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Buying Used GearBy: Stephen FosterStephen is the owner of On Course Publishing, Howler Recording, and maintains two domains besides IDN: yardageguides.com, for golf books, and golphoto.com, for golf photographs. |
| When buying used gear, there are several things you must make sure of. 1) Is it in working condition? 2) Is the price right? 3) Does it belong to the person you're buying it from? 1) Take an instrument of the type you're going to use with the gear with you if possible. Hook it up & check it out at top operating parameters. Let amps & other gear run for 15-30 minutes while you dicker over price or whatever. If the gear still works after it's warmed up, press on the frame or pick it up and turn it several directions if possible to check for shorts. Try to get the seller to give you a 30 day warrenty. 2) Get hold of a copy of the "Blue Book" which gives pricing on used eloctronic & musical equipment. If you can't get a copy, call a few people who know about that gear and find out what it's worth. Usually the price first quoted is a "high-hopeful" price, and you can nearly always get that price down, especially if you have cash in hand. 3) GET A BILL OF SALE!!! Make sure the serial number from the chassis is on the bill of sale, along with the name, address, and signature of the seller. If you buy hot gear and don't have the bill of sale, you may be guilty of receiving stolen property. One of my best friends and a great bass player spent two years in prison for this very offense under these very conditions. He bought gear and it was stolen. Use your head when looking for gear. One of the best places to get gear is pawn shops. Just remember that their prices can be really stupid high...sometimes through ignorance, sometimes through averice. If you are patient and will spend some time with the pawn shop dealer, and make it clear you'll turn other musicians on to the shop, you can get really good deals. YOU MUST GO WITH CASH IN HAND. That's the only thing they understand. Newspaper ads, internet, etc...there are many places to look. Just remember to protect yourself and look the gear over carefully, then TURN IT UP!! |