Guitar Store Charging You To Trade In A Guitar

[@tmeyer2022]

99.9% of the guitars they have hanging on the wall NEED A SET-UP !

[@eddiejr540]

agreed 👍

[@chadwicks_guitar]

Not at Thunder Road Guitars Seattle. Bless those guys. 🙏

[@playdelay]

I often handle trade ins at a busy chain guitar store. Customers often bring in guitars/gear caked in cigarette smoke, dirt, and hair or missing parts. As opposed to telling them that we don't want to buy the gear, I tell them I won't pay as much % due to how much work is involved (that I don't want to do and don't have labor for). The option to take it home and fix it and bring it back to get more money is definitely mentioned and preferred by the shop! It's all about transparency and choices.

[@didamnesia3575]

@@playdelay and I'm sure some of those customers think their bathroom guitar with poop on it is just lovely for a student to grab off the wall as is. I used to work at a privately owned small shop so I got to tell those folks to gtfo using their feet or however they came in 😆 🤣

[@ChadHargis]

A better way to handle the credit card swipe fee is to simply offer a cash discount. Pay with a card = full price. Pay with cash, get a 3% discount.

[@stevenbullock9276]

One of my pet peeves is when companies reduce the amount of a product in the container, like food. We all know about inflation and expect that prices will climb to some degree, but when something that's been 16 oz for many years is now 15 oz... well, I'd rather they just raise the price and keep the amount as-is.

[@kevindean1327]

Here in Canada just about every product has not only gotten smaller but the price has gone up considerably as well.

[@russell2910]

Guitar centers in my area do this. But the used guitars they sell aren't setup.

[@didamnesia3575]

Let's be honest. For all we know, the guitars were fkd up and needed an hour of work to be sellable, the shop didn't want them, and were trying to get the "customer" to leave

[@juvedoo99]

Meh

[@didamnesia3575]

@juvedoo99 who the fk bothers to respond with "meh" as if you and I were ina conversation together. Jfc, your meh isn't important to anyone. Your ego is weighing the earth down

[@aldersmoke1]

Heck with raising it 23 cents, they could probably raise it 35 cents without losing customers. It wouldn't look as weird and would even net a bit of profit. Restaurants raise prices all the time.

[@JE-western-rider]

and still demand tips on the pos system .... and the servers demand 20% and higher tips for walking into the establishment. also, don't forget the 5% service charge on all cstomer checks.

[@JohnVahaly]

Some time ago i went to a art store and you received a discount of 3% if you charged your purchase. The owner was glad to be rid of the accounting headaches that the credit card company took over. You can still see cash discounts in 2024 for businesses with low margins.

[@poltergeist3194]

“What you don’t know, won’t hurt you” is an age old saying that’s people take as an uncomfortable truth. People don’t like to believe that they are ignorant of things. However, to your point that is very much a virtue. If you have to increase a charge due to “x”, then sometime the sake of transparency isn’t all that beneficial for you to know. Increase the price of the goods or service and blame it on the politicians.

[@markvandervalk782]

I get it! I went to a bar in town once, order my favorite drink on the rocks. When the bill came, it was itemized out and there was a 2 dollar charge for the ice! I've never been back. Had the bill not been itemized, i would have thought that maybe the drink was a little more costly than other places in town!

[@karlnash7105]

Is the store doing a set up on the other end?

[@guitarfanatic2000]

I took a guitar to GC to try and sell it to them. They were having a buying event. Was told that it needed new strings and a "premium" setup @ $70.00 which would be deducted from the already low price that they were offering me.

[@eddiejr540]

when I trade in a guitar I make sure someone can grab it off the shelf and play it…cleaned, set-up and ready to go…I still get crappy trade in money but it’s the principle…have a little pride in your stuff 😳

[@richardsali1954]

Phil, I get why mom and pop businesses let you know why they charge 3% more when you use your card to try to keep their prices for their goods and services as low as possible. This isn’t meant as an attack on you as the customer, it’s an attempt to save the customer a little money, and reduce their overhead. I use either cash or a debit card in these situations. I don’t collect points, miles, or rewards, because ultimately you pay the credit card company for these inflationary “perks”.

[@mancub1589]

I sold an inexpensive acoustic to GC and they said they would buy the guitar for $25 less because it had old strings. The next week, I walk in the acoustic room at GC and there is my old acoustic with the same old strings. And they are not going to put on new strings to sell it - buy it as is. If you’re going to sell GC, put on a set of new but cheap strings and save $.

[@LeeGee]

What's the green strat on the wall? Not the Charvel with the Fender head...?

[@Dirge4july]

Drum roll....a fender stratocaster....

[@PabstMauloon]

​​@@Dirge4july FinDoooor'¡sSS¡!!! .!

[@Yardbird68]

Happen to me once about 20 yrs ago, in my home one horse town guitar shop, I trade my Fender Mex Strat for a Fender Mex Telecaster. And they wanted 45.00 for a setup fee. I believed it was bogus; probably put it in his pocket. But I wanted to get my first Tele, so I did it. I ended up giving it to my nephew for his Christmas present long time ago.

[@jamesonpace726]

This 3 1/2% is a thing at eateries here in NC, now. Really pisses me off, too....

[@fretworkband3204]

I am with you on this one Phil. Some people have no business being in business. I’ve had businesses for over 40 years and get 90% of my payments from credit cards. I look at the percentages that the cc companies take as another cost of doing business and factor it into the price I charge my customers. Thanks for making this vlog from your podcast to educate your viewers. Unfortunately there will always be those out there that will never “get it”.

[@jody7214]

Why stop there? Why not pay the sales tax for your customers too if you’re gonna use the “cost of doing business” argument. I bet if you went back and added all of those CC fees you covered for the customers over 40 years and saw how much revenue it cost you, you’d be singing a different tune. Just sayin

[@chadwickhurlburt6529]

Nothing surprises me anymore. My reaction would have bordered on something that would have invoked deep-felt reflection on the part of the guitar store. You should always tell them how you really feel.

[@shadowminister4090]

I hate it when you buy something and you find out there is an addon credit card fee. It's even worse when you are buying something on-line, like a plane ticket, and you aren't given any other payment option. (I'm in Australia). Is it really about cost recovery or are ripping you off? As for the guy who was going to charged a set-up fee to trade in his guitar, I reckon they are ripping him off. If the guitar sits in the shop a while, who knows, it may need another set-up before it's on-sold. You can then bet they're going to try and charge that fee again, to the purchaser. Tell me your price. That's what I want to hear. I might pr might not accept it, but I'm walking if you Gove me a number and then discount it!

[@TheDistortionPrinciple]

Guitar center and my local music go round does that

[@chadwicks_guitar]

I set a single pickle slice next to my Philly and that makes it a “salad”. Am I right?!

[@Kevin-mx1vi]

Customer Service is all about giving people a reason to deal with YOU and not your competitors. If you give them a reason to think "Hey, do I really want to deal with this business ?" then you're doing something wrong. I have to wonder why a guitar store thinks that charging a customer to set up a trade-in is a good idea ? It's absolutely _not_ going to create a positive experience for the customer, especially if that customer knows the guitar doesn't need a setup, or at least, could use just a few minutes of work. "Cynical Me" wonders if they also charge the guitar's next owner for the setup ? I understand that guitar stores are not having an easy time right now, but passing the problem to the customer is not the way to go.

[@dwb-ss3hp]

Why would a dealer not inspect and setup a guitar they put on the wall? Trusting the setup of an amature is kinda foolish IMO. Whats the excuse when you bring it back after it was neglected to be checked out. Why shop commercial at all?

[@mcmlxv9827]

This is ridiculous. Guitar Center will be out of business eventually. Policies like this one work against the customer and the customer knows it. They don't focus on anything that makes a customer want to shop there. Sadly, the right leader could turn them into a dominating force. Instead, they'll be gone.

[@didamnesia3575]

Those guitars were probably in bad condition. There isn't enough information here to make an educated assumption about what happend

[@mcmlxv9827]

@@didamnesia3575 That could be true, I could see it in certain circumstances. My comments are more geared to their overall policies and operation, which I believe are hurting them.

[@danz4904]

I didn't hear any mention of Guitar Center in this video. I hope they don't go out of business. My local GC always has a nice selection of gear, good prices, and friendly staff.

[@didamnesia3575]

I'll also add that the GC in town (concord ca) has a great staff and a rotating selection of gear. Corporate needs to update their computer pos system, but as a team of people they're great. I'm sure each gc is different and each salesperson is different

[@angrypickle]

I'd walk out if the guitar didn't have any issues that required a setup and they were just using it as an excuse to pay less for it. Which the old guy in me would suspect is the case. It's one of those 'cost of doing business' things, having to setup a used guitar if it comes in not adjusted.

[@reverendg5937]

Hmmm, Amplified Nation?!?!? 🎸🎸🎸

[@onefatstratcat]

What you talkin' about Willis?

[@johngatlin9140]

Like taking your car to trade and they tell you we gonna charge you for a tuneup and a detailing.... Just give me the price

[@MultiPetercool]

Your cheesesteak restaurant probably wants do discourage credit card use for “accounting” purposes if you catch my drift. No paper trail if they wanna get creative.

[@kevindean1327]

You want to hear ridiculousnesses? I hadn’t bought a chocolate bar ( on Vancouver island) in a convience store a very long while but I bought one just the other day it was $3.13. Ludicrous!!!

[@jeffvanbibber6609]

You make a great point. Im a business owner. I would never tell a client that. I understand transparency. But come on.I agree. Stupid.

[@mikeellis4345]

And the buyer gets a free set up ?

[@TheGalilee416]

If price went from 8 to 9 $ and it was great food no one would care

[@jody7214]

Who’s to say your trade in guitar is not already set just the way a new customer would want it? Customers may not like the way the store chooses to set up their guitars in the first place? That’s what my response to that would be…

[@Brewhound77]

More likely the dude's setup was atrocious and the shop was gently implying they would be happier if he changed his mind about selling it.

[@TheDistortionPrinciple]

In my experience my guitars are in C or C# so they charge me to put it back in standard. I've gotten into the habit of just doing it myself before I leave the house to avoid that

[@KennyLeclercJr]

"My wife cooks amazing". This is so offensive... ;)

[@iancurrie8844]

It's against Visa and Mastercard's terms of service to charge extra to use a credit card. Report the restaurant to Visa/MC.

[@jody7214]

Why should the merchant have to pay a fee for the customer to buy on credit? It’s the customer that’s choosing to pay on credit and there is a fee CC companies charge for loaning you that credit. They’ve duped the merchants into doing this for decades.

[@iancurrie8844]

@ sure. But that’s the agreement they agreed to. If they don’t like it, don’t accept the cards. Those are the terms.

[@jody7214]

@@iancurrie8844ok

[@stratjed]

Cash is king in this world. That is why governments want a cashless world.

[@TheGalilee416]

100% correct! Thank you 🙏

[@offbeatbassgear]

A Philly Cheesesteak salad? Pat and Geno are spinning in their graves in south Philly.

[@RogerDue-z6g]

Splitting hairs

[@jody7214]

CC fees are two fold: a flat transaction fee (usually around 12-15 cents) and a processing fee (usually a 2.5-3% of the total transaction). So raising your prices to cover the cost is moot because fees are % based. The higher the transaction, the more fees you pay. Credit card fees are fees the credit card holder agrees to pay for when choosing to pay for goods and services on credit. You don’t have to pay them if you use cash. Why should the merchant have to pay the CC fee? They’re not the ones buying anything. They’re also not the ones charging you the fees, it’s the credit card companies. Same with sales tax. As a customer, you don’t expect the merchant to cover the sales tax because you understand that that tax is only generated when you choose to buy something. Merchants don’t pocket that money. They have to turn around every month a pay sales tax to the state and CC fees to the CC companies. This is not a good argument Phil. Especially being a former retail business owner. And the fact that they were upfront about it is a good thing imo. If you could go back and calculate all the fees that you paid for the customer out of your profits, it would blow your mind. The only reason this is an argument is because the CC companies don’t want the customers to understand this. They even lobbied this very argument in Congress. They don’t want customers to know that it costs money every transaction to buy on credit, not just a monthly interest rate. You pay a fee every time you use your CC and you pay interest on your balance every month that it’s not paid off in full. They just got away with suckering the businesses into paying for it for decades.

[@Brewhound77]

Businesses don't pay for anything, the customers do. If you're paying out of your own pocket for stuff that should have been built into the price of your products to begin with, you're a better philanthropist than you are a businessman. Now I agree the credit card companies are a total scam and should only be allowed to charge a per transaction fee that is equal to the true cost of processing the transaction plus say 5% of that cost, so virtually nothing.

[@DavidHBurkart]

Spot on. This kind of upcharging really chaps my hide, not because of the cost, but because I am penalized for my choice of payment. The setup fee in this case has bait and switch vibe to it.

[@jody7214]

You’re looking at it wrong. Merchants aren’t penalizing you. They’re simply collecting fees that the credit card companies are charging you. If you choose to use a credit card, there is a fee that the credit card company you chose to lend you credit, charges you every time you buy something with that credit. The merchant didn’t take out a credit card to pay for your products. It’s the cost of buying things on credit. It’s that simple.

[@glencooper1091]

They would have had to reprint all the menus. The 3% charge should be noted at the register.