Weird Guitar Center Experience (Warning Thread)

organworthyplayer337

organworthyplayer337

Professional Hack
Oct 28, 2014
3,069
3,239
4,676
25
Charlotte, NC
#1
I was in the market for a Marcus Miller bass this past Wednesday and ordered this one (Fender Marcus Miller Signature Jazz Bass Electric Bass Guitar) off the GC site. A couple hours later, I get a call from a rep.

"Hello? Are you ______ that order the MM bass?"

"Yes"

"Uh--- yeah there's something wrong with the frets. Uh, the 'bass guys' here say the frets are uh- worn. So it's unable to be sold"

The dude on the phone didn't sound like he knew what he was talking about and kinda sounded like he was being instructed to tell me this against his judgement.

So I ask him to put me through to the 'bass guys' and have them describe what they mean by "worn". I get put on hold for about 20 minutes, I hang up and call back, then I'm told that they'll call me right back.

I wait about 45 minutes before giving up on the whole thing, they had already realeased my money so I was just going to buy another one from a different store. Funny thing is when they finally did call me back I was on the phone with the other store buying another hahaha

To me it sounded like somebody at that store wanted the bass so they came up with a bull excuse (which explains the long delay in a detailed explanation) for why it can't be sold. Same thing happened to a friend of mine that said he ordered a pedal that the employee wanted so he refused to ship it to my friend. Another thing the corroborates my theory is, it's sill 'for sale'. So obviously there's something not right here.


Just wanted to warn y'all!
 
  • Like
Reactions: Ellery, PortlandBass77, itsalljustaride and 4 others
#4
Killed_by_Death said:
I once called in to check about a used guitar that was for sale on GC.com, and the guy said they'd sold it.
It was still available online, so I ordered it anyway & waited for the cancellation notice. The notice I got was that it shipped, & I got it :roflmao:
Click to expand...

I bet reps don't get compensated for handling the oinline orders so they try as hard as they can to brush them off.
 
  • Like
Reactions: PortlandBass77, BassmanMetzger56 and Killed_by_Death
#5
Killed_by_Death said:
I once called in to check about a used guitar that was for sale on GC.com, and the guy said they'd sold it.
It was still available online, so I ordered it anyway & waited for the cancellation notice. The notice I got was that it shipped, & I got it :roflmao:
Click to expand...
Yeah there was another one for sale that I tried to buy but it 'sold out' just as I was checking out. But it's still up for sale now
 
#11
I worked at a GC from '04-'14. The issue with online sales is when you purchase something online, if it's not in stock in one of their central warehouses, it trickles down to the stores. Most of the time, stores would get 1 of the more upper end stuff and it'd be on the floor for everyone to wank on. Lots of times, they'd have dings scratches or terrible setups, bags would be missing along with case candy (I tried my best to make sure all that stuff was together and labeled as I was the "bass guy") it's hard to say their intention for making it so difficult for you to buy from that store but... just my 2 cents. Just an FYI, all the dudes and gals I worked with, at least from 04-10, hated GC.com. It absolutely ruined the company AND our sales i.e. our commission.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: lostreality, yakmastermax, Mvilmany and 1 other person
#12
i have not had good experiences with gc.com online sales.

incident 1) bought a new guitar online, said "in stock and ready to ship". Four days later, check status, order still processing, no tracking #. Call them up and "yeah its out of stock so we put you on backorder." without telling me.

inident #2) bought a small used tube combo amp from gc.com. Took almost a month to arrive, and when it did, it was busted due to terrible packing job. tube rolling around in back along with the tube protector that fell off, speaker wire mount busted off. This was clearly due to the ridiculously inadequate packing. they put amp in a way oversized box and the only packing was, no exaggeration, a couple of sheets of bubble wrap. took it to local gc to return, took them over an hour to process the return, once the salesman started the process.
 
#13
ThinCrappyTone said:
i have not had good experiences with gc.com online sales.

incident 1) bought a new guitar online, said "in stock and ready to ship". Four days later, check status, order still processing, no tracking #. Call them up and "yeah its out of stock so we put you on backorder." without telling me.

inident #2) bought a small used tube combo amp from gc.com. Took almost a month to arrive, and when it did, it was busted due to terrible packing job. tube rolling around in back along with the tube protector that fell off, speaker wire mount busted off. This was clearly due to the ridiculously inadequate packing. they put amp in a way oversized box and the only packing was, no exaggeration, a couple of sheets of bubble wrap. took it to local gc to return, took them over an hour to process the return, once the salesman started the process.
Click to expand...
Not the first time I've heard a story like this. Sorry you had such a terrible experience. Company just went downhill as time went on. I miss bits of working there... but not much.
 
  • Like
Reactions: ThinCrappyTone
#15
With an organization as large as GC with a range of experience/product knowledge stretching from plenty competent to clueless knob, it seems plain random chance determines the outcome of any given transaction. I've been lucky in my limited instrument buying from GC, but i've never bought a used piece unless it was on the rack at my local store and any new orders have been done through the same local store, and so far every transaction has been to my complete satisfaction.
 
  • Like
Reactions: aaronious
#16
Ox Boris said:
It's corroboration that the worn fret/not for sale story is false. But it goes against your theory that somebody else wanted it.
Click to expand...
Well, I was saying that if the frets are worn then the listing would be pulled. But I doubt an employee can just pull an ad if it's still available (and functional) so they leave it up, if someone else tries to buy it they get the same story until the employee can buy it.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Ox Boris
#17
Joe Nerve said:
I too have heard a lot of these stories. Seems GC doesn't stay on top of their used gear postings.

I rarely if ever anymore buy used gear online, but if I did from GC I wouldn't count on anything until I got my "your item has been shipped" email.
Click to expand...
Still not counting on it even after it's "shipped". The tracking has been unavailable for 5 days. Making me think it hasn't even left the GC warehouse yet :cautious:

I'll believe it when it's at my local GC and I arrive to pick it up :smug:
 
  • Like
Reactions: BassmanMetzger56 and ThinCrappyTone
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top Bottom
Back