Sweetwater Sales People

[John Matrix]

Is there any reason to deal with the sales person vs. just buying off their website?

I'm inclined to use the sales guy cuz I know they are paid on commission...but I also don't want to encourage him to keep cold calling me at random times. haha

[Blackened Soul]

Yes, yes there is.

First, you make a friend, my rep is friends on all social nets, and we sometimes send each other musical projects we're doing...
But.. I use mine the same way I use purchasing managers from supply companies for work, you need something? That isn't on the site or in the store? Need a better price? Bug um

[echorec]

You can always politely ask not to be called about promotions or to be thanked for placing orders. I haven't gotten a call from Sweetwater in years.

[repoman]

Apparently all the boomer chads at TGP use their awesomeness to get like $700 off their monthly Gibshit Les Paul purchase by shootin the shit with their Sweetwater budday sounds totally legit u just need 2 be savvy on tha phone 2 get the goods

[cantremember]

My sweetwater rep is a nice dude but isn't helpful whatsoever. The only thing I've really bought from them is synths and he knows nothing about them. Every time I ask him questions it's like talking to one of those guitar center dudes in the sense that he only seems to be trying to get a sale. I have since switched it up to perfect circuit because they are more likely to offer discounts when asked and more knowledgeable when asking questions.

[John Matrix]

Yeah, I mean...I already know what I want and it's already on sale so I'm not sure what the point of involving this dude is except to hook him up with commission.

In general I think the hard sell, wheelin and dealin shit is wack as a customer. I don't understand why older dudes seem to enjoy that shit. The haggling, negotiating headache, just so you can feel like you got a sweet secret deal and everyone else is a sucker. Just tell me the price and I give you the money end of story. Fuck. I guess that rant was really more triggered by my recent experience buying a car, which I know is quite different. But shit man...I can't wait until car salesmen aren't a thing anymore (apologies to anyone on here who sells cars I'm sure you are wonderful).

[retinal orbita]

I fucking hate negotiating too. I have only bought one thing from Sweetwater and that was 5-6 years ago - my rep has stopped calling me!!

Even when I'm on CL I just pay the asking price if it's reasonable. I just saved 40% by not going into a store. Do I need to haggle any more? Is saving $10 extra bucks worth it to me? Or at the very least I agree on a price before the meetup.

One time very recently I was selling pedal and the guy was SO OBNOXIOUS and like.... insisted on meeting in a guitar store to test it out (like.... fuck off dude) then tried to lowball me when he realized it didn't come with an adapter (like fuck off dude what Earthquaker pedal comes with an adapter) and I was inclined to fucking just walk out but.... so I agreed on $20 less which he spent on an adapter.... I just wanted to close a sale and MOVE ON. And not even test that it worked, like he wanted to fool around with it (like fuck off dude) - in my mind I really thought he was just going to click it on and off to make sure it worked. Fuck off dude.... that was the last time I sold a pedal on CL now I am reverb only.

[cantremember]

I only really ask for a discount when I just missed a sale. I will usually see something on like a labor day sale for instance but can't come up with the cash until a few weeks afterwards. I'll reach out and ask if they're still able to honor the sale price from a few weeks ago. Perfect circuit is always down, sweet water is never down. Also 15-20% off a pedal isn't really a huge deal but when yr buying a synth that cost a substantial amount it could be up to a good amount off.

Selling on CL is the absolute worst. I only consider doing that when its something so big that I usually don't want to ship it, like a guitar cab or something along those lines.

[oldangelmidnight]

I hate getting Sweetwater calls and since I found out they're trumpists, I'm less likely to buy from them.
I did one time want a Fender product so I emailed the guy who bugs me and he offered me something he said was open box for a significant discount. When it arrived, it looked new but there was a crackly pot. I emailed the guy again and he set up the return and sent me a new one.

[adamajah]

IME Sweetwater and its reps suck.

I bought a thinline tele and asked the guy if he could just give it a once over and make sure it didn't have bad neck dive ...
"Nnnah, I can't really do that, but you know we do a 55 point inspection on all our instruments."

I got the guitar and there was still a piece of sandpaper from the factory stuck in the F-hole with a bit of lacquer. They clearly didn't even open the box up before shipping it out.
I dig the tele, but it's with no thanks to Sweetwater.

And the guy has the nerve to call me every few months to "see if I need anything."

It's basically like Guitar Center if Scientologists or Jehovah's Witnesses ran it.

[retinal orbita]

I hate getting Sweetwater calls and since I found out they're trumpists, I'm less likely to buy from them.

Yeesh. That's just....

[oldangelmidnight]

It's basically like Guitar Center if Scientologists or Jehovah's Witnesses ran it.

[John Matrix]

I found out they're trumpists

To what extent? Like, donating to the campaign and whatnot?

I hardly order anything from them but I love having one of their monster catalogs to look at while I'm on the can.

[calfzilla]

I think I bought a reverse polarity cable from them a few years ago because A) the ISO-5 didn't come with one or B) I couldn't find my ISO-5 box with unused cables... Anyways, I spent $5, and got periodic calls for years. I'm surprised there isn't some sort of purchase amount threshold for those calls. I'm sure the reps don't make a ton of money but keeping up with someone who spent $5 on an adapter can't be worth it....

[RubenTheDev]

I always make it a point to make friends with local GC/SW sales people, preferably the STM or above.
I tend to buy a ton of used stuff, and being bros with them tends make it easier to put down almost-non-existent down payments for layaways and keep them on said layaway for like ever. I picked up my 2017 LE pine JM for $1100 and paid it off in like $20 increments over the course of 7 months-ish as I was hella broke.

Beyond that they hit me up sometimes when something interesting crosses their path. Like my '73 Twin was a pick up from them too for like $700.