Bottom line is it comes down to a personal decision for all of us. Its a decision that prior  generations didn’t deal with to nearly the same extent.

Personally, I do some of both. I try to do enough local business to maintain those all important relationships. I don’t care so much if it costs a few dollars more to support my local music store. I figure in the hassle and potential cost should I have to return something bought online. Doing so often evens out the price difference.

But the selection thing is an issue for me. For instance, I like oddball strings. Brand names like Pyramid, Thomastik, and LaBella. Configurations such as flatwound, tapewound, and light bottom, heavy top. I can’t find that sort of stuff in Denver let alone Fort Collins! Most of the time the teenager behind the counter doesn’t even know what I’m talking about.

Having local stores special order things for me doesn’t get it most of the time. Why should I pay more when I can order it myself for less? Even more importantly, when I order it myself, I know when it gets ordered. When I rely on a store to do it, who knows how many days later the order actually gets placed?

When it comes to cheap guitars themselves, its pretty much a matter of where I find them. Most of the time we’re talking about a specific cheap guitar rather than one fresh of the factory floor along with a hundred others just like it. Remember, I tend to favor buying used guitars over new ones.

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eBay is a pretty great place to look for cheap guitars. I’ve bought (and sold) all kinds of things on eBay with very good success and only a few disappointments. Of the disappointments, I’d say at least half were my not reading closely enough or ignoring some of my own guidelines.

What are those guidelines? I’m glad you asked that question because I have one of those ever popular bulleted lists for you. Keep in mind that many of my eBay guidelines need not only apply to cheap guitars but almost anything else you might buy on eBay.

So here is my list in no particular order:

* Watch the seller’s rating. A seller with less than 50 transactions without at least some of those being sales and less than 100% satisfaction rating is always suspect. If the seller has sales in the 100s or 1000s even, I relax the satisfaction rating requirement a little. After all, everyone is going to have a dissatisfied customer now and again.

* I only deal with North American buyers and sellers. I swear every time I relax this rule even a little I get into some kind of hassle.

* Watch the shipping charges. Sometimes shipping can be enough to offset most if not all of the savings.

* Make sure savings are significant enough to warrant the risk factor. Is it really worth $50 savings on a $500 purchase? What if you have to return the item? How is that $50 savings looking now?

* Take your time and watch similar items for awhile if at all possible. eBay pricing is dynamic and is being affected (effected?) by the economy just like everything else. I have a bunch of searches I monitor all the time just so I have a “feel” for when something really is a good deal.

* Know what you’re looking for. Its way too easy to get sidetracked. For instance, lately I’ve been looking for a new camera. I know what I want. But in a moment of weakness I almost bought another just because it was a “good deal.”

* Avoid the impulse purchase. Like with any auctions, its easy to get caught up in the heat of the moment and make purchases you later regret.

* Look for items closing at strange times or in the middle of the week. Its normal for items to have a bidding frenzy right before closing. But if they are ending at an unusual time or in the middle of the week, there might be less of a frenzy.

So there’s my personal list of eBay guidelines for myself. Do you have some I missed? If so, write me and let me know!

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If you never had your own guitar before but you decided on purchasing one now, you need to realize you are about to start a major enterprise that can give you a headache at times. Trying to find a first guitar that is right for you can be a very frustrating experience.

First consideration when deciding on which guitar to buy?

Avoid becoming the victim of intimidation. Do not make rush decisions when you are confronted with guitar sales men who use all this overwhelming terminology and talk about frets and buying the right amplifier. You have resources and you should make good use of these resources before you consider making a choice.

Second consideration when deciding on which guitar to buy?

Determine upfront how much you are able and willing to spend for the purchase of a guitar. Keep in mind however that cheap cannot be a synonym for high quality. A major price difference can sometimes also mean that there is a major sound difference.

Electric guitars tend to be more expensive in the long run because of all the accessories that come with it. Keep that in mind if your budget is very limited. Consider buying an acoustic guitar if your budget is very limited. The purchase of chords and also amplifiers can really accelerate your spending and not everyone’s budget is able to carry that expense.

Third consideration when deciding on which guitar to buy?

The internet is a source of valuable information. Use it! Look at all the different models and read about advantages and disadvantages. Be an informed guitar buyer! The acquisition of a guitar is a major decision. Treat it as such. Read about all there is to know and you will be able to make a purchase that will please you more.

Fourth consideration when deciding on which guitar to buy?

Your next move is visiting as many stores that sell guitar in your area as possible. There is no need to rush into any guitar purchase. Do you have an acquaintance who is a good guitarist? Convince him to come along! His advice and expertise will help you tremendously. Talk to salesmen too but keep in mind what their position is when they try to push you into buying right then and there.

Playing a tune on different guitars while in music stores is a major prerequisite for finding the right guitar. Avoid embarrassment to stand in your way and play a favorite tune at the same volume you would choose in another setting than the store. Trying to play at a reduced volume alters the sound and does not give you the right idea about the potential of the
instrument.

The right sound is very important when you try to make a choice. Get to “feel” that instrument without any bias. By trying many guitars you will be able to eliminate some and favor a few others. Go back to your computer to do research on every instrument you favor so far. Read up on what other guitarists have to say about the instruments you favor so far.

You probably have long plans with a new instrument. You want to do all it takes to find the perfect guitar for you. Rush purchases are never good when it comes to guitars. Research is essential!

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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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Mine was probably 12 years older

There are lots of different places to look for good used, cheap guitars. Pawn shops are one of my favorite ones even though I sort of have a bittersweet thing going with them. In my young and stupid days (as opposed to my old and stupid days) I lost a virtually new Ovation 12 string accoustic (definitely NOT a cheap guitar) by leaving the pawn ticket unpaid a few days too long. So let that be a lesson to any of you who make use of pawn loans from time to time.

Anyway, this time we’re walking into the local pawn shop with buying, not selling in mind. The thing to keep at the foremost of your brain even before walking in is that just because its in a pawn shop, doesn’t mean that its priced cheaply. Yes, pawn shops can be great places to pick up both used and sometimes new cheap guitars. They can also be places where you might find bargains on some not so cheap guitars like my Ovation 12 string. As I remember, it was a $400-$500 guitar back then in the 70s. I’m pretty sure I only got $100-$150 loan on it if that. So you see where the shop could have given some lucky person one heck of a deal and still made a nice profit.

That being said, pawn shops frequently price things so that they are no bargain at all. They count on the mentality of the customer walking in to be, “Hey, its a pawn shop. It must be a great deal, right?” Not so. I’ve found this to be especially true with accessories like strings, straps, cables, etc. Say you walk into your pawn shop and spot a dusty set of bass strings marked at $39. Chances are very good you could walk into the music store next door and get that same set of bass strings for $34.95. Cases and gig bags are another area where this is true. If the guitar you’re negotiating comes with a case included, fine. But if its something that the pawn shop is trying to add onto the top of the guitar sale, be darn sure they aren’t discounting the guitar $25 in order to over charge $50 on the case it comes in.

More on pawn shop cheap guitar shopping tomorrow! Till then remember that clean hands go a long ways towards making strings last longer.

~ Big Cab Daddy

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