Pawn Shops

[Colonel Taylor]

I over the years have always found Pawn Shops kind of intriguing. They give ya nothing for merchandise then ask for more then if it was new when selling.
I have Never sold a thing to a Pawn Shop personally but used to buy now and then because sometime you can get a good deal on tools and such. I have found the shops here locally to be just horrible and often wonder how they stay open. A few examples here, I like guns and will overlook them just about anyplace I go. There is one here locally who has a very large selection of guns for sale, the thing is he has had the same ones for YEARS now and 95% are priced 100-$200 MORE then BRAND NEW.
I had a friend ask me to look over a rifle for him today and the numbskull first off was asking the exact price you can buy it new, I did research before I left. Then the gun would not chamber properly because it had problems, most likely someone either used the wrong round or reloaded and over charged the load. I showed the gentleman the problem and asked how much he would drop the price. His statement. "I had them on sale and just raised them after two weeks because they didn't sell" I explained what could happen if a round is chambered and fired that it could be catastrophic and someone could be seriously injured. He proceeded to put it back and say someone will but it.
When in Fla I always got some good deals, in the NE there are none and here just bad.
Oh and I didn't lie on purpose I did try to sell a handful of trinkets that I collected over the years from demo jobs and such, they were in my ashtray of my truck for more then a decade and I was just driving by the place in Asheville that claims he will give ya the most for gold and jewelry Guaranteed, they're on the radio and tube several times a day. He offered me a $100.00 I then a week or so later after cleaning the truck went to Main Street and got $360.00. Go reputable!
Just my daily rant is all.

[rstrong]

The bad: Pawn shops are often used to fence stolen goods.

The good: They're a big part of the cure for our disposable society. They should be larger, cheaper and more popular. When people need a toaster or desk, second hand should be a more viable option than it is.

[bannination]

I've rarely used pawn shops, but our thrift stores are amazing here - all those dead retirees.

[Wneglia]

Got a good deal on some watches in a pawn shop in Atlanta about 25 years ago.
Don't know if they were stolen.

[Colonel Taylor]

The bad: Pawn shops are often used to fence stolen goods.

This is getting harder and harder anymore, anything with a Model and Serial number runs thru a national data base(or is supposed to).

The good: They're a big part of the cure for our disposable society. They should be larger, cheaper and more popular. When people need a toaster or desk, second hand should be a more viable option than it is.

I think they're a good idea but like everything else there is always greed involved. I used to frequent second hand shops all the time for my self not so much anymore.

[Crock Hunter]

, but our thrift stores are amazing here - .

Ours too... I'm fairly new to thrift store "junkin" .. I started out combing them for vintage electrons.. Have made some amazing scores.. but quickly discovered that they were teaming with other great stuff.. .. I've scored 18th Century Silver, Oil Paintings, Fine Chrystal, Musical Instruments.. .. now I'm a hopeless "junkie"