What's up with Guitar Center these days?

[feraledge]

I know this is pretty much a quarterly thread about GC going under, but in multiple GC's for a while now, it's looked like they haven't restocked much of anything since probably March. Maybe a quarter of the wall full.
I know they're in a bad position, but whenever I ask, the employees are super gung ho about how they're doing great and everything is just flying off the shelves. Meanwhile I'm looking at the same guitars there since probably the beginning of the year.
Am I missing something? Or is this just how they're really told to handle it to make the company sound like it's doing better? Or are they just doing almost all ship to store?

 

[MaxOfMetal]

The stores are being starved of stock unless they're in the top dozen or so for the region, with most inventory being allocated for online sales. They just don't expect in-person sales to pick up any time soon, and it's a pain in the ass to have individual stores fulfill online orders (reading between the lines, the stores and staff aren't good at it). It's more related to the nature of retail right now than anything else. Not to mention most brands still haven't gotten thier supply chains up to pre-stay-at-home levels. They usually run fairly thin this time of year anyway so there's shelf space for the new stuff.

 

[feraledge]

That's what I figured, I'm just blown away by the people on the floor saying that they are just crushing it. I get that, as a company, the online part probably makes the most profit, but there's barely a head on the floor maybe a couple or a few dozen on the walls.
I'm just surprised to see that there isn't much used stuff coming in. If you can ship it to store still, then I'd expect some people trying to upgrade in store instead of wanting to swap with a stranger these days.
Then again, used prices are crazy high right now.

 

[groverj3]

I haven't been in a GC in ages. I stopped because I was always in markets where they never sold any high end stuff and the walls were filled with cheap crap and maybe one American Standard Strat or maybe a Gibson. Don't even think about amps, you'd be lucky to find anything worth playing.

Now that I'm in Boston it would be neat to see how it compares, but alas, Coronapocalypse.

 

[MaxOfMetal]

Bankruptcy for companies like this isn't like you or me running out of money.

They have money, and more importantly, they have tons of revenue (billions actually), so they go through Chapter 11 which protects the company's ability to run the business, while restructuring with it's creditors so they can discharge some debt.

It's Chapter 7 where a company is liquidating, which is what most folks seem to equate with "bankruptcy" in their head.

 

[BenjaminW]

I haven't been in a GC in ages. I stopped because I was always in markets where they never sold any high end stuff and the walls were filled with cheap crap and maybe one American Standard Strat or maybe a Gibson. Don't even think about amps, you'd be lucky to find anything worth playing.

I'm pretty much in a similar position as you. The cheaper/lower quality stuff tends to outweigh the higher end stuff at my GC, but I've absolutely found some diamonds in the rough there that I own such as my Wolfgang, my Fender Champion, and my Pearl Export drum kit. The diamonds in the rough I didn't buy but tried out or saw haunt my dreams as I missed out on a golden opportunity. I could've had a Striped Series 5150, or a Les Paul Standard 50s, or a JVM410H for example!

At this point with GC though, I only go there if I need essentials such as picks, strings, or drumheads. Otherwise, I've converted to Sweetwater.

 

[Steinmetzify]

I’ll go every once in a while; the store nearest me is the biggest/best stocked in my state so they usually have some cool stuff. Known the guys that worked there for years, so I usually get good deals on stuff.

Haven’t been there in months though, should go check it out and see how they’re doing.

 

[groverj3]

I have gotten some sweet deals on used stuff from them though over the years. Usually when it was mislabeled on their website. My DK2M was labeled as something way wrong and only $200.

 

[Demiurge]

I went to my local GC the other day and it was mostly picked-over. The staff claimed that it's because they sell more than they can replenish inventory. Probably like the other locations, they've been advertising used gear drives but they seem to have nothing to show for it on their racks & shelves... probably because it takes them forever to actually process what gets brought in.

 

[Fis:Destroyer]

I haven’t been physically inside a GC since my wife left the company a few years ago, but I will say that I’m seeing huge supply chain issues in the retail/tire industry due to the pandemic, and wonder if it’s something similar. A lot of the materials used in even just our random supplies are on back order for months.

 

[MaxOfMetal]

I haven’t been physically inside a GC since my wife left the company a few years ago, but I will say that I’m seeing huge supply chain issues in the retail/tire industry due to the pandemic, and wonder if it’s something similar. A lot of the materials used in even just our random supplies are on back order for months.

I'm in manufacturing, and we can't get anything.

Maybe in the last month basics like nitrile gloves and eye glass wipes are more available, same with alcohol.

Still can't get some masks.

 

[ArtDecade]

I have a friend that has worked at GC for 20 years. He says said that this is the best year for sales that he has ever experienced.

 

[ockis23]

I frequent the GC's around AZ, mainly the ones in Tempe and Mesa. The past few time that I have been into both stores, within the past month, shelves have been near empty, amps are MIA, and the acoustic room looks like they're going under. I hope that the optimism that the employees are sharing holds true and we can start to get some good gear in the future.

 

[Cheap]

I frequent the GC's around AZ, mainly the ones in Tempe and Mesa. The past few time that I have been into both stores, within the past month, shelves have been near empty, amps are MIA, and the acoustic room looks like they're going under. I hope that the optimism that the employees are sharing holds true and we can start to get some good gear in the future.

I go to the one that’s on talking stick way and it’s been that same thing. The guys working there always seem super flustered and have an impossible time ringing me up for just a set of strings, but when I ask how things are going they say everything’s been great. Super weird when I look past them at the shelves that haven’t been stocked in months and how it’s always a ghost town in there no matter what time/day. Was thinking of going to the Tempe or Mesa stores to see if it’s the same thing, but I think you’ve saved me some trips

 

[ockis23]

The

I go to the one that’s on talking stick way and it’s been that same thing. The guys working there always seem super flustered and have an impossible time ringing me up for just a set of strings, but when I ask how things are going they say everything’s been great. Super weird when I look past them at the shelves that haven’t been stocked in months and how it’s always a ghost town in there no matter what time/day. Was thinking of going to the Tempe or Mesa stores to see if it’s the same thing, but I think you’ve saved me some trips

The only one I haven't been to in a while is the one in NW Phoenix, which is the only Platinum store here in AZ. I'm curious to see if they are experiencing the same thing as the other stores or are still able to keep a decent amount of stock due to them being a higher tiered store.

 

[Xaios]

Don't even think about amps, you'd be lucky to find anything worth playing.

Are... are you telling me that the Peavey Bandit isn't the absolute pinnacle of tone?

 

[groverj3]

Are... are you telling me that the Peavey Bandit isn't the absolute pinnacle of tone?

Fond memories. That and whatever those Crate amps were that they used to always carry.

 

[Floppystrings]

From what I have heard guitars are selling very well, every where. Like selling out well. The used market didn't get flooded like people thought it would, a lot of items are priced high and hard to get.

Oddly enough, bicycles are being soldout too from many bike stores. I would imagine a lot of solo activity related stuff is doing well, trying to get a good graphics card for a gaming computer has never been as hard as right now.

 

[KnightBrolaire]

Are... are you telling me that the Peavey Bandit isn't the absolute pinnacle of tone?

I much prefer the fender frontman. Gets super br000tal, especially with whatever out of tune squier tele I grab off the wall. /s
One of the GCs near my house actually carries decent amps from time to time though. I've found 5153 heads, 6505+, mesa dual recs and other staples over the years.

 

[mmr007]

The friends I have that play and collect guitars did more buying this past year than in any prior year in their life. Between either more available time online (since they aren't commuting), More money to spend (since nobody is going out for dinner and drinks, the thing Americans spend more money on than any other non mortgage related expense) and limitations on available product due to the C word (production and shipping)

Also, I have to imagine that the death of the biggest guitar hero we have ever had has had a late year impact. Everyone was online looking for EVH gear and just like a loss leader sale, that still generates traffic in online sales. I may start out looking for an EVH striped but spend the next 45 minutes to see what else there is. I'm sure I'm not the only one.