buldog5151bass
Kibble, milkbones, and P Basses. And redheads.
Most of them only have cr@p beginner models, overpriced, but some people still find decent options. It can't hurt to try and see what you have local locally.
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Pawn Shop Basses?
- Thread starter flatwound251
- Start date
It's way different now. I haven't seen a good deal in pawnshops since the early 2000s. Back in the 80s and 90s I got loads of killer deals in pawnshops around Ft Hood and Bragg.
Keep your eyes open, don't get your hopes up, and caveat emptor. Enjoy the hunt!
If you hang around enough, you will find good stuff. I found this Cirrus:
I found this Pedulla a few years later:
I found this Pedulla a few years later:
The value of pawn shops in the past was that they were inefficient markets. Neither buyers nor sellers had easy access to reliable information on scarcity and pricing. Also, pawn shops were the only used instrument marketplaces in many parts of the world, so more valuable things found their way into them.
Those days are over. Pawn shop managers now know how to figure out if the bass they just took in is a 1962 Fender and they know what it is worth. The customer pawning that bass is far more likely to know also, and he or she also knows there are far better places to sell a 1962 Fender than a pawn shop. If the customer doesn't know that and pawns the bass, the pawn shop manager also knows there are far better places for him to sell a 1962 Fender than a pawn shop and he will sell the bass there instead to more informed buyers.
So - in pawn shops you're mostly likely to find commodity instruments worth very little unless you strike lottery-quality luck.
Those days are over. Pawn shop managers now know how to figure out if the bass they just took in is a 1962 Fender and they know what it is worth. The customer pawning that bass is far more likely to know also, and he or she also knows there are far better places to sell a 1962 Fender than a pawn shop. If the customer doesn't know that and pawns the bass, the pawn shop manager also knows there are far better places for him to sell a 1962 Fender than a pawn shop and he will sell the bass there instead to more informed buyers.
So - in pawn shops you're mostly likely to find commodity instruments worth very little unless you strike lottery-quality luck.
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I walked into a pawn shop that had hard-timed me a few times I had to use them in the bad old days, sold an axe of mine before it was due.
They've got a white BB5000A2 on the wall, the final Taiwan model with the big body and TRB pickups, fine shape, 800 bucks, no case.
So I ask to try it out. Works great, but every note I play, the note drops in pitch, like a whammy bar being pushed down. WTH?
So I go to check the keys, and whoever had it had cut the strings way too short, and each key, there was just enough string to make half a loop into the hole on the key.
So I tell the guy it's fine, except the tuning keys are shot and I'll have to take it to a repairman to get them replaced, and these special, gold-plated keys ain't gonna be cheap. Or . . . YOU guys could do it, and THEN I'll buy it. Wanna deposit, or I'll give you $400 and you won't have to mess with it. I played a little for him, and even a civilian could hear it.
I gave them the $400 bucks, couldn't get out of there fast enough without bursting into a horse laugh. Went home, strung it up properly with new Boomers, it was perfect.
Things have a way of getting even. They had to have bought it for peanuts from some poor schnook, sad.
They've got a white BB5000A2 on the wall, the final Taiwan model with the big body and TRB pickups, fine shape, 800 bucks, no case.
So I ask to try it out. Works great, but every note I play, the note drops in pitch, like a whammy bar being pushed down. WTH?
So I go to check the keys, and whoever had it had cut the strings way too short, and each key, there was just enough string to make half a loop into the hole on the key.
So I tell the guy it's fine, except the tuning keys are shot and I'll have to take it to a repairman to get them replaced, and these special, gold-plated keys ain't gonna be cheap. Or . . . YOU guys could do it, and THEN I'll buy it. Wanna deposit, or I'll give you $400 and you won't have to mess with it. I played a little for him, and even a civilian could hear it.
I gave them the $400 bucks, couldn't get out of there fast enough without bursting into a horse laugh. Went home, strung it up properly with new Boomers, it was perfect.
Things have a way of getting even. They had to have bought it for peanuts from some poor schnook, sad.
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Trying to find a good bass at a pawn shop is great if you are in no hurry to get one. Occasionally you will find a top brand (Fender, Ibanez, G&L, etc), but usually it is an off brand that an actual music store won't buy. I've used pawn shops to find cheap basses to modify or wind instruments to fix up and give away. And yes, pawn shops are not like they were 25 years ago. It takes them no time to look up the highest price something will sell for and price it "appropriately". But, unlike a music store it is easier to negotiate with a pawn shop on price.
Local pawn shops might be worth a look, but you need to know what you're looking at, and you certainly can't count on them.
I think pawn shops may have actually gotten a little bit better recently. Since shipping has become more cost prohibitive, some semblance of a regional market may have re-emerged. After years and years of nothing, I was pleasantly surprised to find a Gretsch Broadkaster and a G/K MB150 combo at one local shop. (Suddenly it's better than any of the music stores!)
Just watch out. That Gretsch has some significant wiring issues not reflected in their asking price. I'll never forget the time I pawned an old Harte combo bottom with the head part hacked off and a blown woofer. I felt guilty for getting $15 from them... until I saw it there 6 months later priced at $300.
I think pawn shops may have actually gotten a little bit better recently. Since shipping has become more cost prohibitive, some semblance of a regional market may have re-emerged. After years and years of nothing, I was pleasantly surprised to find a Gretsch Broadkaster and a G/K MB150 combo at one local shop. (Suddenly it's better than any of the music stores!)
Just watch out. That Gretsch has some significant wiring issues not reflected in their asking price. I'll never forget the time I pawned an old Harte combo bottom with the head part hacked off and a blown woofer. I felt guilty for getting $15 from them... until I saw it there 6 months later priced at $300.
Shopping/hunting is part of the fun. Upon occasion I have wondered if a person listed what they liked and if the many searchers on here went on the hunt, what could be found.
- Apr 22, 2016
- 780
- 1,221
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- Disclosures
- Breaking even is the new making money.
I'd wager the age of sweet pawn shop finds for good prices has come and gone. With the internet available, the person responsible for pricing only has to hop on reverb to see what a similar item has been selling for. And then you add in the fact that likely no one at a pawn shop is setting up an instrument well, so you're shelling out more for that.
Back in the early 00's you could find great deals on instruments on ebay all day long. I got a few guitars in great shape for 40%-60% less than market. But, again, those days are largely long gone and you also have the added issue of worrying about fakes.
Back in the early 00's you could find great deals on instruments on ebay all day long. I got a few guitars in great shape for 40%-60% less than market. But, again, those days are largely long gone and you also have the added issue of worrying about fakes.
This thread will probably go on for several more pages, but I think the key points have been made.
As entertainment, scouring pawn shops for deal opportunities can be fun and you might get lucky.
There are more reliable and consistent sources for good instruments at fair prices.
As entertainment, scouring pawn shops for deal opportunities can be fun and you might get lucky.
There are more reliable and consistent sources for good instruments at fair prices.
As others have said, in this era, pawn shops have access to what stuff sells for and they generally mark it higher to allow them to "negotiate" down a bit so you feel like you're getting a deal, when in fact, you aren't.
I find that the bigger pawn shops in my metro area tend to post whatever they have on OfferUp and FB Marketplace. So if you aren't seeing it there, you probably won't see it in the store either. So save yourself a trip and just watch the social media outlets.
I find that the bigger pawn shops in my metro area tend to post whatever they have on OfferUp and FB Marketplace. So if you aren't seeing it there, you probably won't see it in the store either. So save yourself a trip and just watch the social media outlets.
Two of my main basses I bought from a pawn shop! I used to be a pawn shop junkie because it was always exciting to find amazing deals. This is my oldest bass, bought by my wife for me many Chistmas's ago...when I saw it in the pawn shop I came home and told her I found this Precision bass with a funky, nasty sound. When I went back to see if it was there it was gone. Christmas morning it was under the tree. 1984 MIJ Precision. 
If your town has hock shops it's worth checking them for basses. Now pawnshops are not the places for extreme bargains. For one reason they are middlemen and need to make a profit. For another they all use the web to check on prevailing bass pricing so finding an extreme value is unlikely. And naturally they will not display a vast selection compared to big retail outlets like GC. So that means checking your pawnshop frequently for new items, which is fun in any case. Bring your clip-on tuner, like at GC the axes will be out of tune and intonation. But like retail outlets and unlike buying online, you get to play the instrument in real life, and pay only a fraction of new prices. Again, not so cheap as Craigslist, FB, yard sales and flea markets but still a good deal compared to retail. Yes, you are taking a chance on a used bass and they can go bad on you with no warranty. But otoh basses are simple tools, usually easily repaired. My worst experience was trading for a new looking Rumble 100 and having it croak after a month. Every bass I've bought at pawnshops proved to be solid. Also the pawnshop owner can wheel and deal on prices and haggling is expected. Trades are often taken too and that feels like free money even if you don't get quite what you are asking. Become a good customer and the happy owner will even cut prices for you sometimes. Won't happen online or at GC. I have yet to lose much money trading or selling equipment from pawnshops and it is rather similar to renting. Here's some hockshop bargains. OLP 5-string and fretless Yamaha BB350B
The vast majority of pawn shops have gotten savvy with regard to being able to find the value of basses in the interwebz. As such, there aren't as many deals to be had.
That said, a few years back I got a decent deal on a 93 MIJ Jazz bass. It looked and sounded great. But the neck wound up being too thin for my big hands. So I moved it on. But the experience of buying from the pawn shop was great.
That said, a few years back I got a decent deal on a 93 MIJ Jazz bass. It looked and sounded great. But the neck wound up being too thin for my big hands. So I moved it on. But the experience of buying from the pawn shop was great.
I have a buddy that owns a pawn shop. He doesn't play an instrument, but he knows how to use the inter webs to determine the market value of anything that comes through his door. Anything cool goes straight to Ebay and FB.
In 1986, I found a pre-74 Jazz bass. Not sure of the year, but it was a maple board, pearl block/white binding with four bolt neck and heel truss adjust, so likely 72-73. Worn, but still very decent shape, for $175. Back then, that was just under half what they were going for.
