Pawn Shop Finds

[Jay 77]

Do you guys still check out pawn shops at all? I can't imagine there are the same deals anymore, thanks to ebay and other sites. I'm dying to pick up another project strat and was hoping to find something on a steal. Think it's worth a look?

 

[Hellion]

Re: Pawn Shop Finds

I've got a bad habit of haunting pawn shops and I've found some really interesting deals there. The last guitar I bought in a pawn shop turned into a project Strat that my drummer & I renamed the Tractocaster, because we redid it in John Deere colors, and put grease zirks on it and guages that meant nothing, and a new headstock label reading "Fendeere Tractocaster". It's the dumbest looking instrument I've ever seen, but it was fun to make. We made volume knobs out of toy tractor tires, had a custom pickguard made in John Deere yellow. Dunno what we were thinking. It must have been the whiskey!

 

[ErikH]

Re: Pawn Shop Finds

My wife found a 1985 MIJ Fender Contemporary Telecaster in a pawn shop recently. She brought it home thinking we could flip it and make a little. I ended up liking it enough to keep it and just gave her the money for it to cover the cc bill.

 

[jmh151]

Re: Pawn Shop Finds

Nope. We used to have good ones here in New York in Jamaica Queens. They've had junk the past 7 years or so. I think if they get anything good in they ebay it

 

[Aceman]

Re: Pawn Shop Finds

I still dig them - even the larger "chain" pawns.

#1 - They don't always know what they have
#2 - You find stuff no one would even bother to "ebay"
#3 - You can handle the merchandise
#4 - No shipping!

 

[JacksonMIA]

Re: Pawn Shop Finds

Four of my last six guitar purchases were from pawn shops, and one of the other two was from a flea market.


So, yeah.

 

[ImmortalSix]

Re: Pawn Shop Finds

My local place is either overpriced or knows guitars. There was a bright yellow MIJ 80's Squier Stratocaster in there with a maple neck and a mint green pickguard and creme pickups, and it was priced at $450

 

[crusty philtrum]

Re: Pawn Shop Finds

I've seen the occasional interesting piece amongst a lot of pretty rough gear, but they prices they ask are simply ridiculous, for the good and the bad. I think only desperados offload their unwanted instruments in pawn shops nowdays, and it shows. The chances of a find might be better there in the USA due to the larger ammounts of gear in the market perhaps, but down here i'd be very surprised to find myself considering a pawn-shop purchase, it's just too unrealistic the way they price stuff.

 

[Skullkrusher]

Re: Pawn Shop Finds

My local pawns have some good stuff, but they want stupid prices for the stuff.

 

[pinto79]

Re: Pawn Shop Finds

I found a 1985 Performance guitar at a pawn shop.

I've found a couple of Roadstars and the odd decent thing. Ebay really has trashed the pawn market.

 

[Fender_Punk]

Re: Pawn Shop Finds

I picked up my Traynor YCV40 for $400 at a pawn shop a year and a half ago when it'd cost $720 + shipping to Canada to buy it off MF and close to $800 to buy new in a Canadian store.

In my neck of the woods, which is a city of 3/4 of a million people there's some pawn shops downtown with some interesting stuff. One store has a Squier Katana V guitar for $250 and a Fender red-knob Princeton Chorus for $350. It all depends on the area, but a pawn shop is definitely worth a check if your looking for a cheap prize-winner.

 

[WhoFan]

Re: Pawn Shop Finds

there used to be 3 amazing pawn shops around here in my town... all closed down now... but 7-8 years ago they were selling the good stuff for cheap and the junk for top bucks!!!! Les Paul standards would sell for $1000 which is an amazing price here in Canada... pedals would sell for cheap... i hunted thru them a lot...

a new Pawn Shop opened here a year ago but he is nuts... trying to sell used stuff for new prices... In another town just south of me is a Hawk Shop and it can once in a blue moon have something good... not often

 

[drew_half_empty]

Re: Pawn Shop Finds

dude with the economy the way it is you should be checkin pawn shops once a week

 

[Sludgenutz]

Re: Pawn Shop Finds

A good pawnshop score seems rarer than finding life on Mars to me. I really envy anyone who has scored a good deal at one.

 

[SlowGroove]

Re: Pawn Shop Finds

The best deal i found in a US pawn shop was a 1997 Gibson ES-135 for $900.00 (no case), and a 2006 Gibson LP DC faded w. P90's for $500.00 (no case).

NOT the worlds best bargains, but those are the only two that stood out / worth thinking about.


James

 

[SlowGroove]

Re: Pawn Shop Finds

I still dig them - even the larger "chain" pawns.

#1 - They don't always know what they have
#2 - You find stuff no one would even bother to "ebay"
#3 - You can handle the merchandise
#4 - No shipping!

Well said !


James