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Guitar Center
guitarcenter.com › Trade-In-Trade-Up
Trade-In Trade-Up | Guitar Center
We buy used guitars, basses, drums, amps, keys and MIDI, folk and traditional instruments, recording gear, effect pedals, DJ gear, live sound equipment and more.
I buy all of my guitars used through GC. I’ve never used the return policy, but knowing it’s there helps. A lot of times you can find mis-priced guitars, discounts galore. Answer from b-lincoln on reddit.com
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Guitar Center
guitarcenter.com › home › central chicago
Used Central Chicago Music Store Inventory | Guitar Center
Check out Guitar Center's great selection at our Used Central Chicago Music Store today! Great prices, selection and customer service.
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Guitar Center
guitarcenter.com › home › used › used guitars
Used Guitars | Guitar Center
Save money on Used Guitars at Guitar Center. All pre-owned items are rated and scored. Buy online or at your local store today!
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Guitar Center
guitarcenter.com › home › vintage › sell vintage gear
Sell Your Vintage Gear | Guitar Center
... Guitar Center has decades of experience fairly evaluating Used and Vintage gear for purchase. When you bring your instrument in, an associate will evaluate the piece based on several factors including condition of the piece, historical sales data and market desirability.
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Guitar Center
guitarcenter.com › home › used
Used Musical Instruments & Gear | Guitar Center
Save even more on guitars, basses, drums, pro audio and accessories. Used musical instruments bought and sold daily so check back often.
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Guitar Center
guitarcenter.com › home › south chicago
Used South Chicago Music Store Inventory | Guitar Center
Check out Guitar Center's great selection at our Used South Chicago Music Store today! Great prices, selection and customer service.
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Reddit
reddit.com › r/guitar › selling used guitars to guitar center? [question]
r/Guitar on Reddit: Selling used guitars to Guitar Center? [QUESTION]
February 6, 2017 -

I have a few guitars my dad left me when he passed away a couple years ago. They’ve just been sitting in the living room gathering dust since then. I know next to nothing about guitars and was wondering if I brought them into GC would they A) buy them from me, and B) actually buy them at the price they’re worth? Like, would they reliably give me a price I can trust? Would a pawn shop be better? Is there another option?

Top answer
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The thing about guitar center is they also sell used gear so any price they quote you would need to be one where they could still resell for a profit. General rule of thumb is they resell at 50-60% of original value, therefore they give you 30-40% of its value. Now, these numbers aren’t exact just generally ballparking it.

In reality if you’re looking to maximize your monetary gain, the best avenue would be to find out as much as you can about the guitars you have, and then find similar examples for sale online and then to sell it yourself from there at a price point of your own determination. This however can entail a lot of research and usually takes a good deal of patience.

The thing that selling to a music store is good for is getting quick cash in your pocket for something you’re not using. In the instances that I’ve sold gear to guitar center it was just because I didn’t feel like dealing with shady characters through popular selling methods, and I also didn’t wanna deal with the days/weeks/etc that I could take to get a bite.

I hope that I helped some, good luck!

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I've sold several guitars to them over the years. In my experience they will offer you 60% of what they plan to sell it for. Two different employees actually told me that was their formula for determining the offers. For me that possible extra 40% is a fair price to pay to save time and avoid dealing with random people through craigslist.

Edit to add: I disagree with the other poster about pawnshops being the same as guitar center. You will absolutely get screwed at a pawnshop. I'm sure there are decent pawnshops out there but I beleive their sleazy reputation is largely earned.

Find elsewhere
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Guitar Center
guitarcenter.com › home › central chicago
Central Chicago Music Store Inventory | Guitar Center
/Central Chicago · Now In Stock (4819) Preorder Collection (6) Guitars (534) Bass (120) Amplifiers & Effects (462) Pro Audio (597) Drums & Percussion (417) Keyboards & MIDI (140) Accessories (1968) Books, Sheet Music & Media (311) No matching Category.View All · Fender (277) Hal Leonard (195) Ernie Ball (185) D'Addario (169) Livewire (146) Yamaha (117) Zildjian (113) Proline (110) Dunlop (106) MEINL (95) No matching Brands.View All · New (4441) Used (384) min price ·
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Guitar Center
stores.guitarcenter.com › il › chicago › 334
Guitar Center Chicago Music Store
Stop by your local Guitar Center Rentals at 2633 N. Halsted St. in Chicago, IL. Shop the best new and used gear from top brands.
Address   2633 N. Halsted St., 60614-2301, Chicago
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Elektronauts
elektronauts.com › the lounge › other gear
Buying used gear from guitarcenter? - Other Gear - Elektronauts
July 8, 2023 - Hi, I’m close to pushing the button on buying a synth and the best used prices are on guitarcenter. I get they are a USA wide retailer but is the used gear they stock reliably good? Any negative experiences with buying through them? I see they have 45 day returns which is great.
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Music Strive
musicstrive.com › home › how much does guitar center pay for used guitars & gear?
How Much Does Guitar Center Pay for Used Guitars & Gear?
August 12, 2024 - That’s when you may start to think — “does Guitar Center buy guitars and used gear?”. The answer is, yes!
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Guitar Center
guitarcenter.com › home › south chicago
South Chicago Music Store Inventory | Guitar Center
/South Chicago · Now In Stock (4233) Preorder Collection (5) Guitars (362) Bass (81) Amplifiers & Effects (264) Pro Audio (507) Drums & Percussion (383) Keyboards & MIDI (77) Accessories (1918) Books, Sheet Music & Media (364) No matching Category.View All · Fender (227) Hal Leonard (216) Ernie Ball (186) D'Addario (172) Livewire (144) Proline (108) Dunlop (103) Yamaha (96) Zildjian (95) Perri's (94) No matching Brands.View All · New (3899) Used (340) min price ·
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Guitar Center
guitarcenter.com › home › used › used guitars › used electric guitars
Used Electric Guitars | Guitar Center
Save money on Used Electric Guitars at Guitar Center. All pre-owned items are rated and scored. Buy online or at your local store today!
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Ultimate Guitar
ultimate-guitar.com › forum › showthread.php
Anyone sold gear to Guitar Center? - forum topic | Ultimate Guitar
March 11, 2018 - What was the process like? I was thinking of selling a guitar to them. Normally I sell guitars on Craigslist or sometimes even eBay. Most Craigslist u...
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Chicago Music Exchange
chicagomusicexchange.com
Chicago Music Exchange
For over 30 years, Chicago Music Exchange has been serving musicians, collectors, and friends who want straight answers, expertise, and first-hand knowledge. We are passionate about what we sell and who we sell to, whether you talk to us on ...
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Guitar Top Review
guitartopreview.com › home › discover guitar center’s guitar buying and trade-in policies
Does Guitar Center Buy Or Trade Used Guitars? Find Out!
August 8, 2025 - I like to spend a good amount of time playing a used guitar or using a used amp before I make a final decision. The staff at Guitar Center actually encourages this. Buying in the store is safer than buying from an online auction site since you can see the item for yourself. Purchasing from a place like Guitar Center means not ending up with a counterfeit. Sometimes, however, your local store just doesn’t have that specific model that you’re after.
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Guitar Center
guitarcenter.com › home › used › used guitars › used acoustic guitars
Used Acoustic Guitars | Guitar Center
Save money on Used Acoustic Guitars at Guitar Center. All pre-owned items are rated and scored. Buy online or at your local store today!
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Guitar Lobby
guitarlobby.com › home › gear › guitar center trade in – how much do they pay for used gear and is it worth it?
Guitar Center Trade in Values: Is it Worth it in 2025? - Guitar Lobby
December 24, 2024 - It’s important to understand Guitar Center will not offer you full used value for your items. This is the case with any music store that buys music gear, not just Guitar Center.