Pawn shops.

[clintbarton]

So Tommy's got a six string in hock, and he's holding in what he used to make it talk so tough...so tough. But is that motherfucker Tommy's six-string a counterfeit? What I mean to say is how likely are you to get a counterfeit guitar from a pawn shop?

I know that buying clothes from a flea market is going to go about as well as trying to bite through a spoon, but I'm not sure about guitars in pawn shops. What's the word?

[stevieb]

I have no idea what you are trying to say to us. Please try again so we can address your question.

[Bumhucker]

Originally Posted by clintbarton

So Tommy's got a six string in hock, and he's holding in what he used to make it talk so tough...so tough. But is that motherfucker Tommy's six-string a counterfeit? What I mean to say is how likely are you to get a counterfeit guitar from a pawn shop?

I know that buying clothes from a flea market is going to go about as well as trying to bite through a spoon, but I'm not sure about guitars in pawn shops. What's the word?

How likely is it that you're smoking meth?

[daddymack]

I think what he may be asking is how smart are the guys who take in guitars for pawn. Usually they have someone on tap who is knowledgeable. Pawn shops are businesses that run on tight margins, and most really do not loan money on musical instruments aymore. Which means every instrument they take in is an investment that has to turn a profit. So the last thing they want is to get stuck with a POS knock off that they paid full price for.

[boxorox]

Again, the question is up to interpretation. I think it's "How likely is it that a pawnshop will sell you a knock-off, through either ignorance or msrepresentation?" The pawn business is highly regulated, and it's bad business to sell thing under false pretenses. But there are bad guys everywhere, so it is up to you to know what you are looking at and who you are dealing with. Caveat Emptor. They have access to all the info we do in/re specs and values, and I'd expect they'd look at things pretty hard before they paid $$$ for them. In my experience, they are a lot more savvy these days. The ones I deal with are knowledgable and honest. If you are interested in something questionable, ask, do your own research, make up your own mind.

[mc5nrg]

I think the beginning of the op is a parody of the Bongiovi tune...hold on to what we got.

[Bizze]

WTF...

What a way to wake up on a sunday morning..

[stevieb]

If it's about pawnbrokers buying and selling fakes, read on...

I bought a Strat copy off ebay about 10 years ago. Seller said it was not a Fender, so I knew what I was getting. Decent guitar, in many respects, although the plywood body was not the greatest, of course. Painted it with auto enamel, but I did a very good job. Sprayed the neck with nitro-cell. lacquer, but didn't put a fake "fender" decal on the head stock- it was blank there.

Later, when I bought a Fender Strat, I measured the neck-plate screw spacing and found they were about 1/4" closer on the copy than the Fender. The neck plate also had "Made in Japan" stamped on it.

Decided to sell, and the guy who bought it offered me a set of Texas Specials and $70. I took the deal. The pups were genuine, but the mid was dead. At first, he didn't want to un-do the deal. Then, after weeks of heariing nothing from him, he did want to un-do the deal, but by then I had changed my mind. He got a bit irate, but I felt like I had waited long enough, and had made other arrangements about getting the center pup functional.

Then, a week later, I see my old Strat copy in Craig's list, with a phone number that is not his. So, I called it. Turned out to be a pawn shop. He had put a MIJ sticker on the headstock, and sold it to them. I described the guitar in detail, including things like the crack on the volume knob (which was way too small in the pic to be seen) and sure 'nuf, my old guitar. I asked the woman to turn it over and tell me if it said "Made in Japan" on the neck plate. Yep, it did. I pointed out to her that a guitar could not be made in both Japan AND Mexico. She admitted that I was right. I told her I was 100% sure it was NOT a real Fender. She said she would pass that on to the boss.

I don't know if they sold it as "genuine," or just didn't say anything, or re-tagged it as a fake. What I do know is that until I called, the had no idea they had been duped. So, to answer the question, "how likely are you to get a counterfeit guitar from a pawn shop?" I'd say, quite likely.

And pawnbrokers never, never, NEVER pay full price for ANYTHING. Not even close to wholesale. I once bought a decent Epi acoustic for my girlfriend's daughter. (She loves it, btw.) On my way home, I passed a pawnshop, so I brought it in, just to see what they would give me for it. Mind you, this was a guitar with a real street price, new, of $250. They offered me... twenty five bucks for it! Twenty five measly bux! Now, used gear usually sells for about half it's new-sold-for price, so that's a used value of about $125, and pawn shops here in Atlanta have taken to the rather disgusting practice of putting damn near, or even over, tag equal to new prices, I guess because they figure everyone is going to try to talk them down. I walked out, actually laughing wildly. "Tight margins?" How can you call a probable 1,000% tag mark-up, and a probable 500% sale price, "tight?" "Highly regulated?" Only so far as it concerns taking in stolen property, otherwise the pawn shop department of your local P.D. does not give a dead rat's ass what the shops do.

I've made some sweet deals at pawn shops, but it's been because I was either better informed and educated about the item I bought, or because they guitars were lefty,which a pawn broker sits on for a very long time. By the time I walk in his shop, he's likely to be ready to take anything just to cash out of it (this is the flip side to lefty instruments costing more, new.)

Sad but true, many pawn brokers are pretty sleazy bottom-feeders, taking advantage of folks who are down on their luck. That said, there are exceptions. One pawn broker in Atlanta in particular is a great guy, and seems to be very fair in his dealings. Gotta tell you, though, it is NOT my old college buddy, nor is it the national chain he works for...

[clintbarton]

Yeah, that's what I'm talking about. There are more than a few fakes flying around, more than a few copies flying around and at least up here, the pawn shop owners aren't known for their high moral standards. I'm mulling over buying a guitar (but I don't want to spend much money) and, especially if I want to buy an actual Stratocaster or Les Paul (or any other big-name, desireable guitar)...it wouldn't be difficult or farfetched for them to buy a copy or a fake, slap on a Fender or Gibson decal and say it's legit.

I just want to knw if anybody has had that sort of experience.

[stevieb]

Originally Posted by mc5nrg

I think the beginning of the op is a parody of the Bongiovi tune...hold on to what we got.

Yes! Now I see it! Actually pretty clever...

[drewl]

They're "pawn" shops, they buy stolen stuff from crackheads looking to get their next fix.
Whaddya' expect?

[daddymack]

Originally Posted by drewl

They're "pawn" shops, they buy stolen stuff from crackheads looking to get their next fix.
Whaddya' expect?

actually, they really try to avoid that now... receiving stolen property is not good for business...

[clintbarton]

Originally Posted by drewl

They're "pawn" shops, they buy stolen stuff from crackheads looking to get their next fix.
Whaddya' expect?

Yes, but the important thing is where they stole the stuff from. If they threw a garbage can through the window of their local Guitar Center, that's one thing. If they grabbed it out of a west coast warehouse, that's another.

[stevieb]

Originally Posted by clintbarton

Yes, but the important thing is where they stole the stuff from. If they threw a garbage can through the window of their local Guitar Center, that's one thing. If they grabbed it out of a west coast warehouse, that's another.

How so? Both are B&E thefts. Or do you mean a east-cost Pawn shop would have no idea a west-coast hot guitar was stolen?

[clintbarton]

Originally Posted by stevieb

How so? Both are B&E thefts. Or do you mean a east-cost Pawn shop would have no idea a west-coast hot guitar was stolen?

Almost any given counterfeit of anything (guitars, clothes, coats, glasses, jewelry, anything) that is in America gets funneled in through Humboldt, California, stored for a few months, then shipped across the country.

That is, a guitar stolen from a Guitar Center is almost definitely real. A guitar stolen from a Northern California warehouse may not be.

[camelialong]

Cash out, etc... I'm just wondering if there's anything that I should look out for before I commit to the buy. I've checked if the natural harmonics on the 12th and 24th are the same note as the string, etc... need a few more things like this.