Thinking of visiting a pawn shop. What should I know?
Thinking of visiting a pawn shop. What should I know?
So, I've never been to a pawn shop before. I'm curious what's there, but TV makes them seem shady and odd. What should I know before I visit? I'm sort of expecting a cross between an antique and a thrift store, that sort of vibe.
I'm in the USA and don't intend to pawn anything.
It's just a store. Sometimes you can haggle. Sometimes there's screaming deals. I bought a Nintendo Switch for $150 a month after it was released.
Pawn shops take advantage of the lowest and most vulnerable of society. They buy something from somone for a tiny fraction of what it's worth, and then sell it to you for almost-new prices.
Why should you visit a store that concept roots in scam? I don't mean fraud, just buying cheap from desperate people and selling high. That's a scam imo. Just don't. There's nothing to find there, no treasure, no unique stuff for borderline reasonable price. Maybe a gun. You need a gun from a pawn shop?
Where I'm from they're mostly used as alternatives to online marketplaces like Craigslist and Facebook marketplace for people who can't be bothered to respond to a slew of messages.
You can typically find last generation consoles and games pretty cheap.
TBF you just described most of capitalism.
I don't need a gun, but the pawn shop on my commute has some musical instruments in the window which intrigue me. I'm a serial hobby-starter, and prefer gently used hobby tools over new, because used items have less of an environmental impact than new items.
Musical instruments are one of the better things you can find, and usually you can try them in store.
Most pawn shops deal primarily with guns, tools, and jewelry. You'll also find all kinds of electronics and collectibles, some places may have furniture too.
I once sold a 100$ used laptop for 100$ to a pawn shop. Soo... It's not terribly bad.
Try haggling unless they have weapons very close to the employees. Other than that, same as any other store. (Except like, most of these goods are from desperate folks etc. Still, probably about as ethical as our phones etc.)
They're not going to shoot you for trying to haggle. Shit I've haggled on the purchase of a gun.