Yeah man, I'm from Saint Charles and was in the city 2 weeks ago (stumbled there,all I know it's kind of near nothing) and I've seen guitars I didn't know existed. I also too have been at the guitar center in Hollywood and New York and Chicago is the best all around hands down.You can always find an amp and they aparently get used guitars all the time but from what I was told you better buy fast coz things fly out of there.Even when you walk in they have a 54 fender in case I think goin for 14k.My local gc is naperville and it's weak though glad I have it.I mean they have good mim's and supplies but It feels like a prison as they really watch you.But there was this really hot girl last time who didn't know anything about anything but she had no problem showing cleaveage but that's another topic.What were we talking about haha.Yeah if you can try before you buy and I wouldnt trust craigslist unless I would have to meet the other person and physically look at it.If it is a fake on ebay your usually covered.

Thanks everyone for the craigslist info.My guitar center is lombard and they are not real helpful there.I like sam ash better in lombard because of the service and they all seem friendly unlike guitar center where I feel like dog $@!& on there shoes that they just wanna scrape off.I really want to check out the chicago GC now.

Can anyone tell me if the strat listed on the craigslist post in this thread is a standard or a deluxe?I am starting to think for the price it is a deluxe.I emailed the guy and haven't got a reply yet.I am guessing that I probably won't either if it is a deluxe.More fraud?

IMO it is a deluxe.I have found anniversary guitars to have deluxe after the name.Either way if it is going to be a player It wouldnt matter to me but that should also hold some resale value.See what he has to say!!Btw you are lucky to live in lombard.Sam ash is hiring id love to work there.It may be a straight shot down 64 but it's still 45 minutes away.It also has some great guitars but the really good ones are behind the counter.Which in turn I feel kind of obligated to buy it then.

Yeah I figured it was a deluxe because of the price.From what I can find in a book I have they made a deluxe and a standard.I am in westmont not lombard and only 15 minutes away from the store but I work in Skokie which is 45 minutes away.Commuting sucks.I emailed about it and still no reply.So the person doesn't check there email often or it is misrepresented.

As long as you know what to look for on the particular guitar you're going to look for, you should be okay. You have the benefit of learning of others past mistakes. Id trust a seller I can meet eye to eye than someone on eBay. Not to say eBay are all out to take you, but its much easier for an disreputable seller to hide. Its also pretty easy to get a good rating. There are companies, who just like corporations hire to flood the internet with keywords for their companies so all the bad links are way at the bottom, can manufacture good seller reviews. Its not hard actually, all you need is a few people working with you to buy products you never really sell, they "buy' them, then give you a great rating.
I remember one seller, who was selling 4 year old strats for $2-400 more than you could buy a new one. I couldnt believe there would be that many people who would have no problem buying all these over inflated priced guitars. Then when i read the reviews from several different "buyers' I noticed a pattern. They all basically wrote in the same style, and had a word, that I cant remember, that they kept misspelling, and they misspelled it the same way on each post. Even though they were different buyers. Get a phone number to contact them, preferrably a landline, and call them if you want to buy it. If they wont give you one, move on, no matter how good a deal. Im sure there are many reputable sellers who wont give you a number, but why take a chance.

I have done a nation wide search on guitar center and have found 3 that I am interested in.Now to get them shipped to a store near me.

The original buyer probably payed less than $600 for that guitar brand new.

Ok, I never heard of an american standard going for $600 new and even in 1991.If that were even possible and still guitars appreciate.Mine is in like new condition.Back to gc that's cool you found your strat.My store is naperville which may be 30 min away for you.Are you near algonquin?All you have to do is email the store owner.I think there is a sale goin on too.

I bought a new three-color sunburst/rosewood fretboard American Standard in 1997 for $650. I don't know how much the price varied then from big box stores to mom and pop stores, but I assume that would have been pretty much the going rate at the time. Yes, I know inflation has caused pricing to differ now from 20 years ago...I paid $1100 for a candy cola/maple fretboard 2009 model before the economy tanked and the MSRP went down. It shouldn't come as a surprise that these guitars could be had for less than a grand at one time. The Les Paul Standards used to go for between 1800-2000 new at that time, and now they go for between 2300-2500. I just would like to throw out there that many of the older guitars listed on ebay or criagslist came with a much lower price tag than you might imagine by looking at the current offerings on Musician's Friend. It's for the buyer to decide how much profit the original owner should make, and to many it's money well-spent.

For that kind of money, you'll need some piece of mind. Go to Guitar Center's used gear section and filter in a Fender American Strat. You'll find plenty in the $600 to $800 range. After Tax and Shipping, it will be just under a grand. Biggest bonus is you can get a warrenty and have a 30 day money back return policy too.

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+1
This is the way to do it, hands down. Like i told the OP, people get attached to their guitars, and to them, they're worth the world. But in the real world, they're not. Guitars dont appreciate in value, until they get to a certain vintage. a 10 year old guitar, unless its a very limited run, shouldnt be the same price, let alone higher, than you can get a new one for.
Stores dont have sentiment tied into the instruments, they're there to sell. For all the issues i have with GC, their used dept isnt one of them.
You're better off finding one used, even at another location. Put the 10% REFUNDABLE deposite down and have it shipped to your area store. Then you can play it, see it, and buy it. If a week later you decide yoiu dont want it, you can bring it back and get your money back.

No doubt I agree with what you are saying.Guitar Center didn't have for me at least what I was looking for.Although what I did find was like $1,000+. I didn't want to spend more than $800 so I am happy.I also bought from an online retailer my dream guitar yesterday which is an all black fsr made in 2010 which was $800.IN NITRO!! so I am stoked!!!I needed two guitars and am now done.I am in a band and was playing bass until we had a replacement so now I am back playing lead again.Well, again let us know if you had gotten the guitar.

I will keep you posted.I have narrowed it down to 3 that I found.Now I just need to find the time to get there.They open at 11 and I need to leave for work at 12:30 so it doesn't give me much time to work with.I really need to wait for the weekend but I am a little excited but really have no choice.I hope what I want to see is still there.

You know, the problem with guitar center is that they may have indeed had what you wanted, but you entered the search wrong. I dont know why they havent changed their gear search engine, but if you dont enter what you're looking for exactly how its listed, it wont show up. For example, lets say you want a used American Standard Strat, and they have one. If you enter it as Fender American standard, but they have it listed as American std strat, it wont show up. If dumb how they have it set up, and has undoubtedly lost them sales. The best way is to just enter Fender Strat, or Strat or Stratocaster, whatever casts the biggest net, then work down from there.

Its even worse when looking for effects pedals. Lets say you're looking for a Boss DD-3. Most of the time they'd be found in Accessories, but sometime they're in Recording. SO if you enter the search in accessories, it wont show up.

Best way; put a generic name, and dont choose where to look, example; guitars, jsut leave it open.
I want ot write a program that people can enter a certain guitar,year, model, color, etc. and the search engin will search out everywhere online; Craigslist, eBau,Gutiar center,etc. And helpyou find it