Pawn Shop Basses?

[Pet Sounds]

I've had fantastic luck with pawn shops in the past. The pickings have been slimmer in more recent years in terms of quality offerings coming up for sale.
I get to know the guys at the shops, and they'll tell me if there are interesting pieces in the pipeline. The prices IME are generally very fair, if not downright steals. As others have said, you need to have a pretty good idea what to look for.

 

[SMG]

I, also, used to love going "hunting" at pawn shops, and have found quite a few bargains over the years, but as stated, these places are getting much smarter. Possibly my best score was a 60's Epiphone Casino (Michigan made Epiphone) AND a Electro Harmonics Micro Synth for a total of $100 in the early 1980's. The Casino had no output from one pickup and some of the plastic ends were missing from the Micro Synth sliders. Turns out the Casino was one wire that came lose, so that was a pretty easy fix, and for good or bad, traded it even for an early G&L 2000. I still have the G&L and the Micro Synth.

Was traveling this past summer and stopped in a pawn shop and walked out with a Squire P Bass 5 string (the one with two J pickups). The body has a few dents, and the neck really needed a truss rod adjustment, but got it for $85, which was pretty good, since I offered $80 on a bass they had marked much higher. Pointed out the issues, stated I was taking a chance (I have seen many Squier 5 strings of that era with shot truss rods) and that it desperately needed new strings. Once they actually saw the issues, they were willing to barter in order to make a cash sale.

 

[BrianToska]

If you’ve got pawn shops around and you know what you’re looking at/for, they’re the best. I love visiting pawn shops and go to multiple at least once a week. I’m in the Houston area and there are hundreds in this area. I’ve bought so much bass gear just from pawn shops it’s not even funny.
Another good thing about pawn shops is they offer layaway. You put some money down and pay the rest off over a couple of months.

 

[Rolling Thunder]

BUYER BEWARE..... I mean, it is a PAWN shop. I wouldn't start swinging by all the local pawn stores expecting to find a great bass at a fantastic price. You'd face the same issues if you simply went to "Marketplace" or "Craigs List".

Really? I don't risk being portrayed in a future Netflix episode at a pawn shop.

 

[jd56hawk]

Uh, what year are we talking about? Certainly not one in this decade.

I'm talking about today, 11/23/22...and I'm guessing there are 100 basses hanging up right now.

 

[Michedelic]

I'm talking about today, 11/23/22...and I'm guessing there are 100 basses hanging up right now.

Where is this unicorn of a GC?

 

[jd56hawk]

Not sure where you are but the Cherry Hill GC has 128 basses in the store.
The one in Plymouth Meeting has 106 basses.

 

[Rib 13]

I LOVE Pawn Shopping and have found incredible deals at them although it sometimes takes a long time and dealers/collectors with more time on their hands than I do scour these places.......What I love is finding a bass Ive never tried before.....A great case and example is this one that I found at a local pawn shop <$200 (out the door)

 

[Plain Old Barry]

Has anyone had a recent experience buying a bass from a pawn shop?

Like anything else on the interwebs... It depends on the bass, and it depends on your location.

In some areas, instruments or tools are cheap at pawn shops, others, not so much! It depends on the area and your local conditions.

I happen to live in a high cost of living area, but never found a decent deal on an instrument or tool at a pawn shop. That tells me two things... People don't need to sell stuff here, and the same people complain to make "the economy" sound worse than it is.

I've been to areas of the US that seem to have a great economy, yet awesome
tools and instruments are cheap in pawn shops. Take that as it is...

 

[BigJohnAZ]

this guy bought a pawn shop bass that worked out well for him ... and he saved enough money to get a washer and dryer

Yes, ever since that story came out how he found his 72 in Kalamazoo, everyone is trying to find their personal Holy Grail base LOL

 

[rutabaga bob]

So many pawn shops have guys with an attitude behind the counter, who act like the no-name junk on the wall should be kept in Fort Knox or something. There are some shops that will make a reasonable deal, though. I got my Indonesian Epi EB-0 at a hock shop.

 

[Ric5]

Yes, ever since that story came out how he found his 72 in Kalamazoo, everyone is trying to find their personal Holy Grail base LOL

ya ... the best part of that story is that bass, the bass Geddy played 1000s of concerts with, is a bass that somebody else didn't want.

 

[Pauly 4001]

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.

Amen
I used to check 5 or 6 pawnshops at least once a week that were near multiple military bases in the late 80s early 90s the inventory was astonishing. Even though I bought many basses, reel to reels and synths I still think of the koa Travis Bean guitar that I failed to buy for several weeks that was listed for $200 in a pawnshop that would now sell for $5000 or more

 

[Fishheadjoe]

When I worked downtown, pawn shop alley was only a five minute walk from my office. I would hit everyone, once a week on my daily out of the office lunch time walks. This was about ten years ago.
I got my Pedulla at one of these shops. I was pretty excited to see it as I have never seen one in person before and didn't even really know what it was! I came on here and asked and was quickly told it was a Rapture.
After plugging it in and finding numerous issues with it, I asked about a price reduction as it needed a lot of work. They wouldn't budge on the $995.00 asking price, I walked away.
That bass hung there for a year, with no takers. I returned to the shop as I usually did, only to find that the Pedulla was not hanging there any more. I asked the guy behind the counter if the Pedulla sold and he said they got tired of looking at it and had put in the back. I asked him how much now and he said it was my lucky day! I walked out with it and a hard shell case for under $500 CAD. I put a couple of hundred into it and have been gigging it for over a decade.
I like pawnshop finds!
Fishheadjoe

 

[M.R. Ogle]

If the discssion is about finding SCREAMIN' DEALS at a pawn shop, waaay undervalued because they didn't know what they were selling... those days are long gone.

The internet, particularly the 'Bay, the Pawn Shop TV shows and now REVERB changed that permanently. Everyone has access to researching the real-world values, some do it better than others (see completed listings only, please).

But if the discussion is about having an additional shopping option of unique or odd intruments, pawn shops are still a great resource. Seen some interesting, off-the-wall stuff come through locally.

 

[wiscoaster]

I discovered two basses at a local pawn shop, an Ibanez and a Spector, and paid about $200 each, and they both turned out to be excellent basses after a little cleanup, strings and setup. Worth more to me than what I paid after I invested a little elbow grease in them. I think pawn shops can be a great place to shop IF you know what it is you're looking at when you're there and you have a pretty good idea of what it's worth. In the case of the Ibanez I think they had it reasonably priced, and in the case of the Spector, I think they had it underpriced. So in terms of the "screaming deals" mentioned above, I'd have to half agree and half disagree.

 

[Mechayoshi]

Check Buya.com. That's where a lot of pawn shops upload their stuff, they will sometimes ship and yes, you will find items for below the rate on Reverb. (Honestly Reverb started as a blessing and became a curse as it went on. It's always higher than FB market places, sometimes craigslist, sometimes Guitar Center etc because people were trying to recoup their listing fees, so business starting to base their prices on that meant the entire market had a price creep over time. Best offers are of course not factored, only the asking price. Then stack that with pandemic bloom..)

None the less, while you won't find things for nothing like before, patience, being diligent, and setting saved searches will net you deals. I know because that's the only way I'll buy and I have a lot of gear so..