Close to buying - tips on pricing?

[Leo_Gibson]

Hey All,

I spent a couple of hours today playing a 2012 Standard, (2011?) Traditional and a couple of Strats. I'm gonna play an R8 next to the 2012 standard when I'm next in the store but I'm close to buying the 2012 Standard...

I read on here recently that a guy phoned Gibson Custom shop directly in 2006 and got a brand new R8 for $1800!!!! Are there any tips for getting the price of a Standard down? It's $2,599 (IIRC) at Guitar Center.

I'm aware that Gibsons are expensive guitars and that's a fact I'll just have to live with when buying but you can't blame me It's certainly taken a while to get the savings together...

Of course, I may fall in love with the R8 and want that instead and that brings up a new problem - spend $2k on a sight unseen guitar - is that crazy? Can you return to Gibson Custom shop if the guitar isn't 'right'?

Thanks in advance everybody - I've never had a proper guitar before and I want to make sure I'm making the right decision / going about it the right way

Cheers!
Leo

[Sinster]

There's a few people who purchased a 2012 for around 2200 or close to it. You have to be willing to haggle. For GC ask them what kind of price are can they get you. If they don't budge, just tell them your money spends else where. That you can get the same price of the guitar online and don't have to pay tax. Don't expect 50% off.. and you have to be reasonable.

[Leo_Gibson]

2,200 would be great! More tips like this for sure

Thanks!
Leo

[jeffy]

Biggest tip? Just ask. They know all to well that everyone wants 15%. They know the game and you'll have to be willing to play it. Just ask them what they can do on the price. If it's not to your liking then tell them that and see if they counter. They want the sale. But don't be unreasonable.

[Naukuga]

They have 15% off coupons very often. Ask them. They can tell you when the next will be. (the guys at my store usually know what coupons are coming for the next 4-6 weeks)
Also, dont let them fool you. 15% off DOES apply to gibsons

[nauc]

get an Epi Elitist. many have said theyre almost as good as the reissues and they sold new for like $1200. youll have to buy used tho, Epi doenst make them anymore

sample...

[bufbills]

Go into the store knowing what you want to spend. I would figure 15% off, and tell the sales person youre number and see where it gets you. You could always buy online from Sweetwater or zzounds and pay zero tax. zzounds has a "seen it at a lower price" option for all of their gear. They will allow you to enter a verbal offer from guitar center, and beat it if they can.

[Leo_Gibson]

Thanks for the tips guys - esp the 15% one, I didn't know that figure was a good one to aim for.

I have a quick question on tax (I recently moved here from London and haven't gotten used to a few things still): If the price on the tag is $2,600 or the price the salesperson agrees with me is, say, $2,200, is that the price I'll pay at the register or will tax be added on top?

The reason I ask is because 99.9% of the time in the UK, if you see a price on anything, that's what you'll pay for it but IME in the USA, it seems like a lot of the time a surprise 10% gets thrown on at the register...

thanks!
Leo

[WVChrome]

Originally Posted by Leo_Gibson

Thanks for the tips guys - esp the 15% one, I didn't know that figure was a good one to aim for.

I have a quick question on tax (I recently moved here from London and haven't gotten used to a few things still): If the price on the tag is $2,600 or the price the salesperson agrees with me is, say, $2,200, is that the price I'll pay at the register or will tax be added on top?

The reason I ask is because 99.9% of the time in the UK, if you see a price on anything, that's what you'll pay for it but IME in the USA, it seems like a lot of the time a surprise 10% gets thrown on at the register...

thanks!
Leo

Sales tax is added on top of the agreed upon price. Sales tax is non-negotiable. Sometimes, a salesman may be speaking in an "out the door" price which includes tax. Typically, they will make it a point to say that.

Later,
Chrome...

[Leo_Gibson]

Thanks for confirming! On my NGD, I shall walk in and attempt a 15% negotiation ($2,200) and if successful, I'll try and sneak in an "If that's the out the door price, let's go to the register!"

Worth a shot

Ugh. feel a bit like a cheap sod for taking this approach but I know that in a couple of months I'll probably be to wrapped up in enjoying my guitar to think about it

[Shawn Lutz]

make sure it is teh 2012 Standard, not the 2008 Standard made in 2012...different models.

The new 2012 Standards list for $2499 and just about everyone is getting 15% off of that so $2124.

Play them all in person and let your ears and hands choose for you. Also compare the Traditional specs to the 2012 Standard specs to see what you like better. Play the R8, which would be the better guitar in most cases but with anything there are dogs out there so an R8 dog isn't going to be better than a Traditional or Standard gem but there are dogs in those model lines too.

[Leo_Gibson]

Thanks Shawn! $2124 sounds amazing. If I can swing that price to include tax, then it will be my first proper NGD

[MineGoes211]

Originally Posted by WVChrome

Sales tax is added on top of the agreed upon price. Sales tax is non-negotiable. Sometimes, a salesman may be speaking in an "out the door" price which includes tax. Typically, they will make it a point to say that.

Later,
Chrome...

I negotiated with a GC manager to 'eat' the tax and through in a gig bag.

[Leo_Gibson]

Originally Posted by MineGoes211

I negotiated with a GC manager to 'eat' the tax and through in a gig bag.

wow

After having 15% knocked off?

[Crotch]

Not sure it is feasable for you or not based on where you live and what is around you but I have always had better luck going to my local shop than to any mass market place, IE Guitar Center. Now there are some downfalls of it as well. I have to wait 30-60 days for my new 2012 LP but I also got it at $2000 out the door, so I guess for me the wait didn't matter. I find that the smaller guitar stores don't sell as many higher end guitars as toehr big box stores and if they think they can get you by beating the price they certainly will for a sale. Plus I always like to support local if I can. Plus they have techs on site and will give a free set up and usually a few free packs of strings. So yes the wait sucks, but the deal was too good to pass up on. Even smaller items such as pedals I consistenly get for $10-$20 under GC's price. And I have only been a customer of this shop, and playing guitar for under a year. They probably can tell by all the stuff I've bought that I am a complete gear junkie! Plus the "out the door" pricing always sounds so much better. I still think, regardless, that under $2200 is a great price for this model.

[Naukuga]

Originally Posted by Crotch

Not sure it is feasable for you or not based on where you live and what is around you but I have always had better luck going to my local shop than to any mass market place, IE Guitar Center. Now there are some downfalls of it as well. I have to wait 30-60 days for my new 2012 LP but I also got it at $2000 out the door, so I guess for me the wait didn't matter. I find that the smaller guitar stores don't sell as many higher end guitars as toehr big box stores and if they think they can get you by beating the price they certainly will for a sale. Plus I always like to support local if I can. Plus they have techs on site and will give a free set up and usually a few free packs of strings. So yes the wait sucks, but the deal was too good to pass up on. Even smaller items such as pedals I consistenly get for $10-$20 under GC's price. And I have only been a customer of this shop, and playing guitar for under a year. They probably can tell by all the stuff I've bought that I am a complete gear junkie! Plus the "out the door" pricing always sounds so much better. I still think, regardless, that under $2200 is a great price for this model.

yeah, i've got a ma-and-pa shop here in SLC that always tells me "We laugh at GC's 15% off" The only issue is that they dont get any of the Exclusives (339 non flamed, Trad pro, etc) so you're choices can be limited sometimes.

It's also hard to find ma-and-pa shops that carry new gibsons. I hear gibson makes it near impossible for small vendors to get authorized.

[brokenarrow5]

i always haggle for an out the door price

[Kerry_King]

You can probably get 15-20% off if you try at a GC. Honestly just find one on Amazon or something and go in and tell them you'll buy it there for that price. They should match it. The biggest tool you will have is a price match. Though it's supposed to be an "authorized dealer" usually GC will let you get away with price matching anyone in the USA who is selling it new online. Keep in mind they want to get the sale.


Also, the other good thing to remember is that for a sales person, "out the door" pricing means they have to discount an additional 10% from the cost to cover tax. This is fine to do, but usually it isn't going to happen if you already push for a discount, as it basically eliminates any profit from the sale at all. (Sales people get a small % of profit and a slightly less small % of sales, so eliminating the profit completely makes it not even worth selling the guitar, from a sales person's perspective)

[Dark Helmet]

15% is easy, 20%, dunno, but worth a try.

[Bordeaux]

Originally Posted by bufbills

Go into the store knowing what you want to spend. I would figure 15% off, and tell the sales person youre number and see where it gets you. You could always buy online from Sweetwater or zzounds and pay zero tax. zzounds has a "seen it at a lower price" option for all of their gear. They will allow you to enter a verbal offer from guitar center, and beat it if they can.

Yeah and ZZsounds are really good about honoring that price match. They price matched a Fender Super Sonic 60 for me last week due to GC's 15% off tax event last weekend. The FSS 60 normally runs $1399, I got mine for $1225.

[Leo_Gibson]

I'd love somebody who got theirs for $2124 to share their receipt here so that GC have to match - I think most of us would rather play our guitar before committing - even though I'm sure MF & ZZsounds have good exchange policies...

[Leo_Gibson]

I played another 2012 std today (blue finish) and A/B'd it with an R8. Holy cow, the R8 was really nice.

The neck on the 2012 std felt and looked a little thin when A/Bing with the R8 but not thin in a bad way, just different. Both necks felt great and v.playable to me.

Something, I have no idea what (mojo?) made me feel like I was bonding a little more with the R8 but I definitely bonded well with the last 2012 std I played.

In terms of tone, both guitars sounded great, neither jumped out at me as being the tonal winner, they definitely sounded different from one another, however. This subjective stuff is not always helpful and you really just need to go with what sounds good to you, but to me: The R8 sounded a touch more 'woody', like I could hear the wood. It also felt a little more 'classic' sounding which is maybe psychosematic but it also felt a tiny bit lower gain and so maybe I equated that with 'classic'?

In terms of looks, the R8 wins all the way. Classic beauty to my eye.

I am going to need to play some more before making my mind up (I'm curious to A/B two 2012 stds and see if I personally discern a difference). I can feel $$$ time coming up and I'm getting excited. I now know that it's possible to get a 2012 std for $2124 and I read on here that somebody got an R8 for something like $2k direct from Gibson Custom Shop but that was a couple of years ago so I wonder if that's still an option. I think that if an R8 could be had brand new for the same price as a 2012 std, I right now am leaning towards the '8....

I'm sure this post will be helpful to all of 2 people. ha.

[KenG]

You should be able to get an R8 for under 3K new. Maybe just not at GC.

[rastus11]

my advice - you need to walk away with the guitar you want because you believe its the best, feels the best , sounds the best etc. I know money is important, but in a months time a couple of hundred will not matter to you if you bought the right guitar

[straybeat]

Musician's Friend has a Standard for $1999;

Gibson Les Paul Standard Traditional Pro Electric Guitar | Musician's Friend

Or used for $1599. Over next weekend they should have 15% off, so the $1999 would be $1699.15. If you ask they'll usually throw in a case.

[KenG]

Originally Posted by straybeat

Musician's Friend has a Standard for $1999;

Gibson Les Paul Standard Traditional Pro Electric Guitar | Musician's Friend

Or used for $1599. Over next weekend they should have 15% off, so the $1999 would be $1699.15. If you ask they'll usually throw in a case.

Another reason to dislike MF! All LPs except Studios ae supposed to come with cases as part of the regular price. These guys separate the two and charge you more the case

[capt_goodvibes]

Orville 1989 made Les Paul Standerd Vintage sunburst Made in Japan | eBay

[Leo_Gibson]

Originally Posted by rastus11

my advice - you need to walk away with the guitar you want because you believe its the best, feels the best , sounds the best etc. I know money is important, but in a months time a couple of hundred will not matter to you if you bought the right guitar

I agree totally man. Even though I didn't like the Traditional I played a few weeks ago, doesn't meen I've written them off - it may just have been one I didn't click with. I'm going to keep trying things out over the next few weekends and then dive in.

I don't care about the difference of a couple of hundred bucks between one model or the other but I do think it would be silly of me to not get whichever model for the best price that others are currently getting it for. For example, as I've seen a few folks getting the 2012 Std for $2124, I wouldn't want to get it for more than that but if the cheapest that people are getting an R8 for these days is $2324 then I'd be happy to get that - if that makes sense? I explain things badly

I think I'll start looking into Gibson Custom Shop's email/phone number and see if they'll quote me the direct price for an R8. Ideally I'd go on a rock pilgrimage to their physical location and try a couple side by side to see if one particularly sings to me.

[lewddude]

yeah, go into a store! I purchased a brand new Historic for $2650 out the door just because I was willing to walk.

[straybeat]

Originally Posted by KenG

Another reason to dislike MF! All LPs except Studios ae supposed to come with cases as part of the regular price. These guys separate the two and charge you more the case

I have bought a lot of Les Pauls in the last 44 years and never heard of the free case thing except here?

I always got cases with mine, but that was because I demanded them or I wasn't buying it.