your experience with pawn shops

[Sara Noel]

Have you bought from them? Pawned items? I haven't been inside one in years, but when I lived in NY, they had beautiful discounted jewelry. Sad that someone else pawned them, but a good opportunity for someone looking for jewelry. I'm sure pawn shops are hopping now.

[MommyBliss]

I've wanted to check some out, but have never had the nerve by myself to do it. I may be doing that if I can get my friend to go with me.

[savvy_sniper]

I have found that with the coming of the internet, etc. that pawn shops don't have many "deals" any more. Lots of pawn shops sell on eBay even!

[Debbie-cat]

I have never been in one so I am not sure what they are like. I do agree, I am sure that they are hopping as people need money, they will sell things and those who can't afford much probably shop there alot.

[Dancing Lotus]

I have never been in one but my mother had a horrible experience.

Her jewelry was stolen , she found it in a pawn shop. Unfortunately the owner was a slime ball. He told her if she wanted it she had to buy it back for what he paid for it. HE WAY over charged her for one piece and then lied to her about the where abouts of another piece. The police were able to locate the second piece. He had sold to his friend whom refused to sell it back to my mom at any price. My poor mom cried and cried because it was special gift from my father and meant a lot to her and the man didn't even care. She now refuses to set foot in any pawn shop. I'm not saying that all pawn shops are bad but lets face it then are in to make money and money is the bottom line.

My husband was looking for tools and he said the pawn shop charg nearly the same price as it is to get new.

[Contrary Housewife]

I have been in a couple, years ago, but was not impressed by the quality of goods. I'm sure it varies a lot, like any 2nd hand store. I have heard you can get really good deals on jewelry if you know what you are doing. I'm not someone who can look at items and tell if they are real or not.

I do know that laws vary from state to state and even by county or township. Pawn shops are governed by local laws, so make sure you know yours before you do business there.

[onencgirl]

I bought a surf board from a pawn shop once with no complaints. I was told to stay away from the tools tho cause they are expensive and pretty much worn out.

[thefrug]

Use them all the time! One man's loss is my treasure! All my jewelry comes from pawn shops. I made a deal with one guy who own a shop. I got a BLACK diamond(!!), and $1,900 cash for my pickup truck. LOL
Recently I've noticed that their prices are getting really high for stuff. Shoot, I'll pay for new stuff instead. Their gun prices are getting ridiculous. They want almost as much as new dealers.

Why is everyone so afraid to go in? Is it a "stigma"? Worried that "someone" will see you going in? oh my!
Why do you need a girlfriend to go in? Theres no discount for bringing someone along LOL

whatever. Your loss LOL

Most of the shops do sell on ebay, which is a sad thing. I like to actually look at and touch what I want to buy ( unless it's something like a book or a replacement part for something, etc)

[frugalwarrior]

We have Megapawn. It has a variety of stuff. Guitars,jewelry,guns,dvds,power tools,other stuff.
I have bought DVD's before. My DS bought his guitar petals there before. I've never pawned anything but we all like to look. To me it's just like G.saleing. I don't think about who pawned. Not my business. And yes in this economy there hopping but mostly pawners not buyers.

[FrugalMomof3]

I've checked a few out and have pawned some items there as well but haven't been there in years. The last time I went I was looking for a necklace for myself and their prices were sky high, they really do mark up the items but pay the person who sold it to them.... really cheap.

[fixer]

Around here the prices are high. I never saw anything I was interested in that was a good buy.

[Neeley]

I've never bought, sold or pawned but my parents opened the first one our hometown ever had in the early 1980's and ran it for many years. OK - the business was in my mom's name since my dad was 100% disabled and could not own a business. However, my mom rarely set foot in there. My dad's brothers worked it for my parents and my dad always hung out at the store with his brothers making sure everything was being done right. It was a huge success.

Whenever items came in like guns, tools or other items that had serial numbers, the numbers were compared with items the police and sheriff's department had listed as stolen. If an item matched, it was turned over to the police department/sheriff's department. My parents just wrote off the loss. I have numerous letters from the authorities thanking them for their assistance in catching thieves and recovering various items.

I can't speak of how items were priced, as I thought they were fair. It was a business and ultimately my parents were there to make a profit so I am sure the weren't giving away the merchandise for free.

I do know they were very forgiving on pawned items. More than once they held a pawned item longer than required to give the owner extra time to get it back. This was especially true if my dad felt like the item was particularly special to the owner. My dad has always been a softhearted person and would go out of his way for others.

[peanut]

I wouldn't go into the pawn shops in this town because frankly, they're in a not nice area of town. I certainly wouldn't go in alone. I was very tempted when I lost my wedding ring years ago. Had all the addresses written down and a plan to go. But DH was not happy with the idea...end of story.

[pat in east texas]

Not impressed at all. Low quality, high prices, especially on bicycles.

[lisabeans]

We recently had a great experience with our local pawn shop. My son needed a scientific calculator for school. We priced them new for $130, but checked the pawn shop first to see if they had any. Sure enough, they had the exact one my son needed and it was only $65.