Questions regarding GC's floor model policy.

[Bikedude]

I've bought my second Mesa from GC. I traded in my 03 LSC for a MV Combo that was a floor unit. I did the same in 03 with my LSC. Mesa then sent a brand new LSC in the box to GC, which they exchanged for my floor unit. They are going to do the same with my Mark V. Is this a common practice, and what would some of the boogie experts do? Should I just keep the Mark i have, or exchange it out for an untested brand new in the box V? I'm thinking if the one I have sounds good, and works the way it should, am I taking a chance at getting a "lemon"? The new in the box sounds good, and I would have all the original packing etc., for a future sale if I ever needed to get rid of it. WWBO's do. (boogie owners).

 

[MrMarkIII]

Same price? New In The Box, every time. Like the saying goes, you don't know where that amp's been... The floor model, that is.

 

[rocknroll9225]

i would NEVER buy anything off the floor from GC. there are way too many 12-year-olds abusing them everyday. i always make sure that im buying one new out of the box. the better solution is to not buy from GC at all - in reality, theyre pretty shitty compared to most mom and pop stores. I bought my mark v from a small place called The Music Gallery (chicago area), and after going there, ill never make a big purchase from GC again.

 

[Bikedude]

i would NEVER buy anything off the floor from GC. there are way too many 12-year-olds abusing them everyday. i always make sure that im buying one new out of the box. the better solution is to not buy from GC at all - in reality, theyre pretty sh!t compared to most mom and pop stores. I bought my mark v from a small place called The Music Gallery (chicago area), and after going there, ill never make a big purchase from GC again.

Can't find many boogies in the Cleveland area other than GC, plus I didn't want the "hassle" of selling and shipping my LSC, so they gave me a decent price for a trade. I have a couple of Dr. Z amps, they're made right here outside of Cleveland, and you can't find hardly any to play in this town. Guy makes his amps 3 miles from where I work, and I have to buy from an online source! WTF!

 

[Bikedude]

I forgot to mention, most 12year olds abuse the line6 and peavey stuff in GC anyway.

 

[ryjan]

Man, we all need to quit buying **** from Wal Mar..I mean Guitar Center. Go play it at GC then order it from Haggerty's or someone else that's really cool.
They stick it in your a$$ on trade ins anyway.

 

[fjk1138]

i would NEVER buy anything off the floor from GC. there are way too many 12-year-olds abusing them everyday.

+1000

In all seriousness, I wish you good luck on the exchange, but for the love of God NEVER EVER buy any floor model from a GC.

Case in point -- I was with a friend near a GC one day, and he wanted to hear what my Mark V sounded like. So, we tried to test one at the GC and it was dead - no volume, weak sound, knobs seemed nonresponsive. Not sure what happened to it, but it probably was abused pretty badly. My friend was totally unimpressed - until he tried mine later on and then was blown away by it.

As already stated, use GC to test equipment (despite my example) and then get it somewhere else. I got mine from a very cool non-GC store new in the box
and have never regretted it.

 

[rocknroll9225]

Man, we all need to quit buying sh!t from Wal Mar..I mean Guitar Center. Go play it at GC then order it from Haggerty's or someone else that's really cool.
They stick it in your a$$ on trade ins anyway.

+1 i havent ordered anything from haggerty's... yet. but their customer service seems so ridiculously good that i feel like i owe them my business at some point. and GC's trade ins do suck some major ***. they offer you half of the used price. :evil:

I forgot to mention, most 12year olds abuse the line6 and peavey stuff in GC anyway.

:lol: you got me there. seems like all the kids at GC really like spider valve amps for some reason.

if you do buy from GC, tho, at least make sure you get it in its original box. you wont really have to worry about playing the exact one that you're going to buy, either. boogie is very consistent from amp to amp, which cant be said of all companies *cough* Marshall *cough*

 

[Bikedude]

Stop buying from Walmart and GC? Why, arent they American companies offering quality merchandise at a fair price? I see a lot of union bumper stickers in Walmart parking lots! The main reason for my OP, was that back in 03 when I bought my "floor model" LSC in Cream/Brown tolex, they ordered me a brand stinking new Mesa to be delivered within 3-6 weeks. Well when the new amp comes in, I unpack it in the store to make sure everything is on the up an up, and when I get it home it has 2X12's instead of the 1X12 i originally purchased. Well my fortune, i guess, but I called GC told them about the 2X12's and they said enjoy no problem. Well after about 3 weeks and 3or4 gigs, the amp just up and dies. No SOUND. Take it back to GC, they send it to one of they're repair facilities, and after 4 weeks, they say it can't be fixed and has to be shipped back to Mesa. Well GC steps up again, and gets me another new LSC, this time a 1X12 but in Blue instead of the Cream(custom color) i had. GC gives me a bunch of mic and guitar cords, some picks and half a dozen packs of strings and I'm on my way. Now I'm just wondering having had that experience, that if I take back the "floor" model, that everyone says has been abused, because it sits in GC, and it works perfectly while I have it, i think maybe I'm taking a chance getting another "new" amp, although Mesa will fix any probs for sure, it's just the hassle of the turnaround etc. A lot of people bash GC, and I have nothing against smaller shops, it's just that in Cleveland, Ohio (an armpit i might add) musicians have limited choices. Sure GC didn't give me what my LSC was worth, but they have to deal with re-selling the used merchandise, and even though it wasnn't a lot of money, it sure made a nice downpayment for my Mark V. I would have loved to buy from Haggertys, or Humbucker and saved taxes, and HB Music is a great store, but I can't drive to them with my trade in. Thanks for all the replies.

 

[Vogelsong]

This is why over the years I have made a concerted effort to sell stuff on ebay. And it could be anything, since 02 I have sold 78 items on ebay. Now that is technically not a lot of items, God knows there are plenty of people that have sold thousands of items. But 78 transactions and a 100% perfect rating with no problems guarentees me that when I need to sell something to get new gear I will get top market dollar for my old gear.

Case in point, I go into GC here in Harrisburg, PA. They say they will give me 750 for my 3 year old LSS that is mint, not a scratch on it. I go on ebay and used LSS are selling anywhere from 900-1350 depending on condition. Quite a few perfect units sold for 1200 used. One sold for 1350 for whatever reason all used. I told the wife I'd get at least 1200 for mine on ebay and GC can pound sand. I got 1322 for the LSS when it was all said and done.

Needless to say I love my Mark V.

 

[Tube_Tone]

I've been given the same option in the past from GC. It works out for them and for the customer. They have to have a floor model, and because of their generous policy of buying and using a product for 30 days and returning it, they would rather you take the floor model first, and if you end up keeping it, then you'll be happy to give that one back and take your new in the box unit when it arrives. Otherwise, they'd have a collection of expensive equipment, none of it in sealed boxes. When I pay for something like a Mark V (which I haven't yet) I don't want one that everyone else has been pawing on for months, or has been bought and returned a few times.
At the GC in my neighborhood, they have one Mark V combo in stock, and it's been there since last July, over 7 months. My daughter works there (sorry, no discount for me on Mesa stuff) and she looked up the combo on the computer and it shows that it has been purchased and returned once. A guy bought when it first came in and returned it the next day. That doesn't make it a bad amp, but if I'm to take that one, I expect a discount, which they aren't offering. In fact, this one was 2150 in July, but when Mesa boosted their prices in the fall, they jacked the price on this Mark V combo that had been sitting there all along. Don't seem right to me.

 

[fuzzgod]

Just for another opinion (because there aren't enough) I bought my MkV off the floor at GC after about 5 mins of playing and have be nothing but happy with it. That's not to say that there aren't PLENTY of amps that have been worn out on the floor there. It's a case to case deal.

Cheers

 

[ctc]

Ok, GC is easy to dump on. But I was able to play 12 different amps from 6 different manufacturers all in my own sound room while being helped by a decent guy before settling on my first MB amp. Gc spent allot of money to provide me with those resources and that experience. If I then bought my Mk V online from someone else who is going to offer me those types of facilities and amp options in the future? Also that guy who helped me has to eat too. The more I play my amp the happier I am with my purchase... plus I contributed to my local economy.