Monster deals stories/strategy/secrets thread

[latinjem7vwh]

I'm surprised that there hasn't been one started yet. We're all working musicians who aren't exactly well off as Bill Gates, so any trade secrets? A couple I learned are things like highlighting any and all flaws with a guitar to a sales rep and it also helps to get to know one specific sales rep with the same general musical interests as you.

Stories of getting great deals on gear would be awesome too :P

[sanitarium]

One of my band mates bought the top of range Jackson RR model and, realising the staff were stupid, swaped the price tags with the cheapest one. Ok you might call that stealing but hey, the the staff are that thick then they had it coming. Saying that though, I wouldn't have the guts to do it my self.
As far as knowing people in music shops, I know someone who's mate works in a big guitar shop so I get a nice discount. Like my new RG1570 for £475! And my (this is for my bass) peavey max450 head and 4x10 cab for £650!

[caprile]

Always start with an incredibly low offer. Worst scenario is...they won't sell it for that, but sometimes people don't know what they're selling, so you might get lucky.

[revsharp777]

Once you've decided on a piece of gear you want, come into the store & lay down your offer IN CASH! More often than not, you'll score the gear for the price YOU wanted to pay.

[wildealien]

question: when haggling, what do you do when the salesman says, "sorry, but i'm not allowed to haggle." ?

is he/she lying? :P

[Rich]

I charge a haggling fee, it's worked quite well

[vaijem777]

When I was managing a store, I developed some good relationships with some of the other stores in Denver. We all kind of helped each other out once in awhile. I've maintained those relationships over the years which has enabled me to basically never pay more than cost+5 or cost+10% (depending on what the item is). I've bought a ton of stuff from a few local stores and have sent them a lot of business in referrals, so it's worked out well.

For the most part, I avoid buying anything new. I've scored a few decent deals on EBay by sheer luck. I think one had something to do with a killer JS10th

I don't have any hints on dealing with sales people at Guitar Center or any of those places though. I refuse to buy anything from the mega chains

[Given to Fly]

n my opinion, the best way to get a good deal is know what your looking for and know what it's worth. When you try to force the deal it can put stress on everyone. But I think you just have to look around. It may not be instant but it works.
For example, I went into Guitar Center one day to see if they had anything cool. After looking around I'm rather disappointed but decide to look at the used gear, and what a deal I found. A mint UV7PWH with slight color fade and a UV1000 case, all for the grand total of $900 + tax. I think that's a good deal personaly. Anyways, I didn't try to haggle or anything because I knew I wanted one and I knew what they were worth, and the bargin presented itself.
Just know what you want and keep you eyes opened. But also if you walk into a music store with the cash literally in your hand, you will probably leave with what you wanted.

[RCB]

Well, I bought a lot of guitars,and I ve got my share of good deals.

I bought a UVMC in pristine condition for U$S1000 a couple of months ago. I bought a mint JS1000 for USS700 and then swap it for a used Jem7BSB. i bought my other UVMC for a used Yamaha RGZ621 and U$S800, I swap a 1989 Digitech GSP21 for a GNX1, I swaped a RG550 for a Les Paul, and many other good deals.

Also I made a lot of standard deals, or even "bad" deals according to actual market conditions. Recently I swapped an exceletn JPM100P4 for a mint RG3120+U$S350 (wich is a bad deal by todays market prices, but I prefer the 3120 over the JPM, and I needed the cash for another guitar).

I think the secret is to know were to look, what to buy, and to be realistic. Always have some cash available. oportunities arise from time to time, but you need cash to make things happen.

[bammbamm]

Cash, having it in hand will make the seller drool.
If you have an idea of what the actual cost is, you can negotiate from that + a % like Chris said. Another bit of advice, don't be afraid to buy used. Most times, you can let the 1st owner eat the depreciation costs if he really wants to move the item and you end up with some nice gear cheap.

PAWN SHOPS !
Sometimes you get lucky.
If you can find an item that the shop doesn't have a clue on, you may be able to get a great deal. When I was stationed in Denver, there were pawn shops all over, up and down Colfax ave. Monthly I'd buy/sell/flip/trade stuff and always came out ahead, as I could talk them down on their sale pricing. A few deals were because what I wanted had some flaw that I was able to exploit to my advantage. Clueless salesmen help too

You just have to ask if you want a deal, either they'll deal or they won't.
But always ask, unless you like giving away money.

Bamm

[Jeff]

What exactly are some good haggling techniques? What do you say after you say "What's the best price you can give me on this?"

[bammbamm]

Think about it... how badly do you want the toy?

How much are you willing to spend?

Can you afford it?

Are you trying to talk someone down who is taking a huge loss already or someone who just works for a large company and couldn't care less?

for the chain stores, they have a margin that the need to sell at to maintain some level of profitability, that minimum margin is your 'deal' zone. How can you make the salesman's job easier? Can you offer cash?
Can you get it right now?
Can you guarantee him a sale for helping you out?

If you're just tire kicking and wasting his time, why should he help you out?

Be prepared to buy if you're going to make an offer.

Don't be afraid to walk if he won't meet your price, but know when you're getting a deal. Fortunately we have a great resource in Jemsite, in that we know more or less, what guitars are worth and their going values.

Also, don't be afraid to offer up a competitor's price (dealing with Rich this doesn't work for you, sorry) Store A has item X for 50 bux less than store B does, can store B match or beat that price?

One other trick I like to toss in, is trying to get the 'out the door price' to be one number, not X+ tax, but say " Ok, so can you do $$$ out the door?" See if they will work with you. One REALLY big ticket items, it may be worth you having the store ship the item out of state to a trusted friend to avoid paying tax. (provided shipping twice is cheaper than the taxes on something) I saved nearly 600 dollars on my Wife's engagement ring doing this.

Anyway, this should help a little.

BAmm

[Petie]

I've had tremendous luck with secondhand stores, especially the independent ones (the chain stores seem to know about guitars). Sometimes they will mark down a piece of equipment because it doesn't work properly, but often it's an extremely simple fix once you identify the problem. Here are some finds over the last couple of years (in Aussie dollars - knock off 30% for US equivalents):

Broken Arion Graphic EQ pedal: $10 (got $30 for it when I resoldered a wire to the battery and sold it on to another store).
Ibanez RGR470DX (reverse headstock with sharkfin inlays, MIJ): $250.
Yamaha Billy Sheehan Attitude bass with piezos (for my brother) $700 (There was a sticker saying $1200 on the bass but a faded sticker that sort of looked more like $700 on its case. Guess which one the cashier's attention was sneakily drawn to. Hehehhehehehe).
Broken Digitech Whammy Pedal $70. Re-soldered one wire and it works perfectly.

So basically, always buy from people who should know better.

[bob mclaughlin]

I have to agree with Chris, A good relationship with local stores owners and there employees always helps out. Remember, they want to move merchandise quickly and not sit on the shelves.............