i speak from experience from having sadly been forced into slave labour on the street. I luckliy know work in other areas! so firstly Andys.. unless you want to pay 150% over the odds you have to barter with them.. my main problem is they tend to push down the price of anyone bringing in any equipment and then take 15 % commision and then put it on sale for more than a new item..and take whetever they make on top with a 15 % take of whetever you asked it to be sold for..scam anyone..that is why stuff sits and sits in andys..you then get the added problem of being paid once you have sold your item..don't expect anyone to call and be prepared to wait!!! also new stock is usally b stock which they fix and sell at normal price!! ok so thats andy's out the way..hanks is part of the rokas, musicground, regents guitars empire..be warned these shops are not competing they are all owned by the same company..they all start at recommended retail price on most new items and will go down if you have a cheaper printed example..but they are all quite snobbish, sexists and elitist!! ok the specialised shops such as vintage and rare, musicground..vintage is all about getting choice pieces and collectors pay top wack for it..its never about serving the working musicians.lets face it you ned to be a lawyer or top accountant to be able to walk in and blow 2K on a guitar..or have a large advance to burn! they do mark up and sometimes they do get it wrong..always ask for a guarantee/authentication papers so if they forgot to mention something was changed you can go back to them and get them to source parts/barter etc.. ok now the other 2 other independent wunjo's and angels music..please please please make the effort to check out angels 1'st floor above musicground.its a treasure trove of realistically priced vintage jems..some of its tat but some of its good! and wunjos _ which can sometimes be offerpriced but does come with human beings serving you, they will let you try..brian the owner is a luthier first and foremost, he has just set up bj guitars and is an allround good scotsman ..hence he can appear tight sometimes but you can get a decent deal in there..they commision at 12.5 % and do call you as soon as item has interest and has gone..

so in essence know your stuff!! know the vintage guide prices and stick to them..also know the retail price of new items and study guitarmagazines for guide prices that month! if in doubt call the distributors which means you can alsio check credentials of shop that claims to be a distributor!

hope that helps,

have a happy new year all!