MakeShift
Online sales are not really the optimal method for musicians to buy instruments. Have you ever played a guitar or any stringed instrument? Most that I know would prefer to play the instrument before buying. We tried out dozens of violins for my daughter before she settled in on the one that played best for her.

I agree. No issues there.
 
But these middle folks are not into the understanding and the care that the musicians and folks need, which means it is best that we allow them to die until someone else comes along.
 
Guitar Center and other places, like it, are a joke and not there to help you, and they NEVER were there to help you find out or learn anything about anything. You always got that from a friend of a friend or another musician more than likely.
 
I have never, EVER, bought an instrument in a store because it felt good, because for me, none of them ever did, and too many times, those rooms felt like a surgery center, and too many bodies and carcasses all over it, for me to have the peace of mind necessary to find something that touches me! I know that sounds strange, but it's true, and I know one secret for me ... that might not be true for you ... and that is that it is not about which keyboard or bass guitar I want. It's still the same person behind it, but YES, there is such a thing as this neck feels better in my hand (small hands here) and it's really difficult to play around with thick necks, 5 strings or even 6 strings.

I like GC. I could easily test out all the gear I wanted before going online and buying it.
 

Mesh
I like GC. I could easily test out all the gear I wanted before going online and buying it.

I'm wanting a Synthesizer, and not having the ability to play on it and check it out, IS, the one thing that is intimidating me a lot, and the main reason why I have not bought one.
 
Portland Music had a couple of them, but also had a sign that said keep your slimy fingers off the keyboards. Apple Music has some, but there are so many voices and people around you, that it is scary to try and find something in the instrument. It's like you can't think straight! Over here in Vancouver, Beacocks is nice, but has the choices of ... nothing ... except some home organ/piano things for the mommies and daddies.
 
My only option is to get a cheap one and hope I can sync into it. Or an used one. Being that I am a visual person with bad eye sight, it means that Yamaha keyboards, that hide everything under the hood and one small display, are out of the running for me. I would have a monster of a time trying to create sounds and such, and that's about all I can explain at this moment.
 
So in general, a GC or BS, or FoS is all the same for me. None of them have been a solution at all and worst of all ... no help at all!

MakeShift
Online sales are not really the optimal method for musicians to buy instruments. Have you ever played a guitar or any stringed instrument? Most that I know would prefer to play the instrument before buying. We tried out dozens of violins for my daughter before she settled in on the one that played best for her.

I agree and this even applies to keyboards (as also mentioned by Pedro below).
 
I am almost ready to buy a new keyboard.  GC does not have the ones I'm interested in stock except for the yamaha MOX8.  The other two I'm looking at are the new Roland keyboards, the FA08 and the RD-800.  These are too new for GC to have available.  GC says that I can buy and have it shipped from them, but of course I can't check it out first that way.  however, they also said if I don't like it, I can return it within 30 days.
 
Sweetwater has them in stock, however, and all I have to do is push the button.  can't check it out first that way either, but they also have a generous return policy.
 
plus - no sales tax with SW and no shipping, so the final cost is significantly lower than buying it from GC.

Those of you that advocate removing the middle man please read further:
 
A good friend of mine whom I gigged with over the 30 some odd years I have lived in this area owns a small music shop. Over the years he has amassed so much wealth that he now lives on 600.0 a month in a tiny dilapidated mobile home with hardly anything to show for it but the inventory of his store.
 
He does Consignments, buys and sells used equipment, rents sound and supplements his income with sound gigs(maybe 2 or three a year due to the loss of live venues here). Even through all of this he opens his store every day in the hopes a a single sale to pay a bill of two. I guess most would say get out while you can and it's not worth it but he chuggs along in devotion to what he loves... music and the promotion of the art to those needing equipment or learning it for the first time.
 
About the time when the internet sales started(Musicians friend, etc.) everyday a kid would come in and price something then exclaim "I can get that cheaper or better" and he adjusted accordingly(at a loss) to make the sale. These days I go to the store with a little guilt as I have made some or most of my purchases online but every instrument that I play came from that store. If I need another one IT will come from that store(if it's still open).
 
His dedication earned my dedication and I hate to see someone complain about him because he IS a "Middle Man" and a self imposed victim of mom and pop killers such as Guitar Center(which I'm sure you meant but shouldn't have generalized).

CT - while I am an advocate of the "mom and pop" stores of any kind - I also have to say that there's no way to fight large corporate stores whether they are GC (brick and mortar) or MF (internet).  So they must either adjust their business model to accommodate the new trends, or they end up living on SS in a trailer.
 
It's not that I don't have sympathy for those such as your friend - but I have to also look at the fact that bottom line - consumers are going to buy what is best for them and the mom and pop stores have just about gone the way of the Dodo - so if they want to survive - they must change.

Beagle
CT - while I am an advocate of the "mom and pop" stores of any kind - I also have to say that there's no way to fight large corporate stores whether they are GC (brick and mortar) or MF (internet).  So they must either adjust their business model to accommodate the new trends, or they end up living on SS in a trailer.
 
It's not that I don't have sympathy for those such as your friend - but I have to also look at the fact that bottom line - consumers are going to buy what is best for them and the mom and pop stores have just about gone the way of the Dodo - so if they want to survive - they must change.

Did you notice the statement "self imposed"?
 
I understand that.... I just wonder what will happen when all of this stuff gets unplugged(oldfartdum I guess). I still remember the days of long division and no calculators and non reliance on anything subject to breakdown. The Internet is great as I myself admitted I just felt the statement about middlemen was a bit broad in my humble opinion.

While I don't enjoy buying from Guitar Center, I do appreciate the ability to pick up an instrument and get a feel for it. I miss the local music stores. My friends and I used to wander in those for hours, trying out gear. The first time I bought equipment via mail (before the interwebnitubes thingy), I was a nervous wreck. I sent my hard earned money to a store across the country, hoping they would honor their agreement to ship exactly what I had ordered. To my great relief (and some surprise), they did.
 
I don't mind buying some gear online. Software, electronic hardware, etc. is fine. I would be nervous buying non-electronic equipment without being able to hear it, hold it, and get a feel for it. Fortunately for me, I can't afford to buy anything.

CTStump
I still remember the days of long division and no calculators and non reliance on anything subject to breakdown.

On a completely seperate note, I'm a firm believer of this and put it into full practice when home schooling our children. Anything electronic is just a luxury item they have to earn..........but not before they first learn how to use their brain in solving problems simply with paper and pencil.
 
(please carry on...)

CTStump

Beagle
CT - while I am an advocate of the "mom and pop" stores of any kind - I also have to say that there's no way to fight large corporate stores whether they are GC (brick and mortar) or MF (internet).  So they must either adjust their business model to accommodate the new trends, or they end up living on SS in a trailer.
 
It's not that I don't have sympathy for those such as your friend - but I have to also look at the fact that bottom line - consumers are going to buy what is best for them and the mom and pop stores have just about gone the way of the Dodo - so if they want to survive - they must change.

Did you notice the statement "self imposed"?
 
I understand that.... I just wonder what will happen when all of this stuff gets unplugged(oldfartdum I guess). I still remember the days of long division and no calculators and non reliance on anything subject to breakdown. The Internet is great as I myself admitted I just felt the statement about middlemen was a bit broad in my humble opinion.

no harm, no foul (specially chickens)
just thought I needed to be cereal for a moment about it.
 
carry on.
 
these are not the Walmart droids you're looking for...