The Song Fight Bulletin Board

It often seems like prices are flexible at music stores but you have to know some magic handsake or something which I do not know. Can anyone help me out?

This works sometimes:

Tell them that you're looking for something REALLY pricey, make it sound like you're researching prices. Like... a stack or something. Make it clear you got a lot of money. While you're doing that, find something that "catches" you're eye, and casually mention you might pick that up right now...but you're really interested in shopping around for a great deal on the original item. Don't agree to buy the original item, but with the new one, teh one that "caught" your eye, show some interest. At the last second, put that one down too, and state that you like it, it looks neat, but you only have ... say, $3000 and you need to hang on to it to get the big item...that you're pretty sure you're gonna get here, but .... hey...maybe I can get a deal on it??

I've actually done this. It works for a while...then they get REALLY annoyed and it kinda backfires. But its' fun...


OTHER OPTIONS:

Convince them you are famous, and really humble about it.

Convince them that you have a large base of students who like to shop where you shop... this works for me really well.

Get a job there, and get the employee discount.

..I'm not helping am I...

I never knew how to get deals...but shopping for a long time and looking around lot does get the sales folk to notice you. Sometimes they will offer a deal when you show a genuine interest. (Like pick stuff up and read)

However, a little off topic:

Look for second hand items..maybe used...but I find some of the best deals on return items that are marked down. Sometimes something gets returned...with a scratch or maybe missing a small piece... it gets marked down ALOT.

hope that helps.

I find the best way to get a deal is to know the cost of something, be ready to buy, and just lay it out for the salesman. I think they are more willing to give you a good deal if you don't take up much of their time.

Also, only buy used from ebay or craigslist.

Ken

Steal.

Wave a gun.

Didn't Sober offer a discount for anyone interested? Like shopping online but not.

Personally I get very flustered in music shops. There's so much I want, and so many staff 'hovering' wanting their commission...
Hmm. Perhaps Sober's store had a branch in the UK.

I've gotta say, being a musically-knowledgable female and having a larger chest does wonders in music stores.

Here is a trick that I learned from watching Ken! Ask 'em how long they've had that item in stock. If it's been lying around for months and nobody wants it then bargaining might be easier for you. You know, if you don't have the big chest and feminine wiles to exploit.

Craigslist can be hit or miss, but a lot of times it's just someone anxious to get rid of their junk. I wouldn't buy anything that involved the post office but I feel pretty safe when you can meet the other person, well, in person, and see what you're getting before you pay for it.

When all else fails remember your salesperson's birthday!

Manifesto:

Things managers spout at employees at Guitar Center:

"Let no deal walk"
"A deal that makes no money is better than no deal"

First tip: Walk in the door with cash in your pocket. That's leverage.

Something that will make a salesman move is to say 'I'll take it TODAY if you can make this deal' In theory, the only person allowed to turn down an offer like that is a manager. That doesn't mean you should offer $5 for a PRS of course. If you use that buyer's chop, you had better be ready to back it up. If the salesman commits to the deal, and you suddenly dont have the money or you change your mind, you've given up, and not only will you not be able to get that same deal at a later date, but you will have marked yourself as a bullshitter, which salespeople remember. No more deals for you.

At Guitar Center, you can get tax-free status by filling out a simple form. Just ask.

Salespeople's time is worth money. Do at least some preliminary research on your gear before walking in the door. If you make a salesguy explain your $100 peice for an hour, he's not gonna be on your side when it comes to making a deal. Walk in, say 'hey, I was checking these things out, yadda yadda, can you do this peice for this amount?' While it is technically a salesman's job to be able to spec any peice in his department, it's also his job to get the most money out of you. Help him out on both sides. The average salesman would rather ring 5 deals that barely made anything than bust ass for one deal that makes a little more.

Further, if you come in all clueless on your gear, the salesguy will probably push you to shitty product that makes him a lot of money. And perhaps, when you ask for a deal, he'll be able to cut some off because of the insane profit margins. Salespeople know that when the 'pros' come in, they don't want to be shown gear, they want to be waited on and given a good price.

Don't be afraid to walk, especially if a manager is involved. Reiterate that you're ready to buy right now, pull the money if you have to, and if they don't cave, walk out. Don't be a dick, don't be confrontational, just buy somewhere else.

THAT SAID

Don't try to grind on strings, picks, drumsticks, or any of that shit. If you must, buy a shitload at one time and ask for a bulk discount. There's not much profit on those kinds of things, so there's not much discount to be had anyway.

If you frequent a music store a lot, get your salesguy. Find a guy you trust, who is knowledgable, who you think deserves your money. Know his name. Make sure he knows yours. Make sure he knows your gear. Make sure he doesn't dread you showing up at the store. Be the good customer that shows up to buy gear, not hang out, bitch about prices, and not buy anything. Call him a couple of days ahead of time to let him know you're coming in to get a certain peice of gear so he can set it up, and don't fucking flake on him. When you do come to purchase time, let him know what you're planning to get in the future, but don't talk his fucking ear off about it.

Also, in keeping with making your salesguy's job easy, try to come in on a weekday, and not near closing time. Weekends are mainly for walk-in traffic, and by lining up a deal to close on a weekend, you'll be costing him walk-in deals. Also, you'll have a bigger fraction of your salesguy's attention on a weekday.

Further, sales are bullshit, except for the actual blowout sales. Today there is a big sale, and it's bullshit. Don't ask your salesguy about their next sale. If you have a good relationship with a salesguy, you will never need a sale. Genuine blowouts are the exception.

Now. At Guitar Center, there are many peices of gear that cannot be discounted. Most often these are new products (I bought my MobilePre USB brand new, and had to pay full price, but now it can be discounted), promotional/limited gear (Hurricane Katrina Les Pauls), or manufacturer-enforced prices (Monster cable). On these and many other products, there is a price block in the computer that a manager cannot break, even if he himself was buying it. If a GC salesguy says 'there's a hard minimum on it,' believe him, and just buy the gear. Now, if you can bring in a printed advertisement of gear like that for less, they'll make the proper phone calls to match it, but then you're just being a pain in the ass If you're just one of those guys who just gets off on 'getting a deal,' buy something else and see if they'll cut a really good deal on the other peice to make up the difference.

That should do for now.

I know this sounds like I'm making it out to be the customer's job to do the work in the deal, but it'll help you out in the long run. Once a salesman realizes you're a good customer, you'll find him going well out of his way to get you exactly what you need, and to cut you a deal for it. You'll have a 'guy' on the inside who'll offer you straight advice when needed, a good deal when you're ready to purchase, and a quick, hassle-free shopping experience. Take care of your salesman and he will take care of you.

Oh, and I don't work at Guitar Center anymore

Bjam wrote:I've gotta say, being a musically-knowledgable female and having a larger chest does wonders in music stores.

So.

You know my secret.

A few one-liners that will instantly ruin you:

"Do y'all give discounts to musicians?"
"Do you do layaway?"
"I'm a producer (unless you are wearing a nice-ass suit, or a shitload of bling, depending on your heritage)"
"Se habla espanol?"
That was a JOKE for christ's sake. Latinos are actually statistically some of the biggest spenders at GC
"You guys got Reasons? (it's fucking singular)"

I'll think of more later.

Bjam wrote:I've gotta say, being a musically-knowledgable female and having a larger chest does wonders in music stores.

Darn...

Like Sober said, loyalty counts. I've had one guy that's known me for 20 years or so working at various shops. Now he owns his own little store right down the street from me. (My wife hates him. Not really, she just hates the shop being that close.) He has my home and cell phone numbers. When I'm shopping for something specific, he'll call me when it it comes in. If he finds something he thinks I might be interested in, he'll call me.

And as was said earlier, do your homework. Research pricing on like and comparable items. Find out why a "comparable" item is priced higher or lower by researching whether other musicians have had issues with it it by going to Harmony Central and checking out the user reviews section. You'll also find prices for what they paid for the item as well.

Sober tell me more about the tax free status thing.

Say "I have a home studio, I want to fill out a tax-free form."

They should give you a form, you fill out like 4 lines and sign. They call an assistant manager to do some magic in the computer. Now, every single purchase you make at GC can be tax-free (there may be some exemptions I'm unaware of). All you have to do is ask when you'r being rung up. Your tax-free file stays in the system for a year, at which point you just fill out a new form. The whole process takes about three minutes.

Now, this does not give you a legitimate state tax-free number, so you can't use it anywhere else. GC just has some special account where all these transactions are dumped.

Pretty neat.

I've found that the smaller stores often are more willing to deal if you play your cards right, even if the original price was higher than a big box store. They want your business, your loyalty, and will cut out profit for it often times. They get enough suckers that pay sticker to make up for it. They may try to upsell more often, but generally know and love music more than the 5 dollar an hour sales guy at GC who knows enough buzzwords to fake it. I've had so much disinformation spewed at me there I could use it to form a government...