pawn shop question

[emilio]

Would you trust a pawn shop qualitywise to buy a guitar or amplifier? The other day I saw a 2k dollar guitar for 5 bills. I thought the price was too good to be true.

[sufferinrewind]

What guitar was it? Is it in good shape?

If it's a collectable guitar, and it's in good shape, I wouldn't care what the quality is. Eventually, you'll be able to sell it for a good amount of money.

[emilio]

It was an Ibanez JEM7V Steve Vai signature and it looked pretty good. I didn't ask them if i could play it or anything but i had it in my hands and it had few scratches and looked pretty damn good. It did have a pretty nasty scratch in the back that the wood was visible but it wasn't longer that a short nail and was as thick as a cable in a pup.

[sufferinrewind]

Well, if you want it, why not get it? You could probably get that repaired pretty easily.

[GuitarStv]

Why do you have to trust anything? If the guitar sounds good and plays like it's worth that kind of money to you, then buy it. If it doesn't sound good to you, or play very well then let it slide.

[emilio]

You're right. thanx

[emilio]

Time to hijack my own thread- What are your pawnshop experiences if you have any?

[JOLLY]

I'd buy a guitar from Osama Bin Laden or Saddam Hussein if I liked it enough...and I can't say as I trust either of those dudes.

[GuitarStv]

Time to hijack my own thread- What are your pawnshop experiences if you have any?

I've purchased a couple of boss pedals and an amp through pawn shops. My experience is that it's always a crapshoot, but deals come up now and again. Just don't let anyone pressure you (not that I've ever had anyone so much as help me look for stuff in a pawn shop), and trust your own judgement.

[wixedmords]

Make sure that Jem is exactly what you think it is Emilo.

I'm don't keep up on Ibanez guitar's, but I remember there being some Jem reproductions.

[idsnowdog]

I have bought a number of pawnshop guitars. I bought what I thought to be a Rickenbacker 4001 stereo bass. It ends up it is most likley a Univox copy. I have put it head to head with a Rickenbacker and it is just as good and it sounds and plays great. For $125 not a bad purchase.

I recently bought a Squire Bronco bass for $100. No problems and it is in very good condition.

I also bought a Squire 7 string Stagemaster $120. It just needed new pickups and a super switch.

I bought a left handed mim fender strat $105. I put new pickups in it and a new nut for right handed playing.

Also back in 1989 I bought a Kramer Baretta with an EMG81 for $125. That one ended up having a bad neck and it sounded poor. I put a new neck on it and a SPC control. When I got rid of it I sold it for $350 at Music Go Round. I probably lost a hundred on that deal but I had it for six years!

[Gearjoneser]

You've got to understand that pawnshops primarily deal with drug addicts and people that are down on their luck, so they aquire that gear for the price of a pawn ticket in most cases. They don't have a lot invested. Nowadays with Ebay, they usually have a good idea of what it's worth, but it's a good thing when they sell it way below market value. I've gotten some good scores at pawnshops and second hand stores, but not very often.

[sosomething]

You don't have to trust the pawnshop.

They often don't know the value of what they have.

Take em to the cleaners.

[ElUnoAstuto]

Man, I'm the pawnshop bandit! I've gotten so many great deals, just from stopping in all the pawn shoppes once a week. In one month, I bought two Fender MIM strats for $100 a piece, that was probably my best month...

[Sludgenutz]

An old rule of thumb for pawn shops: they buy something for 1/2 of 1/2 of street price. This means they buy an item for 25% of the street retail price. Many shops seems to try get every dollar out the their selling price, so stuff moves too slowly.

I have heard pawn shops around large military bases have good stuff. The clientele is younger, more mobile out of necessity, and not generally affluent. If this is true y'all...please let me know. I'm 40 minutes from Fort Irwin, just north of Barstow, CA.

[Skarekrough]

It was an Ibanez JEM7V Steve Vai signature and it looked pretty good. I didn't ask them if i could play it or anything but i had it in my hands and it had few scratches and looked pretty damn good. It did have a pretty nasty scratch in the back that the wood was visible but it wasn't longer that a short nail and was as thick as a cable in a pup.

Be warned, there has been a recent flooding of the market with Korean jem knock-offs. The quality is decent, but they are, by no means, worth the same price.

A guy locally has been trying to unload one on CraigsList for $400 for a few months now.

[Jake]

pawn shop finds DO happen, they're just rare.


One of my friends/bassist in my old band scored a rickenbacker 4001 (or was it 3?) bass in pristine condition for $400. Had it set up for good measure and now he has an amazing bass for life for a ridiculous price

[LesStrat]

An old rule of thumb for pawn shops: they buy something for 1/2 of 1/2 of street price. This means they buy an item for 25% of the street retail price. Many shops seems to try get every dollar out the their selling price, so stuff moves too slowly.

I have heard pawn shops around large military bases have good stuff. The clientele is younger, more mobile out of necessity, and not generally affluent. If this is true y'all...please let me know. I'm 40 minutes from Fort Irwin, just north of Barstow, CA.

Generally speaking? I would say, yes, it's true.

When I was stationed at Hunter Army Air Field, we made frequent trips to Ft. Stewart. There was a pawn shop on every corner.

[The Golden Boy]

I have heard pawn shops around large military bases have good stuff. The clientele is younger, more mobile out of necessity, and not generally affluent. If this is true y'all...please let me know. I'm 40 minutes from Fort Irwin, just north of Barstow, CA.

When I was a kid at Ft. Bliss in El Paso- there were a bunch of pawn shops right off the front gate. There were a lot of guitars, and to this day there was a bass there that I wanted so bad- a Cherry finished EB-2D. *sigh* That bass wasn't getting bought on an E-2 paycheck and a new Mustang being paid for...

[idsnowdog]

When I went to a favorite pawn shop last week they had two funky old Conrad violin basses. They also had a no name EBO but that was gone last week.