Anybody bought from a pawn shop?

[Playbyear]

In MA there are laws about the pricing. If it's a pawned item, the pawn shop can only sell and keep original loan amount, plus the interest of the loan (36% max) , and a small sale fee. Any proceeds more than that go back to the person who pawned the item.

If the shop buys the item outright, then the shop can sell for any price.

I just haven't seen much for quality instruments in the local shops recently. I see low end instruments for about half of new... ie a $200 bass for $100.

 

[Bass4Brkfast]

I've bought plenty of music gear from pawnshops over the years, online via ebay mostly.
Off the top of my head: a small mixer, about 10 or so effects pedals, a boss drum machine and a couple microphones. Never had a problem and paid fair prices for used stuff.
The pawnshops I've been to in person close to where I live, tend to only have low low end guitars and basses of the pos variety and price them really high, as if they were new or higher...not eager to negotiate either, eventually stopped going.

 

[Yellow Bang66]

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.

Its been awhile, but back in the day the crotchy old guys hated getting up off their stools & gave me bad prices, so not from them.Never. I did buy an Ampeg cab off ebay, again seller was a bit rude,but i won it for cheap, Went to pick it up & the place was locked up tight with a bunch of Warning signs! it gave me the "willies" thought i was gonna get jacked! So now i'm more careful looking through photos. It all went okay, but I never shook that uneasy feeling of "this isnt right, Im gonna get "Jacked" feeling. I dont like Pawn shops in general I always feel like im dealing with thieves! that criminal element. But that's just me. You, do You.GL

 

[Zoffy]

I used to get some really good deals from pawn shops in the 80s and early 90s, but not so much anymore. Around my area, pawn shops are mostly chain stores, pretty expensive, and seldom have musical instruments worth anything. Craigslist is overpriced here as well.

 

[Altitude]

Now . . . not so much. These guys universally caught on the the music gear market.

+1. In the past pawn shops were an inefficient market where an informed buyer had a huge advantage over a pawn shop owner who had no idea he had a '62 P bass on his wall for $295. Now the info is all out there and those guys will try to make the most they can on every deal and probably try to convince you that the instrument is worth more than it is instead of the other way around.

What was true, then and now, is the questionable provenance of anything you find in a pawn shop and not much ability to go back on one if they misrepresent. Only now you pay full second hand price to take that risk.

I'll pass.

 

[Paulabass]

Pawnshops stopped being deals when the internet came about. Now everybody knows what everything is worth.

 

[bassclef112]

Many years ago I was just discovering ebay and I spot a nice Hamer Cruise with a 2TEK bridge and Sadowsky pickups selling from a pawn shop in Washington. I get the bass fine and liking it so I post a review in Harmony Central.
Next day I get a private message and the guy says that is(was) his bass. He sent the serial number and sure enough. His house was burgled a while back.He said he didn't want the bass back, insurance covered it. All he wanted was the seller pawn shop info to pass along to detective on his case. He reported the bass and number so the pawn had to know it was hot.

My first and last pawn experience.

 

[Carl Hillman]

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've owned 6 basses in my life. 3 were bought at pawn shops. I still have 2 of those.

My experiences were great. I got what I wanted at a fair price. However, this was way before the flood of counterfeit musical instruments.

If I were going to buy from a pawn shop today, I'd want to verify that what I was buying was indeed what I was buying.

 

[DanBass]

Love this. And hate many of you. Lol

 

[mb94952]

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.

SO many times, I've lost count. I'm talking pre-Pawn Stars when you could actually find a good deal, at least here in California. I know in some states, they sell it for the price of the loan, which sounds like a dream come true to me. Here it's a joke now. Full blown retail.

Back in the 80's and 90's I used to go the the Tenderloin in San Francisco and get things like a Trace Elliot AH150 for $150 bucks ; They were STILL selling for $1,150 at Guitar Center 10 blocks away. Tons of basses, etc. I've forgotten how many things I've bought from pawn shops.

There was always something fun and adventurous about buying gear from a pawn shop. Even today, the secret is to have a relationship with them, only then can you really get a good deal. Also, it's usually AS IS no returns, so be sure to know what you're getting into. Do the usual inspections you would do...

 

[Jim622]

A left handed MIM Standard Strat, I got for $200 and flipped for $325 two weeks later.

 

[Jack Butler]

Before the internet they were great places to get deals. Pretty tough these days. They tend to be significantly overpriced most of the time.

 

[Bonecat]

Nope. I've never seen anything worth buying in the shops I've visited. I guess I need to find a better class of pawnshop...

 

[Ggaa]

Bought a pawn shop P around '75, no issues.

 

[RamblerKW]

I've got my eye and a 5er StringRay at my local shop. Never thought I'd get a 5 but it has tobacco sunburst I like and I bet I could haggle.

 

[BobKos]

My 1st bass - Fender Musicmaster - was bought at a pawnshop. $100 I think but it was a year or 2 old at the time. Still have it. Over the years I have scored many other cool deals at pawn shops. I haven't frequented them since the eBay explosion and internet awareness came around. I refuse to compete with the world at large for an item that I can clearly see the problems with in hand but they can't due to photos (and bid accordingly). It was fun while it lasted!

 

[MichelD]

I lived in a very small town for most of my life an had no access to pawn shops. When on the very rare occasion I did go to the city, I usually had something in mind if I was shopping and went to music shops and bought things new. Twice in North America, a Yamaha acoustic guitar in LA in 1970 and a Japanese Les Paul copy in Vancouver around 1980. While travelling I bought a Yamaha acoustic in Tokyo.

Thinking back on it now, I might have found a used Telecaster in a pawn shop for what I paid for the Japanese guitar. I'll never know will I? But I'm not a big consumer. What other instruments have I actually paid money for in 50 years? A short scale 1959 National electric guitar for my daughter, a used rick 4001 once and a used Japanese J-Bass copy.

 

[whero]

Never bought a bass from a pawn shop, but have bought an amp head and some effects pedals from pawn shops in the past, with no bad experiences.

 

[Ross W. Lovell]

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 did when i was younger.

Problem is, when you see how fast the stuff from burglaries are moved into pawn shops 100 miles away, it gave me pause for concern.

Three hours after my house was burglarized, we found where it went.

Pawn shop had already sold stuff on, though a State required law specified a HOLD for 90 days. While the shop had a copy of the license of the seller/burglar. The stuff was sold off, likely to someone that knew the stuff was stolen and worth more. Again no record of this transaction was kept either.

The State of Connecticut was less than helpful as their judicial system wanted to offer special consideration for the three involved and yet, nothing was ever returned nor will the charges against the pawn shop reinforced with additional charges.i

To me, not worth it. Walking in the the place it was obvious that there were many landscapers and tradesman that likely had their trucks vandalized and stolen from. Doubtful that many going out of business.

Much of the stuff looked like "smash and grab" items, not stuff sold for a few bucks but instead selected for their "size to worth used" ratio.

Are there good pawn shops, probably, but they ARE the minority, check with the police department to see how many times they show up with violations and WHAT those violations are.

Look, the rules are simple, if they buy it, they need to hold on to it for 90 days, if the don't do that, their license should be pulled, seriously, simple rule. The ONLY reason for violating that is for illegal gain.if

People should be very aware if one of these open up as it a meeting place for addicts and burglars, the MAJORITY of theshops business, to sell items with questionable ownership.

Once one of these business's open, the surrounding towns WILL experience more break-ins.

If you have one thinking of opening in your town, try to stop it but IF it's going to go through, make them establish a 3-strikes policy on the transaction procedures. Let the pawn shop owner EXPLAIN the circumstances that would lead to the items being sold before 90 days and them not having the new buyers info.

 

[MichelD]

When I was 16 I went to California from my home in BC with friends and after a delightful week with a girlfriend in Mendocino caught the bus back to Vancouver with my last nickel.

I had just spent the summer playing "bass" with my California buddies on a borrowed Harmony 6-string we converted to be a sort of bass. My bus took the slow way home up the coast on 101 and in Eureka California had a brief layover. I gazed wistfully a a funky sunburst Precision bass in the window, but I don't know if I had enough money left in my pocket for a plate of chips.