I have a good friend who owns a pawn shop.
Next time you go in, ask them to come down on the price. the price on an item for sale is what they would like to get but not the final price they are willing to sell it for.

See, most of the world works on a haggle style of sale. It is really kind of an american thing to simply pay what is on the price tag without haggles. I mean, some stores wont "deal" with you but most merchants in most contries will bargain for anything they are willing to sell.

Why is it that we only bargain when shopping for cars here in America?

Pawn shops are in business to make money. If you want to pawn something, the shop has to protect itself from the liability of you just taking the cash they are willing to give you and never come back. So, they have to release an amount of money they feel they can not only recoup but also make profit on because if not, they would not make any money and would therefore die....eventually. That silly notion of putting food on the table rears it

 

Yes, I knew that one could negotiate with prices if one can find some value in an item, but with some items like a totally scratched up iPod, marked at $199, I can't even begin to negotiate. I'd say, "I'll take that for free, ok?"

But I guess there are fools everywhere, such as people who buy very cheap "authentic" Polo shirts, Rolex and other fancy watches, etc. on Ebay. There are a few self-proclaimed "authorized" Rolex dealers on Ebay.

 

a friend of mine worked at a pawn shop and got me some killer deals on some things. It always helps to have an insider (as many of you apparently have).

I got a really nice scorpion pool cue for $30 and they had it marked for $150.
Also snagged about 10 newer PS2 games for $3/ea. etc etc etc.

Good times. Shame he doesnt work there anymore.

 

Check out the pawn shops near military bases - better goods than your typical ghetto pawn shop imo.

 

I can see these places as a dumping ground......but who the f*&K buys there?

 

My ability to find and get deals at pawn shops doe snot depend on my friend owning one. I can walk into any pawn shop and get a good deal.

That 199 scratched iPod I could walk out of there for probably 50-100. If I tested it and it worked fine and it retailed for 300.00 or so then who is complaining. A fully functioning iPod with some scratches on it....big deal!!! I got it for less than 100.00. What? Are you going to walk around and tell people you bought it at a pawn shop with the scratches on it?? No! Use the scratches as a bargaining tool if it

 

I think you are not grasping the concept of a pawnshop. For the most part, and no, Im not kidding, pawnshops are for degenerate gamblers, crackheads, and tail hounds.

 

I dont want everyone to think I am jumping kumainu's case or I am some poster boy for pawn shops.

These places are great for people looking for deals on things IF that person finds what they are looking for or come across something by happenchance they need or want.

You can find excellent deals on tools, cd's, DVD's, ANY console game, jewelry and a slew of other things, IF you know what you are looking at and know how to play the game.

If you are in need of decent cash for your item, this is not the place for you. But, the typical type of person who pawns items usually does not have the means or the motivation to sell on ebay or any other traditional means of selling items in hopes of any type of decent money in doing so.

Ever try to sell your cd's/dvd's at a used music shop? Ever try to sell your used games to gamestop or other used game dealer? They are exactly the same way. They will give you maybe 1.00 for cd's and maybe 2-3 dollars for dvd's (and that is only if they have ZERO scratches). Games are the same way, maybe 5 bucks for them and only if they have all instructions and ZERO defects.

The shop will have to sell those items for as much as they can and leave it up to the buyer to decide if it worth the price.

Pawn shops offer better deals than those "retail" places because you can negotiate.

Consider those places buyer/seller beware. It is unfortunate you left that place with such a bad taste in your mouth because they really are some of the best places to find deals if you are willing to look and work for it.

 

this is based in truth but way too broad of a stroke to be labeled accurate.

yes, most of the clients that choose to do business in a pawn shop are of the more salt of the earth types but most of these people are decent enough people. Yes some of the stuff is stolen, some of the people are looking for drug money to spend, some are looking for gambling money ect ect. BUT, more often than not, they people you see in there are living paycheck to paycheck and periodically need to pawn something of value they have to make it through to the next month or to meet some unexpected bill.

I have seen countless scenarios where some tradesman pawns some very expensive specific tools to meet some unexpected expense or to do something he could not otherwise do because he may work for commision or it is a slow time in the year for his trade. Take Christmas time for instance, so many people pawn something they have to provide their spouse and kids the christmas they wish they could give. They come back a month or so later and buy-out their item. You should see some of the clients that contantly pawn and then pawn again and again and agian on the same item.

I am not saying it is all that smart and i am not saying what you are saying is not true in some cases, but I think a lot of you have this half-baked idea of what a pawn shop really is. You are not going to see one on Rodeo Drive but they serve a purpose and can be utilized to benefit if you can get past the stereotype.

 

pawn shops can be a great place to find steals...my uncle, for example, has an entire garage full of quality tools that he got at pawn shops for next to nothing...ie, dewalt and bosch 18v cordless drills to the tune of $20, impact wrenches for about the same; he's always coming to work after hitting some pawn shops with bags of deals and bargains. you just have to know what to look for, where to look, and how much things are worth.