I once used a GC coupon on an MF order (done several times under "price matching"), and while talking Sales Tax got the order taker confused. He stated "we charge Sales Tax when shipping to any State where we have a retail facility". I asked "well you don't have any in Florida do you"? (was staying there short term) and he said "yes, we've got several there" (AFAIK, MF doesn't have ANY retail facilities ANYWHERE, and are strictly mail order). I said "Wait a minute, MF has retail in FL? Where"? And he stopped. I said "you meant GC, right? And he admitted yes. Answers phone orders for both... There ya' go. I hope your new Gibson comes in and is perfect (and probably will be). Until it does, you need to get a credit back on your card (refund), then have them charge a deposit for your order if they need to (they may or may not), and get a bigger discount. On my return, they ran the refund to a store gift card which speeds up the process as any cc orders are held 24 hours until approved. In my case I was basically doing an exchange , but I would agree that it in his case it's prob s,art to get a full refund to the card, or at the very least put in a dispute with the cc company so he's not paying interest on something he doesn't have. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jotto4 Posted March 6, 2012 Share Posted March 6, 2012 I understand production runs and didn't expect to have one guitar built just for me. knowing that this purchase was just after the holiday season, i could see that there is potential delay in production, or a run on a particular model of guitars (supposedly exclusive to GC). i'm surprised that they wouldn't have a single 1 of these at gibson, but who knows how they plan out their production calendar. one would think that a manufacturing company would adjust production based on inventory levels so they have models in stock for their largest retailers. i have no idea how popular this model is or their thresholds for on hand inventory or analysis of their retailers' inventory. The reason i didn't get a full refund is I was told they are simply exchanging the original purchase, just sourcing it from gibson and not their distribution center. They also told me that it "should show up pretty quickly, don't worry". As much as I've called and asked for shipping confirmation or any information, I'm told that they "have no info at all from Gibson". I've read that this is a common occurrence for Gibson (poor communication with retailers) They recommended not putting the balance on a gift card as there is a risk of loosing it. They repeatedly said they need to have the funds in hand in order to fulfill from either their distribution center or direct from gibson. this is why there was an issue with them ordering a new one while I still had the 2nd one. This was part of the reason I took it back within the 30 days. they have my $ for a guitar they say is "on order". no special treatment for me. Gibson is on the excluded list of companies when it comes to the promotions avail through GC. I get 10+ emails/ week from them too. I don't know how much they stick to that and I will absolutely use this experience and their constant promotions as leverage when my guitar finally arrives. My sales rep has repeatedly said "we will take care of you", as has the manager. Lip service right now, but we'll see how they finally "take care of me" when all is said and done. i have a good relationship with the guy I'm working with at GC. I've upgraded mics, bought cables, amps and 3 guitars from GC so far. i've been very clear with "my guy" there, that if this goes sideways they will have lost a customer forever. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CajunBlues Posted March 6, 2012 Share Posted March 6, 2012 I totally agree with T Bone... If you search hard enough, you will get 15% off retail... Its out there.. MUSIC123 has 15% off runs... But if you press them hard enough, they will give it to you at any time.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jotto4 Posted March 6, 2012 Share Posted March 6, 2012 Another $200 off this guitar, and having it professionally setup to my liking would stop me from whining about it…and keep me spending money there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jotto4 Posted March 27, 2012 Share Posted March 27, 2012 Although this was originally posted awhile ago, thought I'd share the conclusion to the story. After speaking the managers at GC and sharing my frustration, I was told my guitar would show up in April or May. (originally told March) Instead of going through the roof, I said that sucked, but I'll wait and asked them to look at this from my perspective. They said they would "make it right". To my shock and surprise, they kinda did! Last week, I bought a floor model schecter bass and ampeg amp at a very sweet deal. (very sweet deal indeed) And when my new LP trad pro arrive 2 days after I bought the bass, they gave me 15% off the original price for my hassle. I almost crapped my pants when my sales rep called me to say it had arrived...on my band practice day even! Granted, they didn't go over the discounts they advertise, they did honor them when there wasn't a promo going. (except the schecter, that had some wear and tear and they hooked me up at their cost on that) Gotta say, I totally totally totally dig this LP. It is gorgeous, no major blems from Gibson, sounds freakin awesome and is truly a joy to play. Prefer the covered PU look, but don't want to mess with the sound. Be a cool consumer, be patient, apply some customer leverage with the bosses, don't kick puppies and things can work out when you deal with big box retailers. (dunno a out the puppy thing, but some good karma doesn't hurt anyone) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigKahune Posted March 27, 2012 Share Posted March 27, 2012 . Thanks for the update, and glad to read that GC brought a conclusion which that you happy. Congrats. . B) . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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