I was wondering, would it be wise to try and go to a pawn shop and try and get an acoustic, say a fender or epiphone, and try and haggle the price down or should i just buy it retail from GC??????

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You can look for free at a pawn shop, so there is no harm. Before the internet, having knowledge of guitar values ment you could have a real advantage at a pawn shop. I got some great deals. Now someone with limited knowledge working in a pawn shop can put in a make and model number on ebay and know the value. In most cases these day pawn shops are asking for every cent something is worth. You can talk them down in most cases, but you need to really know what something is worth to begin with. You might want to consider writting down all the information on an instrument you like (make, model, anything else useful) and looking it up on ebay and (possibly) craigslist to see what they are going for.

Be careful of the condition of an instrument you buy from a pawn shop or used guitars in general. You can buy an instrument for what looks like a good price and end up having to pay for an expensive repair. Acoustic guitars are where you really need to be careful: loose internal bracing and lifting bridges are two issues, also set in necks that need to be reglued.

I love pawn shops.....and you may be able to haggle the price. Be careful though, if you push it you will just make the salesman angry Best to be a frequent customer at the pawn shop first, get to know them a little and buy a few things. When they see you are a serious customer, they will sometimes offer you a great deal without you even asking!

A little more work but I have lucked out with CL or Kijiji for getitng used gear at reasonable prices.
I find that at least around me, pawn shops are out of their mind with respect to their prices
downfall is the wasted time and traveling, but if you aren't in a hurry CL can be your bestfriend

If anything try posting a WTB ad for what your looking for and see if anything comes up

theres a nice epiphone in there that i researched and is $100 brand new, so im gonna go down to $80 and work up from there, probably(hopefully) settle around $90 at the most

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If it's $100 new, then buy it new and get the warranty.

Used gear is used gear, but most pawn shops set their prices by Ebay, and ask for the moon.

Don't be afraid to low ball. I would start at $50, and not go a lot higher. You have no idea what kind of abuse it has taken, and if it's in a pawn shop it is best to assume the worst. You need to look it over with a fine toothed comb, and then point out every single flaw and try to knock as much off the price as you can. Pawn Shops try to maximize profit, it is up to you to try get as absolutely low a price as you can.

If you can evaluate a guitars condition and value then pawn shopping can be fun, but unless you are very confident in your knowledge and abilities i wouldn't recommend it.

Unless you can get a HUGE deal it's probably not worth it if you're buying a model that you can get new. A $10.00 savings is worthless if you can get a warranty on the new one.

I have only ever bought one used piece of gear without bargaining, and I actually felt a little guilty, but i bought an old amp at a garage sale for the price they had on the tag, which was less than 10% of what it was really worth.

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

You can find some real prizes in pawn shops.You never know what you may pick up for a really low price.I once paid $60 for a Raven acoustic and that little box almost sang like a Martin,amazingly great tone for such a cheap guitar.

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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.

I've dealt with a few pawn shops. They pay about $20 for $100 resale So I hate to pay them to much for screwing some poor guy over. They might scream about it. Just watch Pawn Stars. Like the other poster said if it's 100 bucks new don't spend $80 used. They paid $25 tops for it.

good idea $50 sounds right actually, $@!& $80, thanx for the advice

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