Making an offer at a pawn shop?

[Sean Sullivan]

I've love to find one of those Ovations that cheap, those are neat.

I really like my 12 string Dano. Same situation as you, I have a Rickenbacker 330 and would love a 12 string, but the Danoelectro makes a lot more sense, since electric 12 string is used in one out of ever what, 15 songs? Unless you are Robyn Hitchcock I guess, Peter Buck played a 12 string for 90% of his songs when I saw him this year.

[RefD]

they will haggle, but you have to be aware that they have minimum and asking prices.

they also have to price that minimum over what it cost them to buy it, which is easy enough cos they usually give next to NOTHING to those they buy from.

i scored an Ibanez DE-7 delay (sounds GREAT) at a pawn shop for $12...but i know people in audit at the corporate office for that chain!

[RefD]

i have also seen some pawn shops asking new-in-box prices for very used pieces of gear.

[Sean Sullivan]

Yeah, most pawn shops have music equipment well over what it is worth but that was kind of a random find.

[JGriffin]

i have also seen some pawn shops asking new-in-box prices for very used pieces of gear.

Oh, all the time. Pawn shops in Lansing would just put the new-retail price on everything.

[calaverasgrandes]

I get the impression thatfor most pawn shops, musical. Instruments are a side thing. They get more income on jewelry, tools and home electronics.

[blackdiscoball]

Im surprised you found one at a pawn shop at all. All of the good pawn shops in my area put there dano's straight on ebay because people pay to much on there for them. I have a Blue dano Convertable (same shape as the ones pictured but a single pickup and a sound hole). I'd love to get a matching bass and regular electric but can't seem to find any in my area for a decent price. I agree with everyone else. Start low, don't offend them with a stupid cheap offer, and have cash. Sometimes if you just tell them I have x amount of cash and no more, they will meet you there. Make sure thats all you have though...

[vvv]

Ebay kinda of wrecked the pawnshop experience for me in that they now have easy access to information.

Gone are the days when I could tell the pawn guy the G&L F-100 is a piece of Jap crap (back in the late '80's when we thought Japanese was crap) and get a sweet guitar (still one of my main players) for US$150 ...

He thought he was beating me, also, by giving me a crappy cardboard case.

[winky dinglehoffer]

One or two thoughts on Cash America:
In my experience they won't haggle on price (though they might reduce it by the amt. of sales tax you have to pay) unless an item has been in the store for at least three months. if you learn to read their price tags you can figure out how long something's been in the store.

The other thing is that they seem less ebay-savvy than a lot of the independent stores. And they also are more motivated to get old inventory out the door than many of the independents. I have pretty good luck with Cash America--not the best store for everything, but some pretty good deals can be had there.

[Recycled_Brains]

So how do you like that Dano 12 string? I've been looking at those recently.....can't afford a rickenbacker.

Curious as well. Been thinking of getting one to have for those parts where the band says "man this would sound awesome on a 12 string".

[ubertar]

Keep your eye out for a Kapa 12-string. I have a Kapa Minstrel 12 and it's great. Real easy to play for a 12. It's over 40 years old and the neck is nice and straight. Much cheaper than a Rick. Got mine for just over 200. They were an American company, in Maryland from about '65 to '70.