Chumlee from 'Pawn Stars' pays $3,500 for an 'ugly' guitar and Rick Harrison's reaction said it all
“Pawn Stars” creator and the owner of America's most famous pawn shop, Rick Harrison, is known to splurge on rare guitars that he considers holy grails. But as much as he trusts his judgment, before calling in experts to confirm the value, Harrison isn't too positive about Chumlee's eye for vintage instruments. That's why Chumlee faced flak from Harrison when he bought an unusual-looking guitar for a lot of money. When an expert got to take a look at it afterwards, he said that it was not worth the money that was paid for it.
The guitar was a custom Les Paul by Gibson, but the problem was that it was themed after the US Open. The instrument’s body had pictures of old tennis players like Andre Agassi and Billie Jean King. The guest who brought it said that he had received it as a gift. However, he wasn’t big on tennis, and the guitar just did not look good enough for him to go on stage and perform with.
Lee was the one behind the counter at the time, and instead of calling in an expert, he decided to do the deal all by himself. The guest had asked for $5,000, but Lee agreed on a deal at $3,500. He felt like it was a good deal, as Gibson’s Les Paul models are among the most sought-after by collectors and guitar enthusiasts. He felt that having a US Open-themed Les Paul brought together the best of both worlds.
That’s why Chumlee thought that it was worth a lot of money. However, when Harrison came into the shop the next day and saw the instrument, he wasn’t best pleased. “What the hell is this?” he asked upon seeing it. “It’s ugly,” he added. An expert was already in the office at the time, and it seemed like he had already given a valuation to Lee. It’s no surprise that he was a bit squirrely in front of his boss.
When Harrison asked how much Chumlee paid for it, the reply was, “Don’t worry about it, I’ll take care of it.” The pawn shop boss knew something was wrong and pushed his employee further about the matter. That’s when he learned how much was paid for it.
Harrison was not happy when he heard this and asked the expert how much it could sell for. The expert said that it was worth $3,000, which was less than what Lee had paid for it. The 60-year-old almost lost his calm and said, “No one’s gonna buy this.” Thankfully, he calmed himself and asked his employee to call in an expert about things like this in the future.
One of the funniest parts of the entire clip was when Chumlee asked the guest if the guitar was tuned up and working. He did not even plug in the guitar to see if it actually worked, and just decided that it was in good condition.
