Pawn Shop's are stupid here

[Dan]

So I had some time today and hit a few Pawn shops. One place had a Charvel(Toothpaste Logo,2 singles and one Humbucker,Schaller Tremelo) and it was in Bad shape.The neck was sharktooth and the headstock was snapped really bad and glued with wood glue (It was a bad job),chips everywhere,cracks at the neck joint etc and he wants $200!!! I asked him if he would go lower(Just to see) and he says"Nope, Its a Charvel".They also had a Jackson King V(I think) for Over $500. I checked another one and they said"Charvels are getting Rare anymore,and expensive".These Guys go off of Ebay,see a mint Model,and base their prices on that,but to buy it from some poor sap who needs cash they give them the lowest Orion Blue Book price.I have seen them when I was snooping around a customer with a Very Nice Ibanez and they were nit-picking the guitar(Very minor pick scratches,slight rust on the Floyd Saddles) and offering the guy LOW money for it. The Dude kinda got mad and litteraly told them to shove it up their A$$ I have never seen any deals on Guitars here.

[dg]

Sounds like typical pawnshop behavior to me. The days of insane deals at pawnshops are pretty much over, unless you're in hillbilly country and they haven't figured out how to use the web. Those guys aren't stupid, but I agree that they do get unrealistic after watching eBay sometimes. If the trem is in good shape, the loaded body is probably worth close to the $200. Let it sit there for a while then make an offer again.

[fett]

Yep and no shit. One of the guys at my pawnshop gave me a preview on a mint Kramer Focus 3000 before it was priced. He knew I like Kramers. I came back the next day with a price in mind. Well, it was listed at $449. But he would sell it to me because I am a "Buyer" at $350. He said; " I checked ebay. That's my job." I just said to myself; "That's no deal and good luck."

[guitarforceone]

Yeah...the only way to deal with those guys is just to let the thing sit in there for months and months. I can still get good deals here in Austin, but only after something has been sitting. They finally get it through their head that "Hey, something isn't right here...this thing isn't selling." I was in a shop awhile back and they had a bolt-on Dean ML that went for around $200 when it was new. They were asking nearly $500 for it!! Needless to say, it was in there for over a year until somebody finally got through to them that this was a very low end model. Then it sold. Sucks, but you just have to wait them out these days.
Dana <~~~

[scotty]

I saw a Peavey channel switcher at a pawn shop a few years ago, they $99. I guess they thought it was a processor because it said reverb on it.

[jcm800x]

Pawn shops are tough, dazzle them with your knowledge and sell it back to them. A busted up toothpaste like that isn't worth shit in that condition, perhaps there is a completed auction on Ebay for a similar condition Charvel you can show him. I suppose it could be parted out on the Bay but the neck wouldn't fetch too much. Sometimes these guys just need some reality shoved down their throats, kinda sounds like he is spouting back what the person who pawned it told him!

[Dan]

Years ago,I bought a Green Yamaha RGX420s D6 for $250 New. I have seen them(except Mine has Really NEVER been played) at pawn shops(2 different shops) for OVER $400 USED!!! The Charvel I mentioned before(The snapped headstock) has been sitting there for AT LEAST a year. Maybe thats why I have noticed alot of Pawn shops are listing these days because They cant get rid of it in their own Town!

[Tekky]

I really wouldn't say they're stupid. They're in the business of buying items low and selling them high. He sets his price, if it doesn't sell for a while, he will drop it. Sooner or later, he's gotta move the piece to make room for something else he can make money on. Charvels seem to be at a premium. Thanks in part to a bunch of the folks here (and some who have wandered here from time to time) who love to get their hands on them.

As far as the horrible shape of the guitar. They also base their business on the old addage of "One man's trash is another man's treasure". Who's to say that someone doesn't walk in with $200-$150 cash in hand and buy that guitar and then with some skills and maybe some spare parts (bought for cheap on eBay) turn that same guitar around on eBay at a $100-200 profit?

It's business.

[m2pmd70]

Also, in my experience (and I don't really understand the logic) pawn shops price stuff way higher than what they really want for it. For example my Avenger was priced at $450 & I brought it home for $175 - and I'm the world's worst at haggling.

On the other hand one local shop has had the same room full of stuff since the early '90s, all very run of the mill, because his prices are ridiculously high. It seems to me if they'd set the price lower & move more stuff they'd more than make up the difference in volume

[pott]

There's a Jackson DX10D for 800 pounds here. That's 1,600 bucks. Beat that.

[fett]

Stay tuned. I may get the bastards on the one I want. Strat Plus.

[rjohnstone]

There's a Jackson DX10D for 800 pounds here. That's 1,600 bucks. Beat that.

Full retail was just over $600.
$1,600 is price gouging. Even with taxes, it shouldn't cost that much.

[usmc50bmgsniper92]

you should be thankful that you have a pawn shop,lol. the nearest one around here is about 75 miles, so all the deals are at the local little guitar shops that don't know what they got. everytime i see a charvel i always say ya they aint worth shit anymore and i'll give you a $100 lol.

[VACharvel]

I've heard that military towns have a ton of Pawn-shops...weird...

[Dave67]

Ebay killed the deals at pawn shops. Most shop mark their prices at what it would of sold for on Ebay.
But I have found a few deals, a Washburn WP50, body was mint just needed wired, $50. Then I found an 89 Ibanez RG 550 for $250.
I have my eye on a Chavel model 1, marked at $125.