Anybody bought from a pawn shop?

[levis76]

Bought my first bass and amp at a pawn shop back in '95. Bass was a 4 string Washburn with a sort of offset jazz like body and PJ pick ups. Nothing overly special about it, it was a solid instrument. The pawn shop had a guy that did tech work for them and it was setup with fresh strings and ready to play. Amp was a Peavey TKO. Weighed a ton, but was very versatile. Had the EQ and some onboard chorus if I recall. Loud for a single 15 too.

 

[Glennbassmann]

Got this 66' jazz at a pawn shop in 85' $425 bucks...

 

[lyonaudio]

Bought a Moog "Compact Organ" from a pawn shop in Houston on a business trip many years ago.
Cost me $150.
It was a Mini-Moog in great condition that I took to the nearest FedEx, had them pack it and ship it home.
Another $100.
Messed around with it for a few months, and then sold it for $1200.

 

[TN WOODMAN]

I’ll soon be 61 and have been scouring pawn shops for over 40 years. Either junk or the occasional gem priced over market value and unwilling to dicker.

All this changed for me with a single shop opened in my home town . I’m 1/2 hour from Nashville so logic would dictate musicians are plentiful.

I’ve scored the following at reasonable prices-not giveaway but good. Same store.

Warwick Rock Bass Vintage White
Godin LX Early Version Natural Mahogany
Sigma DM-3 Acoustic
Korean E-Series Squier Bullet Torino Red
Aluminum Body Telecaster/Maple neck
Ibanez Mikro Black/Mahogany plastic still on pickups and Planet Waves Joe Satriani strap
Epiphone’56 Goldtop-fat neck, factory Grovers
Epiphone SG ‘66 Cherry Red, factory Grovers

All in VG+ to Excellent Condition

Eden WT-500 and 410XLT Cab-mint

These pedals were all NIB:
Sansamp Programable Bass Driver DI
BBE Green Screamer
Pigtronix Poly Saturator
Digi Tech Bad Monkey

(I love guitar OD pedals)

That’s all I can think of off hand. Notice a lot of guitar stuff listed but they actually get more decent bass related than I usually find.

There’s another shop across town that gets some cool stuff but he will not negotiate . I think he sells most good stuff on the internet and the junk to the kids.

 

[fourstringburn]

Before the over-inflated prices of vintage instruments these days, you could get lucky and find a treasure at Pawn shops. I wouldn't expect to find them as much anymore.

A good 30 plus years ago, i found a '65 Jazz Bass in great playing condition but just a bit rough on the original finish. The Pawn Shop only wanted $250 for it.

They let me borrow it for a couple of days and I gave them my fairly new like 78 P-Bass as collateral.

I fell in love with the Jazz and offered a fair trade but the shop would only do it for my Bass plus $100. I didn't like the deal because they were basically offering $150 for my P-Bass.

Looking back now, I was stupid!
P-Basses are easily bought off the rack but the sentimental value of it got to me because it was a big purchase for me at the time because I scrimped and saved for it as a young teenager.

A used a Bass can be bought anywhere and from anyone. Basically If you play it and like it and it's what you're looking for, then go for it!

 

[AndyLES]

Been eyeing a 5 string bass thats been sitting in this pawnshop near me for about 3 months. Anybody ever bought from a pawn shop before? Post experiences below please.

Bought my first bass from a pawnshop, lol.

It was a positive experience. Thing is, with the internet, pawn shops have gotten wise to what stuff REALLY is worth, so the days of, say, getting a '70s P Bass for $100 bucks at one of those places has long been over.

Be sure to try before buying, and look up the price range before going in. Don't be afraid from walking away if you think the thing is overpriced, and if you bring cash, don't be afraid to haggle.

 

[MYLOWFREQ]

I've never found a musical inst I like except for a snare drum.

 

[jamro217]

I got a nice Gibson J55 acoustic guitar with the case for $300 about fifteen years ago at a pawn shop. The clerk had no idea about musical equipment, just went by what was on the tag. There was a Peavey Renown guitar amp there with the Peavey logo removed. The clerk pointed to it and said: "Renown, now that's a good brand." I almost wet myself. Haven't done much shopping lately, but I imagine pawn shop owners, like any other businessmen, feel the pressure to make sales in order to stay in business. They surely understand the value of merchandise when it comes to pricing it. With online sales taking up a large segment of the retail trade, pawn shops must be more competitive than ever to maintain their brick and mortar stores. That means dropping their prices to compete with the Amazons and Reverbs. They know they're taking a hit but turning over merchandise quickly is how they survive. Don't let the price tag fool you. That is what a person who hasn't done any research or an impulse buyer would pay. If the shop can make a profit by posting a high price, more power to to 'em. Let the buyer beware. If the shop isn't willing to budge they'll eventually price themselves out of business. I think deals can still be had in that type of market.

 

[dkelley]

I used to yea. You always offered much less than their marked price. pay under a newspaper on the guy's desk and it's tax free. I also sold a couple very expensive prized instruments in pawn shops because I was young and dumb. Now I'm old and dumb, but at least I learned that particular lesson LoL.

This was all years ago though.

 

[JTE]

I have:
Hamer Cruise Bass (v2 but with the Gotoh bridge instead of 2-Tek)
Epiphone El Segundo cutaway acoustic bass guitar
Boss LMB-3 bass limiter/enhancer

I've also sold to a pawn shop- immediate post-divorce and downsizing from a good-sized house to a two bedroom apartment on the 2nd floor (Eden WT-400, WT-600, D212XLT, Peavey CS-800, M6000 power amps, an ancient 12 channel mixer about three feet wide, and some stomp boxes etc.

Now in my area there are four pawnshops, all owned by the same guy who is a very talented musician and knowledgeable guy regarding both the pawn business and the MI market. Just today he had 2 Acoustic 360's (?- the Jaco rig with the preamp box that looks like a regular head and the powered 1x15 folded horn cabs), a Framus electric upright, a NSD upright bass, a Washburn acoustic bass guitar (the one that was always on MTV Unplugged), etc. A few weeks ago he had two fretless Alembics.

I've known Ed since we both had hair...

 

[electracoyote]

Bought a Moog "Compact Organ" from a pawn shop in Houston on a business trip many years ago.
Cost me $150.
It was a Mini-Moog in great condition that I took to the nearest FedEx, had them pack it and ship it home.
Another $100.
Messed around with it for a few months, and then sold it for $1200.

Have you seen what they pull down today? Maybe should have kept it around a little longer.

 

[rockdoc11]

I almost forgot: I did get a great deal at a pawn shop recently, perhaps three years ago.

It was at one of the big national pawn shop chains (Pawn1?). I walked in and saw what looked like a red P bass. I checked it out, and some things felt like they weren't exactly right about it, though I didn't know enough to tell for sure.

1. The headstock simply said "Fender" (in gold script) and then "Precision Bass" in black block lettering. There was no "Made in . . ." note anywhere on the headstock (or anywhere else), nor any kind of serial number or any other information on the headstock.

2. The tuners said "Licensed by Schaller."

3. The fretboard was rosewood, and the body color was a nice deep red.

4. The neck plate said "Fender Corona CA."

5. The body was string-through with ferrules. It looked like a typical P bass bridge.

6. The pickup was a "Basslines" model.

7. It had the usual Volume and Tone knobs, and the usual output jack.

I went back the next day. The bass was priced at $450. But the clerk quickly moved significantly down off that after I mentioned my concerns. I ended up buying it, with Fender gig bag, for $172 out the door. Here's what I found when I got home and disassembled it.

1. The neck is "Allparts licensed by Fender" (burned into the butt end).

2. The body has a date on it stamped April 28 1998, along with other markings. It was from a USA Standard Precision.

It plays great, and is actually the bass I play in a British Invasion tribute band.

Dammit. Just enough positive reinforcement to keep me going into those places.

 

[retslock]

Been eyeing a 5 string bass thats been sitting in this pawnshop near me for about 3 months. Anybody ever bought from a pawn shop before? Post experiences below please.

I bought an old Precision in a shop in Waco, Texas back in the early ‘80s for $100. I traded it in on a G&L L2000 shortly after in Boston. I got $175 for it. Both basses had slight issues and in the end I sold the L2000. Probably would not have if I knew then what I know now.
I also got a Cort acoustic guitar in Sydney for $120 a few years ago. It’s nice enough but not flash. It’s the one that comes out at the party without worrying. My wife got a really nice Tokai strat style too. It was a very nice guitar. But damn, she sold it and not to me.
Only once did I break my golden rule to not buy an instrument I haven’t played. It was via the internet and was a mistake. It has a twisted neck that won’t come good from truss rod adjustment. It is playable but not good enough to be the “one”.

 

[JTE]

At a pawn shop, no.
At a furniture store, yes!

Years ago, Wife and I were looking for a new couch.
Went to a local store that sold new and used furniture.
In the back of the store sat a dust covered John Gray custom, active, 4 string bass and case and a Fender Bassman 100 and a 215 Bassman cab.
Bought it all CHEAP!
Flipped the amp and cab the next day and doubled my money.
Gigged the bass a couple of months and sold it also and doubled my money again!
Kinda wish I'd of kept the bass now.....

John Gray from Cham-bana? I haven't heard that name in about 25 years!

 

[lyonaudio]

Have you seen what they pull down today? Maybe should have kept it around a little longer.

I really wish that I'd kept the ARP 2600 (in great condition) that I picked up for all of $300 and sold six months later for $600...

 

[Lizooki]

Both of my main players cam from pawn shops.
but that was roughly 15 yrs ago.
The Hamer p-copy I got first with a practice amp ..... made an offer on both together.
Nothing special, but good solid stuff. 15 years later still worth twice what I paid.
The Peavey Patriot is another matter entirely.
Different shop. To much money. Loose, rattling truss rod, one screw in the pick-up that flopped around.
They would not budge on the price.
I watched them drop the price on the bass over the course of 1 1/2 years.
I went back, pointed out all of the problems and made a huge deal out of the truss rod
"That's the reason it won't sell .... if it's broke, it'd firewood!"
I offered 60 bucks out the door and reminded him how long they had kept the bass and he went to talk to the manager.
I left with the bass and two weeks later was playing it!

But since then, prices have gotten stupid around here.

 

[foal30]

'76 Precision
MTD Grendel V

This year I got a Tobias Nashville Growler for aprox $200 USD

 

[MichelD]

I don't like them.

Operators seem sleazy, too many stolen power tools (who hocks power tools?) nah, they creep me out.

 

[bholder]

I have, but only via the protection of Ebay or Reverb. No issues thus far, other than an item I had to return (successfully) that had broken during shipping.

 

[MAJOR METAL]

At least from what I've seen personally, Pawn Shops tend to have mostly junk guitars, nothing high end most of the time.