Are you interested in doing business with a pawnshop?
Pawnshops have been around for a long time. Most of the time, people did business with pawnshops to make fast money in a pinch. They sell or loan them high-quality items, but they often don’t realize that they’re not getting their money’s worth.
It wasn’t until the popular T.V. show “Pawn Stars” that more people, often collectors, took into consideration buying things from them. Seeing the high-quality items sold at pawnshops prompted them to try and acquire them for themselves. Their problem is that they often overpay to get what they want.
Whether you’re buying from a pawn shop or selling to one, you’re going to want to avoid being in these situations. We’re here to help you realize the value of an item and get the best deal possible. Read our guide below and let’s get started.
Selling or Pawning to Pawn Shops
Let’s start off by talking about how you’ll get the best prices by pawning or selling to pawn shops. After all, this is how most people do business with pawnshops. This is because there is no reason to worry about what you’re selling or pawning.
All you need to know is how to sell your item to the broker. Also, you should already know whether you want to sell or pawn the item. This will help you gauge the price you’ll expect to sell or pawn your item for.
1. Know About What You are Selling or Pawning
Your most valuable weapon when selling to any pawnshop is your knowledge. You should prepare yourself by doing research on what you want to sell or pawn.
If you plan on offering anything old, know about its history. In the case of antiques, find out how your family came to own it. Often, time-worn items have an interesting history behind them and knowing about the story will help you out a lot.
In other cases, knowing about the item’s condition will help you realize its value. Things like comic books, DVDs, video games, or what 30% of Americans offer to pawnshops, electronics all have their prices tied to the conditions they are in.
Electronics, DVDs, and video games only need to be in good working condition to strike a high price. Comic books have it different though. Brokers will base their value on whether they’ve had exposure to air.
2. Find the Right Vendor
Knowing which pawnshop to sell to will help you get the best deal possible. Do some online research about a pawnshop’s reputation. More often than not, pawnshops have a website about their business, this makes it easy for you to research them.
Reputable pawnshops will have a high star rating and positive customer reviews. Be on the lookout for these when you’re looking for pawnshops to sell to.
Other than that, you should look at how the pawnshop runs. Look at their conditions for paying back loans and what not. You can read more here to learn how they work and use their standards to determine if they fit your situation.
3. Make Your Item Presentable
There is no harm in making your items look prettier to get yourself the best pawn shop deals. You may want to consider dusting off your item and giving them a nice shine. Be cautious to not cause any damage to the item’s condition when you’re doing this.
Try to think of yourself as a salesman. Imagine how your customer, in this case, the pawnbroker, would react upon seeing your item. Get into this mindset if you want to succeed in doing business with pawnshops.
4. Negotiating the Price
When it comes to pawnshops, it’s crucial to negotiate with the broker to get the best deal possible. However, it’s important that you don’t overplay your hand so you don’t ruin your chances.
You can avoid doing this by setting a standard. Come up with the lowest acceptable price for you and stick to that. If the pawnshop you’re in right now wants to sell it for lower, you can always choose another shop.
5. Paying Off Your Loan
If you end up pawning your item instead of selling it, then you’re on a timer. How long pawnshops hold your item before you forfeit it depends on which state you’re in. So, be sure to read up on those before pawning something off.
Before your deadline is up, you should get enough funds to pay your loan off including the interest. This way, you will be able to get back your item without any problems.
Buying Quality Items from a Pawnshop
Buying from a pawnshop? You’ll want to get the best deal too! Make sure you get an item for the right price!
This process is much like selling or pawning items to pawn shops. The process of buying is quicker than selling though. It also requires more attention to detail on your end.
1. Know What You Want to Buy
First, you should find out what you want to buy. Often, pawnshops have a list of items for sale on their websites. You can browse their list of items to see if anything catches your eye.
If you find yourself browsing the location itself, then you should be careful of showing interest in something you want to buy. The vendors may see this as an opportunity to drive up the price of that item.
2. Do Some Research on the Item
If you find something you like, then you should take a step back and do some research on it. Doing this will help you find out of the antique is one of a kind, the electronics you want are authentic, and it will also help you estimate their prices.
Arming yourself with this knowledge will help you with the next step in the process.
3. Haggle
When you see a sticker price on an item, you should make that your basis for haggling. Use that as a baseline of how much you can deduct from the sale. A good rule to follow is that you should never go less than 50% of the sticker price.
If you find the sticker price too high for you to haggle with, then you can consider waiting out the price. A lot of people sell and forfeit their items in pawnshops. With their stocks growing, they will look to sell off their older items, which often results to their prices lowering as well.
Get the Best Deals at Pawnshops Today
Regardless of whether you’re buying or selling to pawnshops, this guide will help you make out like a bandit. Go do business with pawnshops now!
While you’re browsing in a pawnshop, you may notice a lot of gold chains. Before you think of buying one, check out our list of 5 ways to save money on gold chains first! This will help you figure out if you’re ready to buy gold chains or not.