GC's fabulous Coupon offers

[bilbarstow]

OK - this is just a rant, but what the heck :

GC sends out these 'generous' coupon offers constantly - usually 15% or so off to get you to buy stuff from them. I'm not NECESSARILY a big GC fan, but they are close to home, and if I can save some money on something that I needed anyway, well why the hell not ?

Except: for the third time in a row, my coupon is rejected when I tried to check out.

First issue was that you had to buy $199 worth to qualify, and so I added on a couple of cables (to the thing that I needed) to be sure to add up to more than $200. Nope, no can do because the cables were "on Sale" and you cannot combine 'offers'. OK, so I puzzle about for a bit to try and find something that I can buy that isn't "on Sale" that will get me enough over $199. I pick something else I don't really need for an additional $30.

Nope, still won't take my coupon. Turns out that the Voodoo Labs Pedal Power I needed is on their list of excluded items. Can't save any money, no way, no how !

Turns out that their coupons are only good for a VERY small percentage of the items that they sell.

I think that I will just have to start being patient enough to get stuff mail-order from some of the better vendors - just like the rest of you who live in towns too small to have 5 (count 'em) GC's nearby that can drown the smaller Mom & Pop stores. Grrrrrrrr.

/rant

 

[Jody]

You just now noticed that...





you have to read the fine print...Which is 4 times smaller then this

 

[SixAngryStrings]

Guitar Center Sucks...

 

[Hairless_Ape]

Allow you to use coupons on something you actually might want?!? Pssh, that's crazy talk!

 

[McLovin]

The list of retailers who have "opted out" of the Guitar Center coupon sales is so large has it's own website.

 

[Scooter2112]

I've never understood why they don't just come out and list ALL the items that they're coupons ARE allowed to be used for.

 

[Thunder Dump]

I'm really surprised some states AG offices haven't taken issue with this. Their advertising is clearly a bait-and-switch to draw in customers for "15% off ANY item" (emphasis is theirs) only to find out that GC's definition of "ANY" is vastly different from the general population.

This would be like a Ford dealer advertising week in and week out that they are selling ANY Ford on the lot for 15% off but then when you get there, the dealer shows you one car and says "that's the ANY Ford. The rest are regular price."

When the exceptions are more than the rule, then the exception IS the rule.

 

[bscenefilms]

I love my Pedal Power

 

[Joeydego]

Please tell me you left the stuff on the counter and said thanks anyhow.

 

[Thumpalumpacus]

This is Retail 101: retailers use coupons to drive sales of items that people don't already want.

Shocking, eh?

 

[michaelinokc]

It would be more efficient for Guitar Center to list all the manufacturers that do participate - both of them.

 

[Joeydego]

Check Welcome to Sweetwater.com | Call Us @ 800 222 4700 and go back and make them price match. I do it all the time. I saved 25 bucks on strings and straplocks they were over priced on.

 

[Joeydego]

It would be more efficient for Guitar Center to list all the manufacturers that do participate - both of them.

I've been bitching about this forever. I'm so done with GC partially over this. It's a very shady business practice. Occasional things they can't ruin, like strings and I make sure they'll pricematch them because they're rarely the cheapest.

 

[michaelinokc]

I've been bitching about this forever. I'm so done with GC partially over this. It's a very shady business practice. Occasional things they can't ruin, like strings and I make sure they'll pricematch them because they're rarely the cheapest.

I'm lucky. Everyone knows me at the local Guitar Center, so they'll usually cut me some slack on the good stuff, even if the coupon doesn't cover it. But if it's not in stock, I'm frustrated, too.

 

[lucidspoon]

I'm really surprised some states AG offices haven't taken issue with this. Their advertising is clearly a bait-and-switch to draw in customers for "15% off ANY item" (emphasis is theirs) only to find out that GC's definition of "ANY" is vastly different from the general population.

You'd have an argument if they didn't say that exclusions applied in the fine print. Yeah, it's lame, but nothing illegal.

I've heard you can usually call, and they'll apply the coupon to about anything. In fact, I think one time I was thinking about getting something from Musicians Friend and wanted to see if the coupon would work. It didn't, but then I clicked some links about their exclusions and some of the stuff said to contact them if you want to use it on other stuff, but after enough clicking, it showed the coupon online without even calling! Might have been a glitch, but either way Guitar Center and Musicians Friend are the same company, so they'll easily price match.

 

[krab]

North Houston Store?

 

[rxbandit]

Just call in or do it in store. Has worked every time for me.

 

[Pinkie]

I get coupon deals all the time at CG never had a problem.
Does help to know the manager and most of the sales guys.

 

[PSM]

When I was checking acoustics out a few years back, I found a Taylor at GC that spoke to me. I checked my coupons and had a 15% off one item of $399 or more (or something along those lines) but noticed that Taylor was listed in the exlusions/manufacturers not participating list. I printed and brought in the coupon anyways and just never asked any questions...and neither did they. They took off the 15% and I left with my new guitar.

 

[bilbarstow]

Please tell me you left the stuff on the counter and said thanks anyhow.

Joeydego,

I wish I could say this was true, but I really did need the Pedal Power. I did leave the other "upsell" items, so they lost THAT additional income.

Next time - I just call Sweetwater. The shipping wait can't be that bad.