The Money Mustache Community

Learning, Sharing, and Teaching => Ask a Mustachian => Topic started by: Mr. Minsc on June 19, 2013, 09:55:24 AM

Title: Pawn shops: Yay or Nay?
Post by: Mr. Minsc on June 19, 2013, 09:55:24 AM
I'm on the fence over this one.  On the Mustachian side could potentially find great deals and save yourself some money in the process.  That I'm all for.  Unfortunately it gets a little tricky.  Pawn shops can also be home to stolen goods, this here is where morals come in to play.  Would you buy something knowing in high probability it was stolen?  For example, tools.  Numerous occasions tools have been stolen from contractors on jobs I've worked on.  In one case the power tools showed up at a pawn shop a month later, complete with the acronym of the contractor still stencilled on them.

This is just experience talking, if I never worked in a trade I likely would buy them without thinking of their origins.
Title: Re: Pawn shops: Yay or Nay?
Post by: tuyop on June 19, 2013, 10:01:20 AM
It's all made out of resources that companies stole from other people anyway.
Title: Re: Pawn shops: Yay or Nay?
Post by: cerberusss on June 19, 2013, 10:08:13 AM
Aren't there good and bad pawn shops? I'd still use decent ones, if they had something I'd need.
Title: Re: Pawn shops: Yay or Nay?
Post by: Joet on June 19, 2013, 10:46:20 AM
I've never seen anything reasonably priced in one in my area. YMMV I suppose. Craigslist is 10x better

now running a pawn shop has been an occasional dream of mine..
Title: Re: Pawn shops: Yay or Nay?
Post by: tuyop on June 19, 2013, 01:02:52 PM
I got about $400 worth of tools for $90 from a pawn shop down the street. Pretty sweet experience because I got to haggle as well.
Title: Re: Pawn shops: Yay or Nay?
Post by: Eric on June 19, 2013, 02:14:10 PM
That's an interesting question.  In theory, any item you buy used comes with the chance that it's stolen.  At least with pawn shops, there's supposed to be a tracking system where the seller has to show ID and be recorded as the seller, so that if it is stolen merchandise, the cops could track him down.  That's one more check then buying from Craigslist offers.  I don't think pawn shops are the hotbed of fencing stolen goods nowadays that they might have been in the past.  So I wouldn't rule out a pawn shop if the price was right.
Title: Re: Pawn shops: Yay or Nay?
Post by: kevin78 on June 19, 2013, 03:02:18 PM
I was in a pawn shop the other day.  It was o.k., I think the prices are deliberately high, and then when you show a bit of hesitation due to the price, they then knock it down to sweeten the "deal."  I don't know that this is the case everywhere, but it was where I was at.

I think you have to be careful with what you buy and be willing to walk away like others here said.
Title: Re: Pawn shops: Yay or Nay?
Post by: tuyop on June 20, 2013, 06:31:45 AM
You can often bargain hard at pawn shops.

I got an AF-D Nikkor 50mm f/1.8 lens in "like new" condition for $60 at my local pawn store. They wanted something like $120 (above retail). I told them my "go away" price was $60. They caved.

"The best deals you make are the ones you're prepared to walk away from."

Well I mean that's only like a $100 lens.