What do I need to know before I pawn my stuff?

Don't

We're not dark and sleazy anymore. Those days are gone

Hahahahahahhahahahahaahhhahhahahahahahahhahahahahahahahahahhahahahahahahahhahah a hahahhahahahahahah, hahahahhahahahahahahahahahahahhhahahahahhahahhahahah, that's funny!

Two easy rules for pawn shops...

1: Don't pawn anything you weren't going to throw in the trash anyway.

2: Estimate the cost in fuel to go to the pawn shop and back versus the amount that would be given for the item. It's usually cheaper to throw the item in the trash.

FTFA: Stolen goods are rare at pawn shops.

HAHAHAHAHAHAAAA...that's a good one.

I love pawn shops. I work in a college town, at the end of every school year they fill up with all sorts of awesome stuff that the students don't want to haul back home.

I picked up a Nikon SB-800 flash for $60 a few months ago, and a Nikon 105mm 2.8 lens for $150 a few weeks ago. Both are in excellent condition, and typically sell for much more than I paid.

I love these guys pawning their stuff for ridiculous prices.

Wait... People actually *sell* stuff to pawnshops?

I always thought that was just a place to buy contractor-grade tools that happened to have identifying marks filed off.

down here people hit the pawn shops every friday to cover bills and every money tons of people hit them to buy up all the crap and put it on Ebay

one of my coworkers who plays "the game" scored a wii with games for 200 bucks. he also got a robot vacuum for 50 bucks

i dont quite understand it yet because i always felt pawn shops were just places criminals parted with stolen goods

Stay classy San Diego.

FTFA:
You'll need to identify yourself. Be ready to show a driver's license or state identification, give a thumb print and have your photo taken, along with a photo of your collateral. You'll also need to supply some personal information and details of the item being pawned. This information will be sent to local law enforcement.

Okay, I've never pawned anything, but my sister and her unemployed for almost a decade worthless husband, however, has (and mostly, it's been her stuff). I know that if you're ID isn't current they won't accept your stuff, but what about the rest of that in the paragraph? Is that in all states or just CA? If that is true, then I'll just use Ebay.

I've only bought one thing at a pawn shop, it was a cell phone. The one that I had died, and it was cheaper and easier to hit a pawn shop and get a used cell than it was to go to the cell phone company and faster than Ebay (it died while I was waiting for a call back on a job that I interviewed for, so I really needed a phone that day).

This article read like an advertisement.

It seemed to be presenting distortions as facts.

We're not dark and sleazy anymore." says Israel Adato

That;s some funny shiat right there.

The Weeners makes it even more appealing!

I'm all about eBay for specific things that I can wait a few days for. I browse the local pawn shops bi-weekly and make sure I hit the pawn shops in towns that I visit/vacation in. You really never know what you are going to find. And most of it isn't junk. 2 weeks ago, I picked up an original Nintendo console that was brand new! I only paid $85 for it. That was a small price to pay to be able to own my 13 year old in Super Mario Bros. I suppose that shows my age though, as that is the only video game that I can even hold my own in, much less beat her at!

Other items I've picked up include 2 Curado reels, a Movado watch, Browning 30-06, several fishing rods & tackle, a push mower, a Leatherman.

I also have a hard time passing up garage sales, trade days & Goodwills.

Then there is the story of the miser who had his girlfriend meet him at the pawnshop so she could kiss him under ----------- uh never mind.

Amarao: The Weeners makes it even more appealing!

haha, pwned

usonia: Stay classy San Diego.

I've been there twice, and both times for short periods at low tide; it smelled like a whale's vagina, IMHO.

Amphibian: Amarao: The Weeners makes it even more appealing!

haha, pwned

I know right? >_>;

Mugato: We're not dark and sleazy anymore." says Israel Adato

That;s some funny shiat right there.

Yeah, that dude needs to visit the pawn shop near where I live that sells used porn and appears to be staffed by residents of Bartertown.

Im curious:

has anyone here ever had to hit all the pawn shops in like a 20 mile radius to search for something that was stolen?

i hear that story a lot for some reason...

I have sold stuff to pawn shops before, mostly stuff I have collecting in the den/amorphous pile of crap I promise my wife I'll eventually go through at least once a month. It's kind of a pain in the ass, but it gives me a chance to browse and if you get to know your pawn shop staff and work out a "store credit" arrangement where you agree to use money received in their shop, most will give you a little extra. Actually, going to the pawn shop Tuesday to look at some 16" Work wheels some idiot pawned off for waaaaaayyyyy less than they're worth. 4 wheels with tires for $900. Depending on tread wear, that's about $1200 cheaper than I could get them anywhere else.

Great Janitor: I've only bought one thing at a pawn shop, it was a cell phone. The one that I had died, and it was cheaper and easier to hit a pawn shop and get a used cell than it was to go to the cell phone company and faster than Ebay (it died while I was waiting for a call back on a job that I interviewed for, so I really needed a phone that day).

My experiences with browsing pawn shops in the last 10 yrs (I sure didn't spend the whole 10 yrs doing this) is that they're absurdly overpriced. I mean they carry the same stuff you'll find at Harbor Freight Tools, all marred up, worn, and probably a model from 5-10 yrs ago, for MORE than it'll cost new.

I've got nothing against reusing old junk, believe me, but the price was just a load of bull. Who buys this stuff? Is the idea that we're suppose to haggle?

Yeah I'll pay On Sale! **$299!!** for a 2002-model laptop with a 20gb HDD.
Dude, can I buy pot from you?? I can go on Ecost.com and buy a new-closeout laptop for that. I guess they're trying to sell to someone who doesn't know better because they don't have a computer.

Look for a reputable pawnshop.




Show'em the real stuff, Jeebs.....

/hot like the 'real stuff' in 'real' pawn shops

SoxSweepAgain: usonia: Stay classy San Diego.

I've been there twice, and both times for short periods at low tide; it smelled like a whale's vagina, IMHO.

To ask a rhetorical question that will most likely backfire - What does a whale's vagina smell like?

Oznog: My experiences with browsing pawn shops in the last 10 yrs (I sure didn't spend the whole 10 yrs doing this) is that they're absurdly overpriced. I mean they carry the same stuff you'll find at Harbor Freight Tools, all marred up, worn, and probably a model from 5-10 yrs ago, for MORE than it'll cost new.

Some pawn shops are like this, but the good ones price based on what they paid for the items. Also, they expect you to haggle. You can usually get stuff for 2/3 the asking price pretty easily, just ask if they can go that low.

From what the local pawn guy has told me, they typically ask 3X what they paid for an item, but will almost always accept 2X if you ask. The main exception is guns.

How's THIS for a fancy nickname: SoxSweepAgain: usonia: Stay classy San Diego.

I've been there twice, and both times for short periods at low tide; it smelled like a whale's vagina, IMHO.

To ask a rhetorical question that will most likely backfire - What does a whale's vagina smell like?

Not an exact answer, but this clip from Isabella Rosellini is definitely worth watching.

Green Porno 2: The Whale

eqtworld: /or you could not be an idiot and use ebay

You have no idea what pawning is, do you?

I hear a lot of pawn shops are running out of money and storage space nowadays.
I go down to check out the one in my town and they just have junk, but back when W's daddy George H Bush was pres we had hard times then too, I went into a pawn shop and up on the wall was a hand-and-a-half bastard sword from the 1600's .
A real one, cheap, genuine and in good shape and me out of work and broke.

My band used to have a rehearsal room directly across the street from the police station in my town. One day it was broken into and they stole my brand new 8 channel Mixer I had bought for my project studio. I filed a police report...

6 months later I found my mixer at the pawn shop located literally 3 doors down from our rehearsal room. The pawn shops offer was "We'll sell it back to you for what we have in it.. $25". I refused, and they did everything they could to keep me from getting law enforcement involved.


Unfortunately the police did not do their job, and when I called with my case # they basically replied with "Lol Wut?"

A year later, and many new assholes chewed, I managed to get my mixer out of police custody. The guy who stole and pawned my property lived above our rehearsal room and was never arrested for it.

deadboy - Yeah - but imagine how much worse it would have been without those heroes we call Law Enforcement Officers to protect you.

How's THIS for a fancy nickname: To ask a rhetorical question that will most likely backfire - What does a whale's vagina smell like?

Go ask your mom.

Actually, you'll probably figure it out as soon as you walk into her room.

steveGswine: How's THIS for a fancy nickname: To ask a rhetorical question that will most likely backfire - What does a whale's vagina smell like?

Go ask your mom.

Actually, you'll probably figure it out as soon as you walk into her room.


Don't give up your day job, fatso.

deadboy: My band used to have a rehearsal room directly across the street from the police station in my town. One day it was broken into and they stole my brand new 8 channel Mixer I had bought for my project studio. I filed a police report...

6 months later I found my mixer at the pawn shop located literally 3 doors down from our rehearsal room. The pawn shops offer was "We'll sell it back to you for what we have in it.. $25". I refused, and they did everything they could to keep me from getting law enforcement involved.


Unfortunately the police did not do their job, and when I called with my case # they basically replied with "Lol Wut?"

A year later, and many new assholes chewed, I managed to get my mixer out of police custody. The guy who stole and pawned my property lived above our rehearsal room and was never arrested for it.

The Pawn shops have such a strong lobby in my home town that there is a law on the books that pawn shops aren't responsible for having stolen goods and if the victim wants their stuff back they are forced, by law, to BUY it from the pawn shop.

Oznog: Great Janitor: I've only bought one thing at a pawn shop, it was a cell phone. The one that I had died, and it was cheaper and easier to hit a pawn shop and get a used cell than it was to go to the cell phone company and faster than Ebay (it died while I was waiting for a call back on a job that I interviewed for, so I really needed a phone that day).

My experiences with browsing pawn shops in the last 10 yrs (I sure didn't spend the whole 10 yrs doing this) is that they're absurdly overpriced. I mean they carry the same stuff you'll find at Harbor Freight Tools, all marred up, worn, and probably a model from 5-10 yrs ago, for MORE than it'll cost new.

I've got nothing against reusing old junk, believe me, but the price was just a load of bull. Who buys this stuff? Is the idea that we're suppose to haggle?

Yeah I'll pay On Sale! **$299!!** for a 2002-model laptop with a 20gb HDD.
Dude, can I buy pot from you?? I can go on Ecost.com and buy a new-closeout laptop for that. I guess they're trying to sell to someone who doesn't know better because they don't have a computer.

I've looked at computers at pawn shops, and laughed when I saw what they had and what they were asking. My girlfriend's brother (who will become my brother-in-law) bought a laptop from a pawn shop last year, much like the one you described. I runs Windows 2000 because it really couldn't run XP (even thought that's what came on it).

From what I have seen at Pawnshops, or at least the ones in my area, you can get DVDs at a very good price. I still play my PS2 and I've seen games going at near give away prices at a few pawn shops. Pity the majority are either sports games (yawn) or Hannah Montana games (if there is no nudity cheat code, I don't care). The jewelery is probably over priced, the computers are out of date, and what is actually decent and worth having is probably better bought new with a warranty attached.

I once dated a girl who's family had a pawn shop. She often ran it. The big thing they were making money on was scrap gold. And this was way back, long before the gold run up in recent years. There were a few tools, firearms, and some jewelery they didn't scrap.

I bought a MAC engine analyzer from them, about %40 what it would cost me new. That's about it for my pawn shop finds. I haven't found anything worth buying at one since. Seems the pawnshops I go to have a 286 computer for $500, tools for nearly what they cost new or something else stupid like that.

How's THIS for a fancy nickname: Don't give up your day job, fatso.

Sorry, I've been spending time on the politics tab, which hurts my game considerably.

Peace, and my best to your mom...

Everyday, pawnbrokers must mail information to law enforcement about what is taken into their shop (including customer information). The information is entered into a database which is matched against merchandise reported stolen.

Anyone else find this a little disturbing?

"In Chicago it's worth 50 bucks."


"How much for the gun ?"

rabidferret: Everyday, pawnbrokers must mail information to law enforcement about what is taken into their shop (including customer information). The information is entered into a database which is matched against merchandise reported stolen.

Anyone else find this a little disturbing?

That's why I asked if that was just California or nationwide

smerfnablin: Im curious:

has anyone here ever had to hit all the pawn shops in like a 20 mile radius to search for something that was stolen?

i hear that story a lot for some reason...

Where I live, if something of yours is stolen, the advice is not to check the pawn shops, but wait until Saturday and go to the place were all the Mexicans set up flea market booths. Odds are you'll find your stuff there.

The pawn shop in my home town has been around since the '60s or so, and the police have made regular stops at the place to check for stolen stuff, and they usually found something. None of the kids I grew up with would go into the parking lot for the pawn shop, nevermind the store itself, because it was dark, dingy, old, and very creepy looking from the outside.

So I have to say, if pawn shops have gotten better in California, fine; but no broad generalizations about all pawn shops being aesthetically pleasant and not having hot merch.

/I use eBay.

Pawn shops are a great place to buy hand tools. Go buy some used lifetime warranty tools like Craftsman from the pawn shop, then take them to Sears and get them replaced with brand new ones.

rabidferret: Everyday, pawnbrokers must mail information to law enforcement about what is taken into their shop (including customer information). The information is entered into a database which is matched against merchandise reported stolen.

Anyone else find this a little disturbing?

This is a major deterrent to theft. Most criminals don't plan out their crimes too well. Alright, hot shot, you've made off with someone's Wii. After you busted down their front door to get in and then busted down their back door to escape. Where are you going to sell it? You sold your computer for meth. Oh, and you forgot the Wii-motes, games, and cords. fark!

Hrist: This is a major deterrent to theft.

Yeah, I totally understand the reasoning behind it, but it's just eerily similar to Big Brotherdom.

What if I have to pawn my Sweedish Penile Enlarger?

Simple rule,

Dont patronize Pawn Shops


FTFY

berniex: "In Chicago it's worth 50 bucks."


"How much for the gun ?"

Philadelphia, not Chicago.

/Bo knows movie quotes
//Is also a karate man and bruises on the inside

rabidferret: Hrist: This is a major deterrent to theft.

Yeah, I totally understand the reasoning behind it, but it's just eerily similar to Big Brotherdom.

What if I have to pawn my Sweedish Penile Enlarger?

clean it out first. Though really, I hope you clean it out after every use. That's what I do with my inflatable, vibrating love sheep.

maxheck: Wait... People actually *sell* stuff to pawnshops?

I always thought that was just a place to buy contractor-grade tools that happened to have identifying marks filed off.

I have bought back my own tools several times from the same pawn shop. I have the serial numbers written down, which didnt help. My name was written and engraved on them, which didnt matter. The police said the best thing they could do was tell the shop owner to sell them to me for what he paid. The shop owner quoted me mostly bullshiat amounts for the small stuff so I wound up only buying back my expensive tools. For instance, he claimed he paid $25 for a 2 year old ryobi angle grinder that was beat half to hell and had no accessories. The same tool brand new would cost me $39.

About a year later I was in there buying back my car stereo with my name engraved on it..... A month after that it was a lawn mower.

And its all perfectly legal.

Down there at the pawn shop
Its a nifty place to shop
What has been sold is not strictly made of stone
Please remember its flesh and bone

I can't believe there's only 40 pawnshops in San Diego County.

Where I live there's a chain of 12 (and they actually are well lit, nice joints) and 12 more I can think of off the top of my head. I'm sure there's another 15-20 I don't know of.

And this in a town of 180,000.