I went into our local pawnshop yesterday looking for some overlooked gem.I was surprized to see how expensive their junk gear was,they had a Traynor amp there in poor condition for $159 and I saw the same amp new with a warranty in Long&McQuade 1 hr earlier for $155.You wouldn't believe the outrageous prices they were asking for landfill rejects.They did however have a nice Gibson SG for $850 and mint Epi SG GX with coil tap for $350 but everything else was way over valued.A guy I know got a mint Stratacoustic there last year for $99 and another guy who works in a local music store got a beautiful 60s 5W Silvertone amp with 8" speaker and tremolo for $80 so bargains come by there sometimes.

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'65 Strat,65 Mustang,65 Jaguar,4 more Strats,3 vintage Vox guitars,5 Vox amps,'69 Bassman with a '68 2-15 Bassman cab,36 guitars total-15asst'd amps total,2 vintage '60s Hammond organs & a myriad of effects-with a few rare vintage ones.

The pawnshops here suck. amps for almost the same price as new, but in horrible unplayable shape. Squiers with a mexican Strat price, etc.

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I'm not an expert, but I play one on the internet.

I've noticed the exact same across the 2nd hand guitar market this last year. People think that 2nd hand means £100 less than new price. It should be around 60%. People are getting far too greedy for their cast offs.

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No no and no

Pawnshop prices here are a little ridiculous too. Even prices on Craigslist are starting to be a joke.

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Chet Feathers

Authorized TonePros Dealer
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I didn't Lose my mind, I traded it for this guitar.

Well pawnshops sell anything good they get on Ebay.

Some people on craigslist don't want to lower their prices either, they'll post it week after week for the same price.

I like BigJay's plan but unfortunately, the pawn shops in the LA area are pretty much up on prices too. With the economy, a lot of people have been pawning (and selling on Craigslist) and that probably gave pawn owners a lot of motivation to study up on prices.

You may still find a gem if it's some name the dealer doesn't recognize but not likely on Fender, Gibson, Ibanez or any other common name.

There was an article in the LA Daily News early last year where a number of dealers in LA and Las Vegas said they were getting saturated with guitars. More than usual coming in and fewer than usual being redeemed was resulting in a surplus. That might ordinarily suggest deals, but the dealers also said that they'd taken more time to learn what their stock was worth and were holding out for the economy to improve.

A few suggested that they might stop taking in guitars if in/out/redeemed ratio didn't start to improve. But none suggested big discounts to blow out what they already had.

Yeah I really dont think them vintage hotrods, marshall plexi's, or custom deluxes aren't very good at all. Infact I think they are some of the worst musical gear on the market.

I'm slowly starting to think that them 58 bassman amps are rubbish too.

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No no and no

Speaking of, I bought a LP Custom from a pawnshop in VA on eBay about a week ago. Great price on a great guitar.

Yeah, the Pawnshops know what they have is worth. They hike up the price, because they expect to be widdled down. I was at a pawn shop not too long ago where they had a Gibson Les Paul Custom. Nice guitar, right? Yeah, but the guitar was in horrible condition, really beat up with all the gold everywhere worn away and not with its original pickups. Did I mention it was beat up horribly? They wanted $3000. I almost fainted ... keep it, man. Get real.

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Laughing out loud with fear and hope, I have a desperate plan ...

Guess I was lucky to find this one for $1500

amen, i checked craigslist last week and there were about 4 mim standard strats on sale for around $450.

Sellers on Ebay and Craigs List have become more educated to the value of their instruments thru forums like this and others; not to mention collector's catalogs like Vintage Guitar. I track stuff daily just to see what things have sold for and more importantly what they haven't sold for. I have yet to run across a deal like some of the pawnshop finds others have.

With the economy in bad shape and some of us unemployed there will be better deals out there for those with money to buy them, but the long term effect will be lower selling prices because there will be fewer buyers. Vintage Strats took a big hit in 09 and 10 losing 30 to 40% of their perceived value according to some sources. Why? Nobody has the money to buy them. If the American economy improves so will the value of your instruments because there will be more "walking around money" in peoples' pockets and more potential customers. The good news is that prices for used Fender Strats not considered vintage have been holding their own on the online auction sites, although they are less than what you paid for it new.

Fender pricing on new instruments will affect the selling price on used instruments as well. If Fender goes up then used instruments become a better bargain. If Fender goes down then its easier to fork out the extra for new and used prices go down to compensate.

Big Jay could probably have said this in 3 sentences instead of 3 paragraphs.

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I'm not slow... and I'm not fast... just sort of halffast...

Sweet -- You made a killing.

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Laughing out loud with fear and hope, I have a desperate plan ...

Thank you, that was a second chance offer from eBay. I dont think the coil tap switch is factory but the body has not been tempered with.