#1
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Can you find good deals at pawn shops?
Anybody gotten any good deals at pawn shops? If so what is your story? I am just wondering if it would be worth going into them more often to see what they may have. I have seen mostly garbage guitars in them myself but I admit I have only been in a pawn shop a few times.
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2021 Eastman E10SS SB 2021 Eastman E8D TC 1972 Yamaha FG-180 Red Label (Taiwan) 2019 Yamaha FGx5 2020 Yamaha AC3M Deluxe 2019 Yamaha FG800 2005 Taylor 214 Ibanez AEB10E Acoustic Bass |
#2
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#3
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20 years ago, I got a number of great deals at pawn shops. Not on big name guitars like Gibson and Fender but on smaller makers. Since the internet, it's much less common to find these good deals as it's so easy to get a ballpark idea of what something is worth. I still check them if I have free time but not nearly like I used to. That said, four years ago I found a beautiful 1920's Martin Ditson at a pawn shop for $400. My wife was with me and she thought I was going to pass out trying to act cool while they were ringing me up.
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#4
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Same here - I never see anything of quality in them, but I don’t go very often, but I’m one of those who do sell good quality low-medium price guitars and amps to them, and I’m guessing those articles sell fast. Last guitar I took in was a Fender Roadworn Telecaster I received $250 for it - so someone hunting for that kind of guitar should get a good deal. Again, it’s probably a matter of regular visits but I don’t like to shop at those places, only to sell.
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#5
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After buying a stolen guitar from a pawn shop a few years ago, I generally steer clear. Also had some archery gear stolen from me and it ended up in a pawn shop. So, needless to say it turned me against them. I'm sure many are great businesses, but I just had too many bad experiences.
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#6
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Wow, makes you wonder how desperate the person was to pawn it. Either that or they had absolutely no idea how valuable it was, possibly inherited it.
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#7
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#8
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Aren't pawn shops supposed to take some sort of action to ensure they're not selling "hot" items??
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#9
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How do you think? If there's any doubt then you shouldn't be doing business with them IMO. If BoneDigger had serial numbers on file with his homeownerr's insurance I'm sure it wasn't a total loss. Suffice it to say that I've seen very few happy endings since the police have bigger fish to fry.
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(2006) Larrivee OM-03R, (2009) Martin D-16GT, (1998) Fender Am Std Ash Stratocaster, (2013) McKnight McUke, (1989) Kramer Striker ST600, a couple of DIY builds (2013, 2023) |
#10
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Well, the Ditsons don't say Martin anywhere on them so unless you know what it is, it's pretty easy to miss. The bulk of Ditson guitars were made by Lyon and Healey and these ones are nowhere near as valuable as the Martin ones and I'm pretty sure that's what they though it was. I was flabbergasted to find it though. |
#11
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In my instance the stolen guitar was turned in to the police. I took the guitar (a Squire VM tele) to a local shop to be set up, and they happened to recognize it as one that was stolen from their customer a year or so back. I called the police, they took the guitar. It just so happened that the original owner had already claimed insurance and didn't want it back. So, a few weeks later it was released back to me.
The archery equipment was some I used for teaching archery to 4H students. Someone broke into my shed and stole all of the bows. Half of them ended up at a pawn shop. We got those back through the police. In both instances the pawn dealers knew they were likely dealing in stolen merchandise.
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https://www.mcmakinmusic.com |
#12
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I think years ago you could.
About 10 years ago some of our local pawn shops had almost no guitars. I found out they have a few numbers they call when a guitar comes in. You never get to see the good stuff anymore. |
#13
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#14
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I think a lot of what you find is based on the pawn shop. I have been to several looking around. The nicer the shop is the greater the tendency to have higher end gear.
One shop I visit not the neatest but they try. Typically they mostly Squires and a lot of off the wall stuff. Went into another shop that calls themselves an emporium. Really nice shop. I thought I was in a Gibson dealer. So yea, you can get some nice stuff in a pawn shop. Or you can get taken. Just know what you are after.
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2007 Indiana Scout 2018 Indiana Madison Quilt Elite 2018 Takamine GJ72CE 12-String 2019 Takamine GD93 2022 Takamine GJ72CE 6-String 2022 Cort GA-QF CBB 1963 Gibson SG 2016 Kala uke Dean A style mandolin. (Year unknown) Lotus L80 (1984ish) Plus a few lower end I have had for years |
#15
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I found a Yamaha APX5NA which usually not very expensive . I was actually in search for this style guitar and happened upon this at a pawn shop. I inquired about price and offered $150. They accepted. It's been a solid guitar with decent B Band pickup,but I did need to do some adjusting on it. The UST was misaligned and it needed new strings. I also upgraded the tuners and replaced the nut. The nut replacement was not critical, but I did it to widen the string spacing.
I've now bought 2 nylon string Yamaha guitars at pawn shops. My observation on this type buying situation, is it pays to know about guitar and pickup construction and repair. This insight can aid in identifying a good fixer upper and value.
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