Pawn Shop GUITARS?!

[PeeMonkey]

I have seen that many Pawn shops carry a bunch of musical instruments, nice guitars being one of them. I see a bunch of Gibsons and other brand name guitars on ebay listed by Pawn shops also. Has anyone ever bought a nice guitar off a pawn shop? Also is the price pretty decent for it if you have?

[BillWelcome Home Studios]

Originally posted by Peemonkey:

...is the price pretty decent for it if you have?

Never. Pawn shops ceased being a good place to buy instruments in about 1969.

 

Bill

[Gato]

Pawn shops are one the best places to buy guitars in Costa Rica.

[BiC]

I bet someone got a great deal on my stolen Fender from some pawn shop!

 

[moeblues04]

I'vebought stuff at pawn shops before, but it's kinda like buying a piece of someone else's misfortune. Either someone's stolen guitar....or maybe the Fender Strat and Marshall amp I had to sell there to pay the mortgage.

[Gabriel E.]

From what I've seen, pawn shop guitars are grossly overpriced. I did the rounds a few months back and a Korean 1996 Fender Strat in fair condition was $350. You can buy a new Mexican one for that.

 

Owners seem unwilling to bargain as well.

 

Prices are much better on Ebay.

[Dak Lander]

Out here, it depends on the shop. There are some that will wheel and deal, others are set. Some have decent asking prices and others are stupid high priced. It's a racket much like buying from ebay. You have to know what the instrument is really worth, and then what it is worth to you. Don't pay more than that and you'll be fine. One advantage of a pawn shop purchase over an online purchase is the ability to have it in your hands before purchase. you can, not only go over it with a fine toothed comb for structural or finishe issues but more importantly, you can PLAY it.

I've come across some great acoustic guitar deals in a couple of pawn shops but none, that I thought were GREAT deals, on ebay though I've made some decent purchases there.

[Vin-erator]

Originally posted by daklander:

Out here, it depends on the shop.

Here in the northeast, that's the case too. I have a good friend who cruises pawn shops. He's my old bass player. He moved to LA a couple of years ago. When he lived here he used to get good stuff and good deals a few different ways:

 

1. From dealers with whom he'd do regular business, he'd get better deals.

 

2. Some dealers didn't know what they were doing, how to maximize profit. He used to take advantage of them.

 

3. He'd stalk an item. If he'd see a guitar or amp on a shelf for a long time, and he could find a buyer, he'd undercut the shop owner and make a few bucks for his trouble.

 

It was a bit more than a hobby for him.

 

Good story: I benefited from his practices. In a shop in New Haven, he found a Guild X-175 Manhattan, by its serial number, circa 1963. It had been refinished a clear walnut brown, not one of the original finishes offered. It had been re-fretted once or twice by the shrinking binding. Of the four pots, it needed one new volume and one new tone. With a little TLC, it's become a great player for me. I've done some recording with it and a lot of performing. I paid $275 for it and have put another $125 in TLC into it. You can get lucky.

 

Avoid pawn shop ebay auctions. Something in a pawn shop has a past (as already acknowledged on this thread). I wouldn't buy anything from a pawn shop without playing it first - the only way you'll have any sense of what your money is buying.

[stanner]

i wuz luckee:

got my pristine '63 SB STRAT w/ ohsc in 1980 for $1200 in a sixth st. pawnshop here in ess eff cali!

i never looked back

s

[Dave da Dude]

Originally posted by BiC:

I bet someone got a great deal on my stolen Fender from some pawn shop!

 

... and my Ibanez RG600 Roadstar, Cream Cheese 'n Jelly.

[tiger85]

I'm with dak and Vinny. It depends on the shop. I've seen horrible prices on Korean Strats or worse. Some rare bargains I've picked up:

 

Epi Sheraton w/ HSC 249.00

Ovation Matrix 69.00

Fender Mex Strat 139.00

Gretsch Anniversery 200.00 ( many years ago, long gone)

 

Great bargain: whoever bought my stolen '69 LP goldtop.

 

Very best bargain: you win that category stanner!

 

Hope you keep that baby under armed guard!

[Mudcat]

Originally posted by tiger85:

...Gretsch Anniversery 200.00 ( many years ago, long gone)...

Same with me!

 

Mine is long gone as well. Sold it so I could buy an "interview suit" (and a drum machine

[Tedster]

Pawn shops used to be cool...'cause the brokers had no idea about guitars...they know guns and jewelry. So, to them a '70 Teisco was the same as a '62 Gibson.

 

Problem is...the brokers got smart. Kind of. Like many here have said...they still know two things really well, guns and jewelry. They know enough about guitars now to be dangerous...so if it says "Fender" on it, they'll charge through the nose for it no matter what it is.

[Darklava]

I'd like to burn em down,they

do nothing but encourage thievery.

[Robman2]

62 Gretsch, Nashille.

 

Traded way too much, a Peavy samll format PA and a black face fender deluxe.

Plus $100.

 

Yound and dumb.

 

It's worth a few grand now, plays well though and is worth more per pound then the gear I traded.

 

Best buy is an 80's Ibanez Ragtime (jumbo, spruce, rosewood fret board/sides/back with a an extra two frets for high E and B strings).

 

Great sound.

 

Pawn shops kept me alive back in the day, and I always made payments, one time took the unemployment check from Phoenix, Greyhound to Hollywood, paid payment on last day after an employee had set aside the ax for his own.

 

One off, L5/De Aquisto knock off, by Standell, plays well, even though I butchered it by adding another pickup.

 

Prototypes they made for the Grass Roots as they were going under in the 60's.

 

They made three, one thin, one thicker and the full sized one I have. (Harptone perhaps as a two step carve top operation).

 

Stolen from the Grass Roots in Anaheim Convention Center.

 

I bought from a store in Orange, legit sale and verified the stolen story years later when I ran into one of the GR's in Malibu at Fred Segal's store.

 

R

[BillWelcome Home Studios]

Originally posted by Robman2:

(Harptone perhaps as a two step carve top operation).

Someone stole my Harptone Eagle 6S back in 1970/71. I've been searching since. They got 20+ guitars from our truck, including a Gretch Double Anniversary, Strats, a walnut 335.... it was a killer.

 

I called Harptone, and the guy who built my guitar had moved and was building guitars for Clapton and Harrison, et al. It was funny, a year or so later when I saw his signature headstock on a custom made acoustic 12 string of Claptons, in Guitar Player. (sigh...)

 

Bill

[guit-it]

Hell yes! Pawn shops are the greatest place to buy guitars to smash on stage.

[A McLeod III]

I live here in Northeastern NC and have bought several great guitars from pawnshops. I agree with what someone said-that knowing somebody there or being a regular customer can get you great deals. I bought a 70's Ovation Classic Acoustic in excellent conditon for $80.00 dollars yesterday. It had been sitting on the shelf for almost a year and I had played it a couple times. True, items in the pawnshop have a past-a history. Some are stolen, given up to pay bills, to buy drugs-etc.etc but that's life. I've had equiptment stolen and gone to pawnshops and gotten good deals on other stuff. Kind of a Good Kharma/Bad Kharma thing but life goes on. I believe that even if I buy an intrument with a questionable past, I can still use it for something good. I can make music for someone with it and it just might brighten their spirits just a bit.

[GTRBass]

In L.A. a pawnshop is about the only place where you can actually buy a used, late '90's chinese made Kramer for $399.00. It that a deal or what???

[fantasticsound]

I live 8 miles north of Nashville. Still in the Metro area.

 

I doubt there's a "great deal" on a guitar for 50 miles in any direction, if it resides at a pawn shop. Most of pawn shops around Nashville have at least one knowlegable salesman to overprice the product. Not to mention the internet has absolutely ruined the market. It's too easy to find out what something is really worth, all over the world, in just a few minutes time searching. Then there's the idea of pawn shops using Ebay. Talk about walking the best gear out the door at a premium price.

 

Before the internet many places had pawn shops that undervalued some great gear. Those days are long gone. I doubt you'll find too many rural pawn shops that aren't aware of the appraisal options available with a home computer and an internet connection.