By now, you should know that I have a bad case of GAS and I’m always looking for more stuff, especially pedals. While some people will happily drive to their nearest music store and buy stuff from them, like I used to do, there are ways to get the same gear for less money. Here are my favorite places to look:
Friends. This is by far the best way. Ask around. You might help out a buddy and score a good deal. It’s also a great for networking and connecting with other local musicians. You know, the whole, “Yeah, I know a guy…”
Classifieds.
Your local paper. Don’t forget about this one. Most people don’t read the paper anymore, but their classifieds can be found online too.
Craigslist. Many people just need to get rid of stuff that taking up room and are willing to make a deal. Plus, you save on shipping costs because they’re local. You can shop in other cities, and I’ve done that before, but you start getting into the complexity of shipping, can they trust you, can you trust them, etc; which you can skip if you’re able to meet them face-to-face.
Myspace Classifieds. I don’t normally shop on this one because you need to know exactly what you’re trying to find. I prefer to browse and discover new gear I didn’t know I needed (see how bad this is?) If you have a specific piece of gear you want, just type it in the search bar and away you go. You might even be able to add to your friend count!
Facebook Marketplace. It’s like a mashup for Craigslist and Myspace Classifieds. It starts you in your local marketplace, but you can search outside of it too. You might make a new friend here too!
Forums. Every forum is different, but most of the good ones have some of the same users. Many of the sellers include shipping in their prices, so you know you’ll be paying up front. Don’t be afraid to offer trades, everybody’s looking for something and you might have it. Here are few forums that I recommend:
The Gear Page. My favorite place. It’s fairly exclusive, so don’t everybody start using it! You have to pay to sell stuff there, so that weeds out the scammers. Plus, there’s a chance that your favorite guitar player’s tech is there too, so you can ask questions about someone’s rig and get a knowledgeable answer from the source!
Harmony Central. Harmony Central has tons of user reviews too, so you can find a piece of gear you don’t know about, go to their reviews and see what other people think of it. Anyone can post stuff for sale, so there have been some issues with scammers, but it’s fairly rare.
eBay. Or as most sellers know it: Feebay. Still expensive, but still the gold standard for pricing out used gear. Here, you can see what most stores are selling a piece of gear for (just look for all the entries that have the exact same price), plus the “normal people” prices for used gear. Every once in a while, you can find a rare pedal or get a crazy good deal. Just watch out for shipping costs.
eTailers. These are your popular online retail sites. You pay higher prices, but you also get money-back guarantees and return policies.
Amazon. Here you can see what a piece of gear is going for new, and you might luck out and find someone selling it used. You will want to know what you’re looking for because searching is better than trying to browse for anything on Amazon. They just have so much stuff!
Musicians Friend. Every music store’s nightmare. I remember a local store owner rolling his eyes when I asked him to price match with Musicians Friend. He lost a lot of money with me through that guarantee. While most of their prices are the same as stores on eBay and anywhere else, sometimes, they have items on sale or in the scratch & dent section. You won’t save as much as your would on the forums, but you’ll have their return policy backing up your purchase.
I’m sure there are a dozen more sites I could include, these are just ones I frequent. Save yourself some cash and put it towards promoting your band or connecting to your fans. That will pay off better anyway.
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