How much do you bargain with a salesman before buying a guitar?

[ibanezrocks]

Re: How much do you bargain with a salesman before buying a guitar?

I've been looking around the net and haven't really found anything that outright beats their price once shipping is considered. For you guys that bargained great deals I'm sure that I'm either missing something here or that you used different tactics.

As for floor models being junk, do you ask for a new one to be shipped in? Personally I like the idea of playing the guitar before I buy especially since I played a few other American Teles that I didn't like at all compared to this one.

 

[Carl762]

Re: How much do you bargain with a salesman before buying a guitar?

Well, I just bought a cheap guitar today, at price. This is a small store, struggling to survive, I researched the price beforehand, and just paid the sticker price when I walked in. They, then, said, OK, I'll give you some new strings, a gig bag, and a setup (ding ding ding). I walked away a happy customer. They did the setup on the recent V.

The guitar is on layaway until next Tuesday. It claims to have Seymour Duncan designed humbuckers, has three knobs, a three way switch. It plays nice.

IT'S A SILVERTONE PAUL STANLEY signature series SOVEREIGN. It's cheap, and it's my new road guitar.

 

[Carl762]

Re: How much do you bargain with a salesman before buying a guitar?

Road guitar means

When I take it to my friend Jim's house and give guitar lessons every other Wednesday to a 5, 8 and 47 year old.

It's for taking camping, while using a battery cell to power my Crate amp.

But, actually, the next time I buy a guitar, I'm really going to try and haggle. Just not with these guys at this particular store.

 

[J Moose]

Re: How much do you bargain with a salesman before buying a guitar?

I no longer buy used gear from private parties because virtually all of it has problems (if you don't see it, you're not looking hard enough) or the seller has hallucinations about the market value of the gear.

Or -- usually -- both. I hate dealing with those idiots: "But...but...I can get a thousand for it on eBay!"

What I do is have an arrangement with a manager at my local GC to buy used gear for what they have in it (near-nothing, often well less than the usual 25% MSRP) just to get rid of it. They get a lot of stuff back in a couple of months from people who want to trade up or out and they don't give 'em much for their "old" gear. True used gear is a headache here because of "pawnbroking laws" that make them hang onto it for (as I remember it) ninety days or something before they can sell it. They hate used gear as it unprofitably ties up floor and warehouse space. Almost all the used stuff I've bought still had the factory stickers all over it.

If there's hidden damage, I can return it. Try that on CraigsList.(

Craigslist is mostly a joke...

You're totally right about the pawnbroker laws though... we've got similar laws out here in NYC/NJ metro area which means we don't have "pawnshops" like you'd find in the mid-west or in the South.

The flip side of that is that the used gear market is pretty non-existent out here. Some stores get things on trade in or like 30th St Guitars, they just buy old gear...

I always haggle on price... sometimes it's asking what the best cash price 'out the door' is... sometimes I'll make an offer. Depends on the sales weasel, just gotta feel it out but ALWAYS be ready to walk, even if you LOVE the guitar.

Sometimes (not usually) there's a trade-in involved & then we can get into all kinds of "whacky" math to make things work.

My Tele dlx with the Bigsby was tagged at $900+ when I saw it & left a $100 deposit. I was gonna get $800+, the difference for a Schetcer USA custom tele with a Bubinga neck.

When I went back to Guitarget the next day, OF COURSE the guy I left the deposit with wasn't there and I was dealing with some "manger" punk-kid who was none to pleased to see my receipt...

By the time it was all said & done, I walked out the door with the bigsby Tele and they "sold" it for $500 & something.


Bistromathics.


Use the 'strange' math to your favor.


Someone said theres no point in haggleing with people that are trying to rip you off right from the start.

That's really super true.

 

[Carl762]

Re: How much do you bargain with a salesman before buying a guitar?

Good job.

 

[Bezmotivnik]

Re: How much do you bargain with a salesman before buying a guitar?

Craigslist is mostly a joke...

Wait'll you read the Personals! [cough!]

sometimes it's asking what the best cash price 'out the door' is... sometimes I'll make an offer. Depends on the sales weasel, just gotta feel it out but ALWAYS be ready to walk, even if you LOVE the guitar.

Yes, absolutely, and here's where I run into problems with participants on raging fanboy gear fora:

I don't "love" guitars. I have absolutely zero (0) emotional investment in them. I've been buying, selling, brokering, servicing (and occasionally even playing!) guitars -- for years at a time as my sole profession -- off and on for over forty years.

Listen, guitars are nothing but mass-produced light industrial product (today more than ever). They never will be anything other than that. There's no magic, no mojo, no rainbows and unicorns...nothing. Not just for me, for anyone. The difference is that I know it and they're in denial about it, forever seeking some cosmic hippy moment over some stupid axe, and it's all just a figment in their empty, mulleted heads. It's either good or bad product relative to the price or it's not.

If it's not, I pass with no more emotion than if it were a load of bathroom fixtures, truck tires or patio furniture. There's always another deal.

Most musicians are love-smitten idiots about gear and lose all rationality (assuming they had any to begin with) not only about buying it, but about objectively assessing its quality and desirability. "Love is blind"...yeah...until the guy gets a crush on something else and makes fool of himself over it. Yes, a particular instrument may fit me better than another, but that doesn't bear that much of a difference in what I'll pay for it nor how quickly I'll walk if I don't get my price. There's always a better axe.

Someone said theres no point in haggleing with people that are trying to rip you off right from the start.

That's really super true.

It certainly is, and that's why you have to establish an ongoing relationship with a single employee with some authority and enough intelligence to know it's better for him to work with you over the long haul than to try to skin you outright.

 

[Markk]

Re: How much do you bargain with a salesman before buying a guitar?

I would try to get a case thrown in with extra strings for the price of the guitar. I haven't bought a new guitar from a store though, but considering the markup I would say that should be possible. Including tax in the price would be sweet too.

Yeah. Argue out a case. Or atleast get a really good discount on it. Definately a pack of strings.

 

[Pink Unicorn Horsey]

Re: How much do you bargain with a salesman before buying a guitar?

maybe you get good deals, but i've been known to get great deals. i even got a free vox tonelab le for free because the local guitar store appreciated my business. like i said, salesmen have two choices: they can make a sale or watch you walk out of the door. they're more likely to cave in and take less commission that to let you walk out. think about it. it's really that simple.

And there's a limit to how low they're willing to go, and how high I'm willing to go.

 

[Skarekrough]

Re: How much do you bargain with a salesman before buying a guitar?

Craigslist is mostly a joke...

It is if you're not knowledgeable about gear and don't do your homework.

Yesterday I picked up a Bensalem Ibanez for less than most used non-MIJ Ibanez'. I picked up a 73' Strat for less than $200. I grabbed a MIA Strat for $400 and flipped it for $600. I bought a G&L L-1505 for under $400.

I get more deals from CL than any other place.

If you conduct yourself in the proper manner you can find deals aplenty.

If you act like a tire-kicker and hem and haw over things then you're not going to get anything.

The guy I bought the Ibanez from said that the reason why he decided to deal with me was because in my first email that if the item was as described I would pay cash.

 

[Glass Snuff]

Re: How much do you bargain with a salesman before buying a guitar?

It certainly is, and that's why you have to establish an ongoing relationship with a single employee with some authority and enough intelligence to know it's better for him to work with you over the long haul than to try to skin you outright.

Now, that's good advice. I think the rest of your tirade was uncalled for, particularly on this forum.

 

[Bezmotivnik]

Re: How much do you bargain with a salesman before buying a guitar?

Now, that's good advice.

I live to serve and entertain.

I think the rest of your tirade was uncalled for, particularly on this forum.

OK, it's probably just as well that I saved the last 2/3 for another time then, huh?

Anyway, I didn't say anything that wasn't literally true, and that usually causes problems in this world. If the shoe fits, et cetera, blah. Tell me you didn't recognize people you know in those descriptions, though...and trust me, that's exactly how a good salesman sees you when you walk into a guitar store, no matter how he pretends to be your pal and plays up to you, and that's the angle he's going to work. Most musicians are immediately and contemptuously sized up by salesmen as irrational, emotion-driven buyers who deserve to be taken advantage of for their foolishness...and you can multiply that attitude ten times over for manufacturers.

The subject here is dealing with guitar salesmen and landing the long deal. My advice was excellent and fundamental: Lose emotion both for the goods and the deals -- permanently. Otherwise you'll always be someone's sucker.

 

[Pink Unicorn Horsey]

Re: How much do you bargain with a salesman before buying a guitar?

I live to serve and entertain.

Fetch my slippers whilst playing a baroque gigue through a kazoo.

 

[Glass Snuff]

Re: How much do you bargain with a salesman before buying a guitar?

I don't see a lot of customers wearing mullets. Maybe that's your problem.

I'd never suggest to a musician that guitars are all the same - it's not true. I think my definition of a good salesman may be a bit different, as well. I try to help people find a guitar they can bond with. If they love their guitar, they'll make better music. They'll practice more, and they'll take care of the instrument.

Ibanezrocks has found a particular guitar that he prefers to others. The question at hand is how to get a good price on it. Advice to lowball the salesman and walk isn't very helpful, is it?

 

[Skarekrough]

Re: How much do you bargain with a salesman before buying a guitar?

Ibanezrocks has found a particular guitar that he prefers to others. The question at hand is how to get a good price on it. Advice to lowball the salesman and walk isn't very helpful, is it?

And that's the difference between business and love.

I made the same mistake as he did....I got porked on a MIM Strat a bunch of years ago. It was a Mom and Pop shop and the thing just totally spoke to me. They couldn't come down on the price due to the nature of the shop and I was left to figure it out for myself; was it worth the extra money to have THAT guitar?

In the end, it was. They did right by me and threw in some straplocks and a strap and other accessories, nowhere near enough to make up the difference though. But to me it wasn't just a financial-based purchase, it was THAT particular instrument.

 

[Glass Snuff]

Re: How much do you bargain with a salesman before buying a guitar?

Right. If you're buying guitars as an investment, then Bezmotivnik's advice is excellent. But to a player, there's more than just money involved. If you really love the guitar, over time, the extra money will seem like a small price to pay for enjoyment you can't get any other way.

 

[Pink Unicorn Horsey]

Re: How much do you bargain with a salesman before buying a guitar?

My advice was excellent and fundamental: Lose emotion both for the goods and the deals -- permanently. Otherwise you'll always be someone's sucker.

Your advice is to be summed up by someone else, not qualified as "excellent" on your own behalf.

I agree that it's a good idea to check your emotions at the door before walking into a sales pitch, but I also think losing emotion for goods is not for everyone -- in fact, it may be for the minority, not the majority. If I were a pure dealer, I might think otherwise, but I'm not; I'm a player. I want to love the instruments I own, through and through. If I don't, then perhaps it is just a box of wood and wire...to me.

- Keith

 

[TeleJr24]

Re: How much do you bargain with a salesman before buying a guitar?

I almost got a Jackson USA Soloist for $800. The price I think was $1,200. I already have a similar guitar so I wasn't ready to buy yet, I was just playing around having fun. But I spent a lot of time with it and my wife finally came up and said to me (but the salesman was within earshot) if you really like it and they can sell it to you for $800, then I say get it. The salesman walked over and said he could do it! It was a great deal but I just wasn't ready to buy. Maybe I should have and then resold it for a higher price.

So my advice is:

1) let the saleman know you want the guitar
2) spend time with the salesman so he has something invested in you
2) get your significant other to come over and set the low end of the bargaining range

It's the same trick the car salesmen use. they tell you a price and then say they have to check with their manager.

 

[Zhangliqun]

Re: How much do you bargain with a salesman before buying a guitar?

I don't "love" guitars. I have absolutely zero (0) emotional investment in them. I've been buying, selling, brokering, servicing (and occasionally even playing!) guitars -- for years at a time as my sole profession -- off and on for over forty years.

If all you want to do is wheel and deal guitars, that is the ideal, and there's nothing wrong with that. But music and playing music is an emotional thing so by definition there is no checking your emotions if you want to be a player. If a particular guitar does it for you like no other guitar, sometimes it really is a bargain at any price, although such guitars are extremely rare.

Listen, guitars are nothing but mass-produced light industrial product (today more than ever). They never will be anything other than that. There's no magic, no mojo, no rainbows and unicorns...nothing. Not just for me, for anyone. The difference is that I know it and they're in denial about it, forever seeking some cosmic hippy moment over some stupid axe, and it's all just a figment in their empty, mulleted heads. It's either good or bad product relative to the price or it's not.

Can people get totally carried away over this stuff and be led around by the nose to spend their lives buying a nickel for a dime -- oh yeah, you better believe it!

But to go to the other extreme and say a guitar is just the sum of its parts is equally emotional and empty-headed, as if money is all there is. Yes, at the end of the day a guitar is still just wood, metal and plastic, but its ultimate purpose and intent is very "cosmic" and intangible and spiritual (and all the other descriptive words I might use here that you would probably spit on) in ways that money can't touch any more than a yardstick can measure temperature. The music business may be just about money but music itself never makes the listener one red cent -- zero return on the investment -- and yet we keep buying CD's. Must be about something other than money.

I think it's actually possible to strike a balance somewhere between being a blindly infatuated musician and a cold mercenary so you're presenting a false choice. It is possible to both love guitars and be smart about deals.

That said, your point that "there is always another deal" is a very good one to keep us sober during those GAS attacks that you just know are wrong. When you've been around a while, you notice that those "once-in-a-lifetime deals" that you about cried over in your teens and 20's actually pop up at least several times a year -- and that's when you're not even looking for them. For somebody wheeling and dealing for a living, I'm sure it's like ice in Alaska.

 

[J Moose]

Re: How much do you bargain with a salesman before buying a guitar?

It is if you're not knowledgeable about gear and don't do your homework.

I get more deals from CL than any other place.

If you conduct yourself in the proper manner you can find deals aplenty.

Nah, I'm talking about the idjits who call ME when I try to sell stuff on Craigslist...

Have kids calling me saying they want my old fuzzbox, can I give them a ride over to my pad so they can pick it up & then drive 'em back home?!

One guy showed up attmpting to pay for a $650 Strat on a "cash only" deal with $300 in cash a BIG bag o' pretty cheap pot.

Like a pound of it.

If I was looking for pot, I'd have said "pot only" in the ad there, Bevis.

Will I supply a two year money back warrenty on the $25 used fuzzbox??!



Craigslist is too much hassle for too little return.

Had MUCH better luck with Harmony Central over the years...

 

[That90'sGuy]

Re: How much do you bargain with a salesman before buying a guitar?

Stores are great because what you buy is exactly what you get. Purchasing online is a crap shoot. Take this from a guy who has purchased 2 custom shop Gibsons online and been disappointed, but bought the right RI Explorer at a Guitar Center and it was by far one of the best guitars I've ever owned (and of course I stupidly sold it because of the awkward lower bout on it).

With that said, I have saved a lot of money on some pieces by buying over the net. That's also how I ended up with the killer current lineup I have now: my Fender EJ Strat, PRS McCarty and Collings 290.

I should be picking up another CS Gibson tomorrow, so we'll see how I make out. The Collings has raised the bar for P90 guitars and I'll have to see if Gibson has learned how to construct a solid guitar without any flaws.