Did you pre-order the Helix Stadium?

[AZG]

And I am honestly surprised any of them are discounting a brand new product on preorders before it’s even released.

I don't think I've ever gotten a discount on a preorder for a hot new item. So getting 20% off was a surprise. Wonder if it says something about the status of the music industry and economy in general?

 

[EOengineer]

I honestly thought being able to apply the MF 15% code on my XL preorder was a bug in their system. I’ve been surprised to see people still using coupons.

 

[AlbertA]

. Wonder if it says something about the status of the music industry and economy in general?

 

[wharf rat]

I mean I almost canceled altogether because of the shutdown.

I’m in the military and my next paycheck was in question for 45 days!

 

[banned]

Oh 100%.

Looks like they intentionally ordered less than they should have and won’t budge on price. Keeps their profits intact and they have room to maintain their prices later once the stock starts trickling in and the fervor is over.

Sweetwater is often backordered on a lot of products. I recently ran into this trying to buy a new guitar from them - everyone else had them in stock but Sweetwater had a tiny initial run, and their 2nd batch is only coming out in December. I went ahead and purchased from a different online retailer in the end.

Nothing wrong with this approach - they're cautious and want to make a profit. For the consumer, though - sometimes it doesn't work out. I buy from everyone now - it's not a problem as long as you do your research.

 

[ian_dissonance]

I honestly wouldn’t be surprised if MF/GC just fucked up with what does and doesn’t qualify for their coupons. Wouldn’t be the first time, and I’m sure they don’t want to deal with a couple thousand people losing their shit online when the preorder price suddenly changes because of a mislabeled coupon.

 

[Chocol8]

I honestly wouldn’t be surprised if MF/GC just fucked up with what does and doesn’t qualify for their coupons. Wouldn’t be the first time, and I’m sure they don’t want to deal with a couple thousand people losing their shit online when the preorder price suddenly changes because of a mislabeled coupon.

MF/GC definitely screwed up. There was no reason to offer a discount on a pre-order of an in demand product. And just because they screwed up, doesn't mean everyone else should follow in a race to the bottom. There is a reason GC has been flirting with bankruptcy forever, and it certainly isn't because they are a well run company with smart people making the decisions.

 

[sashimi]

Isn’t it up to Line 6 whether their products are eligible for discounts?

I tried to get a discount on a 6 year old strymon pedal and was stonewalled by GC and SW. They both told me strymon doesn’t allow discounts on their products. Maybe I just talked to the wrong guys though.

I would think with a brand new flagship product L6 would not want it discounted on preorders. It just devalues the product and undercuts the MSRP setting a precedent and expectation of lower prices. I bet between that and the early shipping L6 have not been happy with GC/MF.

 

[JiveTurkey]

MF/GC definitely screwed up. There was no reason to offer a discount on a pre-order of an in demand product. And just because they screwed up, doesn't mean everyone else should follow in a race to the bottom. There is a reason GC has been flirting with bankruptcy forever, and it certainly isn't because they are a well run company with smart people making the decisions.

 

[wharf rat]

Isn’t it up to Line 6 whether their products are eligible for discounts?

I tried to get a discount on a 6 year old strymon pedal and was stonewalled by GC and SW. They both told me strymon doesn’t allow discounts on their products. Maybe I just talked to the wrong guys though.

I would think with a brand new flagship product L6 would not want it discounted on preorders. It just devalues the product and undercuts the MSRP setting a precedent and expectation of lower prices. I bet between that and the early shipping L6 have not been happy with GC/MF.

Yes you are right - Strymon is notorious for not allowing any deals on their products and financing options are not usually offered.

 

[Digital Igloo]

Isn’t it up to Line 6 whether their products are eligible for discounts?

If the discount comes from us via a promo, yes.

 

[wharf rat]

MF/GC definitely screwed up. There was no reason to offer a discount on a pre-order of an in demand product. And just because they screwed up, doesn't mean everyone else should follow in a race to the bottom. There is a reason GC has been flirting with bankruptcy forever, and it certainly isn't because they are a well run company with smart people making the decisions.

On the other hand, if it was intentional it’s genius.

Get people to create accounts and get on distro for your emails and all of a sudden you are in the calculus for future gear purchases. I think taking risk and breaking even on a product that you know reasonably that people are going to order regardless is genius. Set the hooks with the Stadium, get people accounts, get people on their reward systems, get people into the card, etc.

All of a sudden GC / MF is in the conversation simply because they were willing to offer people a deal on purchases they were going to make anyways.

 

[AlbertA]

MF/GC definitely screwed up.

Nah I don't think so - they would have corrected after the first coupon. Its a buyers market right now.

 

[Chocol8]

Isn’t it up to Line 6 whether their products are eligible for discounts?

Nope, at least in the US, that is illegal. They can have a minimum advertised price, and that’s often why you see brand in the exclusion list for coupons, but it is 100% up to the retailer to decide what the actual sale price will be and if they want to let you use the coupon despite the stated exclusions.

 

[Chocol8]

Nah I don't think so - they would have corrected after the first coupon. Its a buyers market right now.

Then they ordered too many and or are still screwing up. Possibly both. No matter how you slice it, they screwed up.

 

[wharf rat]

I have 3 GC’s in a 50 mile radius from my house. I stop by each one maybe once a month.

GC makes their money with people from 14 year olds and their parents coming in buying their first guitar and amp, and their robust used market. I see these people in there every time I visit.

I doubt they honestly care about giving people 15% off anything.

Hell they offer a no questions asked 15% off for military regardless, with the exception of used gear.

 

[AZG]

Isn’t it up to Line 6 whether their products are eligible for discounts?

I tried to get a discount on a 6 year old strymon pedal and was stonewalled by GC and SW. They both told me strymon doesn’t allow discounts on their products. Maybe I just talked to the wrong guys though.

I would think with a brand new flagship product L6 would not want it discounted on preorders. It just devalues the product and undercuts the MSRP setting a precedent and expectation of lower prices. I bet between that and the early shipping L6 have not been happy with GC/MF.

With the t$$$$$ we are not supposed to talk about jacking the prices way up on products, I wouldn't be surprised if Line 6 is leaving it up to retailers. At $2200 I was out, but at 15%-20% off I'm willing to give it a shot.

 

[Chocol8]

I doubt they honestly care about giving people 15% off anything.

That would explain why they can’t pay their bills.

 

[wharf rat]

That would explain why they can’t pay their bills.

I don’t even try to understand how to run a company, much less a company at the scale of SW or GC. I’m sure they have very smart people who know what they are doing.

I think the GC financial position is less about their tactics, and more about the state of the gear market and economy in general.

I’ve said it in this thread a few times; the encounters I’ve had with SW reps is par for the course when compared to my experience with GC. Same level of incompetence. Same level of care. I see these big box stores as the same.

 

[GuitarGorilla]

I have 3 GC’s in a 50 mile radius from my house. I stop by each one maybe once a month.

GC makes their money with people from 14 year olds and their parents coming in buying their first guitar and amp, and their robust used market. I see these people in there every time I visit.

I doubt they honestly care about giving people 15% off anything.

Hell they offer a no questions asked 15% off for military regardless, with the exception of used gear.

These are my loose rantings about big gear retailers:

I know the manager of a local GC and I've been surprised that he seems totally fine throwing around 20% discounts on anything and everything to me and my bandmates if we go in during his shift. But I don't like to deal with the other GC employees. They seem to be like flatulent bulldogs exuding a constant stream of misinformation, aside from the Roland rep. And they take an inordinately long time to do stuff. It feels like a used car dealership trying to tire me out so that I'll just buy their crappy guitar and leave.

Sweetwater has overall been a positive experience for me but they don't seem to be good for preordering hot items. I always end up getting them somewhere else due to various delays. They've been good at fixing their mistakes. Once they did a bad job with a setup on a new guitar and were quick to refund it and pay for part of my local shop's work to fix the issues when I complained. And they do give out discounts but this seems "sales engineer" specific. The quality of info I receive from them seems hit or miss, but better than GC. Right now I still prefer to order from SW if I can't make it into GC in person during the right hours.

I haven't dealt with MF much, but I'm not strongly compelled to shop there unless I have a discount coupon. I did eventually get a coupon to work on the Stadium but this appeared to be an error. Several reps told me that the coupons were never supposed to work. My take is they should've run with the discount and eaten the losses. They could've pulled a bunch of disgruntled SW customers. Customers that are willing to preorder an expensive modeler are probably worth attracting.

I bought a limited edition guitar from American Musical Supply once after Sweetwater borked my preorder. I remember being pretty nervous about it but they were pleasant to deal with in the end. n=1, but wondering if they're a viable option.