Recent pawn shop finds

[Skullheadrac]

Just wanted to post a fun thread. I know when I was younger, pawn shop finds were still a thing. You could find a great deal at a pawn shop, on a somewhat regular basis. I just wanted to start a thread for everyone to post or talk about their RECENT pawn shop finds & good deals. I say recent, because they're few and far between and I'm curious who is still finding good gear for cheap out there.

My drummer and I went into a pawn shop this weekend, which we had never been. I said, well i'm sure we'll find peavey, crate and maaaaybe a line 6. Sure enough... all brands were there.

 

[tindrum]

Any time I go they are full of sad, El cheapo gear priced way over MSRP. It’s like the island of misfit toys….unloved and unwanted. It’s depressing to me actually.

 

[Pet Sounds]

I wish I had a recent tale to tell. There was one local pawn shop that used to be a treasure trove, and I regularly bought some great gear there. I still know the guys who work(ed) there. Most of the time, I didn't *steal* the stuff, but I got many extremely fair deals. Unfortunately, the quantity and quality of the inventory has taken a nose dive over the years.

 

[Joebone]

Any time I go they are full of sad, El cheapo gear priced way over MSRP. It’s like the island of misfit toys….unloved and unwanted. It’s depressing to me actually.

I've not gone pawnshop diving in years, although pawn shop purchases facilitated my first pro-level trombones, back in the1970s. Guessing that the Internet has changed pawn shop dynamics. If you need $$, sites like our own TB provide fair sale opportunities. The Internet also provides broad pricing information, which probably affects pawn shop economics insofar as they no longer have an edge on the "true value" of things...and also may inspire them to jack asking prices. As for the "island of misfit toys..." Back in the day there was a pawn shop on Manhattan's lower east side that had an astounding inventory of classic brass and woodwind instruments - and absurd asking prices and no inclination to bargain. The notion of those beautifully made instruments mouldering in their cases, when they could have been fruitfully used by good players, was so frickin' sad...what a waste.

 

[kjp360]

I think the last time that I saw a "deal" in a local pawnshop was in the 90's. I stopped wasting my time looking not much after that. In the 80's that was my go to for used gear. I would agree that internet pricing has played a role in the demise of said deals. I would also add that less "good stuff" ends up there due to Craigslist/Kijiji/FB Marketplace etc.

 

[Mustang Surly]

You know the rules: PICs, or the deals you didn't find in pawn shops don't count!

 

[lug]

I saw a T40 for mid $300's! Of course that was back in the 1990's.

 

[Gunga Din]

Way back in the '80s and '90s there were some great pawn shop finds, but by the early Noughties a lot of them work working off retail prices and backtracking from there. The glory days are long gone.

 

[AHaze]

The only pawn shop in town that consistently had decent music gear at anywhere close to reasonable prices stopped doing so in 2020. I got my Rumble 350 combo there for $150 Can. in 2019 and remember seeing a Blueburst L2500 Tribute and one of these killer all white 'Rays there with sane asking prices around the same time.
View media item 21366I lucked into this Schecter Blackjack with a dead battery at another pawn shop where the staff apparently didn't realize active electronics were a thing. Got the "broken" bass for $190 Can.
View media item 15514Went back to that pawn shop a few times hoping to find more "broken" guitars but their inventory was pretty much all off brand strat/P/J copies.
Also stumbled on a dusty pair of Zildjian New Beat hi-hats for $80 Can. at another shop that had zero other musical instrument inventory.

 

[MonetBass]

The biggest pawn shop in the Tulsa area closed during the pandemic. It sits empty now. There are other pawn shops here and there, but their selection is atrocious.

 

[GretschWretch]

With the pawn shops in my area you are lucky to find any inventory at all. At least three empty hangers for every one that is full.

 

[Zooberwerx]

The shops I frequented are doing either 99% jewelry or firearms. The others are pretty much power tools stolen from job sites.

Riis

 

[Lord Kinbote]

I still do the rounds every month or so. Mostly cheap stuff that no one wants, but I did snag this really clean '84 Foundation recently for $220. Has the cleanest truss rod cutout I've ever seen on a Peavey.

 

[bylar13]

You checkout pawnshops without leaving home:

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[nick4bass]

Does 8 years ago count as recent? I bought my Number 1 (as shown in my avatar) from a pawn shop in 2015. It needed some work, but it was worth it. It's a 1951 Kay. I definitely lucked out.

 

[Avocett]

My local pawn shop has a blue burst Sandberg Basic 5 string.....they are asking MSRP. I want it, but I'm going to let it sit on their wall another year and wait for them to be desperate to recoup some expenses and sell it to me for a reasonable price. It's not mint, minor fret wear, scratches and dents and a busted battery door. Still plays and sounds great and well set up, it must have been someone gigging bass for years.

 

[Williethump]

Yamaha BB350F- $200usd:

Godin Freeway 4: $279.

Loyalty Loan, Roseville, CA, USA.

 

[Thumpin6string]

A few years back, I bought a GK 700RB at a local pawn shop that had mostly low end gear. I think I paid around $125 for it. Flipped it for a nice profit.

 

[sk25]

Never found an amazing deal or anything, but one pawn shop I know of occasionally has a rare or plain old hard to find guitar or bass at somewhat less than you would pay at guitar center. Most of what they have on a regular basis, however, is a handful of low end acoustic guitars with high action, a squire strat or two in the standard colors (black or sunburst!), and usually a low end Ibanez or Dean bass in black or gray or some other "seen it a million times" color.

The other place in town has super cheap strats by the handful, every last one priced at $179 when you can literally go to Amazon and find the exact same guitar for $100 with free shipping.

 

[cdwillis]

Found this Acoustic 370 head at a pawn shop in Indianapolis for $150. Not an amazing deal, but ok I think. The 300hz and 400hz EQ sliders don't work, so I might have to replace the inductors. I haven't really looked into it yet. I heard that Nick Oliveri and Queens of the Stone Age used it in the past so I jumped on it.