Mesa now sold (officially) at Guitar Center....any thoughts?

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Yea I had one buddy who used to work their a shorter asian dude who hooked me up with a great deal on my 52ri tele. I heard he got let go because he wasn't pushy enough/not a big enough seller. That's probably the things that bugs me the most about how GC treats the employees. They have lost some great employees because they weren't big enough sellers.
 
I remember the day the GC where I used to live started carrying Mesa. (over 10 years ago) My dad and I walked in and checked out what they had in stock. When my dad had a question I had more answers than the guy working there. He offered me a job on the spot.

Another store in the area has sales from time to time where they will post "everything on sale" and they throw all the Mesa stuff in the back of the store with tags that say "SALE!!! 0% OFF!!!!"
 
dylan7620 said:
as far as "mesa now arriving at guitar center". this means that some stores will carry them (like kirkland) but stores like mine (lynnwood) can now order them.
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Whoa! Are you sure they can? :?: ....sorry, dylan, I know you work there, and I think this would be a great thing, but when I wanted to buy an Ace, my local GC said: "no, you have to go to a GC that carrys Mesa. We can't even have it sent here for you to pick up". I basically had to pay 80 miles worth of gas just to go get it.

So if this has changed, I think that's great!
:)
 
When I bought my new Mark IV (number 12) from Guitar Center in 1989 there was only 2 Guitar Centers. I bought mine in Chicago. They have sold Mesa stuff since the 80's. If you look around you well see all the big distributors are really all owned by a few people. They just have different names. There is only 2 big company's in all of music (buying, selling, making). All the small ones work with them or die. It has been this way for a long long time. Mesa would not be and would have died a long time ago if not for working with them.

Mesa's work has always been very good. The only problem they have is some of the company's they get stuff from have quality control problems. As soon as they find any the problem is fixed. That is how Mesa has been since the 70's.

Do not worry about the quality of Mesa stuff at all. It is very good by most measure. This is part of the reason Mesa has done so well.
 
I bought my Express at GC about a year and a half ago.

It was a good experience, the salesman knew the product well. The only bad point was that the product was shopworn. I paid at one GC and picked an amp in a sealed box at another local GC.

It worked out very well.

BTW, I chose to buy at GC over a local store because of the return policy. I wanted to try the amp with my band and the local store would only give me store credit if I returned the amp!
 
stephen sawall said:
I only buy stuff there if I know they loose money on it. Other wise I go some place else. It has been that way for many years.
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+1

I buy most of my stuff online if possible. I just picked up a 20 foot Planet Waves cable for $25 shipped brand new. GC and MF want $50. HA!
 
Some manufacturers require licensing to resell the product new, and to warranty it. Not only is Mesa like this, but Dean guitars as well as others. This is done to help control the quality of service a brand has when associated with a retail location. Unfortunately it means that your favourite store might not carry a product since another nearby already does. For myself I had to go to a store I was not a huge fan of to buy a guitar I wanted since no one else could carry it (actually, come to think of it, I had to do that twice).

Pricing for many products is enforced by manufacturers. Not just guitars but for example, Windows OS and Office software had to be the same price (for identical products) no matter where you went (this may have changed in the last few years). The idea is to maintain equality across retailers so when you want to buy X item, you are paying the same no matter where you go.

Although most companies provide "suggested" retail pricing many places do not follow them. Head to musiciansfriend.com and they tell you the MSRP vs their pricing. One could bet that the MSRP is actually inflated with these companies to allow retailers to set a more typical 30% markup but appear to be giving the end customer a great deal. A company like Mesa likely follows the philosophy that the amp should be what you are looking for, not the price, which is why it is always the same price anywhere you go.

As for GC carrying it, in Canada Long and McQuade pretty much have a stranglehold on Mesa. However L&M are also really good stores with good representatives. If they weren't they would lose the ability to sell the product. The same will apply to GC. Although I have never been in one, I am sure that if they are not good enough to sell Mesa, Mesa will find someone else to carry their products.
 
meas at guitar center is a great thing.
why?
because guitar center puts what is called "devalue dollars" into things when they want them gone.
meaning you can buy a boogie "new" (maybe its been sitting in the store for a few years), for way less than what they normally sell for new.

case in point, i got a mark IV head for 999 once.
i got a private reserve hardwood and paisely tolex stiletto 2x12 for 1500.
i got a new maverick 2x12 for 600.
stuff like that.
you won't get that from your typical mom and pop boogie dealer.
 
Good point. I once got a brand-spanking-new Peavey Triple XXX cab for $300 out the door. It had 2 years of dust on it. Gotta love deals.
 
Mesa is "Area protected" as it was explained to me, so not every gc will be carrying them. I bought my first Mesa at gc, a lonestar v2. I would never do it again not because I think the product would be any different but because gc sucks. You can get a tax inclusive deal on new mesa gear, I have done it. It may not seem like much but 5 % sales tax on a 2000 dollar amp is 100 bucks, better than nothing. Also Mesa does at times promote sales(discounts) but they are rare. As far as the prices I'm glad they have a fflat price across the board, it encourages people to go to places other than gc and other shithole chains of the like.
 
I don't mind their pricing policy at all. It cuts out all the middle-man crap. Sales are just gimmicks to get people into stores. They are not doing consumers any favors. All it does is illustrate how much markup stores put on stuff when you can compare a normal price to a sale price. It's like MSRP on cars. NO ONE ever actually pays MSRP for a car, but dealerships use those numbers all the time for comparison to make you think you're getting a better "deal". It's a bunch of slick bullshit. We've got 2 GC's here in Austin. North sells Boogie, South doesn't. Of course, I live closer to the south location, but luckily there also a local shop called Music Makers in town that sells Boogie stuff too. I get all my tubes from them.
 
i purchased my MESA years ago from the local Guitar Center store. never knew it wasn't "official."

-PJ
 
It may well have ben official. As I posted before, some (but not all) GCs have been "official Mesa dealers for some time.
 
Question. What is Mesa's pricing policy with its dealers (GC and others) anyway? I went to the GC Mesa site page on the post a few above, and noticed some amps priced higher than the same ones at another local Mesa Authorized dealer. And I have seen no bargains at my local GC on used Mesa amps either. But, hey, I'm not anti-GC. Sales people aren't in the know in some cases, but they do offer a huge selection of gear in my area, that I can try out and check prices everywhere (my mother didn't raise a fool!). And GC does sell some hard-to-find gear -- like the four-space shallow rack case I bought from them recently. They were the only store in town that had them.
 
Dolebludger said:
Question. What is Mesa's pricing policy with its dealers (GC and others) anyway? I went to the GC Mesa site page on the post a few above, and noticed some amps priced higher than the same ones at another local Mesa Authorized dealer. And I have seen no bargains at my local GC on used Mesa amps either. But, hey, I'm not anti-GC. Sales people aren't in the know in some cases, but they do offer a huge selection of gear in my area, that I can try out and check prices everywhere (my mother didn't raise a fool!). And GC does sell some hard-to-find gear -- like the four-space shallow rack case I bought from them recently. They were the only store in town that had them.
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I am not sure of this but when a friend of mine was work at one of the stores he told me most thing are about 50% of retial and often sell for 65% or so. They do have cost beyond the products as you know. Mesa stuff was If remember correct was 85% of retail.
 
they were once "officially" sold at Mars Music (remember them?) as well as Sam Ash (where i purchased mine in 2001 as a clearance unit after they were no longer an "official" dealer...

ty
 

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