This sitar can be yours for the low, low price of $800. (Photo: TBD Staff)

Snapshots of the wild, weird and wonderful things you can buy in the D.C. area.

Product: A gently used, working sitar, plus instrument case

Cost: $800 plus tax

Available at: Crown Pawnbrokers, 1726 14th Street NW

Why you might want it: You've always wanted to learn how to play the sitar, but not enough to go to all the trouble of having one shipped from India. It's also a great deal. Comparable full-sized sitars often retail for anywhere between $1,500 and $2,000.

How it works: It's a sitar. If you don't already know how to play one, there are a number of Indian music schools in the area that offer lessons, like the Academy of Indian Culture & Arts in Sterling.

Bottom line: Crown manager Jessica Barakat says she's had the sitar at her family-owned pawn shop for a few years now. The woman who sold it to her had bought it on a whim while traveling in India, but she eventually grew tired of lugging it around. "She was moving from place to place," Barakat says. But despite the sitar's longevity at the pawn shop, Barakat isn't worried. "Everything sells eventually," she says. Pawn stores like hers, which has been in operation since 1939 and offers a large selection of musical instruments, power tools and collectibles, serve as "the ultimate recycling" center.