# pawn shops in toronto



## snacker (Jun 26, 2008)

Hey Gang,
I'm heading into toronto tomorrow to the Elbow show and we're going to make a day of it.....lots of ethnic street food and music shops and sleazy pawn shops. My question is....other than church street, where are the best pawn shops in Toronto
cheers!


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## Jimmy_D (Jul 4, 2009)

Sadly there is no such thing as a good pawn shop in Toronto, lots of places to shop for guitars though.


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## Adcandour (Apr 21, 2013)

Yeah, I haven't seen a good deal or even cool gear in one in ages. Wish I could help.


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## Diablo (Dec 20, 2007)

Yup. All junk.
sign of the times. It's easy enough for someone to list their stuff on ebay, KJ or CL for market value, that the pawn shop concept is largely outdated.


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## snacker (Jun 26, 2008)

I bought $1000 worth of vintage cymbals for $175 on queen west last year in a sleazy pawn shop.

Doesn't really matter how we'll we do in our hunt for deals....it's more about the hang

Other than church street are there any spots in town where there is a concentration of them?

How about used gear shops aka Paul's boutique? Has capsule shut down yet?
Did encore music exchange on danforth ever reopen?


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## allanr (Jan 11, 2012)

Pawn shop action in this town sucks. But, don't be discouraged. There are usually at least a few nice used guitars at every Long and McQuade, and 12th Fret on Danforth (near Woodbine) has a great selection of used guitars. They know what they have, so you won't find any ridiculous deals, but their prices are very fair, and sometimes even much more than fair.

And even though the general pawn shop action is poor, if you happen to be near one... well you never know. If your timing is right...?


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## cheezyridr (Jun 8, 2009)

i went into one today, i think it was brimley and eglington? anyhow, they had the usual pawnshop fare - squires, a jackson, some no name leopard print super strat, a few acoustics, some pointy red thing that wasn't a hondo. a little 4 track mixer from back in the day. piles of tools that are not what i want. a few amps that are either beginner specials, or beat, or way to frickin big


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## Guest (May 17, 2014)

scour kijiji(?).


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## Diablo (Dec 20, 2007)

cheezyridr said:


> i went into one today, i think it was brimley and eglington? anyhow, they had the usual pawnshop fare - squires, a jackson, some no name leopard print super strat, a few acoustics, some pointy red thing that wasn't a hondo. a little 4 track mixer from back in the day. piles of tools that are not what i want. a few amps that are either beginner specials, or beat, or way to frickin big


Ya Toronto is generally too prosperous for good pawn shops action. You need to go somewhere suffering from hard times. 
It's kind of sad really, pure opportunism.


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## rhh7 (Mar 14, 2008)

Had a very interesting chat with an industry insider today, who told me something I had never heard before. There is a place called MIRC, musical intrument recovery centre, where seconds, and factory rejects, purchased by the truckload, are refurbished and distributed to pawn shops. So when you see a Fender or Gibson in a pawn shop, it is probably not a closet classic, or vintage under the bed guitar. It is a second, flood damaged, or returned guitar.


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## Budda (May 29, 2007)

snacker said:


> I bought $1000 worth of vintage cymbals for $175 on queen west last year in a sleazy pawn shop.
> 
> Doesn't really matter how we'll we do in our hunt for deals....it's more about the hang
> 
> ...


If you flip them will you get a grand? Honest question.


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## Adcandour (Apr 21, 2013)

snacker said:


> I bought $1000 worth of vintage cymbals for $175 on queen west last year in a sleazy pawn shop.
> 
> Doesn't really matter how we'll we do in our hunt for deals....it's more about the hang
> 
> ...


Paul's boutique has a lot of stuff listed on their website. You may want to check out the website first to avoid getting a bohemian stuck in your tire.


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## snacker (Jun 26, 2008)

It was a good day....the pawn shops we went to were better that you'd think...

Between the three of us, we picked up a sweet Wells floor tom in a pearloid wrap, a 1982 Casio 1000p with a great arpeggiator and a mint vintage boss delay rack all for DIRT cheap 

There are some other things we passed on, but were still pretty cool....an old lado electric (2 humbuckers, million switches - decent price too), an old pearl analog delay (market value), a killer canwood kit, a vintage ross chorus

Didn't make it to Paul's boutique unfortunately....they usually have some cool gear


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## Adcandour (Apr 21, 2013)

I think the only opportunity we have to actually score big these days is by hitting garage sales - early.

...or maybe I watch too much pawn stars and storage wars.


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## J-75 (Jul 29, 2010)

adcandour said:


> "to avoid getting a bohemian stuck in your tire."


 ?????????????????


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## Adcandour (Apr 21, 2013)

J-75 said:


> ?????????????????


haha. What "What?"? You're from the t-dot....you _gotta_ know what I'm talking about...

...and now I'm going to bed.


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## snacker (Jun 26, 2008)

adcandour said:


> haha. What "What?"? You're from the t-dot....you gotta know what I'm talking about... ...and now I'm going to bed.



No bohemians, but I did almost run over several bearded dudes wearing toques and riding banana seat bikes......


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## Adcandour (Apr 21, 2013)

snacker said:


> No bohemians, but I did almost run over several bearded dudes wearing toques and riding banana seat bikes......


Ugh, I don't suppose it was 'log rider's waltz night' down by the lake?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=82tbm5Sr1sw


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