Holiday Guitar Shopping Tips

There are 2 scenarios in holiday guitar shopping.

1) Are you buying a guitar for a beginner?

2) Are you buying a guitar for someone that already plays?

The 2nd scenario is usually the easiest because they will tell you almost exactly what they want. Then you simply search for it. You can call local stores to see if they have it in stock. That's okay if they want a new guitar not a used one. Anything used may be more difficult to find, especially if it is a vintage collectible. That requires a larger search area, sometimes. One thing to note about new guitars is, you have a better chance with the nationwide chain stores. If you start your search early and the guitar isn't available at a certain location, but is at another, they can usually get it brought to their store for you. ( This may require a deposit to show your commitment.) Allow a little time for this.

Our 1st scenario is a little more challenging because you may have so many choices. If you don't know anything about guitars, the smaller local stores are a better bet. The service, lessons and accessories are their bread and butter. They want you to come back and take their lessons. They want to be there for you when you decide to upgrade or add equipment. They want more than a one time commission. Usually, the owner is there to talk to. Their only goal is to steer you right and have a repeat customer.

My Experiences and Opinions: I have always had success at the smaller local stores. Why? Not only because of the reasons stated above, but first and foremost, I can concentrate better if their aren't 4 or more people plugged into amplifiers all playing different things. I can actually hear what the guitar, I'm checking out, sounds like unplugged. I'm not the only one who feels this way.

Who ever I'm dealing with seems to always have to ask the manager and can't find them for at least 15 minutes..

Even with experience, you sometimes don't find a serious flaw while you are there and you'll have to make a trip back to exchange or refund. For instance, when holiday guitar shopping last year, I didn't see a crack that would literally make any guitar worthless with one more good bump. You know what they did when I returned it? Did they send it back to the manufacturer? No, they put it back on the wall so another person would have to go through the same thing. Is that the kind of thing you would do at your small business? No way! You would want to make sure every guitar out on the lot is the best it can be from the get go. If something like that did happen, you'd be hard pressed to stay in business long.

You see the difference is volume. If you sell a lot of volume and have a lot of salespeople, this can happen because you just can't oversee everything. I've been in over 50 small stores and that has never happened.

I hope these insights make your holiday guitar shopping easier.

Write to me on my About Page if you have any questions.

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