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#16
02-10-2022, 08:43 AM
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I know a fellow who is manager at a local music store and he brings used guitars that he gets in on trades to open mic and such. I don't think he brings new ones. But a bunch of us used to go to the shop for jams one night a week and people would take new guitars off the wall and play them st the jam and then put them back. He didn't seem to mind and even encouraged it.
When I bought my new Ford Ranger and I was still looking, the salesman sent me home with it and told me to bring it back the next day. I bought it, but I didn't have to. I could have taken it to the lumber yard and picked up a load of boards before I took it back if I had wanted to.
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Please don't take me too seriously, I don't. Taylor GS Mini Mahogany. Guild D-20 Gretsch Streamliner Morgan Monroe MNB-1w https://www.minnesotabluegrass.org/ 
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#17
02-10-2022, 08:49 AM
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Probably the closest analogy in the guitar world are trade shows, like NAMM, and guitar festivals where new guitars are displayed and played by quite a number of people and still sold as new. I am aware that certain small guitar shop owners/managers take home a new instrument and put it through its paces so they can then highlight to a prospective customer how the guitar responds and how to showcase it in a way that a particular player can hear out front what it offers.
I purchased a guitar years ago from a small shop luthier. It had been built five years before and sold as new. The luthier had been playing it and taking it to festivals but had considered keeping it for himself. The guitar had been well taken care of and one of the big plusses was the Adi top was well broken in. I imagine that driving 3 different cars of the same make and model will not feel as different as playing 3 guitars that are the same make and model so the idea of a “demo” model doesn’t really work in the guitar world. Obviously, if over time, there is a bit of wear and tear, it might need to be sold as blemished or as a “demo”. Best, Jayne
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#18
02-10-2022, 09:02 AM
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My friend was the manager of a local store for years. They were allowed to take used guitars home overnight. It was a small store with only a couple employees and he said they never had an issue. He even let me take a couple home over the years. New instruments didn't leave the store.
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#19
02-10-2022, 09:07 AM
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By contrast, I bought a 2004 Taylor guitar as used in 2019 from a brick and mortar store on the Internet. They had pictures of it but it was way in the back of the stockroom when I called for an in-hands evaluation and it took a while to bring it up. They openly admitted that it had finish flaws from the factory and informed me of them in depth. When it arrived, I discovered that it didn't have a scratch on it anywhere from use. The pickguard was glossy and untouched. There was no shop wear whatsoever.
Fine. But what a mystery! I called Taylor and asked if it was to be considered new or used, to see if I could get a warranty finish repair. They asked for the dealer name, which I supplied, and then said that they had never dealt with that dealer so it must be considered used. Best I can figure, the dealer I bought it from had bought up the stock of another dealer who went out of business. Between the two it had sat in stock for fifteen years untouched. Bob
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"It is said, 'Go not to the elves for counsel for they will say both no and yes.' " Frodo Baggins to Gildor Inglorion, The Fellowship of the Ring THE MUSICIAN'S ROOM (my website)
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#21
02-10-2022, 09:42 AM
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Do Guitar Shop Workers Take Guitars Home?
Quote:
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"Mistaking silence for weakness and contempt for fear is the final, fatal error of a fool" - Sicilian proverb (paraphrased)
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#22
02-10-2022, 10:13 AM
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I don't think I've ever bought a new guitar that hadn't hung on a store wall for a while, being played by anyone who asked/was allowed. In those cases, "new" status did not mean pristine, never-been-played but under warranty and often returnable to the dealer for some specified period. If an instrument had gone unsold but was played enough to show some wear, it could be downgraded to "shopworn" and discounted--still with new-status manufacturer's warranty.
This isn't the same as allowing employees to take items home, which represents a further set of hazards, but practically speaking it's not far off. And in the case of actually-used items, it strikes me as a non-issue from the customer's point of view. (Though additional wear and tear might result in a price reduction--and a sharp word from the boss to the employee responsible.)
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#23
02-10-2022, 10:22 AM
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A lot of interesting stories posted here.
There should be perks to each job, happy employees are hard to come by. Is it the standard for music stores to allow employees to test-drive guitars, take them home, or out to gigs...I don't know. I know a guy (me) that bought a new high end boutique guitar a few years ago sight unseen from a well known retailer that was supposedly fresh from the builder. What arrived at my house was a guitar that had obviously been played A LOT, and was in more worn condition than any of my 5yr+ old guitars. I did not keep it long since everytime I looked at it, it made me wonder if if every guitar hero in town practiced Pete Townsend style on it, or if it had been loaned/rented out many times.
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#24
02-10-2022, 11:04 AM
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Not a music store but at the Taylor factory in El Cajon, CA there's a guitar hanging on the wall in every department for workers to play on their breaks. I always thought that was both cool of Bob to do that and smart because the workers wouldn't be too tempted to do any extra handling of the ones actually going out to the public. Doubtful BMW does that!
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#25
02-10-2022, 11:29 AM
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We once had a music store that would rent out consignments.
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"My opinion is worth every penny you paid for it." "If you try to play like someone else, Who will play like you". Quote from Johnny Gimble The only musician I have to impress today is the musician I was yesterday. No tubes, No capos, No Problems.
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#26
02-10-2022, 11:52 AM
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There's a word I haven't read on this thread: Insurance.
Car dealers have insurance for test drivers. I doubt many guitar shops have insurance that covers out-of-the-shop incidents. "The dog ate my Larivee" isn't going to win a lot of friends. Or repeat business.
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I own 41 guitars. Most are made of wood. Some are not.
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#27
02-10-2022, 12:22 PM
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Quote:
I posted this Not a good idea for anyone. I know a repair tech, he is pretty good too. Worked out of a local store. Took some guitars home to work on them there instead of the store. His house was broken into, guess how the rest of the story went. One of the guitars lost in the break in was a 72 Rickenbacker. His insurance company did not cover the loss on the guitars that were not his. as it turns out, neither did the stores insurance hold up b/c of the "off premises" situation involved. so yes,, you're right,, it's a valid concern.
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Ray Gibson SJ200 Taylor Grand Symphony Taylor 514CE-NY Taylor 814CE Deluxe V-Class Guild F1512 Alvarez DY74 Snowflake ('78)
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#29
02-10-2022, 12:57 PM
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Quote:
Several years back I had a similar experience with buying a new Ford vehicle. I told the salesman that I needed to transfer the money from one bank to another so I could write him a check. The salesman and manager said “no problem just take it and come back in a couple days when you are ready.” I could have easily put a thousand miles on it and that would have affected their selling price if I decided not to buy it. BUT….. that is one reason we have become return customers and have purchased several vehicles from them.
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Taylor GSK-24ce Taylor GSK-12 Taylor BTO GS
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#30
02-10-2022, 02:56 PM
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Guitar Center / Musician's Friend routinely sends out guitars that have been hanging on their walls as new.
As in the 2019 Fender Acoustasonic that they tried to sell me as new, which showed up in a Gibson box and with the wrong paper work (serial numbers didn't match). Nope, take it back. The one I ordered through Sweetwater? 2022 in a fresh Fender box with matching paperwork.
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