12 Places to Buy Cheap Guitars

Review these places to buy cheap guitars for huge discounts when you purchase new and used guitars.

Whether you’re looking for a deal on a beginner’s guitar or a cheap vintage guitar, you can find incredible guitar discounts if you look in the right places.

Guitar Prices

Brand-new guitars can be expensive, especially for top American-made brands like Gibson, Fender, and Hamer, and even some of their new foreign counterparts are pricey these days.

Vintage models of certain guitars can be outrageously expensive, and rare models can easily fetch over $20,000 in Ebay auctions.

Even if you purchase a high-quality foreign brand like Ibanez, you can expect to pay a lot of money for a good guitar.

Purchasing used guitars is a great way to save money on guitars.

Plus, you can also sometimes find great deals on mint or lightly-played guitars, as many new guitar players simply lose interest or never play their guitars.

Places to Get Guitar Discounts

Check out these places to get cheap guitars to find great discounts when you purchase a guitar.

1. Ebay.com

The Ebay Guitars Category offers every type of guitar you could imagine and a few you didn’t even know existed.

Even though guitar prices on Ebay can be astronomical, you can also find good guitar deals if you’re patient and keep your eyes open.

Make sure you check the newest listings for lower-than-normal “But It Now” prices (they go fast), and you can also score great deals when bidding on certain guitars, especially less popular models.

2. Craigslist

Your local Craigslist listings are a great way to find deals on guitars.

It seems like everybody has a guitar that’s been sitting under their bed for 20 years that they’re looking to sell.

Some people may tend to overvalue their beloved instruments, but you can also get good prices from people that are selling guitars to pay their bills.

3. ShopGoodwill.com

ShopGoodwill.com offers online guitar auctions for Goodwill stores across the U.S.

You can sometimes find incredible vintage guitars through them, but more often than not, you’ll see an endless selection of cheap lower-quality guitars.

If you’re looking for a new practice guitar for your kid, the Goodwill online auction site is a great option for dirt-cheap guitar prices.

4. Thrift Stores

Check out your local thrift and second-hand stores for occasional deals on a used guitar.

You’ll probably need to visit your local thrift stores often to find a guitar before it gets sold, but you can sometimes find a cheap practice guitar if you visit regularly and are patient.

5. Pawn Shops

Pawn shops always seem to have a plethora of guitars from desperate musicians looking to get cash.

To get a good deal on a guitar from a pawn shop, you’ll need to bargain hard and then bargain even harder.

It’s unlikely the pawn store paid anywhere near the price that they’re asking for the guitar, so offer at least half off their asking price, and if it’s an expensive model, reduce that even more.

6. Rummage Sales

Neighborhood rummage sales are a great place to find discounts on used guitars.

You can check your local newspaper or Craigslist.com for yard-sale listings that indicate a guitar is available.

Just make sure to get there early, as there are guitar hunters lurking in the midst of morning, and good guitars don’t last long at garage sale prices.

7. Estate Sales

Estate sales are a great way to find vintage guitars or get good deals on quality guitars.

However, professionally-managed estate sales are usually run by savvy individuals who know the value of collectable guitars and are seeking the best deals for their client and commission.

You can still find good deals, but know your values and stick to your guns with the prices.

If you don’t get the price you want, come back at the end of the sale, when they’re more desperate to sell the rest of their merchandise.

8. Used Music Stores

Local used music stores and national used instrument stores like Music Go Round offer discount prices on used guitars, basses, drums, keyboards, and more.

However, they purchase used guitars and sell them for profit, so you can usually expect to pay an inflated price over what you would pay if you bought the guitar directly from its owner.

9. National Music Stores

National musical instrument stores like MusiciansFriend.com and GuitarCenter.com often have the lowest prices available on new guitars, and they also sell used guitars at great prices.

If you’re planning on going to your local music store to purchase a new guitar, make sure to check the online prices from these national chains to make sure that you’re getting the best bargain.

10. Newspapers

Believe it or not, people still sell stuff through classified ads in local newsletters, including the occasional guitar.

Make sure you take a look while you’re checking out local yard sales and estate sales.

11. Ask Your Friends

Start asking around who has a guitar for sale, and you never know what might pop up.

Your friends probably have old guitars that they’re willing to give to you or sell on the cheap, or they at least might know somebody who knows somebody with a guitar for sale.

12. Garbage

I know it sounds unbelievable to guitar enthusiasts, but people actually do throw away old or slightly broken guitars.

I personally found a nice Guild acoustic guitar that someone in my neighborhood had placed in the garbage on the curb. The only issue it had was that the bridge pins weren’t big enough to secure the strings, and they only costs a few bucks to replace.

Whether you’re looking for a one-of-a-kind classic guitar or just want a great deal on a cheap guitar, you can definitely get a discount on the right guitar for you.

Just remember to always know the highest current value of a guitar before buying it, and try not to get emotionally attached or succumb to love-at-first-site syndrome every time you see a new guitar.

Find out how to get even more Shopping Discounts to purchase a variety of merchandise at the lowest prices.

Enjoy guitar hunting and please feel free to leave tales of your guitar-buying journeys in the comments section below this article.