'Pawn Stars' guest gets a huge $48,000 offer for his guitar — then he backs out at the last moment
"Pawn Stars" boss Rick Harrison is a tough negotiator and makes sure that no guest can walk away with the kind of big bucks that they expect. But when it comes to some musical instruments, he does agree to shell out more than what he normally would. But in an earlier episode of the show, a man turned down an offer of almost $50,000 at the last moment. It was unexpected, as the guest was getting exactly what he asked for.
The guest had brought an acoustic guitar, which he claimed to be “the most beautiful acoustic guitar” that Chumlee and Corey Harrison had ever seen. Chumlee tried to touch it without understanding what the big deal was, but was stopped by Harrison. It was Gibson’s very first Master Museum model. It was a high-end acoustic guitar line started by the company to show off their artists’ craftsmanship.
This particular guitar was built by a man named Ren Ferguson, and the work of art on its surface was simply stunning. “Here we’ve got pearl and abalone inlays on the pickguard. All the way up the ebony fretboard, you can see the sparkle sunburst purfling there,” the guest explained. The instrument also boasted a maple top and an ebony bridge. The guitar was so special that the guest had only played it once for a couple of minutes.
When asked how much he wanted for it, the guest put up a steep price of $50,000. One doesn’t need to be a musician to understand that’s a lot of money for an acoustic guitar, even if it’s high-end. Harrison did not want to pay so much money without consulting an expert. Therefore, he decided to call in his friend Jesse Ambroso, owner of Cowtown Guitars.
“That’s rad,” Ambroso said after laying eyes on the instrument for the first time. He could not help but pick it up and strum it for a little bit, even though the guest had not let anyone else touch it. “Wow, sounds as good as it looks,” he said with a smile on his face. Harrison then asked him how much these guitars were worth, and the expert said that one could easily get $50,000 to $60,000.
During negotiations, it was the guest playing hardball. He was adamant about not coming a penny below $48,000. Even dropping by $2,000 seemed to cause him a lot of distress. But Harrison agreed to that price and asked the guest to meet Chum at the counter. That’s when he started having second thoughts. “Man, this is my baby,” he said.
“I just don’t think I can part with it,” he added in what was perhaps one of the rarest incidents in the history of “Pawn Stars.” At least it saved Harrison from shelling out that much money for something that wouldn’t have sold for a year or two.
More on Market Realist:
'Pawn Stars' boss Rick Harrison was ready to pay $45,000 for a guitar — but it still wasn't enough
Chumlee from 'Pawn Stars' pays $3,500 for an 'ugly' guitar and Rick Harrison's reaction said it all
