Trading at GC - experiences?

[andy__d]

I’ve sold quite a lot through guitar center. They are pretty straightforward, you’ll get approx 50-60% of what they will list it for (regardless of whether they sell it today or in 5 years time), they inspect the guitar / amp, give you a number, you sign a form, show your ID, and walk out of the store with cash. I don’t have high value stuff to sell, and yes, I know I could get more through other ways of selling - but, my time has value too, and, frankly, I really can’t be arsed to package a guitar well enough for shipping and deal with the hassle / up front cost of shipping, or dealing with difficult customers. I used to sell on eBay (when it was more of an auction site, rather than Amazon lite), and it was already starting to get more hassle than it was worth in 2005,I can’t imagine what it’s like on there or reverb now. I am prepared to pay someone to take that hassle off my hands, and GC does a decent enough job of making the selling path smooth to make me feel ok about what I’m “losing” on the sale.

 

[arlum]

Trading with GC is a loss before you walk in the door. They offer you far less than what it will resell for. I understand profit but I've taken guitars to GC and received $1200 when I was wanting $1700 and then found it hanging on the wall asking for $2500. This is pure BS.

 

[Honga Man]

Have never sold/traded to GC. I use craigslist and deal with what that entails.

But, I much prefer to buy on CL and not sell. The amount of unused guitars and amps in my basement right now is a testament to that.

All this said, I voted for the Pete Townshend option. It's not true, but it was too funny not to have chosen. Nice job with the poll, OP.

 

[hawk620]

While I can appreciate the convenience of trading I've only done one trade in the last 15 years and it wasn't at a GC. I've always had a fair amount of success selling locally but I will admit the Jakedog is right. The market is very cold right now.

 

[Doomguy]

I just did a trade with GC a week and a half ago.

The process was quick. They tested out both guitars and the pedal I went in with, made the offer, and we were good. I got roughly 60% of what the stuff was worth and it was fine with me, they even offered more for the pedal I was selling (an old Lamb Series DOD Death Metal) then anyone else had before. They didn't have the item I wanted in store so they threw the money on a gift card and did an online order in store with me. I only paid sales tax. I was there for maybe 40-45 minutes.

You have to go in knowing that you're not going to get full value and not be disappointed with that. In my case, the gear I sold was unused and I was happy to trade it at a loss because I knew I was getting something that would be used, which is more valuable to me.

 

[Dismalhead]

I just did a trade with GC a week and a half ago.

The process was quick. They tested out both guitars and the pedal I went in with, made the offer, and we were good. I got roughly 60% of what the stuff was worth and it was fine with me, they even offered more for the pedal I was selling (an old Lamb Series DOD Death Metal) then anyone else had before. They didn't have the item I wanted in store so they threw the money on a gift card and did an online order in store with me. I only paid sales tax. I was there for maybe 40-45 minutes.

You have to go in knowing that you're not going to get full value and not be disappointed with that. In my case, the gear I sold was unused and I was happy to trade it at a loss because I knew I was getting something that would be used, which is more valuable to me.

There it is. I think that's what I'm going to do. There are a few used ES 339s online that are priced about right.

 

[179461]

I traded a guitar there a few weeks ago & didn’t get beat up too badly, I felt good about the deal. It’d been a million years since I traded anything.

It was straight up, no extra cash involved. That said, the guy definitely low balled me at first, I said no thank you, he said he understood and I got maybe 10 ft away & he was like, wait wait, wait. Funny, typical. He said give me a chance, called somebody over, they stared at the monitor and said, "Oh I was looking at the wrong model of the guitar you were trading, I know you think this is sketchy.” Uhhhhhh,

Bottomline, it worked out, they even had the case & case candy stuff which is very un GC-like. I don’t necessarily recommend it but it can work out. I was surprised, pretty okay with the deal. Good luck.

 

[SixStringSlinger]

It's a decent, mostly reliable way of getting rid of stuff and getting some money. You won't get the most that you could selling via other means (even with reasonable expectations), but their M.O. is always the same so the only variables are what you have and whether they're buying (it's been the exception rather than the rule, but there have been a couple of times I've tried to sell or trade and they just weren't taking anything at a particular store).

One time I walked in with an Ibanez Jet King, an old Fender amp and 2 or 3 pedals I wasn't using anymore and walked out with a new Epiphone Firebird and a couple hundred bucks. I walked in thinking I'd have to put up some money and hoping I'd break even, so that was a good day. That was actually one time a store told me they weren't taking in any trades before they even knew what I had and I had to try a second store.

These days if I have something I want to get rid of but no pressing need to do so right away I'll list it on Craiglist and the like, just because that's likely to get me more (and I can sell stuff GC won't take, like parts), but if I want something I can get through GC I'll do some quick math on how much I'm likely to get + the extra 10% off they give if you buy something right then (and I believe that applies to both new and used, anything not already on sale or clearance).

 

[Pickingthru]

Using a guitar or equipment for trade-in is all over the board at GC.

Here’s my two best experiences. I wanted a McPherson Sable. I first tried to trade-in my Emerald X-7 at the GC Farmer’s Branch location in Dallas. They only offered $600 for trade in because "they had too many return guitars in stock". The second GC in Plano offered a generous $1,600. So, that plus the 10% Trade Up credit made this a $1,550 net deal for me. Jumped on it. The interesting story is that GC has listed the X7 for $2,600.99. The exact guitar is $2,245 new on Emerald’s website. New Year’s Eve, I just couldn’t stand it. Wants outweighed need, again. I traded my Fishman Pro-LBX-300 Loudbox Performer (bought used for $200) in on the purchase of a new Everse 8. Bought it at Guitar Center. Net cost $534 plus tax. Received the 10% upgrade discount and $160 trade-in credit for the Loudbox. This is the least amount I’ve ever lost on a trade-in anyplace.

The moral of these stories is not all GC’s are the same or even the same in the same city. Shop around. You could be surprised at what you find.

 

[Alex_C]

I sell to GC most often. 50~60% of what I'd sell for is the norm.
The hassle of selling privately has a cost. I'd rather not deal with tire kickers, low ballers and scammers.
When trading with GC, you'll get 10% off a new purchase in addition to what they'll give you for your gear. That helps lessen the sting of getting 1/2 what the guitar would sell for if you were a masochist.

 

[fjblair]

Never traded, but I have sold gear to GC. Depending on the gear, I would sell to them again.

 

[Whatizitman]

Trading with GC is a loss before you walk in the door. They offer you far less than what it will resell for. I understand profit but I've taken guitars to GC and received $1200 when I was wanting $1700 and then found it hanging on the wall asking for $2500. This is pure BS.

Well, duh. They’re essentially a huge pawn shop. The point being is that you’re also saving time and hassle of selling. It’s not a loss if you calculate what they give you into your overall buy/sell strategy. They reliably give 50-60% of what they will sell for. Makes it easy to come up with a plan that works in your favor before you leave the house.

 

[Ljislink24]

I don't understand where the percentages are coming from ? Guys are saying GC gives aprx. 60% of what they would sell it for is not correct. It's 60% of what they think they can sell it for otherwise why take a 40% hit ? GC policy on used gear is based on new retail value, condition & there nation wide inventory of exactly what your trading in. It's very unlikely you would get more or less from different stores. My most recent GC trade in was a Player Plus Tele in "mint" condition. I bought it used from GC for $800, played it for about a year & they gave me $425 & put it on the floor for $750. It was gone whiten a week. While they had 2 new Player Plus teles that had been hanging on there wall for months. I believe GC's used gear is a big part of there profits. They know the used market way better than we do !

 

[sloppychops]

I've had great experiences buying used guitars at GC, but not with selling them. Same with another local music store.

Getting 50% of what something goes for used is insulting. The only time a trade makes sense is if there's something in the store you just HAVE to get before someone else does. I did that once, but would rather deal with the hassles of selling on CList, or Marketplace, or Reverb.

 

[beninma]

I'm fine with GCs policies and eventually started getting rid of almost everything there, and I've been quite happy:

- GC never calls/emails me 2 weeks later and says it's broken and wants a return
- I never have to drive to a random parking lot with GC
- GC never stands me up
- GC is open many hours and I can go without taking time off work
- Nothing ever gets lost in the mail when I trade in stuff at GC
- I tend to play my guitars a lot and don't have too many, so I think about how much value I got out of the hours of play I got out of that guitar.
- My time is worth quite a bit of money, I don't typically think about what it's worth but it's enough to erase the difference between GC and private sale pretty quick if GC takes < 1 hour and private sale takes a bunch more
- I never get myself in the situation where I have an absolute ton of gear to get rid of all at once
- I always buy something else at GC if I sell, the coupon they give you when trading something in can be worth a lot of money, you want to avoid just selling them gear as opposed to "trading". And don't think about it as "trading a guitar for a guitar". You want to always trade for something of less value than you are buying. Trade a pedal worth $100 when buying a $1000-2000 guitar or amp and things start looking a lot better. Basically never buy anything from GC without trading in something small.

My most recent big trade I traded a Reverend. The math came out to something like $75 a year to play that guitar for 4 years or maybe a little bit less. Look at it that way and it was a deal.

 

[Marc Morfei]

My local store does 60% of used value.

Yep, that's what the guy at mine told me too. Here's what that means in real numbers: Say there is a guitar that retails new for $1,000. They can sell a used one for $750. They'll give you 60% of that, which is $450. On one hand, it's easy. You walk in with the guitar, you walk out with $450. On the other hand, you just got $450 for a $750 guitar. Personally, I like money. I'd rather sell it myself on FB, CL, or Reverb and get full (or near) value. Basically, hassle=money. But I understand for some people convenience is more important.

 

[msalama]

goes for used is insulting

No, it's just prudent. First, they can't be sure what something eventually goes for, and thus, will factor in the possibility of having to sell the item cheaper than projected. Second, they are a business and need to be profitable in order to survive, and taking all their overhead into account, they'll naturally err on the side of caution rather than shave their margins too thin.

Can't have that? By all means endure the hassle of listing, packing, fighting low-ballers, crappy customers etc. if that's more your thing. But for many, convenience is indeed king.

 

[Jakedog]

Yep, that's what the guy at mine told me too. Here's what that means in real numbers: Say there is a guitar that retails new for $1,000. They can sell a used one for $750. They'll give you 60% of that, which is $450. On one hand, it's easy. You walk in with the guitar, you walk out with $450. On the other hand, you just got $450 for a $750 guitar. Personally, I like money. I'd rather sell it myself on FB, CL, or Reverb and get full (or near) value. Basically, hassle=money. But I understand for some people convenience is more important.

I also figure more into it than just raw numbers. For a hobbyist the raw numbers are important, because that’s all they have to work with. I get that. I use my gear. It facilitates my income. So if I sell a $750 guitar for $450, I’m in good shape. Because I made thousands of dollars with it. If I buy a guitar for $1k, make $40k with it, and sell it for $450, where’s the loss? I’m not seeing it.

It’s like trading in a car. Yeah it cost me $30k. I got $10k for it when I was done with it. The dealer sold it for $15k. Am I angry? Did I get ripped off? Of course not. I got years of service and loads of miles out of it. That’s just business.

 

[Dostradamas]

I also figure more into it than just raw numbers. For a hobbyist the raw numbers are important, because that’s all they have to work with. I get that. I use my gear. It facilitates my income. So if I sell a $750 guitar for $450, I’m in good shape. Because I made thousands of dollars with it. If I buy a guitar for $1k, make $40k with it, and sell it for $450, where’s the loss? I’m not seeing it.

It’s like trading in a car. Yeah it cost me $30k. I got $10k for it when I was done with it. The dealer sold it for $15k. Am I angry? Did I get ripped off? Of course not. I got years of service and loads of miles out of it. That’s just business.

You get it.

I am a hobbyist, music is my life therapy and therapy aint cheap.

I recently hit GC with some gear, I looked at what they were selling at and figured 50-60% of that.

Brought the gear and said "let me know what you can do."

A while later he let me know how much (right what I figured) and I said "sure."

Five minutes later I had a check in hand.

Sure I could have tried to sell direct to a user through CL of FB for more $$, but that costs me time and effort which has value to me.

I also played and enjoyed the gear while I owned it and that is worth something to.

Pawn shops would give me less and I would have had to deal with people that do not know much about the gear.

I think the quickest, easiest way to get the most out of your gear is at this point GC.

If you are trading in for gear off the shelf there is room to negotiate, they would rather you walked out with more gear than a check anyday.

 

[beninma]

I also figure more into it than just raw numbers. For a hobbyist the raw numbers are important, because that’s all they have to work with. I get that. I use my gear. It facilitates my income. So if I sell a $750 guitar for $450, I’m in good shape. Because I made thousands of dollars with it. If I buy a guitar for $1k, make $40k with it, and sell it for $450, where’s the loss? I’m not seeing it.

It’s like trading in a car. Yeah it cost me $30k. I got $10k for it when I was done with it. The dealer sold it for $15k. Am I angry? Did I get ripped off? Of course not. I got years of service and loads of miles out of it. That’s just business.

Hobbyists need to think like this too.

How much time did you spend playing that guitar? Did it cost you anything other than pennies of electricity and strings?

Then think about what other hobbies you could have been spending time on and what the ongoing cost of that would have been. Some hobbies will be cheaper but a lot of them would cost more.

Guitar is only expensive if you keep buying too much gear. Otherwise it’s an inexpensive hobby.

If you think you need to get $900 back for a guitar you bought for $900 you basically value the time you spent playing that guitar at $0. That must be a really bad guitar.