Used BT3000...WOW

[bigsteel15]

I was doing my weekly check at a local pawn shop for a lucky deal on used PC or Bosch router (for the motor). I don't really expect to find one, but just missed a deal when one shop sold everything at 50% off to close the shop.

Anyways, I'm walking in the tools area and look down at a BT3000.
Pretty rough shape. No miter fence on the SMT, no stand and looking generally beat up like it was probably a contractors daily user.
They had a sticker price on it of $249, marked "down" to $219.
Can you believe it?

I put the word out to my dad that if his buddy decides to upgrade, I'll buy his well maintained BT3000.

[Tundra_Man]

The pawn shops around here have a non-reality based idea of what things are actually worth. When I try an haggle, they tell me that if I don't pay their price, someone else will. I don't even bother stopping in any more.

I think pawn shops prey on a lot of the "eBay mentality" that thinks just because an item is in a pawn shop (or on eBay) it must be a good deal.

I've got a friend who repeatedly buys things at pawn shops without doing any sort of comparison shopping. He doesn't seem to get it when I point out that for $10 more I could buy the same item brand new, and it wouldn't have been beat to death before the original owner sold it for pennies to support their meth habit.

[dwolsten]

I agree entirely. I used to try to find good deals in pawn shops back when I was in college. I never did, and noticed the same thing: all the prices were quite high. I gave up on it pretty quick.

With the popularity of meth these days, the pawn shops should be doing huge business, although I imagine they might have problems with the police because most of the items pawned by the meth-heads are stolen.

[just4funsies]

The cops here in FL tell me that stolen goods are on a boat to Puerto Rico within 2 days. They don't even bother to try and recover anything anymore.

The construction business here feeds the pawn shops. Often, workers will have two sets of tools, one of which is in hock all the time. Stuff gets sold when the owner stays drunk too long, or misses a paycheck. In addition to all the pawnshops, there is now a check cashing store on every corner (most are open 24 hours). What's the world coming to?

[KLF]

I remember a few years ago I was in a store that sold a lot of used tools. Most of it was junk, but they had some nice stuff too, typically priced just a few bucks less than buying new.

While I was in there browsing, a guy came in carrying a Porter-Cable case, inside was a VERY nice huge D-handle router, looked to be in almost new condition. The sad story was he was going thru a messy divorce and needed cash, so he wanted to sell it fast. I was dumbfounded when the guy behind the counter offered him $20 for it! So the guy said OK!! I wanted to march the guy outside, make him a decent offer on it. I'm sure that router went up on the shelf with a $200 price tag on it.

[dwolsten]

You should have just made him an offer on the spot. "I'll give you $40 for it!". Surely the guy would have said yes. The owner of the shop would probably have thrown you out, but who cares? His prices were all lousy anyway, you would have gotten your router, and the poor divorcing guy would have gotten double his cash.