When I worked at a GC store (two different ones in fact) I was astonished with how much product they had not only on the floor, but in the warehouse as well. They'd have $2000 guitar in multiple colors just in case. We even had a classic Fender on the wall for sale at a very reasonable $65,000. Crazy.
That was probably because GC strong-armed Fender and Gibson (and I assume others) into extending longer terms for payment, or else GC would stop buying as much. That always ends up snowballing, especially when the one making the threat is the manufacturer's largest customer. Then, they ramp up their buying and lag behind in payments, which puts the manufacturer in a very tight spot. Then, GC slapped faces when they bought those instruments when Clapton auctioned off most of his collection, paying $959,500 for Blackie, then bought others at the same time.
