New,Used or Ex -Demo..........different attitudes in USA

crunchman

sinbaadi said:

People buy guitars from music shops for the warranty?  

You do if it's a Gibson!

guitars4you

so is the Argos model a good approach for a guitar store ?????? - choose it from a catalogue and I'll get the new boxed item from behind the counter - You can't play it or touch it !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I would agree that some stores let new guitars become seriously dog eared and as such what is legally new, in the sense of it has never been sold, is in reality now shop soiled/ex-demo - I think dead strings and a guitar covered in finger marks on a new guitar (or indeed used) is bad news - ditto for seriously out of tune and badly set-up examples - Retail ready is a phrase that the Americans like to use, that  ensures the showroom and stock is prepared for sale - Adjusted and displayed accordingly, so you can correctly evaluate it 

In reality I find the large majority of customers treat the guitar in the store with respect and evaluate them accordingly - as such all new guitars are new and stay that way - yes the odd accident happens and stock can be re-priced accordingly 

Emp_Fab

Can I use this thread to support my general disdain for people and Americans in particular ?

impmann

guitars4you said:

so is the Argos model a good approach for a guitar store ?????? - choose it from a catalogue and I'll get the new boxed item from behind the counter - You can't play it or touch it !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I would agree that some stores let new guitars become seriously dog eared and as such what is legally new, in the sense of it has never been sold, is in reality now shop soiled/ex-demo - I think dead strings and a guitar covered in finger marks on a new guitar (or indeed used) is bad news - ditto for seriously out of tune and badly set-up examples - Retail ready is a phrase that the Americans like to use, that  ensures the showroom and stock is prepared for sale - Adjusted and displayed accordingly, so you can correctly evaluate it 

In reality I find the large majority of customers treat the guitar in the store with respect and evaluate them accordingly - as such all new guitars are new and stay that way - yes the odd accident happens and stock can be re-priced accordingly 

This.

And just to reinforce the point - my old job was preparing guitars to 'retail ready' condition. So, I'd have a team of guys unpacking them, putting them on racks and then wheeling them into a group of techs who would check the set up to a set specification (ie nut height, relief, action, intonation) and then play test to ensure that everything functioned as it should, rectifying any faults as necessary. Then the same team of guys would polish and repack the instruments to be shipped to the stores.

The reason for doing this? If you leave guitars sat in boxes after shipping them halfway around the world, when the arrive at the stores they often don't play at their best and the strings are often tarnished etc. Some manufacturers do this - or ship from central European warehouses direct to shops without any form of checking in between. Therefore, if you are buying an "untouched by human hand" sealed box, you may need to have the skills to set your new purchase up so its playing at its best...

As I keep saying to folks, a guitar isn't like an amp, or a pedal or a washing machine... if you store it for long periods in a warehouse, then ship direct to a customer without any professional checking/setp in between its unlikely to be at its best when it arrives. Sadly, a lot of guitar companies and distributors are run by accountants and not musicians, and don't understand this concept - and hence why I sadly no longer do that job, as the work dried up.

AlexC

Personally I have never and would never buy a guitar I haven’t played. And I don’t mean a model, I mean the actual guitar. I couldn’t give a stuff if it’s been on display. What are people scared of... air circulation damage?