You may be wondering where exactly the best places to buy used guitars are. We’ll give you some of the best places to look in different terms of price and spots to find rarities.

• Ebay - Ebay is a common place to search for guitars, but you won’t necessarily be able to find the best hands on deals here. One of the most important factors in buying a guitar is knowing how it sounds, and Ebay gives you the ability to see a guitar, but not to play it. On Ebay your best finds will be in middle ranged guitars, like say your cheaper Fender Strats, like MIM (Made in Mexico ones) because the collectors aren’t bidding on these, and neither are the cheap-o’s. If you’re a cheap-o, Ebay is crawling with imitation guitars which may look like more expensive guitars, but sound like a box of cereal with strings on it. You won’t find any knock out guitars at super cheap prices most likely, because the people bidding on Limited Edition Les Pauls, are probably collectors or high roller players. So… Ebay is a good place for beginners to look for a cheap beginner guitar, or for collectors to find expensive guitars for decent deals, but as for the middle ranged player, you can snag a guitar at a better price than a local store, but won’t be able to tell the quality until you’ve paid for it.

• Craig’s List or Classifieds- If you’re into deal searching, search no further. You can find a lot of deals on guitars, but with a catch. You may have to go pick up the guitar from someone, or you may not get the full description of an item. A lot of guitar’s from Craig’s List are imitations that dishonest people try to pass off as the real thing, so make sure you do you’re reading on the guitar, and ask to see and play the guitar before you purchase it. So… Craig’s List or any local classified might be a good chance to get lucky, and find someone selling a guitar when they don’t know what it is really worth, or you may stumble across someone trying to trick you out of your money. This is a good option if you have the ability to check out the guitar before buying it, and can recognize a fake when you see one.

• Local Shops - Local shops are always a great stop in your search for a used guitar. Sometimes people will sell guitars to shops when they don’t want to list them privately, or don’t use services like Ebay. Guitar shops will typically only accept playable guitars to resell, so you know you’re getting something intact, and chances are you will be allowed to play it before making your decision. So… Shops are a good choice for all buyers, but may not be preferable for super-budget buyers. Shops don’t tend to mark down guitars very much, and you may find a better deal from an auction or classified, but at least at the shop you will have the reassurance that you aren’t purchasing a complete disaster. Also, most times you can leave your number with a guitar shop, and tell them to give you a call if they happen to acquire something rare. This way, you know you’re buying a real high end rarity that was already purchased by a store that knows what they were doing when they bought it.

• Yard Sales - Yard sales are a good option for budget buyers or beginners, since you will find a lot of guitars from people that bought cheap guitars, lost the will to learn, and want to get rid of them. Sometimes the guitars are worse for wear, but often you’ll find that they were gently cared for, and you can inspect them on spot. You probably won’t have the option to play it in most cases, but if you’re shopping through yard sales and don’t know what guitar is high end, then you are probably most concerned with the price tag. So… Only go yard sale hunting if you have a budget or have spare time. Most of what you will find (if anything) is going to be entry level guitars at cheap prices. You may occasionally find a guitar being sold by someone ignorant of it’s value, but this is unlikely.

• Pawn Shops - Pawn shops are a luck of the draw selection. You might find a pawn broker who purchased a guitar from someone who needed some cash, and is selling a ridiculously valuable guitar for just a few hundred bucks. Then again, they might know what they’re doing and price it accordingly, so deals will be unpredictable from store to store. Sometimes people will pawn expensive guitars, and sometimes they will pawn cheap guitars, but keeping an eye out on local stores from time to time isn’t a bad idea. So… Pawn shops are a good idea for a collector or player who likes to hunt for guitar deals, but not for a person who is trying to find a quality guitar for certain in a few days.