I've been playing with a beginner's acoustic that my roomate loaned to me. It's the same instrument that he learned on, and recieved as a gift from his mom. I feel I have outgrown the guitar (it buzzes on the high frets, it's not adjustable, etc) and have begun the arduous task of looking for my next guitar. Pretty much the only places I have been to are different Guitar Centers. I tell all the salespeople the above mentioned story, and that I'm looking for a new guitar. The first question out of all of their mouths is 'how much do you want to spend?'. What I'm looking for is something that will last a while, and sound great for years to come. I give them a price and they show me something that is $50-100 more than my upper range. Is this normal? I have no problem paying for something decent, but when that's the first question they ask it turns me off from even looking anymore.
Tonight, I am going to head down to a few local stores (The Podium in Dinkytown, and Willies American Guitars in St. Paul) to see how that goes. I've heard great things about Seagulls and am excited to give them a try.
Last question; Do you ever get over that feeling in the pit of your stomach when there are people around and you want to audition a guitar?
Okay, let's see if I can hit all of these questions in time for me to go get dinner:
First off - it is pretty normal for a sales guy to ask you "how much do you want to spend?". What you need to do is to ignore that, have a number in your head, and if they ask, just say, "I'm looking for a good guitar, but I don't want to spend too much." Look at prices for those guitars online - it may just be that they are $50-100 more than you want to spend!
However, when it comes to buying, try to bring someone with you who knows about guitars (probably your roommate) and don't let them sell you on anything beyond your price range. And if they do - haggle a little and try to bring them down to your range.
If you see a guitar that you like, and it's $50 out of your range, do some looking at guitars that are OK but well within your range (with the sales guy following you), and make it sound like you're a bit more interested in the other ones, but you haven't ruled out the more expensive one yet, see if you can't subtly get him knock about $30 or so off the price to make it more pallatable :)
And yeah, everybody gets that. You'll get over it, it's kind of a "I am new to guitars" thing. When you're more comfortable playing, you won't even notice people at all. And if the sales guy comes hollerin', you can play louder to drown him out :D
Good luck!
-Rodya
Henry Garza, Saul Hudson, and Darrell Abbott could not be here tonight, but they all had sex and are proud to announce the birth of their two-headed baby, Rodya S. Thompson.
- Paraphrased from the Tenacious D series
You should haggle anyway. Don't act too hot over anything in particular and he'll probably be more willing to come down on price to get the sale.
-Metaellihead
Thanks for the tips. If I find something I like I will give it a shot. Does this apply to smaller stores also?
It applies to smaller stores more, actually. Especially if the salesman is direct relation to the owner, or the owner himself. They don't really have it out for you, and as long as you mind your words, come across as a nice guy, and really just act like you would around friends, you should be fine. Those are great tips for getting bucks knocked off as well as finding the right price. Don't be deadset on one price, just have a good idea of what you want to spend, and before you get in there know that if you can get a deal on something that is worth more, it'll be better in the end.
Good luck, you'd be surprised the kinds of deals small stores give out. You can get better deals from them because they need to put up competition against stores like GuitarCenter, and GuitarCenter isn't going to drop their price as much as a smaller store will for one sale.
Buckle up - It makes it harder for the aliens to suck you out of your car.
Borrow money from pessimists, they don't expect it back.
It should apply fairly well to smaller stores. Often times, they'll have different pricing policies, so you have to ask. I'll usually ask "How firm is that price?" on something I'm looking at.
What I'm looking for is something that will last a while, and sound great for years to come. I give them a price and they show me something that is $50-100 more than my upper range. Is this normal? I have no problem paying for something decent, but when that's the first question they ask it turns me off from even looking anymore.
100% normal. It's how they pay the bills, and they recognize that a lot of people are willing to flex on that maximum, even if they won't say it. Also don't discount the possibility that you're naming an akward price range: guitars often sell in price "ranges", and if you are shooting just below one of them, it makes sense for them (and you!) to go for the upgrade.
A common one is people wanting guitars in the $250 range, which is right in the range of nice looking cheapos. Good deals can be found here (especially in the used market) but once you get closer to 350-400, you're talking about really playable instruments, something with a significant upgrade in both materials and workmanship.
So bear with your salesman when he shows you unusual things, ask him what exactly makes guitar A better than guitar B and how that particular feature helps you, don't be afraid to make them ask someone else or go read a spec sheet, if they're going to sell you an instrument, make them earn their commission.
Good luck!
Do something you love and you'll never work a day in your life...
Thanks for the replies everyone!
I went to Willie's American Guitars in St. Paul and bought a new Seagull S6 + Cedar. It's a very beautiful instrument with great tone. It's probably the 17th guitar that I played. Very nice!
The salesperson didn't knock anything off the top, but discounted the case, strings, and picks for me. Still a good deal, I think.
Congrats on your new guitar, the Seagull brand has a very good reputation, I played an S6 one time and really enjoyed it, I think you've done well. In Considering whether or not you got a good deal finding a good guitar (which I feel you did) is much more important than someone knocking twenty or thirty dollars off the price of a new guitar, In the long run you will spend many hours/days with your guitar, so any small discount is very ingsignificant....
Enjoy
Mr Bungalow
You've got more up top than you're name suggests.... :lol:
Great choice, I am sure you'll enjoy it a lot.
Wishing you all the best with your new baby
Matt
Congrats. I have a seagull spruce and although the dealer gave me a bit of a break on the price I think it would be well worth the MSRP as well. Good purchase. Have fun..
Oktay
Great buy! The Seagull is a great instrument, I happen to have one too, and it's awesome!
Stairway to Freebird!
YAY. You bought a Seagull. I have the M6 which is the same as the S6 except the sides are mahogany. Whatever you paid, you got the best guitar for the price.
