Buying Cheap Guitars from Pawn Shops, Part 2

This is part 2 in blog entries about finding cheap guitars through pawn shops. For part 1, go to: Scouring Pawn Shops for Cheap Guitars.

So last time we covered the pricing concerns associated with pawn shop purchases. I’d like to start out today by talking about being watchful for the condition of the instruments we’re thinking about buying. Think about the circumstances that lead to a used guitar being in a pawn shop in the first place. I’m talking here specifically about used cheap guitars because while the pawn shop might sell new ones as well, pawn shops are in no different position than the music store when it comes to those.

Anyway, the used pawn shop guitar is likely to have come there as collateral for a loan. Like my Ovation did. When do people usually pawn things? When they are in some sort of distress. In my experience, people in distress have other things on their minds than care and conservation of their possessions. Like when you look at a house that was repossessed by the bank, it is likely as not to be a “fixer upper.” Another reason besides distress someone may pawn something is that they know it to have some kind of flaw and think they are clever enough to pawn it off on the pawn shop. Now I’m not saying pawn shop cheap guitars are always damaged goods. I’ve gotten some that were in gorgeous condition. But I’ve also gotten stung by some I didn’t inspect carefully enough.

Another piece of advice would be to inspect the price tag. Why you ask? Often times the pawn shop will include on it some readily decipherable code as to when they either took the guitar in or put it out on the floor. If you see the guitar has been hanging there for months or even years, you might be able to use that information as leverage to negotiate a better price. What I would do is first ask the owner or manager preferably (Not a mere employee because they likely won’t be empowered to negotiate.) what their best price would be today. Mention you have cash if you can pay that way. They like that. After they give you their “best” bottom line price, hem and hah a little and then casually mention that you noticed that the guitar has been there an awful long time. This won’t work all the time but I have seen it knock the price down a little bit more.

I mentioned back there that you should thoroughly look over a cheap guitar in a pawn shop and really from anywhere else too. But I didn’t say what to look for. Next segment we’ll go into that. What things are deal killers for me and which others ones I either ignore or use as another bargaining chip.

Until then remember that extremes in climate can wreak havoc and even destroy an instrument. Avoid a hot or cold trunk for lengths of time. Remember that a black case can absorb a lot of heat even on a cool day when left in a back seat. Drastic humidity changes are another thing to watch out for and mitigate as best you can.

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Tags: Arts, bargaining, care, Guitar, Heat, Instruments, Music, ovation, pawn shops, Shopping, Stringed

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