Members lburger Posted March 8, 2007 Members Share Posted March 8, 2007 I figure that the internet and ebay have killed the pawnshop scores. I know they can occasionally still be had, but the real steals are few and far between. For those of you who were buying guitars and hitting pawnshops 10+ years ago, how much better were the deals? Is my theory wrong, or were the deals much better? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members mamberg Posted March 8, 2007 Members Share Posted March 8, 2007 you are exactly right Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members BobbaFret Posted March 8, 2007 Members Share Posted March 8, 2007 I think pawn shops and flea markets have gone to hell in the past 10 years. A feller used to find good deals and good junk at both places,at good prices. They both remind me of small retail stores now,with higher than retail prices. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Spectre Posted March 8, 2007 Members Share Posted March 8, 2007 all the pawn shops around here are pretty much ebay fronts...they even check what they will give you for something against what it's going for on ebay, lol. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members warriorpoet Posted March 8, 2007 Members Share Posted March 8, 2007 Of course, the buyers were less informed then, too. So it does cut both ways, in a sense. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members angus_old Posted March 8, 2007 Members Share Posted March 8, 2007 nobody knew what anything was back then Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Funderbunk Posted March 8, 2007 Members Share Posted March 8, 2007 Depended on the pawn shop. In some shops, you had a guy who didn't know much about guitars, didn't care that he didn't know much about guitars - but he did know how much he gave the guy who pawned the guitar in the first place. You could get a pretty good deal from these guys - they didn't care if you got a spectacular deal as long as they made a decent profit. Then you had the guys who didn't know much about guitars, but thought he knew plenty about guitars. These guys were a pain in the ass, because they didn't give a damn how long something would hang on the wall, they sure weren't gonna sell it unless they got what they thought it was worth. You occasionally could get a good deal from these guys, when they thought they knew what they had but were completely wrong. But mostly you'd see crap that was vastly overpriced. The internet has pretty much eliminated the first kind of guy. However, you can still occasionally get a good deal when they don't know what you have. Likewise, I have an acquaintance who paid his rent for a while just off of good deals from pawn shops, and eBay actually helped him. One side effect of the eBay-ification of pawn shops is until the shops decided to actually start selling on eBay, inventory would hang around longer. It wouldn't be unusual for someone to walk in with an axe, and be turned down because the pawnshop dude already had 5 like it hanging on the wall. SO, what my acquaintance would do is sit in his car outside of pawnshops. He'd wait until some musician-type dude would walk in with a guitar case. Then, if the musician dude walked out with the same guitar, kinda pissed, that's when he'd make his move. He'd approach the guy, ask him what was up, and after a short conversation, the whole "dude, that sucks, I know what you mean" thing, he'd buy the guitar from the guy for dirt cheap, and turn around and sell it on eBay or Craigslist. It was pretty low, really, I mean these guys just got shot down by a pawnshop, so they were pretty damn desperate - but then, they obviously needed cash, and they didn't have any other options left, so maybe it's not so bad after all. Hmmmm.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members utterhack Posted March 8, 2007 Members Share Posted March 8, 2007 I'm not an oldtimer and I can still answer this. The reason people remember their pawnshop finds so fondly is because 99 times out of 100 you'd check out a pawnshop and you wouldn't find {censored}. ebay means there are fewer items out there priced incorrectly, but it also means you can usually find what you're looking for. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Promit Posted March 8, 2007 Members Share Posted March 8, 2007 They have a before the internet now? Whoa. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Mighty Coogna! Posted March 8, 2007 Members Share Posted March 8, 2007 About 20 years ago pawn shops had lots of cool guitars & amps. Unfortunately for me, back then I had almost no money to spend. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Oldskool Texas Posted March 9, 2007 Members Share Posted March 9, 2007 I last scoured the pawnshops when I was in my 20s, that is, the early 1980s. Honestly, they were full of the same junk they're full of now. You'd occasionally stumble upon something decent, but they pretty much knew when they had something special and priced it accordingly. The only memorable purchases I recall were a bona-fide Maestro EchoPlex I got for $125, and a decent Fender Pro Reverb for $300-something. Neither were screaming deals, but I came out ahead on both of them. As for guitars, I remember the walls being adorned with lots of Aria Pro IIs, Hondos, a few oddball low-end no-names, and tons of acoustics. Honestly, I think things are much better with eBay. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members maibock1023 Posted March 9, 2007 Members Share Posted March 9, 2007 Pawn shops in the 70's and 80's were full of garbage. I remember my dad trying to buy me a Hofner F-hole Es33? looking kind of thing. It sucked, but maybe that was what he could afford in 72? I hocked a couple of guitars in my day, but I always got the good ones back!....except for a Gibson Hummingbird.......forgot about that one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Burningleaves Posted March 9, 2007 Members Share Posted March 9, 2007 I think pawn shops and flea markets have gone to hell in the past 10 years.A feller used to find good deals and good junk at both places,at good prices.They both remind me of small retail stores now,with higher than retail prices. Exactly:thu: Even home yard and tag sales have gone sour. Lots of baby clothes and plastic stuff these days that people ask a small fortune for at that. Though I did get a 60's Gibson LGO acoustic at a salvation Army about two years ago for only $45. All it needed was a wipe down, fretboard oil and some strings. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members axegrinder Posted March 9, 2007 Members Share Posted March 9, 2007 The only memorable purchases I recall were a bona-fide Maestro EchoPlex I got for $125, and a decent Fender Pro Reverb for $300-something.I inherited an EchoPlex. I lent it to a friend at highschool in my senior year (1983). I didn't get it back before graduation, but I figured since he lived about a mile away that I'd see him around and get it back. That never happened. Around that same time I bought a doubleneck guitar (white Gibby copy) out of hock from a pawn shop. It belonged to a co-worker's ex-boyfriend who had abandoned it when he left for Alaska. I remember seeing a huge line of guitar cases in the storage mazanine at that pawn shop. It's just not like that anymore. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Burningleaves Posted March 9, 2007 Members Share Posted March 9, 2007 nobody knew what anything was back then Very true. The market wasnt as big either. I picked up a 75' strat about 12 years ago for only $350 at a pawn shop. All original with original case. If you went back to the same place today the guy has a "vintage guitar" section roped off and priced "accordingly". Vintage gear is very cool but the new stuff is pretty sweet these days. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members rhat Posted March 9, 2007 Members Share Posted March 9, 2007 I would guess what you find at the pawn shop has alot to do with what city ,,,,, nashville prolly was pretty good hunting ,, as was austin and LA. Places where players go to make it and dont. I am 55. Most of the guys i know never had multiple guitars. They had one guitar , and typically it was a good one. It was very common for high school rockers to off the amps and electric guitars and buy a martin or decent acoustic. College life just wasnt real suited to band gear. The guys that didnt go to college ,, kept playing the ES 335 or SG or Strat they had. We didnt have GAS like you see kids today get. I can only think of one guitar player in a band in high school that had more than one electric guitar. He had a ES335 and another gibson semi hollow body 12 string. 10 and 12 guitars just wasnt the norm. I am sure the big league guys had alot of guitars,,, working local bands ,, typically were one guitar did it all. No backups. This may be why pawn shops never had alot of good stuff in most places... I would guess alot of the guys I played with ,, still are playing their original guitar ,,, or they may have retired it and just replaced it due to fret wear. rat Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members dcindc Posted March 9, 2007 Members Share Posted March 9, 2007 I literally made my living from finding good deals and selling them on ebay from about 2000 til about 2005. It got harder and harder. Still is more work than it used to be. But the deals are still out there. You need to find your seller. With eBay I take chances and buy stuff locally to resell that I never would've before. Because I can see what I would get. You make your money when you buy, not when you sell. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members voneville Posted March 9, 2007 Members Share Posted March 9, 2007 When I first started playing guitar about 15 years ago the swap meet was were it was at. My friend scored a blackface bassman and 2-12 cabinet with original speakers for $300. I used to buy vintage Ibanez pedals for about 30 bucks (the yellow phaser was always a favorite). Overall I don't think the Internet has soured the market as much as the market has changed. Information is more readily available, so there is obviously less ignorent sales people, but the demand for vintage gear is so much higher now that the prices have gone up accordingly. Even without the internet, those businesses would have wised up. It's not hard to pickup a book like the VG field guide. Most savy shops in big towns had books similar to those. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members zepfan976 Posted March 9, 2007 Members Share Posted March 9, 2007 SO, what my acquaintance would do is sit in his car outside of pawnshops. He'd wait until some musician-type dude would walk in with a guitar case. Then, if the musician dude walked out with the same guitar, kinda pissed, that's when he'd make his move. He'd approach the guy, ask him what was up, and after a short conversation, the whole "dude, that sucks, I know what you mean" thing, he'd buy the guitar from the guy for dirt cheap, and turn around and sell it on eBay or Craigslist. It was pretty low, really, I mean these guys just got shot down by a pawnshop, so they were pretty damn desperate - but then, they obviously needed cash, and they didn't have any other options left, so maybe it's not so bad after all. Hmmmm.. interesting idea Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members voneville Posted March 9, 2007 Members Share Posted March 9, 2007 I almost did that at a gun shop. I probably could have gotten a really good deal on a Glock 22 (40 cal). A woman bought it and didn't like it. Apperently she overpaid and the gunshop only offered here a couple hundred bucks. I probably could have got it for about 1/2 of the retail price. Win win situation. I decided to buy another Telecaster instead of a handgun. I love shooting at the range, but I normally just rent something from the range. I guess I love guitars more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members DARKMETL/ Posted March 9, 2007 Members Share Posted March 9, 2007 This was a pawn shop score for me many moons ago.' alt='>'> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Ged LST Posted March 9, 2007 Members Share Posted March 9, 2007 I almost did that at a gun shop. I probably could have gotten a really good deal on a Glock 22 (40 cal). A woman bought it and didn't like it. Apperently she overpaid and the gunshop only offered here a couple hundred bucks. I probably could have got it for about 1/2 of the retail price. Win win situation. I decided to buy another Telecaster instead of a handgun. I love shooting at the range, but I normally just rent something from the range. I guess I love guitars more. Good. That's good. - Ged Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members _pete_ Posted March 9, 2007 Members Share Posted March 9, 2007 I remember seeing 3 of these at one pawn shop in 1975. They were selling for $75 each. I was a kid and didn't have any money. I wish I coulda bought all 3. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members mnhhngbfs Posted March 9, 2007 Members Share Posted March 9, 2007 why doesn't gibson reissue something as cool as that?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Joe Bones Posted March 9, 2007 Members Share Posted March 9, 2007 Ahh, the market for used stuff before ebay, before the internet. What was bad about it is that you were limited to buying what was in the pawn shops, the garage sales, the yard sales, whatever. Now days you can find anything and everything on ebay, and you are competing in the marketplace with anybody and everybody else who might be interested. Before ebay, you went into a pawnshop or a yard sale with cash, and if you were interested in something, you could negotiate from the perspective that "hey, I'm the only person here interested in this thing, so if you really want to sell, cut me a deal." There wasn't a whole internet full of buyers to compete with. The other issue, and one which HASN'T been brought up in this thread directly, is how the internet, and forums like this, tend to create their own market for collectible stuff, a mania if you will... Before the internet, pieces like 1960's Fender Mustangs and period Gibson Melody Makers were valued as the cheap student guitars that they were, and still are. The internet has given these budget guitars a nostalgic chic and a collectible value far far beyond their value as playable instruments. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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