Pawn Shops

[Nate C]

I used to haunt the pawn shops on a regular basis, but I eventually just gave it up as futile. More and more, it seems they only have junk for sale. On those occasions when I would find something interesting, nobody wants to come off those ridiculous prices. I had one guy at one of the chain pawn shops tell me that the price listed on their merchandise was firm and not negotiable. I haven't been back to visit that chain since.

 

[chevydeerhunter]

I don't hit chain pawn shops either. I'll have to give Obama credit for one thing. He's a great gun salesman! At the one good pawn shop here, a lot of the handguns are gone, even the 'junk' ones.

 

[deerslayer64d]

At the pawn shops around here you might as well buy a NEW GUN .

 

[Saxet]

The is on pawnshop in Nacadoches onn 59 just as you enter the town on the south south.....forget the name but is big and they used to have really good prices......wish I remembered the name

 

[TdDude]

I was at a Cash America just south of the Beltway on 249 (Northwest Houston) looking for a camera as a present. I found a great little job and when I tried to haggle I was told that the price posted is the price posted and if they wanted to sell it for less they would have posted it for less.

I wasn't offended, I just asked when that started up. I was told that they lost too many customers that came in and saw the price and just left because they didn't know to ask for less.

The one good thing about this age is that I can google any item on my Black Berry and find out instantly what it's worth.

I found out that the price they wanted for the camera was still a great deal so I bought it.

BUT, Cash America apparently doesn't come down on posted prices anymore.

 

[perdurabo]

The reason that pawn shops offered such good deals in the past was that the pawn brokers generally did their pricing via some outdated gun value bluebook, now that every mouthbreather in the world can use the internet, it doesnt take much for them to pull up gunbroker, etc and search on completed auctions to get a current market value on something. Theres a couple pawn shop chains around the Austin area that have instituted a policy of not selling guns of ANY type to anyone who is not a CHL holder AND they only display their guns Moday through Friday from 9am to 5pm. If you work a regular 9-5 schedule, its impossible to buy a gun from them!

The days of getting good deals on used firearms at pawn shops and gun shows are over. The only way to do it these days is via forums like this from private individuals.

 

[xavierherrera]

Alot of finding something cheap and worth having is "LUCK".

 

[photofreeman]

Pawn shops generally offer about 1/3 of what they think it will sell for.
I have tried to haggle in a couple of shops lately and have been told bluntly that the price marked is the price. Kind of like going to a Houston area gun show. Just a waste of time. These days I'm selling, I'll buy down the road.