Music-go-Round Go round

[souldigger]

I see you are in Atlanta.......if this is the MGR in Lilburn then good luck trying to get them to lower the price. At that place you have to get lucky that something comes in that they know nothing about and price it cheap. They do lower the prices on instruments periodically that have been there awhile, but I've seen guitars hang in there for years. I really can't believe they are still around. I think the band rental season is what keeps them going.

 

[Mr. GoRound]

Hey, guys! Just thought I’d drop in to share a little with you about Music Go Round. I’d say I’m a pretty reputable source because I own one. Our goal is to pay as much as we can to the customer selling the gear. We don’t low ball people, and in fact pay as much as we can for every item that walks through the door. We buy at wholesale and sell at retail…. and some years after all the money is spent, we may make a profit. That profit keeps our shop filled with cool gear, our friends employed, a warm well lit place to come try out whatever gear you’d like, and the rest gets sent to corrupt politicians that can’t balance a budget.

On the flip side we don’t haggle because someone always loses in that scheme. Maybe not you, but what about the kid paying $120 list or more on a Dunlop Wah because he doesn’t haggle with the washed up rocker behind the counter? “Traditional” shops just pass the loss they took on your sale off to someone else. We give the same fair prices to everyone, everyday.

We’re not above discounts either, and do regularly mark things down. Sometimes we are wrong on our retail, and yes you may be able to get it for less elsewhere. Quite frankly, nearly everything you buy in this world today can be price shopped instantly. We know that and don’t have to have the cheapest price on everything at all times. There is some value added to what we do; we have a warranty, you can return it, pay us with a credit card, try it before you buy, and we have techs that go through things before they hit the sales floor. Have questions, we’ll help after the sale too. Don’t have all the cash, put it on layaway. Need to pay partially in trade, no problem. Eventually every piece goes home with the right customer for the right price; no store I'm familiar with has the same stuff hanging around for years.

Honestly, it all depends on your perspective, the gear madness goes both ways. Wow, this $3k guitar feels like it was made out of balsa wood, and looks like someone spilt eight different cans of ugly paint on it. Oooooh another amp designed by an addict… better get on teh wait list. Hurry up to get your deposit in before that builder using his limited supply of unicorn fairy dust goes out of business. Coolio…. another gooped Joyo pedal.

No Music Go Round owner I know is a millionaire….. and I know them all. If you want to get mad at someone in the industry, take it out on the guys that drive their companies to the brink of disaster in hopes of cashing in on an IPO. What about the guys merging and acquiring companies just to ruin historic brands? What about the guys making clones of gear and undercutting the original designer? What about companies overseas ripping off products, features, or even illegally using brand names and logos that don’t belong to them?

People open music stores because they share the same passion for gear and playing as you do. They think it would be fun to work in a place surrounded with toys they love and customers that want to make great music. Then you go for it, risk it all and open one only to find that Hunter S. Thompson was absolutely right about the music business.

To the OP, hope you get the guitar at a fair price! This seems like a fun place.

 

[petee]

Cool to see your persective, I understand your in business, and think you should make a profit. I disagree with the haggling policies at stores I frequent. You can run your store as you see fit, it puts me off when a store is not taking into account condition vs. current market value in a reasonable offer. Anyway, as I said cool stores and I do shop there, disagreement or not.

 

[Mr. GoRound]

Cool to see your persective, I understand your in business, and think you should make a profit. I disagree with the haggling policies at stores I frequent. You can run your store as you see fit, it puts me off when a store is not taking into account condition vs. current market value in a reasonable offer. Anyway, as I said cool stores and I do shop there, disagreement or not.

I know the no haggling thing bothers a lot of people, but it's definitely the minority. At our shop we talk about changing it every few years but usually end up with more pros for keeping it haggle-less. I worked at a shop that did for a while and it just took soooooo long to put a deal together. In the end we just do more frequent markdowns.

When you let go and just know the price is the price you can focus on getting people exactly what they need, instead of butting heads in negotiations. Sometimes you even help them figure out that the piece that they want isn't going to fit the use.

Condition and current market do play in to it but typically most stores don't get itchy to move a piece for at least six months. That's assuming it's in the range of what they go for. Making an offer on a piece that hasn't been marked down yet probably won't get you anywhere. Look for the gear with prices ending in .98 or .97 plead your case on those

Of cousre some of our buyers make mistakes and price things too high, but in those cases the guy who sold it to us comes out ahead and we eventually realize it. Nothing wrong with bringing that up too. Never hurts for us to double check.

 

[paulyc]

^+1 !

 

[Audiowonderland]

Cool to see your persective, I understand your in business, and think you should make a profit. I disagree with the haggling policies at stores I frequent. You can run your store as you see fit, it puts me off when a store is not taking into account condition vs. current market value in a reasonable offer. Anyway, as I said cool stores and I do shop there, disagreement or not.

I know the no haggling thing bothers a lot of people, but it's definitely the minority. At our shop we talk about changing it every few years but usually end up with more pros for keeping it haggle-less. I worked at a shop that did for a while and it just took soooooo long to put a deal together. In the end we just do more frequent markdowns.

When you let go and just know the price is the price you can focus on getting people exactly what they need, instead of butting heads in negotiations. Sometimes you even help them figure out that the piece that they want isn't going to fit the use.

Condition and current market do play in to it but typically most stores don't get itchy to move a piece for at least six months. That's assuming it's in the range of what they go for. Making an offer on a piece that hasn't been marked down yet probably won't get you anywhere. Look for the gear with prices ending in .98 or .97 plead your case on those

Of cousre some of our buyers make mistakes and price things too high, but in those cases the guy who sold it to us comes out ahead and we eventually realize it. Nothing wrong with bringing that up too. Never hurts for us to double check.

I think it hurts you more than you realize. I am far more likely to leave without talking to anyone when there is no reason to talk to anyone. That's bad for business and you will never know what impact that has on repeat business, perception etc.

 

[primerib]

MGR's are franchise. Some are more flexible than others. The good one by me closed a couple of years ago. The shitty one in Ann Arbor is still there.

 

[Stramm8]

Hey, guys! Just thought I’d drop in to share a little with you about Music Go Round. I’d say I’m a pretty reputable source because I own one. Our goal is to pay as much as we can to the customer selling the gear. We don’t low ball people, and in fact pay as much as we can for every item that walks through the door. We buy at wholesale and sell at retail…. and some years after all the money is spent, we may make a profit. That profit keeps our shop filled with cool gear, our friends employed, a warm well lit place to come try out whatever gear you’d like, and the rest gets sent to corrupt politicians that can’t balance a budget.

On the flip side we don’t haggle because someone always loses in that scheme. Maybe not you, but what about the kid paying $120 list or more on a Dunlop Wah because he doesn’t haggle with the washed up rocker behind the counter? “Traditional” shops just pass the loss they took on your sale off to someone else. We give the same fair prices to everyone, everyday.

We’re not above discounts either, and do regularly mark things down. Sometimes we are wrong on our retail, and yes you may be able to get it for less elsewhere. Quite frankly, nearly everything you buy in this world today can be price shopped instantly. We know that and don’t have to have the cheapest price on everything at all times. There is some value added to what we do; we have a warranty, you can return it, pay us with a credit card, try it before you buy, and we have techs that go through things before they hit the sales floor. Have questions, we’ll help after the sale too. Don’t have all the cash, put it on layaway. Need to pay partially in trade, no problem. Eventually every piece goes home with the right customer for the right price; no store I'm familiar with has the same stuff hanging around for years.

Honestly, it all depends on your perspective, the gear madness goes both ways. Wow, this $3k guitar feels like it was made out of balsa wood, and looks like someone spilt eight different cans of ugly paint on it. Oooooh another amp designed by an addict… better get on teh wait list. Hurry up to get your deposit in before that builder using his limited supply of unicorn fairy dust goes out of business. Coolio…. another gooped Joyo pedal.

No Music Go Round owner I know is a millionaire….. and I know them all. If you want to get mad at someone in the industry, take it out on the guys that drive their companies to the brink of disaster in hopes of cashing in on an IPO. What about the guys merging and acquiring companies just to ruin historic brands? What about the guys making clones of gear and undercutting the original designer? What about companies overseas ripping off products, features, or even illegally using brand names and logos that don’t belong to them?

People open music stores because they share the same passion for gear and playing as you do. They think it would be fun to work in a place surrounded with toys they love and customers that want to make great music. Then you go for it, risk it all and open one only to find that Hunter S. Thompson was absolutely right about the music business.

To the OP, hope you get the guitar at a fair price! This seems like a fun place.

I understand your defense of the company and frankly I wouldnt expect anything less. The one in my area's strategy on trades is to low-ball the hell out of an item because they are either completely incompetent and don't know the market or they assume most of their customers are stupid. I brought in a couple of items just for shits and giggles and the offer for trade in was laughable. I literally told the guy to fuck off.

I'm sure you are a reputable business man and mean well but I'll never shop in one again. It's just not worth the effort. And comparing MGR to a mom and pop outfit is kind of disingenuous. I understand that a store is not going to give you retail on a trade; they have to make a profit and all for that. I shop at several independants in the area and on the rare occasion I trade something in, we are able to negotiate a number we can both live with.

Regarding pricing strategy, there doesn't seem to be one in place. Some items are priced well below market value and others well above. Maybe you should consult the guys in the atlanta store because they really don't have clue. Again, this is all just one man on a gear forum's opinion...

 

[petee]

I feel compelled to defend MGR, although I disagree with some policies, overall they reputable and honest. Perhaps I gave a wrong impression about them, and would like to articulate my position better. To be clear, I have no financial interest in any of them, and I think they're getting a bad wrap here. Yes, I disagree with there haggling policy, and I don't care for the pricing with regards to buying gear. But, in general they're cool stores, not much different then any of the mom and pops.

The franchise is based here in the Twin cities, and I think we have more stores then most areas. Some are much cooler then others depending on the gear your interested in, which is likely a reflection of the owner and the neighborhood it sits in. But all seem honest and I wouldn't hestitate to do business in any of them. I hate to see them get to beat up on a forum, I would say try them out and make up your own decision.
Also, I get that I've got a low post count, and no reputation here, so I guess you'll have take my word for it.

 

[dirtyfunkg]

We had one in Chicago. It closed several years ago when the neighborhood completely blew up and it became clear that they were really not competitive, even in a pretty hot music city. I remember that they did haggle from time to time (I got a '57 RI Strat that had a replaced neck for $400... the neck was great and had a Fender waterslide on it but it was obviously not the stock neck), but the gear they had was often crap. I do kind of miss it, but with Midwest Buy and Sell and craigslist serving the used instrument market, not to mention Chicago Music Exchange (who runs Reverb.com, by the way) changing ownership and actually becoming good, there really was no longer any need for MGR.

By the way, did the MGR manager's post in here kind of Tweek's dad in South Park?

http://southpark.cc.com/clips/151003/tweek-bros

 

[hsuru4u]

Hey, guys! Just thought I’d drop in to share a little with you about Music Go Round. I’d say I’m a pretty reputable source because I own one. Our goal is to pay as much as we can to the customer selling the gear. We don’t low ball people, and in fact pay as much as we can for every item that walks through the door. We buy at wholesale and sell at retail…. and some years after all the money is spent, we may make a profit. That profit keeps our shop filled with cool gear, our friends employed, a warm well lit place to come try out whatever gear you’d like, and the rest gets sent to corrupt politicians that can’t balance a budget.

On the flip side we don’t haggle because someone always loses in that scheme. Maybe not you, but what about the kid paying $120 list or more on a Dunlop Wah because he doesn’t haggle with the washed up rocker behind the counter? “Traditional” shops just pass the loss they took on your sale off to someone else. We give the same fair prices to everyone, everyday.

We’re not above discounts either, and do regularly mark things down. Sometimes we are wrong on our retail, and yes you may be able to get it for less elsewhere. Quite frankly, nearly everything you buy in this world today can be price shopped instantly. We know that and don’t have to have the cheapest price on everything at all times. There is some value added to what we do; we have a warranty, you can return it, pay us with a credit card, try it before you buy, and we have techs that go through things before they hit the sales floor. Have questions, we’ll help after the sale too. Don’t have all the cash, put it on layaway. Need to pay partially in trade, no problem. Eventually every piece goes home with the right customer for the right price; no store I'm familiar with has the same stuff hanging around for years.

Honestly, it all depends on your perspective, the gear madness goes both ways. Wow, this $3k guitar feels like it was made out of balsa wood, and looks like someone spilt eight different cans of ugly paint on it. Oooooh another amp designed by an addict… better get on teh wait list. Hurry up to get your deposit in before that builder using his limited supply of unicorn fairy dust goes out of business. Coolio…. another gooped Joyo pedal.

No Music Go Round owner I know is a millionaire….. and I know them all. If you want to get mad at someone in the industry, take it out on the guys that drive their companies to the brink of disaster in hopes of cashing in on an IPO. What about the guys merging and acquiring companies just to ruin historic brands? What about the guys making clones of gear and undercutting the original designer? What about companies overseas ripping off products, features, or even illegally using brand names and logos that don’t belong to them?

People open music stores because they share the same passion for gear and playing as you do. They think it would be fun to work in a place surrounded with toys they love and customers that want to make great music. Then you go for it, risk it all and open one only to find that Hunter S. Thompson was absolutely right about the music business.

To the OP, hope you get the guitar at a fair price! This seems like a fun place.

blah blah blah...bottom line is MGR is overpriced and managed by dicks....sorry but i have seen too many items here in colorado at MGR that are 50-100.00 over what they should really be. The stores are junky..unclean and everything is dusty and dirty and the staff could care less and are also jerks. They sit around chit chatting with eachother instead of cleaning the store and windows and vacuming or armouralling the tolex-tuning up the guitars. I have been playing music for 40 yrs and was a pro at one point and whenever i have gone into a MGR its always the same thing. The super expensive guitars play like crap and look like they have not been cleaned while the cheaper ones are even worse. I would think the idea in any used gear store is to move items and get fresh stuff in so to keep things exciting and "fresh" but everytime i go in with 3 months between visits i see few new things and the same old junk at inflated prices and of course no ability to haggle. Its just a lousy concept and the 7 day return is a joke. It all just reaks of that "used car" style of selling. Guitar center is way way way way way way way way way better to deal with on all levels.
I really wanted to support a local business but with the jerky attitudes about not budging on price even $5..10 or 25 to $100 on higher end stuff already overpriced is just crappy. Everytime i ask is get the blah blah blah sob story about...overhead..and paying the workers and operating costs...FROM ALL THE MGR IN DENVER I MIGHT ADD...its like a broken record and condescending..and insults my intelligence as a former pro musician and a business owner myself. It may work on little kids who have no life experience and their suburban parents who are clueless but for the majority of us its jusy a load of bs.

Of course they will overprice everything to make $ and then make money off a trade to begin with so trust me- there is room there to play with. It would go a long way to making more sales and better reviews. Look around at reviews of the MGR stores all over the place...its sad.

 

[hsuru4u]

Cool to see your persective, I understand your in business, and think you should make a profit. I disagree with the haggling policies at stores I frequent. You can run your store as you see fit, it puts me off when a store is not taking into account condition vs. current market value in a reasonable offer. Anyway, as I said cool stores and I do shop there, disagreement or not.

I know the no haggling thing bothers a lot of people, but it's definitely the minority. At our shop we talk about changing it every few years but usually end up with more pros for keeping it haggle-less. I worked at a shop that did for a while and it just took soooooo long to put a deal together. In the end we just do more frequent markdowns.

When you let go and just know the price is the price you can focus on getting people exactly what they need, instead of butting heads in negotiations. Sometimes you even help them figure out that the piece that they want isn't going to fit the use.

Condition and current market do play in to it but typically most stores don't get itchy to move a piece for at least six months. That's assuming it's in the range of what they go for. Making an offer on a piece that hasn't been marked down yet probably won't get you anywhere. Look for the gear with prices ending in .98 or .97 plead your case on those

Of cousre some of our buyers make mistakes and price things too high, but in those cases the guy who sold it to us comes out ahead and we eventually realize it. Nothing wrong with bringing that up too. Never hurts for us to double check.

I think it hurts you more than you realize. I am far more likely to leave without talking to anyone when there is no reason to talk to anyone. That's bad for business and you will never know what impact that has on repeat business, perception etc.

totally agree....the poeple that work at MGR are useless anyhow if they cannot help you facilitate a deal on an item....why hire so many people then? I mean i never see them really doing much and the stores are filthy as is the gear/carpet/windows/ counters/ its basically a pawn shop setting.

 

[hsuru4u]

Hey, guys! Just thought I’d drop in to share a little with you about Music Go Round. I’d say I’m a pretty reputable source because I own one. Our goal is to pay as much as we can to the customer selling the gear. We don’t low ball people, and in fact pay as much as we can for every item that walks through the door. We buy at wholesale and sell at retail…. and some years after all the money is spent, we may make a profit. That profit keeps our shop filled with cool gear, our friends employed, a warm well lit place to come try out whatever gear you’d like, and the rest gets sent to corrupt politicians that can’t balance a budget.

On the flip side we don’t haggle because someone always loses in that scheme. Maybe not you, but what about the kid paying $120 list or more on a Dunlop Wah because he doesn’t haggle with the washed up rocker behind the counter? “Traditional” shops just pass the loss they took on your sale off to someone else. We give the same fair prices to everyone, everyday.

We’re not above discounts either, and do regularly mark things down. Sometimes we are wrong on our retail, and yes you may be able to get it for less elsewhere. Quite frankly, nearly everything you buy in this world today can be price shopped instantly. We know that and don’t have to have the cheapest price on everything at all times. There is some value added to what we do; we have a warranty, you can return it, pay us with a credit card, try it before you buy, and we have techs that go through things before they hit the sales floor. Have questions, we’ll help after the sale too. Don’t have all the cash, put it on layaway. Need to pay partially in trade, no problem. Eventually every piece goes home with the right customer for the right price; no store I'm familiar with has the same stuff hanging around for years.

Honestly, it all depends on your perspective, the gear madness goes both ways. Wow, this $3k guitar feels like it was made out of balsa wood, and looks like someone spilt eight different cans of ugly paint on it. Oooooh another amp designed by an addict… better get on teh wait list. Hurry up to get your deposit in before that builder using his limited supply of unicorn fairy dust goes out of business. Coolio…. another gooped Joyo pedal.

No Music Go Round owner I know is a millionaire….. and I know them all. If you want to get mad at someone in the industry, take it out on the guys that drive their companies to the brink of disaster in hopes of cashing in on an IPO. What about the guys merging and acquiring companies just to ruin historic brands? What about the guys making clones of gear and undercutting the original designer? What about companies overseas ripping off products, features, or even illegally using brand names and logos that don’t belong to them?

People open music stores because they share the same passion for gear and playing as you do. They think it would be fun to work in a place surrounded with toys they love and customers that want to make great music. Then you go for it, risk it all and open one only to find that Hunter S. Thompson was absolutely right about the music business.

To the OP, hope you get the guitar at a fair price! This seems like a fun place.

I understand your defense of the company and frankly I wouldnt expect anything less. The one in my area's strategy on trades is to low-ball the hell out of an item because they are either completely incompetent and don't know the market or they assume most of their customers are stupid. I brought in a couple of items just for shits and giggles and the offer for trade in was laughable. I literally told the guy to fuck off.

I'm sure you are a reputable business man and mean well but I'll never shop in one again. It's just not worth the effort. And comparing MGR to a mom and pop outfit is kind of disingenuous. I understand that a store is not going to give you retail on a trade; they have to make a profit and all for that. I shop at several independants in the area and on the rare occasion I trade something in, we are able to negotiate a number we can both live with.

Regarding pricing strategy, there doesn't seem to be one in place. Some items are priced well below market value and others well above. Maybe you should consult the guys in the atlanta store because they really don't have clue. Again, this is all just one man on a gear forum's opinion...

spot on......you guys take a really expensive guitar in and watch them offer you a pathetic amount....insulting your intelligence and then expecting you to just jump at it....mom and pop store? no wayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy...pawn shop mentality and really run by non musicians by the way they act.

 

[Bluplirst]

Signed up to grind that ax, never posted again. Great job!

 

[gtrwun]

Signed up to grind that ax, never posted again. Great job!

No doubt. Simma don na........simmmmmm aaaaaaa don na! simmer down now!

 

[ZachMN]

I go to the one here in Roseville. Seems to be pretty fair in terms of prices and they have a lot of gear go through which is nice too and the no haggle sucks but if the thing sits for a while and your there at the right time you can get a decent deal on stuff. There used to be one here in Maple Grove that closed and they were crooked as hell and they went under due to bad business practices ( I knew someone who gave me the 411 on the owner) anyway I like the Roseville store personally.

 

[paulyc]

My store is always clean and the guitars set up well. I don't know what you guys are talking about. The people that work there are cool, some are just kids getting their start in the business and good for them. As I said, I don't feel as though I've overpaid for anything...some things I feel like I stole. Did I always get top dollar for a trade ? No, but you wouldn't get that anywhere. The price you pay for convenience. If you want top dollar, sit on it for months on CL or Reverb or eBay where you can sit back and be choosy. If you need the money RIGHT NOW you're going to take a hit on it...just the nature of the beast.

 

[longfxukxnhair]

I dont care what store it is, if they way over price items consistently, I never buy from them. I feel such actions cost the store their credibility. I see it as they are gouging the consumer or treating the consumer like they are stupid.

 

[rupe]

Interesting. I'm going to get to the manager tomorrow and try to talk some sense into him. It's a high-end guitar that's priced about $400 higher than an identical model in mint condition. This one has changed pickups, changed tuners, scratches in the top, chips and dings all over it. A beater but a cool beater...

Why not buy the identical model in mint condition for $400 less and be done with it?

 

[Racerxrated]

I stop by 3 different stores in MN from time to time. I don't feel that they are any better or worse than GC. In fact MGR employees usually know what they have, so chances are they won't underprice something. Whereas GC can sometimes screw up, in our favor lol.