Talkin' Music Stores! Is retail dead?
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- Опубліковано 10 лют 2025
- Yo!! What's up, dudes?!?! I was talking with a buddy the other day about the state of retail music stores and we were wondering how we went from so many different music stores to so few. Have we witnessed the "BlockBustering" of music retail, where large chains squeeze out local stores until they themselves go under?
--Steve
Facebook: / pixlix
Steve, watching your videos has gotten me through some rough times. I have horrible insomnia and watch your videos for hours some nights. thank you for keeping me company when I can't sleep! I hope you realize that your videos mean more to people than just a gear review.
I love Musician's Friend mostly because my nearest "big chain" music store (Guitar Center) is 80 miles away. But at least with Guitar Center you can go and try before you buy. No such luck with MF. And with everything going to online shopping, it forces all the "Mom & Pop" stores to either keep up or get out of the business altogether. Sad really.
Same thing happened to a local bookstore that everyone loved going to because of the atmosphere with BAM moved to town and shut them down (think the movie "You've Got Mail").
But you see what happened to Blockbuster when Netflix took over the world by storm...hmm...I wonder what will be the Netflix of the Music Retail industry? Some things to think about. Great vid, Steve!
I live in a small city in Canada (pop 65,000). 40 years ago I walked into a music store for the first time (I was 14) bought 3 guitar lesson books, went home and taught myself how to play chords and read music. The store I went to was one of two locally owned stores and had the creakiest wooden floor I had ever heard. One wall of the skinny store was lined with guitars, banjos, mandolins, autoharps and the other was lined with amps and upright pianos. 25 years ago most of my equipment had been sold (to make way for family) and the rest put in a closet, never to see the light of day. Now, 40 years later I have inherited my father's Harmony Master Archtop (Sunburst, 1960) and rather than let it lie, I signed up for the first music lessons of my life. It's takng a long time to shake off 25 years of rust, but I decided that I needed an electric to play as well, and went back to the SAME store (new owner by now) and it still looks, sounds and smells the same. On Saturday morning the old(er) boys meet for coffee and practice a few licks (many of these guys are 60 to 70 plus and still have polka or country bands). Oh... and he made me a smoking deal on a Fender Mustang 2 and Squier HSS Infinity ... just what I need for banging around in the basement. We have no chains in our city, just three locally owned shops - and you can talk to anyone of the owners or their staff about anything, or try any product in their store anytime.
whats stuffed retail stores where I live is everyone is now into stocking high volume selling stock, gone is anything special in a store
online guitar stores killed many music shops here, mainly because sellers here were doubling or trebling USA retail price, clever music stores here key into music schools for sales, the days of putting a poster of Jimmy Page in the store window with a Les Paul Standard for $6000 are over.
Im not actually sure anymore if the guitar is even going to be relevant in 50 years. It will be tragic if it isnt. Pop has pretty much banished the guitar, you can barely hear it in pop anymore. Without thriving retail stores, how the fuck are kids going to play on gear and get inspired and buy stuff? Its honestly just sad.
I buy most of my gear from Long and McQuade which is a Canadian chain which is family owned. Really good people work there.
I listen to you regularly; keep the vids rolling duuude! The greatest show on YT! 😁😁😁
past two guitars i bought were on ebay.. brand new guitars from warehouse type accounts. got a really nice ovation celebrity deluxe elec. acoustic and a ibanez 12 string elec. acoustic. both were free shipping and prices cheapest i could find. feedback was like 99% so i took a chance and both came out to be great deals
I live in UK, we had a very small music store in town, Modern music it was called, Bob the owner was such a nice guy, i had my eye on my 1st guitar, it was an Ibanez Blazer Custom for £199 and i paid for it weekly from my paper round as i was just a kid, later on traded it against a Gordon Smith Gypsy II thin Body, at £250 i paid £100 against it. So miss that place as bob has now passed on, but what a shop, every Saturday it was like a ritual, we'd go there, have a cuppa, play some riffs, and oggle the new stuff we couldn't afford... loved the place. sadly gone now. ahhh memories.
I'm lucky enough to live in London and I go to Denmark Street quiet often, it's declined a fair bit since the internet came in but it's still a great place to look for rare and unusual stuff, and deals can still be had from to time.
G'day Steve, Here down under in the great land of Oztralia, The biggest music store chain here was called Billy Hydes Music. They were cheaper than anyone else, had just about anything you wanted. In the last couple of years they have gotten into hot water and had to shed about 75% of there stores nationwide. They are still going but greatly diminished and there service has suffered. Chinese copies are flooding ebay and some are selling them second hand as chinese copies so, to be sure your getting an original you have to go through a store.
Same story here in germany. We have some really big stores like Thomann, Music Store and some more and many small stores are just dying. The small store in my hometown can barely hold itself but only because there is a local music school
incorporated. It`s probably the same thing all over at the time.
I miss mom and pop shops that used to sell Cds and would have shit you couldn't get anywhere else.. Glad I got to experience that stuff in the 90's.. Very cool time for music
Miller's Music, Chamblee Georgia...37 years and STILL rockin'! Oh yeah, It started out as an outlet for used instruments in 1977 then added a pawn department years later that pawns or buys anything having to do with music, studio recording, instruments of all kinds etc. The big box stores in the Atlanta area send customers to them! Used is where it's at. Keep doin' the good stuff PL!
Steve - In response to your December 2013 vid on the Ibanez 540SFMT CW, which I real fell in love with, I set out to see if I could locate one. By happenstance, I found a 1990 model 4 weeks ago at a Guitar Center (Used Gear) in Florida, while I reside in PA. I had it shipped right to my house and it was in great shape as described. I couldn't be happier. The color is beautiful and so far I have enjoyed playing it. The neck in the first position is real narrow or at least feels that way. I also have purchased new gear (EVH Wolfgang Special) at my local music store and received a good discount from MSRP, but I mainly use the store for guitar setup, string changes and adjustments to string action because I don't want to mess up trying this myself. So far I have been extremely happy with their work, but I continue to peek at the Guitar Center Used Gear section mainly due to price.
Heres a throwback, Beneficial Credit Service! All the stores had Beneficial as there store credit card, I used it to buy a 1985 Charvel single Hum/Kahler in gun metal grey from Friendly River Music. Theyre still in business in Cornish ME, they had a store literally right across the street from my house in No Conway NH. I financed a CRATE G40C at the same time.
Hey Steve, I don't buy new gear that often, but I have ordered/purchased through Guitar Center for my last few big purchases because they have low prices and if they don't have it in stock they will ship it free to the store near me. However, if I can buy it at one of the local independent shops for the same price, I'll do it. And I hate going into Guitar Center these days... as you described, it's not the same place that I would visit when I was a teen. Now, it's loaded with cheap inventory and staffed by young kids that don't know squat. Every time I walk in to try something out, I have some arrogant punk trying to talk down to me about what I should be looking at (of course, before they hear me play). I end up having to say "dude, come on, please, I've been playing for 30 years.. just get me the guitar I asked for and let me do my thing" LOL... maybe I'm just getting old! :)
I agree with you on the cheap price at guitar center. I walked in one day and had seen a Jackson on sale for 185, and I was in the market for a Jackson, so I had to jump on it then. Once I took it up to buy it all the employees were shocked to see it for 185 and wanted to buy it from me, but I kept it anyways and love it!
im 32 years old now and and literally went to Daddys junky music in Manchester NH for my entire life they always treated me every very well...then they closed ,i may have lost a little of my soul when daddys went out of business a few years ago... they used to be back in the late 80's/early 90's so amazing... i remember getting there used gear catalog by mail every month and it was like as thick as a bible and near the end it was so anemic it was scary i knew that the times the nigh
you being from the Mass area remember daddys no doubt
I don't think it will ever completely go away. I had read a boat load of reviews on amps in the last 2 months and was dead set on either the Blackstar ht-5 or Marshall Dsl5 for basement use. Everyone says you have to have tube amp! I went to a couple of stores and demo'd several amps and I came to the relaxation that the heavier rock/metal sounds are at HIGH volume! I won't be cranking above 4 very much at home. I ended purchasing the Roland Cube 80gx as it had the sounds I wanted. I would have known that was what I wanted until I played through them.
Oh and also - Screw PRS!!! They are really agro with their lawyers. My buddy Steve Helgeson of Moonstone guitars has been putting birds on some of his inlays since the 1970s. Jackson Brown bought the first one in 1977 and featured it in the 6-page color insert of his "Running on Empty" LP. Anyway, At a trade show a few years back, PRS walked by Steve's booth, saw birds on a neck, and immediately had his lawyers sue Steve. It didn't go anywhere, because the album was proof Steve did it first. The guy was even friendly with Steve up to that point. He didn't have a conversation about it. He just sent lawyers like a passive aggressive prick. So based on his business attitude, I hate PRS guitars. Steve won't fix them in his shop either LOL!
Your mate should have returned serve and sent his lawyers over...
Darryl Kelly I know! But my buddy doesn't have the kind of money needed to fight the team of PRS lawyers, even if he was in the right.
Chad Johnson I looked on the ali express site and they had brids on theirs!Ha!
...probably angry brids!
haha..
I am very lucky that where I live (Albany, NY) I have a few really good stores very close to me. There is a GC within 2 miles that I rarely go to now. There are 3 local stores that do really well. One store in Colonie Center sells more beginner and low end gear like Dean, and Charvelle. Drome Sound in Schenectady sells medium gear like Mexican Fenders, lower end Gibsons, and Epiphone to name a few. Parkway Music in Clifton park sells high end gear like custom PRS, Mesa, and high end Gibson and Fender.
Two weeks ago I bought a used tele professional for$600 at GC. It was mint condition with the tags and manual. That's crazy! I couldn't leave without it. The used section is great.
I really like Sweetwater. You hit the nail on the head guitar center used. That's my favorite thing about them. As for mom and pop stores, we have two here, but a guitar center just opened with the studio inside. Hasn't seem have effected the two mom and pops yet. We only have one cd place here, but they sell more than just cds, so they stay alfloat well.
The "Mom N' Pop" shops will never die off completely. In my area (outside of Philly), a few of the extremely small shops actually came together and opened up one nice sized shop. As far as picks and strings go, there's really no competing with ebay with the deals, especially when a lot of the times, the stuff I use (Elixir, Cleartone, Dunlop purple Tortex Jazz III) aren't readily available at the neighborhood haunts. But when it comes to looking for gear, I ALWAYS check with the local spots first, and they all know what I'm into and looking for, so 90% of the time I just get a phone call when one of those things comes in. Perfect example; They all know I've been on the hunt for any Washburn Nuno model with the "Stephen's Exrended Cutaway". One day I get a call that one of the shops got an NX3, which is basically an N4 with a rosewood fingerboard, non-reverse headstock, and a shit-ton less $$$. The things in great shape, came with a gigbag and I got it for $200 out the door!! And even when I'm need to order more parts for doing repairs, I'll pay the extra couple $ to go through the instead of going through Allparts myself, and in return, in the past 10 years I've NEVER bought anything in any of them without them automatically getting a monster hookup. On more than one occasion my main spot has let me walk out with layaways telling me not to worry about the last $30, $60, even $80! Even though it's not the intention, loyalty pays off!!
Just picked up an Ibanez 1570 Prestige with only a few blemishes for $300 used at Guitar Center, your damn right about that stock getting in and getting out.
Hey Man....Over this past weekend I was on UA-cam, and this video of yours about "retail" popped up. I was killing some time, so I figured I would listen. I want to say Thank You for the information on Guitar Center used gear. Though I've traded in guitars there, I've never looked for, or purchased used equipment from them. I've been on the hunt for a Squier Classic Vibe Thinline, and you're right, Ebay can get silly with pricing. After watching the video, I went to the GC site, did a search on used Fenders and Squiers, and there it was,...Squier Classic Vibe Thinline, in excellent condition $249. Though the pictures were really crappy, it looked good, and they said no dent's, or scratches. I purchased figuring if it was a dog, I could return it. It arrived today, MINT!! I'm thrilled! So thanks again....PS....You have a really good speaking voice, you should be doing commercials or radio, and though I'm not a metal guy, enjoy your playing...ya got some nice licks....Peace...Frank
Our staff are very adamant about buying from our local businesses if at all possible, at least give them first opportunity. Usually 90% of the time they’ll meet or beat their “competitors” such as Guitar Center, Musicians Friend, Sweetwater, etc. Keep up the great work Steve!
After you get done with the initial riff you gotta say" what's up!" It's the best part.
I am addicted to GC's used section. I've bought five guitars from them in the last year, all sweet deals, from a $300 Schecter that looked brand new, to a $100 early 90s Sammick Tele copy (both of which I later sold for more than I paid)
I have made numerous great buys from Guitar Center online for used gear. It really is a great way to buy.
Wow, that's sad to hear about Daddy's Junky Music going under. I remember buying most of my used pedals from them many years ago.
here in Vancouver Canada I purchased a classic vibe strat from long & mcquade. a few months later it developed a problem with a fret marker dot sticking up a bit and interfering with string bends. I called them and they simply replaced the guitar with a brand new one later that day, no questions asked, no hassle, even had it set up and waiting when I arrived. I was in and out of the store in like 10 minutes. That's customer service....
All I have in my little ole town is a guitar center. It's about a 8 minute walk from my house, so i visit often and although it's a relatively small store they have some great gear
I worked at Guitar Center in So California back in the early 90's. At that time a typical guitar would have what they termed as an "A Mark" price point, which meant that their cost was almost exactly 50% of MSRP. Not sure if that structure still stands, but back then, we had a fair amount of authority to accept an offer that hit somewhere between cost & MSRP. This didn't apply to the cheap stuff, but the typical American made brand names like Gibson, Fender, etc . ..
I use Capo's Music Store in Abingdon, Va and Morrell Music in Bristol, Tn. Both do great guitar repair and have very fair prices.
We have a Music-Go-Round here in Atlanta, I got my Ibanez S370 with a hard shell case for $40 with some trade in stuff I wasn't using anymore! We also have a Sam Ash that has great staff for things that are hard to get used. The Guitar Centers here don't have much used stuff, but what they do have rotates fast and is usually pretty good deals.
goodmorning, you are my morning with coffee.....all the best to you....used to see the new strats and the whole Fender line in Feilds in FT Lauderdale...Old buddy, JACO, yeh him...in a garage band with him and a drummer bud..we bought gear, he a used Precision, me a Danelecro 12 teardrop, grey, cream ...the gyus kicked me outa the band, ..but hey, i could cove early ANIMAL,and STONES with the 12string....and hey a decade llater, JIMMY PAGE....and the BIRDS....12strings are a headache...but my dream of a vintage 12 Rikenbacker is recurring!...DUDE, you are my mentor!...keep it LOUD and online!
I hear you on that! I always do my shopping at my local guitar center in California and they seem (for the most part) pretty knowledgeable on what they are selling and I never really had any bad experiences with guitar center.
Most of my guitars have come from Walpole Music Studio. Haven't been in there in a whi;e though. Model 6, Surfcaster and Ibanez XV500 from Daddy's years ago. Got a MIM Strat from GC. My most recent Charvel came from Music Go Round in Natick, but I found it on eBay first cuz I was "just looking"
Been to Matt's for some strings and to see what he had, nice place. Also stopped by the Axe Palace a year or so back and fell in love with ENGL amps. Was also turned on to Elixir strings.
Here in the UK I use a small chain of stores called PMT.. I got my first quality guitar there in 96 and still use them to this day.
Great discussion point Steve. I loved going into EU Wurlitzer back in the late 70s early 80s. Just hearing all the Berkley and New England Conservatory kids testing out instruments. Awesome. Yeah, the internet killed all sorts of small shops. I owned a retail sporting goods shop in metro Denver. People started to come in "Hey Ted, I can buy this pair of skates for $X (At my dealer net, or less) online". It was tough. I finally sold to a guy that had it for a couple of years until he was gone. I'm sure it hit music stores harder.
Who is left in the Boston area for music stores?
Back in my hometown is a shop in the local mall where I've purchased new and used guitars. Love the arts, inc isn't just guitars. The store that restarted my want to learn.
I LOVE Guitar Center Used. Got my first Revered from them for an amazing price and it was in amazing condition.
In 1970 my dad took me to Sam Goody's in Philadelphia Pa. It was a large music store back then. He bought me my first electric guitar, which I still own today. A 1970 Fender Telecaster. I remember going to Sam Goodies in the 90's to purchase Cd's instead of tapes then DVD's instead of VHS. Just did a google search and now have learned Sam Goody had become F.Y.E. I'm not crazy about FYE. Their is one at our local mall that is still in business...surprisingly. Used DVD's or rare documentaries is all I would go there for. I would have thought Sam Goody would have been one of those companies that made it....since they had a good early start and large market. Same goes for Kodak. Does not always work out that way.
Hey Steve. I've bought two guitars and a bass off eBay and I got deals one them. The two guitars I bought from guitar stores. I bought my EVH Wolfgang Special from Music Store Live which is based in Burlington VT, I think my Jackson guitar which I've never done a video on was I think Sam Ash in Brooklyn NY and I got it on eBay last year about this time for about $400. My my Spector Bass I bought from an owner and I love it. I haven't played it in a while but hey I've wanted one since I was 19
I had commented on here before. But, I wanted to mention this. I went to our oldest local music shop the other day. I wanted to buy a pair of Promark Hot Rods. Normally, I would go with Sweetwater. But, I wanted to get them that day. About the only thing that I buy at this place nowadays are cables when they croak and I just need a few at the time. They were almost 40 bucks. I hadn't looked at percussion stuff since the early 90's. So, I was out of the loop. Once I got back home, I checked the price on Sweetwater, just for the hell of it. The local shop were selling these at almost twice the price. And they wonder why they are losing business.
Hey Steve, I use Andertons in Guildford in the Uk. I know you know Chappers and the Captain and if I'm being honest they both have great business heads. They have great reviews which helps, but if you want a guitar you really need to check it out. I went down there and checked out some guitars and ended up buying a B-stock SG that had a light scuff which wasn't an issue for me. They have great little rooms for checking out gear, each room has a selection of pedals and a tube amp and a little Roland cube! You can try out anything from a squire to a £5000 LP. They also have everything else there to go with your band, drum gear, bass keyboard etc! If anyone in England is reading this and hasn't been to Andertons yet it's worth a visit! Yet I've used them 5 times and only bought in the store once. They also do a 1% loyalty scheme which if like me you buy often then it helps!
Up here in New Hampshire we have a great music store in Manchester right on Elm Street. It's called Manchester Music Mill. They are a locally owned store, and recently they have moved to a bigger location. The owner is named Joe and he is very well informed and a great guy. Their staff is nice and they have a huge inventory. I've been going there for years and their used gear is awesome. They're always fairly priced and they have a big variety of interesting guitars. If anyone is in the western NH area check them out!
Big Daddies Junkies Music, Boston was where I bought my first Fender Strat while on holiday in 1998 sad to hear they have closed up. A lot of guitar shops have disappeared here in my home town of Belfast, N. Ireland since I started playing guitar in the 80’s. We’ve lost Session Music, Marcus Music, Crymbals, Taughan Music , The Belfast Guitar Emporium has come and gone as has Dawson Music. We’re down to just one shop in the City Centre and one on the outskirts.
There are a lot of great local stores in Savannah, GA. They are expensive with mid to low end guitars but they have pretty good deals on higher end guitars.
Excellent video. I love your take and is so true. Nice history. I graduated High School in 77 and have witnessed these changes. I just started playing guitar again and use the internet to research any purchases I have in mind. I purchased a couple of pedals from Guitar Center (used) and they were a steal. (shipped to Store). For me, when I purchase a new guitar online I try to stick with the sites that have a pic of their inventory (especially with a flamed maple top). Sweetwater Music, AMS, and Nstuff, are a few of the sites which I am aware that show pics of their guitar inventory. Sweetwater even has the instruments weight. What I have seen recently is a big store chain has begun to show pics of their Guitars. That would be Sam Ash. I have recently seen a few guitars advertised their online with pics and serial numbers. Mostly on their more expensive guitars. For me as a buyer, being able to see the instrument before purchase is very important and I believe the online retailers are taking note of this.
Great video. I live in Fairfield County CT and we have GC, Scam Cash and a few Daddy's. Almost all of the mom and pop tires are gone. Surprisingly, the few independent stores that tried to make it closed within a few years. Sad. The closest high end store is Rudy's in Manhattan which is nothing short of amazing. There used to be a store down the street from Rudy's called We Buy Guitars. The show room was a chain link fence with every vintage guitar known to man behind it. Now it is a Sam Ash.
I used guitar center used section for my first les paul. Scored a 2014 LP Standard with quad A flame for $1800. I'm not sure how the price was so low as even on guitar center website similar guitars with triple A top were selling for few hundred more. They advertized it as "excellent condition" and indeed it was. I was lucky to see it within minutes of posting. It arrived and there was not a single problem with it.
You should do a podcast, or just post your videos in an audio format somewhere so I can listen to you at work. You rock.
Steve also with GC, you can haggle on used prices. All original vintage Peavey T15, mint shape and original speaker case, was $199 at my GC, I asked if they could do better on it and they did $179.99.
So, for absolutely one song only that my cover band does, I needed one cheap guitar that I could restring with the low "B" (like a 7 string). I went into a Sam Ash store in Torrance California and bought a great used Fender Squier Korean strat with two little dings and some scratchy pots......... $75 bucks !! Does the job perfectly for exactly what I needed it to do!
Within 10 minutes of me I have two local mom and pop music shops. I go there once and a while if I need something bad, other than that i'll goto Guitar Center. I use Ernie Ball Rock n Roll series for strings, and at GC they are like $5 and at every other shop almost $10, if I buy 4 or 5 back at a time i'm saving a decent amount of coin. Gordon Lasalle - Wurlitzer stores, only 2 left. One in Leominster and other in Southbridge
If you live in the Boston area, I suggest Music Go Round. They have a location on route 9 in Framingham, next to the giant Benjamin Moore paint sign. I think they have a location in Boston too. They deal almost exclusively in used instruments and they seem pretty nice. I don't know much about their markups but their stock seems to refresh rather quickly. They have locations all over the country and on their website you can order from some of the other ones. Their stock tends to fill a bit with really super low end stuff but it's not all bad (I'm a bassist and we always get the short end of the stick when it comes to stores having decent stock). I bought my first actually decent bass, a Fender Aerodyne Jazz Bass, from them and I've absolutely loved it, although that is likely more the result of the Aerodyne Jazz Bass being of incredible quality (It's the only Aerodyne model that wasn't discontinued, even the Aerodyne guitars got axed). The bass usually retails for $800 online but they had it for $500 and I am so glad I bought it.
I shop online exclusively. Sweetwater and Strings and beyond. I think most people do their own research nowadays online, not to mention tax free and free shipping options. I haven't set foot in my local Guitar center for about 2 yrs.
I know this is a year too late, but I recently opted to try learning an instrument again, and decided on an Electric Guitar, and actually drove 3 hours to my nearest instrument retail.
Long story short, I left with a beat up Ibanez. And now that I've had it for a week. I'm under the impression Sam Ashe in Raleigh grifted the hell outta me. Now I'm wishing I'd gone to a Guitar Center.
Edit: Mixed the two stores up.
hey brother its your buddy that travels to the middle east . I bought a really cool early Ibanez roadstar 2 , on route 1, yup your right there gone, im deploying but always watch your videos from iraq , stay in touch, your brother Marko
Sam Ash has always been good to me. Currently trying to land a job there too. I just love being around guitars
0:03 That intro chord just wants Roger Daltrey to scream YEAAAAAAH
you aint kidding. guitarcenter used is amazing. i found a strat online and it was a hour away. so i called and said I want it . dude puts me on hold , comes back and says sorry somebody is hear playing it and is buying it lol dirt cheap too . amazing deals. love your channel bro
I love my local music store "guitars". I made friends with the owner as soon as I moved here!
I usually go to GC in Danvers, MA to hang once in a while and check out the used stuff. I am a fan of those micro guitar amps, and love to see what it out there. Bought my first dum set from Belmont Music (also in MA). Recently bought a 6 string short scale bass from Rondo music which is in NH... kid in a candy store man!
Always enjoy your videos. As an acoustic maker, I know that the Kramer acoustic is a cheapie, actually not worth more than what you paid for it. Love your videos! Miss my local music stores, cannot abide GC myself. The local stores used to have guys like you in there!
I had the same Guitar, P.L. twas a Fender, 83' burgundy Strat w, all gold hardware and the push-pull Series or parallel, out of phase, all 3 or the neck/bridge combo. Crap paint job (started to thin after less than I year of gigging), but sweet, chimey and versatile. Paid 1k in 98'. Looking back, one of the better high dollar deals I've ever done.
I do a lot of eBay buying and selling. It's definitely something you have to be selective about. One of the reasons for the higher prices is probably the fees, which are much higher now, than they were years ago. They get 10% for a final value fee, so if you sell for 1K, you have to take $100.00 off right away and Paypal gets 3%.
I try to sell like GC does, to get a quick turn around, as long as I'm not loosing money. Anyway, another good vid, keep 'em coming dude. Rock on!
The problem for retail stores in the internet age is to figure out how to charge for the value they provide in terms of allowing you to see the merchandise and hang out and chat and get service and so on. Their services help the industry sustain interest, but the industry might not see the need to pay the stores for doing stuff they have to do anyway. The only method I can think of is for the retailers to form a trade association and engage in collective bargaining with the manufacturers, demanding certain forms of subsidy from particular manufacturers.
to answer your question in the video.. I go to guitar center used.. I have a pretty good relationship with the guys there because I'm there so often and actually buy stuff.. I just bought an Edwards John Sykes les paul from there yesterday.. Some guy unloaded like 10 Edwards les Paul's.. I wanted to grab at least 3.. How often do you walk in and get to play an Edwards? Not very often lol.. And I they had them so cheap it was a steal
EU was on Mass ave, not Newbury... and the FEW times I had my guitars worked on there, their quality was horrible...talking late 70's. Daddy's started out in Alston...right? ..just a pawn shop kind of place.
My last 2 guitars came from Craigslist. Picking up another one tomorrow or Friday on Craigslist as well.
I miss Daddys in Mass Ave and the one in Dedham. They had some great people working there.
We have one big music store 4sound.dk in Copenhagen here in Denmark. Other than that most of my guitar shopping is done at thomann.de.
People accross "the pond" seem to have access to a much wider and cheaper selection on the 2nd hand market.
I gave up finding a used squier classic vibe here. There are simply too few up for grabs and the price is usually 80%+ of retail price.
Hey Steve, Guitar center is great for buying, but not so good if you are selling. When they buy a used guitar from a customer, they look up that guitar on eBay, as well as their own used site, and see what that particular model is selling for. Then they give you 60% of that price, if the selling price is over 200 dollars. If selling price is under 200, they only give you 50% of the price. I've went in there a couple times, with very nice guitars I was selling, and walked right back out, because the buy prices were just insulting....But if you need money, and don't mind taking a big loss, then they will buy your rig regardless, as long as its in decent condition.
Yo! Steve! 'Sup! (laughs!) Taking me back to 1975-1983, family bought me guitars from Montgomery Wards, Newberry's, Sears and Roebuck? LOL Then onto Guitar Center and Guitar Trader here in San Diego. There used to be a Music Mart, but sold Arias and Carvins and were too overpriced... $300 Boss Pedals? LOL But for me, now, I only buy between $110-$249 used guitars or new, leaving $35 for shipping, keeping it under $300. Had all the Boss, MXR, DOD, Ibanez pedals back in the day? DOD? Hahaha! And Guitar Center and Guitar Trader were very good priced back then..and Guitar Trader is close by the house I check them out monthly in person...the old days wish they were back, simple times, fun times, jeans, black concert t-shirts, leather jackets and studs. LOL The 'Look" of the 80's metal scene...great video Steve!
I would have to say hell no to the death of retail in music stores. Every chance I get to go the city, I go straight to Long and Mcquade. It is something I look forward to every single trip. They are a chain that I love. There was a chain that was bought out by them called Mother's Music. The shitty part about MM is that you were not allowed to try out any of the instruments, but I always went to them to buy my acoustic parts and strings. Then I went L and M and bought my first strat and got to try out the guitar and the amp I bought too. I go there every trip I go on in order to get new strings and parts and amps and stuff.
Since i live in Portugal (Europe) i use Thomann as my main store. They are great people, they have amazing prices, and the shipping quallity is top notch. I've ordered my Epiphone Firebird a week ago and it was perfect.
mars music was kind of cool, even though I've only been in one once and I think I was like 9 years old so my memory of it is vague at best.
i have a local store closeby, but they are always more expensive that what I can find on ebay or even other stores. Difficult times these days for ALL retail anyway, not only music.
Here in the Netherlands you have this bidding site called Marktplaats and sometimes you can buy awesome and cheap stuff there.
A trip earlier today to my local Guitar Center (and Sam Ash) says, yes, brick and mortar music retail is dead and stinkin'. It looks like a wasteland in there--all they dare to carry is the most basic level shit that either nobody really buys or stuff that everyone has already. The stores just don't get you excited to go or give your same sense of wonder they once did. These places were once booming with life--Marshall stacks everywhere, TVs playing concert videos etc. It doesn't have that magical toy store vibe like it used to. The employees all come off as failed/washed up, 36 year old metalheads who still live with their mom.
Michael Allen you hit the nail on the head
You can tell its dead when its not really in mainstreet or in malls anymore. They are all in "destination" locations, where u gotta drive fuckin 50 kms out of your way to find them.
Is that a roadhouse strat. I am looking at buying one. It's the same colour and it has a tone bypass on the volume knob. Really cool guitar.
I'm pretty fortunate that I have a local mom and pop store within walking distance of me (Mountain music,Hamilton Ontario) that has prices pretty close to our big national chain. And I'm only 20 minutes away from that if I want more variety. I really don't like the idea of buying something sight unseen so I'd be really reluctant to buy online.
You are correct. I watched an RG I was interested on Ebay for the better part of a year.
my local gc has a pretty high markup on used gear. i traded in a deluxe tele to get an lp ( which quickly broke) they marked it up about 75% more than they paid.
Hi Steve, that almost sounded like a 'paid presentation' for GC hehe... Glad you have such great experiences with them, I just wish we had something similar here in Australia. I tend to buy my guitars used, but when I do buy new, due to living such a distance away from a major centre I have to take a punt and buy unseen from a larger store in a capital city and hope like hell they don't send a dud. Thankfully I've never had an issue with any of the guitars I've bought that way. To be honest, the best deals I've managed to score have been via Facebook music pages. Im not sure if the whole buy, swap and sell Facebook group or page thing is going over there in the states but over here in OZ its pretty massive. They're generally the first place I look at before I move onto Fe-ebay or Gumtree. Loved the video. Can't wait for the next one. (Please play Panama again in the next Vid) Cheers.
I use guitar center used as well...also at my local guitar center they often have scratched n damaged goods you can buy dirt cheap if your lucky and catchem at the right time...I once bought a top of the line Epiphone sg...quilt top for $50...because it had a small chip in the body...but online used guitar center I just got my son a used Jackson js 32 carved top locking Floyd special...for $79 plus shipping....I got the same guitar but I bought mine new for $299...and his is in mint condition..also guitar center if you show your face alot at the store..managers get to know you...I've haggled some mad deals before ..
There was a mom and pop shop really close to me. Great bunch of guys but the prices just were ridiculous and they didn't have half the selection of brands compared to what you could get at the local Sam Ash and Guitar Center. They went out of business about 5 years ago. Guitar Center has some really good sales when you get one of those 15 or 20% off coupons which they have pretty often. The thing to remember is to know what your looking for and do you research online first before going to a Guitar Center or any of the big chain stores. Don't rely on the employees to give you accurate specs and info on what your interested in. I got a Marshall JVM410H used for $999 from Sam Ash. Was a steal!
I work at Long & Mcquade here in Canada, the biggest chain in the country and its great. I find our staff is extremely knowledgeable on most of our products and we actually care about our customers. Same goes for our prices too, can't beat them. We even have a price match guarantee... though it makes the small mom and pop shops completely unable to compete, which does kind of suck :/ But times change i guess
I find L&M doesn't have the best prices all the time, and specialty product stores still win (like my Höfner, Washburn, Aria and Hagstrom stores) and store to store for service. Having said that, when they're good, they're amazing. Which store are you at?
I'm at the Markham location in Ontario!
Oh, my closest store is Calgary South :)
right on!
Sad but true. Good conversation.
I am new to guitars so I depend on websites and guitar center because I just don't have the expertise yet, but I'm learning!
I will always and as long as I can choose my local shop of preference (Ironside Electric Co. in my home town) scored a vintage Garnet amp there. If they don't have what I need and if they can't order it my next choice is Long and McQuade. Internet shopping is great but brick and mortar is always superior.
Hi old buddy, I tend to use Guitar Centers at times. I found that if at all possible I try and buy direct from the manufacture. I look for Blems that you or I can't see but they know of them. Best deals I found was a 3500. dollar guitar I was able to pick up for half price and the damage was so small it was never seen by anyone. Also like selling and trading. But if GC picks up a guitar for 100. and sells it for 150. isn't that a 50% mark up?? Love the videos my friend. rock on
In Spokane Wa. We've got a local pawn shop that, I think since the economy crashed and pawn biz boomed, is making a run at the local Guitar Center...they carry New Charvel, Jackson, G&L, EVH, Orange Blackstar Yamaha pretty cool stuff kind of makes guitar center look boring! Along with all of the used stuff, a Mexican Charvel San Dimas 4 $599.00
I like sweetwater.com haven't bought from them yet but I really like their UA-cam channel. I also like American Music Supply because they're prices are good and I love the no interest easy pay. I can get high end gear and not go into debt. My local guitar center is over 60 miles away and I do not drive. I do like my local music store (we only have one) that sells guitars but they focus more on acoustics for some reason? Don't know and since I'm a bass player well you hang up and kind of selection locally.
I assemble my own guitars.. From bits and pieces from vairious guitar parts websites and E-bay. Got a project on the go now. Every new guitar I have bought just never sits well with me and I end up selling them.
I loved Daddy's!!! they had the best used stuff! I bought a Guild x-88 d motley crue model for 236$ with case!!! there were only 100 made
Hi Steve, Did you hear the last USA Ovation factory in Conn. is closing. My cousin has worked there for years and now he's out of a job. The Guild factory was in the same building and they need to find a new place to be.
Great vids, I watch often... but are you ready for the Bruins vs Habs serie? Go Habs Go
When my brother worked in a local store (Two Street Music) in the 1990s I would go to him because I could trade 2 used guitars for one better used guitar, with no money changing hands. Or I could get the inside scoop on something coming through, but around 1999 or so I was getting into the web, and Musician's friend was what what I used to research, and buy. I've been lucky in that I have never got a messed up guitar that way. Now I like Sweetwater because they have good customer service. I still look at the used in MF. People will return something and they will take 100-200.00 off a basically new guitar. I have bought some used mics from guitar center at a great price. I don't buy a lot of guitars. I buy archetype guitars, like one Les Paul, one Strat, one SemiHollow (335-ish) and keep them. I don't mind laying down a little more if it's something I'm going to love. I also have awesome guitar luthier friends like Ken Lawrence of Lawrence Instruments (He makes a lot of James Hetfield's guitars) or Steve Helgeson of Moonstone guitars. So I can get any guitar sounding/playing better than it can from the company. Modding mid level guitars is a good way to go!