I envy you guys that live in an area where there are good deals to be had on good gear. When I was growing up near Tampa (back in the 80s and early 90s) it was that way, but not so much anymore. Where I live now is like living in the desert when looking for local deals. Most of what's available is junk and if it's not they want way too much for it.
I'm up the road from Tampa/St. Pete in Gainesville. Although we're a much smaller town than that, or than Jax or ORL or the South Florida megalopolis (WPB/FtL/MIA), as a "college town" it's a pretty good market. Fortunately, on a
per capita basis, our music scene is off the freaking proverbial chart. (I mean, there have literally been not one but
two recent books on the Gainesville music scene published, one covering up through most of the '70s, and the second focusing on the punk rock years thereafter.)
The market has been slow as feck lately, but still there are good deals to be had from time to time. Heck I even occasionally buy a piece with no intention of holding onto it, but instead to keep it for a short period and then re-sell at a profit. Most recent acquisition, which I will
not be flipping, is a 2013 Gibson LP Studio in "Manhattan Midnight" blueburst with the "Anniversary" "Jetsons" hardshell Gibson case, for $500 USD. The seller had even replaced the idiotic robot tuners, a great mod.
In this day and age, I consider that a killer deal.
