# Guitar Center ships to Canada



## GuitarsCanada (Dec 30, 2005)

I know we like to keep it in Canada whenever possible but just as a note on Guitar Center. I noticed on the site that they allow you to price out in Canadian funds if you want and also add the tax and duty upon checkout, with a guarantee of no further charges upon delivery. I find that a little refreshing that at least all charges are up front and you know what the total cost is before ordering. 

GuitarCenter


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## Spellcaster (Jan 7, 2008)

Interesting. I've never had any dealings with them, but have a morbid fascination because of all the negative things I've heard. The US-based guitar forum where I normally hang out seems to have a steady supply of criticism about dirty, scratched new guitars with missing parts, used gear so filthy that it's a biological hazard, and inept, indifferent sales staff. I guess if a person buys on-line they'll (hopefully) get a factory-sealed carton and bypass some of this misery though. I wonder how warranties are handled.....Normally, when a US piece crosses the border, the warranty is void. Anybody have any experience dealing with them yet?


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## GuitarsCanada (Dec 30, 2005)

Not sure I would buy a guitar from them. But in terms of packaged items it might be a source if the price is right


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## six-string (Oct 7, 2009)

Spellcaster said:


> Interesting. I wonder how warranties are handled.....Normally, when a US piece crosses the border, the warranty is void. Anybody have any experience dealing with them yet?


Guitars have warranties???
over the years i have owned well over 100 guitars, and although many were bought used or horse-traded, there have been quite a few i bought new. in all that time, i have never once returned a guitar because of any problem that might be considered a warranty issue. i suppose if the guitar was bought online and arrived with a broken neck or something??...but normally i figure its my responsibility to set up and properly maintain my instruments.
of course i've also upgraded or modified parts on various guitars when i wasn't happy with the stock components. things like pickups, tuners, bridges, nuts, switches, electronics. 
hmmm warranties you say...what a concept.


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## Spellcaster (Jan 7, 2008)

"i have never once returned a guitar because of any problem that might be considered a warranty issue."

Yeah, I hear you, six string. Same here, as far as guitars go. I was thinking more in terms of electronics....amps and such.


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## six-string (Oct 7, 2009)

Spellcaster said:


> "i have never once returned a guitar because of any problem that might be considered a warranty issue."
> 
> Yeah, I hear you, six string. Same here, as far as guitars go. I was thinking more in terms of electronics....amps and such.



well you may have something there. i recently saw some photos on a website of someone who had their amp smashed and beaten during transit. personally i think only very small amps would be worth taking a chance on shipping. large amps would be both too expensive, since shipping cost is usually related to the weight and size of an item, and at greater risk of damage from being dropped or smashed.


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## GuitarsCanada (Dec 30, 2005)

six-string said:


> well you may have something there. i recently saw some photos on a website of someone who had their amp smashed and beaten during transit. personally i think only very small amps would be worth taking a chance on shipping. large amps would be both too expensive, since shipping cost is usually related to the weight and size of an item, and at greater risk of damage from being dropped or smashed.


But you have to figure that the amps have to get shipped from their origin. Like Marshall has to come from the UK to whatever retail outlet is carrying them. I assume the retailer would ship in the original packaging. So for the most part they should be packed properly for transit. I doubt that Marshall or any of the rest of them have their own trucking companies.


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## Powdered Toast Man (Apr 6, 2006)

Bet they don't ship certain brands across the border (Fender, Roland, Boss, etc). 

Actually, Nascar.com's store recently surprised me with the same thing when shipping to Canada they add the GST and duty and promise no extra charges upon delivery. It turned out to be easily the best cross-border ordering experience I've had to date.


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## torndownunit (May 14, 2006)

Spellcaster said:


> Interesting. I've never had any dealings with them, but have a morbid fascination because of all the negative things I've heard. The US-based guitar forum where I normally hang out seems to have a steady supply of criticism about dirty, scratched new guitars with missing parts, used gear so filthy that it's a biological hazard, and inept, indifferent sales staff. I guess if a person buys on-line they'll (hopefully) get a factory-sealed carton and bypass some of this misery though. I wonder how warranties are handled.....Normally, when a US piece crosses the border, the warranty is void. Anybody have any experience dealing with them yet?


I have only been in 2 of their stores while travelling in the States, but I found them pretty impressive. I never had to interact with the staff, so I can't comment on them but the stores were super nice. I also read plenty of stories on other forums of people getting really good deals on used gear. The only real knock on the stores I constantly read about is the staff. But, I am not fond of the staff at most music stores.


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## GuitarsCanada (Dec 30, 2005)

torndownunit said:


> I have only been in 2 of their stores while travelling in the States, but I found them pretty impressive. I never had to interact with the staff, so I can't comment on them but the stores were super nice. I also read plenty of stories on other forums of people getting really good deals on used gear. The only real knock on the stores I constantly read about is the staff. But, I am not fond of the staff at most music stores.


I could have swore I read somewhere a while back where they were coming to Canada with some stores? Maybe I was dreaming


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## Spellcaster (Jan 7, 2008)

Somehow, I think I'd rather deal with them from a distance than take a chance on going into one of their stores. Here are some selected comments from four customers in a thread on another forum

"I don't think I'm OCD about this but why-oh-why are the used guitars at GC just plain filthy?"

"As much as I take on the challenge to remove someone else's dried blood, cheesburgers, and pizza to discover the diamond underneath, why wouldn't a GC manager insist on selling clean, playable instruments?"

"I've purchased two used acoustics for them, and both were cruddy."

"I have seen many new guitars at GC that were either filthy, damaged, missing knobs, dead or missing strings and still displayed as new. Ugh!"

......Not the kind of feedback that makes me want to rush to a GC.

Cleanliness aside, I didn't find their pricing for Canadian customers particularly great.....No better than you'd get in a professionally run place like Long and McQuade.

And, I think you're right, Powdered Toast Man. When I tried to "Search by brand" on the Guitar Center's website for Fender, the search came back "no items found" although they do sell the brand in the States. I'm guessing Fender (and perhaps other manufacturers like Roland and Boss) are protecting their Canadian franchised dealers by not allowing them to trans-ship across the border. I'm also a little surprised that Gibson doesn't seem to be doing the same. I'm sure Long and McQuade can be competetive, but I'll bet they're PO'ed all the same.


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## GuitarsCanada (Dec 30, 2005)

The cleanliness issue is one that needs analysis for sure. I used to drop into a few of the Guitar Centers that were in Michigan when I was over there all the time. The one thing I noticed in those stores that were different than stores here were a) the size of them, they are huge stores and b) the amount of traffic in them, also huge.

Then comes the debate of allowing people to play the guitars and amps etc. I have been in stores that would not allow you to touch the gear, guitar center, and many others have people all over the stores banging away on the gear. If you allow that in the store then I think you should deeply discount those floor models and if someone wants a new one go and get it out of the stock. Never sell that floor guitar as new. I noticed that they did have most of the "expensive" guitars way up high and out of reach of anyone. You had to ask to see those guitars. At least thats the way it as in the stores I was in. But even the floor models need to be kept somewhat clean by staff. But again, these stores were huge.

I still think that I would hold off ever buying a guitar from them for delivery, I would stick to boxed items like pedals and that type of thing.


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## torndownunit (May 14, 2006)

Spellcaster said:


> Somehow, I think I'd rather deal with them from a distance than take a chance on going into one of their stores. Here are some selected comments from four customers in a thread on another forum
> 
> "I don't think I'm OCD about this but why-oh-why are the used guitars at GC just plain filthy?"
> 
> ...



If a site had reviews of Long and McQuade, I am sure you would hear some bad ones as well. I have had bad experiences at Long and Mcquade, and haven't shopped at any of their stores in about 3 years. I have picked up guiatrs in their with grungey old strings and horrid setups. In a large store it can happen, and the GC's I was in were massive. They made Long and Mcquade look tiny.

But back to the point, you can't judge a whole store on 4 customer reviews on an online forum. You also can't group all Guitar Centre stores together. When you haven't even been in a single store, you shouldn't really be forming an opinion solely on forum threads you have read.


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## Spellcaster (Jan 7, 2008)

torndownunit said "you shouldn't really be forming an opinion solely on forum threads you have read."


You may be right. But, I found thise quotes from four geograohically diverse posters in one thread, so it seemed as if this wasn't a problem unique to one GC store, and threads that are critical of Guitar Center have been appearing across three forums I visit for as long as I've been using the computer. It just seems to me that where there's smoke, there's fire. Anyway, I didn't intend to turn this into a bashing thread. (My introduction to the Canadian Guitar Forum was a four page Thorold Music bashing thread). It was intended to be one facet ofa bigger picture. I'm curious about what to expect from a US-based company trying to gain a foothold in the Canadian market, and if I had my choice, I'd rather it was someone who doesn't seem to have the notoriety of GC. I apologize if I've offended anybody.


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## dwagar (Mar 6, 2006)

I would be interesting in what GC is doing about Gibson warranty. If you buy a Gibson, new, in the US, you get a lifetime warranty (as original owner, it doesn't transfer), but up here, L&M gives you a one year warranty. 
In reality, it probably makes very little difference, I'd assume most problems would arise during the first year. But, it is quite a difference.
And, warranty repairs are often done by the Gibson approved service center. Does that mean you can take your GC purchased LP into L&M for warranty work?


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## keto (May 23, 2006)

dwagar said:


> I would be interesting in what GC is doing about Gibson warranty. If you buy a Gibson, new, in the US, you get a lifetime warranty (as original owner, it doesn't transfer), but up here, L&M gives you a one year warranty.
> In reality, it probably makes very little difference, I'd assume most problems would arise during the first year. But, it is quite a difference.
> And, warranty repairs are often done by the Gibson approved service center. Does that mean you can take your GC purchased LP into L&M for warranty work?


My Historic 60RI ended up having a warped neck a couple years into my ownership. Guess who isn't very happy with Yorkville? Cost me many hundreds$$$


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## six-string (Oct 7, 2009)

just my 2 cents, but GuitarCenter is the Walmart of the biz.
you might find discount deals there and a wide selection of generic good and staff with a basic general knowledge.
but if you want attentive service or specialized merchandise, you would probably be happier doing business with a smaller local outfit. 
as for prices, its true most of the major brands (Fender/Gibson/Martinetc.) have "minimum advertised price" policies, which means that all authorized retailers (regardless of size) have to list the same item at the same price.


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## torndownunit (May 14, 2006)

Spellcaster said:


> torndownunit said "you shouldn't really be forming an opinion solely on forum threads you have read."
> 
> 
> You may be right. But, I found thise quotes from four geograohically diverse posters in one thread, so it seemed as if this wasn't a problem unique to one GC store, and threads that are critical of Guitar Center have been appearing across three forums I visit for as long as I've been using the computer. It just seems to me that where there's smoke, there's fire. Anyway, I didn't intend to turn this into a bashing thread. (My introduction to the Canadian Guitar Forum was a four page Thorold Music bashing thread). It was intended to be one facet ofa bigger picture. I'm curious about what to expect from a US-based company trying to gain a foothold in the Canadian market, and if I had my choice, I'd rather it was someone who doesn't seem to have the notoriety of GC. I apologize if I've offended anybody.


It doesn't offend me at all. I don't really care much about the stores in general. I am just pointing out that if there was a database of Long and Mcquade reviews, you could likely find 4 bad reviews from 4 different locations as well. And with Guitar Centre they have way more locations. As six-string points out, they are a massive chain. They dwarf anything in Canada.

Where Guitar Centre comes in handy from my experience being in the stores, is say you are shopping for a Fender Telecaster. Well if you want to try out as many different options as you can within one store, it's the place to go. The amount of stock they have with brands like that is just ridiculous.

I don't even shop and Long and Mcquade, so I doubt I would shop at Guitar Centre either. Unless either were the only store available to me.


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## Apostrophe (') (Dec 30, 2007)

GuitarsCanada said:


> I know we like to keep it in Canada whenever possible but just as a note on Guitar Center. I noticed on the site that they allow you to price out in Canadian funds if you want and also add the tax and duty upon checkout, with a guarantee of no further charges upon delivery. I find that a little refreshing that at least all charges are up front and you know what the total cost is before ordering.


I just ran across it the other day as well. wwbw.com is also using the same international shipping service - Fifty One.

Their web site lists both Musicians Friend and Music 123 as future sellers:

Retailers Selling Internationally


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