I've only bought from music stores--new & used.

_________________
It wasn't Willy-Nilly, it was at crows.

Having little interest in "new" gear I hound-dog all the sites that might offer up a real vintage gem or a "diamond in the rough" in the secondary market. I've done well on Ebay -- perhaps because I know what I'm looking for (and at) and I ask the right questions when in doubt. I also shop garage sales and rely on word-of-mouth tips. Last summer while shopping for a new Toyota Tacoma the sales guy happened to mention that his father had "an old Fender amp that he never plays anymore". My perked ears would've made a Doberman proud. After investigation it turned out that the "old Fender amp" was in fact a one-owner '65 Princeton Reverb in near-pristine cosmetic condition. Needless to say, it came home with me for the princely sum of......(drumroll please) $625. I didn't have the heart to try and chisel the fellow any lower.



Arjay

I look EVERYWHERE!!! Craigslist (all cities and towns within a 3 hours drive), classifieds section of the local paper, ebay, Heck... I even look in the garages of folks daring enough to leave them open! No stone unturned!

_________________
"I started out with nothing, and still have most of it"

For guitars and amps...I usually look in my local music store that gets 90% of my big budget business. I have gotten some sweet deals there on new gear. I also frequently look in pawn shops for used stuff. Usually when I look on fleabay or crankslist I just chuckle on the genuine Fenders (Squiers) for $400-$800 or the Gibson's (Epiphone) for $1000 to $2000. I know you can find some gems on the web, but I do not like sifting through the minutiae to find something I can usually find else where and can physically play before paying.

I do frequent Musician's Friend, Sweetwater, 321 music, and Sam Ash to look at gear and get a general average price for gear before going to my local haunts for stuff. I do use these on-line stores for small stuff like strings, accessories, pedals (I have already played in stores), and cases. These items are not as sophisticated as the precision of a guitars or amps.

_________________
RK

2007 Fender Highway 1
2012 American Deluxe
2015 MIM Dave Murray HHH
2010 Fender Blacktop
1987 Fender Avalon Acoustic
2012 Marshall DSL 15 watt head

Estate sales section in the papers and posted on there net sites.

_________________
The strongest reason for the people to retain the right to keep and bear arms is, as a last resort, to protect themselves against tyranny in government.

Thomas Jefferson

I wonder if it would be possible to buy imitations in Asia. I know there are a dozen whole sale websites and auction sites in China.With a billion people there has to be something available. It could be potentially cheap but not necessarily bad quality.
Has anyone ever looked into that?

i have never bought use stuff before. so i look for new stuff in guitar mags
like gitarre & bass, grand gtrs or at stores like thomann.de, musicstore.de,
musik-produktiv.de
used stuff i look into the advertisement page at thomann.de, used-market at musikmachen.de/equipment for excample.

cheers

Sorry if this was mentioned already...

Music123.com now sells used gear... And they have a great no hassle return policy which I have used before with great success...

_________________
In Reference to Blues Legend RL Burnside:
After a heart attack in 2001, Burnside's doctor advised him to stop drinking; Burnside did, but he reported that change left him unable to play.

My search is Ebay and GAK.
Good prices for things as long as you know what you want...I still google everything too but this is my usual search pattern

_________________


A painter paints pictures on canvas. But musicians paint their pictures on silence. ~Leopold Stokowski~