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Sell Your Gear: Stores That Buy & Trade Used

Selling a guitar to a shop is simpler than the internet makes it sound: walk in with the instrument, let them look it over, get a number. No shipping a guitar in a cardboard coffin, no meeting a marketplace stranger in a parking lot, no waiting weeks for the right buyer — you leave with cash or store credit the same day. The trade-off is the price: a shop has to resell your gear at a margin, so a walk-in offer will always sit below what a patient private sale might fetch. The move most players make is trade credit — shops typically offer meaningfully more in credit than in cash, often in the neighborhood of 20% more, because credit keeps the money in the building. Selling one guitar to fund the next one is exactly the deal a good shop wants to make. Every store below carries the Buys used gear badge because there's real evidence — from the store's own site or from players' reviews — that they buy, trade, or consign used instruments. 1,661 stores qualify so far, and the list grows as the directory does.

Before you carry it in: wipe it down, put on the original parts if you swapped anything (bring the swapped parts too — they add value in the case pocket), and bring the case itself. Clean, original, and cased is the version of your gear a shop can put on the wall tomorrow, and the quote reflects that. And call first — "do you buy used gear, and is your buyer in today?" saves a wasted trip.

Standout gear-buying shops across the US

Ranked by local reputation — rating weighted by review count — with one pick per chain.

Ruoff Music Center

4.5 ★★★★★ 13,482 reviews

12880 E 146th St, Noblesville, IN

Buys used gear

Outdoor concert venue brings in major tours & festivals of all popular musical stripes.

Amoeba Music

4.8 ★★★★★ 10,713 reviews

6200 Hollywood Blvd, Los Angeles, CA

Buys used gear Vintage specialist

Indie music lovers' hangout for free live shows & an eclectic stock of new releases & vintage hits.

Bookmans Mesa Entertainment Exchange

4.5 ★★★★★ 7,483 reviews

1056 S Country Club Dr, Mesa, AZ

Buys used gear Lessons Repairs & setups Vintage specialist good value

Established business buying, selling & trading used books, music, movies, video games & instruments.

Renninger's Flea Market & Antique Center

4.5 ★★★★★ 5,202 reviews

20651 US-441, Mt Dora, FL

Buys used gear

Vast weekend flea market filling indoor & outdoor spaces with antiques, musical instruments & more.

Central Mega Pawn

4.9 ★★★★★ 3,942 reviews

11031 Central Ave A, Ontario, CA

Buys used gear Repairs & setups Vintage specialist fair trade-in offersgood value

Value Pawn & Jewelry

5 ★★★★★ 3,479 reviews

1000 W Oakland Park Blvd, Wilton Manors, FL

Buys used gear Vintage specialist

Local chain pawn shop lending money and selling pre-owned brand-name items at discount prices.

Find stores that buy gear in your city

Every city below has at least two stores that buy or trade used gear — which matters, because the single best negotiating tool you have is a second quote across town.

Alabama

Arizona

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Delaware

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Selling gear to a shop: how it actually works

What happens when I walk in with a guitar?
Someone who buys for the store looks it over — plays it, checks the neck, the frets, the electronics, whether the parts are original — and quotes you a number, usually two: one for cash, a higher one for trade credit. The whole thing takes minutes. You're free to say "let me think about it" and walk out; nobody serious is offended by that, and shops quote knowing you might shop the number around.
Trade credit or cash?
If you're buying your next piece of gear anyway, credit is usually the better math — shops commonly offer on the order of 20% more in credit than cash, because credit guarantees the money stays in the store. If you just want out of the instrument, take the cash and don't overthink the gap. The one mistake is taking credit at a shop where nothing on the wall tempts you.
How do I know if an offer is fair?
Two ways. First, know the going used price for your model before you walk in, and expect the shop's offer to land well under it — that gap is their margin, rent, and the risk of the thing hanging unsold; roughly half to two-thirds of resale is common territory, better for gear that moves fast. Second, get a second quote — that's why the city pages here require two buying stores. The reviews on each listing are worth reading too: players talk about trade-ins constantly, and "gave me a fair offer on my trade" versus "lowballed my amp" is exactly the reputation signal you want before choosing a door.
What do shops actually want to buy?
Gear they can resell without work: clean instruments, original parts (or the originals in the case if you modded it), working electronics, and the case or gig bag. Recognizable brands and standard models move fastest and quote best. What kills a quote: missing original parts, amateur repairs, heavy wear they'd have to have their tech undo. If your gear needs a setup to show well, some sellers have it done first — a guitar that plays great quotes better than the same guitar with sky-high action.
Should I consign instead of selling outright?
Consignment splits the difference: the shop puts your gear on its wall and takes a cut when it sells — you get more than a walk-in offer, but you wait, and you get nothing until it moves. It shines for higher-end and vintage pieces, where the shop's foot traffic finds the right buyer better than you can and the percentage beats the buy-it-now number by a lot. Ask the shop's consignment rate (a percentage of the sale price is standard) and how they price, and get the terms in writing. For ordinary workhorse gear, outright sale or trade is usually worth more than the wait.
Can I negotiate?
Politely, yes — it's expected. Know your model's street value, mention the competing quote if you have one, and ask "any room on that?" once. What doesn't work: arguing from what you paid new (irrelevant to used value) or from sentimental value (real, but not tradeable). If the number won't move and it feels light, the counter that always works is walking to the other shop on your city's list.

Keep going: browse every store with a used-gear section (buying used is the other half of this trade), or vintage guitar stores if what you're selling might be worth more than you think.