Pawn Shops

[DUD]

I was shopping in Memphis yesterday at pawn shops. I was very surprised at several

places at the low prices they had on power tools. I bought a Bosch hammer drill for

$30.00, found several Porter Cable air nailers both finish and clip for $30.00 to $70.00. I

think it's a good time to look. Bill

[tribalwind]

good score

i tried finding pawnshops by me, but seems all they deal in is jewelry,coins ,gold etc...

[LCHIEN]

good score

i tried finding pawnshops by me, but seems all they deal in is jewelry,coins ,gold etc...

you need to go to pawn shops away fro your house, in less ritzy parts of town.

[Ed62]

Congrats on the find, Bill.

Ed

[siliconbauhaus]

all the pawn shops around my area want more than recon for their beaters.....I dont even bother to look anymore

[dbhost]

all the pawn shops around my area want more than recon for their beaters.....I dont even bother to look anymore

That's the experience I have had... Generally speaking, I am better off checking Craigslist instead of the pawn shops...

[Hoover]

In the Pacific Northwest, there is retail for a new tool, and a higher price for pawn shop offerings.

[kevincan]

I have not had much luck at pawn shops. There is one near me that usually has a used item for more than I can buy it new if I shop around. There are times that I wonder how they stay in business.

I have seen some other discussions on internet boards about pawn shops and a lot of people suggest to negotiate the price with the pawn shop.

[Uncle Cracker]

LOML's cousin took a bunch of his tools to a pawn shop, and said that he didn't get half of what he might've a couple of years ago. Says the shops are, now more than ever, taking advantage of those who are hurting for money to pay bills, and that they flat-out told him so, along with their being extra cautious because buyers also have less to spend these days.

I figured that buying lower might translate to better bargains at the hock shops, but a couple of visits revealed that it ain't so... Prices still seem to be every bit as ridiculous as they have always been. I think that strategy is gonna backfire on the pawners. Hope they can eat their inventory...

[jonmulzer]

Of course the prices are high. They cater to those who cannot afford what they are about to buy. It is the entire nature of their business plan. You can't afford to pay your bills so you take in a $200 framing nailer and they give you $50 for it and you have to pay $10 a week to keep it from ending up out on the showroom floor. If you miss a payment then they put it out for sale for $200.

Some other poor bloke needs a framing nailer, but he has never had $200 except for on payday in his entire life so he puts it on layaway. After 3 months of paying $20 a week (you have to pay layaway fees) he has a framing nailer.

All in all, with pawn service fees and finance fees and reselling it they probably make $400 off of a framing nailer they bought for $50. There is a reason they call it predatory lending.

I had a friend that fell into the trap. He pawned a four wheeler and by the time he got it back he spent twice what it was worth. He would have been better off to let them sell it on the floor and then buy it from them that way. For what he spent he probably could have bought a year old Yamaha Raptor! A year after that incident he found himself in the same trouble and was about to pawn some tools. Instead I told him I would buy them from him for what they offered and then when he got back on his feet I would sell them back to him for exactly what I paid for them. Zero percent interest. When I found out what they offered, I added 50% because the prices were too low for me to not feel like I was ripping him off!

The following year I worked with him on a financial plan to break the cycle he was in and he has not been in to such a place since. He finally has money in the bank and I ended up with a Trojan miter saw stand with all the accessories and a miter saw for $250. He decided he liked the Delta stand better.

[DUD]

My experience is different in that I have a few rules that I go by. I go as close to the

end of the month as I can, I know what I'm looking for, and I know what I'm willing to

pay, and I always haggle. If the pawnbroker won't sell and doesn't counteroffer I

leave. It won't work in small towns, but in bigger cities it should. Bill

[LCHIEN]

the other thing about pawn shops is that they all have internet access to eBay and can look up the prevailing prices on anything used. They hardly ever sell anything at a real bargain price anymore because they know what its worth.

They don't make that much off of sales... they make most of their money off the fees that they charge. The stuff out front is just gravy they get from the people who forfeited their stuff because they sure didn't give them but a fraction of what its worth, even used.

[eccentrictinkerer]

My experience is different in that I have a few rules that I go by. I go as close to the

end of the month as I can, I know what I'm looking for, and I know what I'm willing to

pay, and I always haggle. If the pawnbroker won't sell and doesn't counteroffer I

leave. It won't work in small towns, but in bigger cities it should. Bill

Excellent advice! The shops typically have paid only 10 to 25% of the shelf price and the ones here will take substantial discounts.

I got my zipcode saw for $65 after I pointed out that the rip fence and SMT were missing (they had a $150 price tag on it).

As luck would have it,the day before, I had purchased a smoked BT3000 with 1 SMT's, 2 rip fences and 2 accessory tables for $35 total on CL !