How to Sell at a Pawnshop

The repo man will be by tonight to take your new convertible unless you have cash in hand. When it comes to fast money, there's no place like the pawnshop. Sometimes, though, cashing in on an antique can be difficult.

Difficulty: Moderately challenging

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Appealing merchandise

1. Think small. Items like antique jewelry, a silver service piece, old guns or artwork are most likely to get a shop owner's attention. Fewer pawnshops are equipped to deal with big furniture pieces or rare pottery.

2. Put yourself in the shop owner's shoes to judge the sales appeal of your item. He or she is only going to buy what will easily resell. If you have an antique to pawn, finding a pawnshop in an antiques district may bring a better deal. That shop will have more customers looking to get a deal on an antique.

3. Lower your expectations. The shop owner may offer only about 30 percent of value for your item. The offer will be lower yet if the shop owner is not familiar with the piece.

4. Ask the owner how long he or she is legally required to hold onto an item before offering it for resale, in the off chance you come down with a case of seller's remorse or your mom finds out.

Tips & Warnings

• If your need for cash is short-term, ask the pawnshop owner for a loan on the item. Keep in mind that the 4 to 6 percent interest rate is per month, not per year. Fees could get out of control fast if you took a year or more to pay back the loan.
• Check if the broker is a member of the National Pawnbrokers Association (nationalpawnbrokers.org).

[lilolladystuff]

on 9/22/2009 When I fostered and had tough street kids, I always made sure they knew how to pawn instead of steal. Thanks for the reminders.

on 8/8/2006 First of all, divide by 4. Generally, pawnshops try to sell for about half of retail. So, to make it worthwhile for the pawnbroker, he needs to pay half of that. Second, don't ask for some stupid outrageous amount. When you do that, the pawnbroker knows you are full of it, and you just shot yourself in the foot. Third, tell him how much you want. But, if you want $50, ask for $70. If he doesn't go the $70, hit 2 more shops and see if one will pay more than the other. You can always go back to the higher offer. You will look smarter for checking around, and the pawnbroker now loves you because you came back after visiting the competition. Now you've got a pawnbroker that likes you.