That's just hilarious. I was like "that's my favorite" for every example that came next. haha

Here's a number of indie stores I am aware of that are NOT GC related.

zzounds.com
interstatemusic.com
nstuffmusic.com
sweetwater.com

All of these guys sell online.

Can you share what shops they own?  I ended up buying my bass online from a shop in Missouri that I knew was local, but it's also got me in a gear buying mood.  As I look at pedals and stuff, I really want to support the shops where the guys love the music and support their local scene.

Man, I had no idea Guitar Center holds that much of the online market as well. Seems like they're everywhere...

Fortunately, with the power of the Internet,  I was able to find a number of nice indie dealers to work with.  There's some pretty strong indie stores out there,  don't give up hope!

Online buying is fine,  but check first,  since Guitar Center owns at least 4 major online shops.

Looking for a new bass.   Trying to look around for different scale lengths, shapes and stuff. Not a lot of guitar shops in the area, but there's a guitar center I never went to.   I have never seen a lousier selection of gear in my life. The place was filthy too.  I'd rather Play a 2x4 with rusty nails for tuners than that selection of 200 dollar trash.   Online here I come.  And thank you guitar center sucks!   You don't suck!

One must find the courier services company with the best customer support service because it might be needed to contact the customer care executives meanwhile your package is on the way. The courier services Dallas company that I am considering to hire for my business needs is also offering this service.

Sounds about right.  I've ended up fixing some GC messes in our shop here.   Sam Ash is kind of a drive from where I am,  but I don't really have too much bad to say about them.    Most of the time,  I'm at our indie shops around the city.

We had a few great indie stores...  one had  Gibson/Epiphone and Vox.   The other was a drum shop with Ludwig, Tama, Zildjian, etc.   It's truly possible to exist.

Unfortunately,  those owners are retiring,  so the future is unknown for their shops...  the drum shop sold out to a dealer a bit further away that is also a drum specialist.   Great indie stores do exist,  but you need to hunt around a bit.   Many times it's worth the drive.

I wanted a Ric bass,  and I ended up finding an indie dealer a state over...  so I went that route.   Nothing beats a good indie shop...   a few we have really close to home are indeed "junk shops".... but I still support them for the small stuff.

Problem is, Indie dealers carry more or less the stuff that nobody wants.

No Fender, no Gibson, no Martin, no Taylor...   They don't qualify for dealerships.   

So they're left trying to sell Aria, Washburn and Seagull, and whatever they can take in as used.

Not that the brands mentioned don't have some better models, but they're not the wall-of-fame stuff either.

Just my 2c