Heard this one before? I hate to burst any bubbles, (not really, consider it a PSA) but they are pro's in business to make $ by buying low and selling high, the American way. GENERALLY they know more about the guns/value/ & how to dicker. YES they may remember your name & be friendly enough. Just for S&G's/honesty check, bring them a gun with a known value & see what they will pay you for it, & just how much it will be marked up when in their display case the following day. NOT TO SAY it never happens. I had a LGS owner/buddy I hung out with & hunted with for years until he realized he made more $ selling worms/ fishing tackle/ trendy sporting clothes with a whole lot less stress & paperwork.

Funny, most of the pawn shops I've been to remind of a garage sale with MSRP, especially with firearms, most of which are the standard new plastic stuff or just old stuff - kinda like most gun shows. I've done better at Scheels or Cabelas.

Maybe you just go to the wrong pawn shop that looks for suckers coming through the door! I kid i kid. There are two brick and mortar gun stores I deal with. One is a nutrition supplement and health goods store that sells firearms at nearly online prices. The other is a pawn shop owned by a retired state trooper. The pawn shop sells just about everything at MSRP.. Apple products and watches. The guns, however, are priced amazingly well since he's on a mission to legally arm anybody who qualifies. I guess there are few and far in between but I certainly see what you're getting at.

well....................

There are a lot of things I could say in response to this thread but I probably won't.

The cost of doing business isn't free.

Everyone who comes into my shop wants a "deal" I would be shutdown in a month if I did that. Gotta make a living just like everybody else.

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Hue 68 noli me tangere

PG, I realize you have overhead just like any other biz, probly more with all the paperwork/security/insurance requirements and aren't there to lose $. Not to mention competition from big box and online outfits. I accept this, but one needs to realize it when walking thru the doors. SOME seem to have no qualms about taking advantage of a widow or heir, others are more fair & end up with more repeat/happy customers. Just sayin.

Hit or miss at my local pawn shop in regards to used guns. Sometimes they will get a real gem and put it in the case without researching the actual value of the gun, basing priced strictly on their profit margin. Picked up my Colt Officer Target the day they took it in for $375, which was the asking price. But sometimes I will see something on display (1917 Colt .45 revolver, all buggered up) for $800 collecting dust. That's why I hit them once a week. I see something new in the case that captures my attention and it was put out with only profit in mind. Got my 1946 vintage, all matching M&P six inch .38 for $400. They even price most new handguns under MSRP.

What is there to say about that? Nothing nice that I can think of, so being the polite gentleman I am, I won't.

A local pawn shop that I frequent called me last month to let me know they had another S&W revolver in on consignment (they know I have a weakness for them). They had a 66-4 3” for $700 (no box, paperwork, or tools). I’ve attached pics they sent me.





Needless to say I bought it!!!!!!!!!

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Gone but not forgotten-RIP Dad

My LGS folks know me by name. The one shop really recognizes my interests and is very accommodating when they have something in stock. He is always willing to show me things before they go on the shelf which is nice for me and he knows that I'm a buyer. So a lot of times, he knows the gun is going to a happy customer and he can get his money out of it quickly with a little on the top. However the price he sells it to me at is often still less than I'd pay on GunBroker or competing stores. While we aren't what I'd call friends, we do look out for each other's interests when they align which is good for business!

Sent from my Pixel using Tapatalk

For many years I had a symbiotic relationship with a nearby pawnshop. We both sold used music gear but I did all their repair work at a big discount. We actually referred customers to each other as to keep the business local.

We were both in it to make money and kept each other honest. They were and still are very knowledgeable about their firearms and still allow me discounts on anything.

They have moved to a much larger building as they have grown incredibly successful and really do treat folks fairly. If Ruthie and I contemplate buying anything, whether it be a gun, a leaf blower or an iron lung, we call them first.

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Music/Sports/Beer fan

Agree, but I'll say a couple of them ......

1. You do not need to buy or sell anything from/to this shop.

2. How would they stay in business if they didn't "buy low and sell high(er)"?

3. Is it a crime that this business tries to make a profit?

4. If you don't like it, refer back to #1.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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Pass it on.
Mark

Never pay more for an acquisition than you have to.

When I buy I don't want to spend more than I have to.
When I sell I'd like to get as much as possible (AKA break even/get back what I have into it, a bit more +1 ), who wouldn't? One example of a not so nice pawn shop experience: I wanted to buy a used Ruger MKll target pistol, it was later in the day but nowhere near closing time. The clerk goes into the back & comes back & says sorry we can't sell any guns now, come back tomorrow. The next day the gun was marked up 50$ or more. I've bought guns everywhere, but have NEVER sold to a LGS or pawn as I could do better online, bulletin board, swap meet, gun show. I didn't fall off the turnip truck last nite, so when I try to sell a gun to someone that I know is gonna resell or flip it, I realize there needs to be SOME meat left on the bone. Some offers (low balling) have been downright insulting. CHECK THAT, back in 76-77??? I did buy a bunch of mdl 10's @ 1 LGS, drive/sell them to another & make 5$ or so on each. My beer $/allowance for the week while in college. I never kept/fired or had to bring a single 1 back to campus. I did buy a 10-6 app 3 years ago for 325$, shrewd huh?

I used to deal with a pawn shop/gun shop where the owner did indeed like me. He often sold me things at his cost or just over. I once bought an original Great Western .45 Colt single action for the pawn price, $70.

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John 3:16
WAR EAGLE!

yawn... sky is blue, rain is wet

business people must make a profit.

As for me, I carry a big stack of benjamins and the whole world is my friend.

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God spelled backwards is dog.

the whole world is my friend.[/QUOTE]
A fist full of Benies & you still can't "get a date" in a brothel. SERIOUSLY, wave some Benjamins under the nose of a down on his luck private seller & they go a LONG WAY. Since we all enjoy arguing so much, YOUR WELCOME.

There's good, bad and indifferent in every business, trade, profession, and avocation imaginable. I have a very good relationship with a pawn broker who does transfers very reasonably and has given me first dibs on some very nice pieces that he knows I may be interested in. There's a couple others in the area I've dealt with...once.
I'll say I've dealt with some really unscrupulous people in other businesses that you may think as aboveboard professions. One that comes to mind is a local watch repairman that I took a reasonably expensive watch to get the battery changed. He did it for me on the spot, but I noticed a small piece on his work mat that I hadn't noticed before. I remember thinking "I wonder if that part goes to my watch?" Several days later, it began keeping erratic time and I went back. He pulled the back, looked at it and told me it needed a new movement and wasn't worth repairing, but he was going to be a good guy and offered me $150 for it because it would only be good for "parts". This was a nearly $1000 watch that was only a couple years old. I told him no and took the watch home with me and tossed it in the safe and forgot about it for a few years. Then I happened upon a little watch shop up in central Florida in an area I had started doing more work in. I took the watch by him one day and just said it needed a battery. He looked at it and said the battery was at full voltage and I was just missing a small clip that held the battery in place against the contacts. He found one that fit in a pile of spare parts on his bench and held it up for me to look at. I was flabbergasted...I recognized it as the same part I saw on the scumbag's work mat that he had intentionally left out. I think I suspected something like that when I refused to sell it to him at a rediculously low price. He could have just said "oops, my bad...this part must have fallen out when I replaced your battery the other day". But no...he obviously tried to rip me off. The guy who put the part back in didn't even charge me anything. He actually said "I don't need to sell you a new battery and I can't really sell you a used part." That was 8 years ago and the battery lasted six. He changed it a couple years ago when it died and by then he had restored several heirloom clocks that my parents gave me, repaired several watches and clocks from my inlaws, wife, brother in law, and many friends I have referred to him. I don't let the fact that he's over a hundred miles away deter me from using him. Sorry for the long rant. Point is, I think pawn brokers get a bad rap, particularly now there are these stupid reality shows (staged unreality if you ask me). They show pawn brokers as those who prey on the disaffected for profit.

P.S. if anyone wants to know a great watch guy (and he is truly an "old school" watchmaker) up in the Central Florida area, PM me

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USS Brewton FF1086
SWCA#3597

Gun owners value guns higher when selling, lower when buying.

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Sure you did

Having only bought/sold app 100-150 guns lifetime & had some REAL good deals, especially on multiples, I've often wondered about some of the crazy good deals these pawns/LGS's must get when buying whole collections &/or in the thousands of guns. It seemed like every multiple (more than 2-3) deal had a Mossberg 500 or Maverick 88 in it.

Pawnshops...good, bad, and ugly.
Last week a local shop had a S&W 57-4. that was at best
70-80 percent, asking price was $1,000.00, which is a
descent price of a one at 100%. He was holding firm.

Since we all enjoy arguing so much, YOUR WELCOME.[/QUOTE]

In the spirit of argument, the correct contraction is you're.

Congratulations, this is one of the silliest threads I've ever seen posted. What are you trying to say? OP bounces around from gun markups to trendy fishing gear to denigrating a merchant for trying to make a profit.

Capitalism works friend. Buy low, sell high. Cash is king, one offer is better than a thousand lookers and an open countenance, along with a stack of greenbacks, will open many doors that will always be closed to a poser with an attitude. Just sayin'.

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God spelled backwards is dog.

I deal with and have dealt with a few pawn shops over the years. Generally get good prices on guns from them and they almost always knock a little off of the sticker, sometimes even if I haven't asked....as for what they pay for the stuff they buy, Noone forces you to sell to a pawn shop. If you don't like what they offer, take it elsewhere, and if your wife doesn't know what your stuff is worth after you croak, shame on you. But remember, when she sells 30 guns to some shop, she's selling below wholesale.

Robert

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Robert
SWCA #2906, SWHF #760

Well, I wouldn't call it lucky, but in my neck of the woods the average age demographic is over 50...grandpa dies, kids unload everything they don't want to deal with, including heirlooms, guns, what have you. Most have no idea of value...case in point, June 1942 Victory revolver in 100% original condition, got it for $350, all matching. Got it lettered. High volume pawn brokers don't really do their homework at times.

Take a deep breath and unknot YOU'RE knickers. I enjoy perusing pawns too. It just seems I don't buy as much as I used to. Just wanted to remind a few folks that their "friends" are pro's at buying/selling. Even when we got a "great deal" I'm sure they didn't sell for a loss, NOR SHOULD THEY. If the doors are still open beyond 15 years or so they must be doing something right (IMO). The ones that are a flash in the pan, not so much. Maybe I'm still angry over a few perceived slights and price gouging on 22's??? Stores going the way of the gun shows, or giving the people what they want, IDK. NOT MEANT TO BE A PERSONAL ATTACK. Calling myself a "smallfry" doesn't sound like a a poser to me. A poser is trying to represent himself as something he is not, and a jerk just hurls insults. I can't at the moment remember what my original intention was, but it was not malicious. Sorry if I touched a nerve or hurt any feelings.

Selling is an art. Buying at the right price is too. Some people know this and some don't. People that do are wise enough to know that you just don't walk in and ask for a discount. Why the hell should you be given a discount?

Now, if you're a frequent customer in good standing and actually support small business such as these, you may get a discount without asking.

Working in my friends pawn shop for a year I took great delight in telling people no.

Customer: "Hey how ya doin? Just coming back from Cabelas. Any good deals?"

Me: "No you just missed them"

In all seriousness a smart shopper will watch the prices on used guns. He knows what he's buying and he also knows what he should expect to pay. Price too high? Walk away. Come back in a week or two. Then ask if that's the best price. If the gun has already sold, no harm, some fool paid too much and be glad that fool wasn't you.

Realize also that most pawn shops will put a higher price tag on anything they sell. One reason is that they expect a shopper to ask for a discount. And the other reason is that the very people that have everything they own in hock are some of their best customers. These people obviously can't manage their money and impulse buying is their specialty.

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Life Is A Gift. Defend it!

OK. I have some time now..........

Your original post came at me was a warning that pawnshops are a ripoff if you sell to them and then the shop turns around and sells it for a big profit. Pawnshops are a cash business, when people sell or pawn an item, they are paid in cash. So the money/inventory needs to turn over to be successful. Optimally, a pawnshop should turn over 3 times in a 12 month period. 2 times is more realistic in most cases.

I've been in the pawn/gun business for 26 years so I must be doing something right. I haven't gotten rich but I make a living. I'm a small shop, just 2 of us(now both women) I fact I ran it for 3 years completely by myself. Most of my gun business is shotguns because the area has a lot of hunters. Most guns come in thru the pawn system, not outright purchases. My money is tied up for a minimum of 30 days on the pawn hold and is not making me money. In some states the hold time is 90 or maybe even 120 days. If the pawn is not paid only then can I sell the gun.

I know my regular customers and their interests and if a gun is something I figure I can move quickly I might pay more to get it.
And yes, my regular customers know cash talks!

I get very few complaints on what I offer on guns for pawn or purchase.
I'm not a stocking dealer so I don't have a case full of plastic fantastics.
I do stock a very few new handguns when I can get a good deal. Try to stick with S&W and Ruger.

The people that throw a hissy fit are the 20 somethings that come in to sell video games. Just because they paid $60 for a game 6 months ago they think they should get at least $30 now, nope, sells used on eBay for $8.95 now. So. I'd pay $3 and hope to sell it before the price drops further.

Oh, and the comment about Mossberg & Maverick shotguns, you get them in bundle deals because the shop doesn't pay much for them so that is where the wiggle room is to make a deal. Been there, done that, many times.

When we first started in the pawn business we offered no discounts, no dickering on price but very quickly realized that the customer expected to "wheel & deal" so we raised prices!

I just shake my head at the people that come in, get a loan because they're broke and then spend half of it on DVDs or gaming stuff.

The only thing I can add to this thread is that I made a lot of money selling worms & nightcrawlers when I was in high school. Worms a penny a piece, nightcrawlers 2 for a nickel. The ironic part was nightcrawlers were way easier to come by. Just pick 'em up off the ground. Worms, I had to dig for. I feed 'em used coffee grounds.

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NRA Benefactor

You can barely swing a cat around here without hitting a pawn shop.
Good on you! I NEVER said good deals can't be had, just that I'm pretty sure they didn't lose $ & met their overhead % needed to keep the lights on, as it should be. We have no way of knowing what they paid for anything. SO, as good a deal as we think we may have gotten, they probly got it for a lot less.
On that 45 Muley, was Nixon still president? JK

Of course you need to make a little on this gun ...

Remembering a conversation many years ago at Tulsa when nice used Model 60s were selling for $200.

I need to make a little.

Of course you need to make a little on this gun.
I am willing for you make a case or two of beer.
I do not want you to make a case of fine scotch.

Bekeart

My LGS will:

1. Call me when he has something I might like (Old Smith revolvers and non-sporterized milsurps) and If I am interested sell them at a reasonable price - sometimes a discount on the less rare items, but he will always throw in 2-3 boxes of ammo.

2. Allow me to buy all the ammo that I request at reasonable prices even during periods of "scarcity" and gouging prices. I often need to wait a for minutes for this after the other customers leave.

3. Greet me by name and ask how he can help me or what I am looking for today. He will take the time to help me if I am looking at a $12 holster as much as a $3,000 shotgun. He will discuss what he likes, what works for him, and when I was a pup how to care for my firearms. All the advice proved good.

4. He knows that I will buy firearms from Academy if they have it in their selection, but I come to him for everything else. I bought my large safe from him because I wanted to, we both knew that I could have got the same safe for less elsewhere.

5. I do not haggle on new guns - I pay the price or wait for a sale, I will try to deal on used guns as we both know he has more room there. I buy more guns there than I want to put in print, but I am happy with everyone of them.

I stop by once or twice a month. Sometimes I bring donuts. It all works for me.

I would just like to remind you that price gouging is an impossibility
in a free market. As others have mentioned, to buy low and sell high
is the American way. It is called Capitalism. Those people who stood at
the door for hours waiting for Walmart to open were providing a service for
those who, for whatever reason, got caught short. If I had been without
.22 rimfire when the shortage hit (I wasn't), I would have gladly have paid
$50-$60 a brick for some if I needed it for a weekend of fun with friends or kids.
Everyone doesn't have time to spend hours scouring the stores for a scarce
commodity. I would rather pay someone else to do it in those circumstances.
If you haven't guessed, the whiners about "price gouging" during that shortage
are a pet peeve of mine.

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Georgia On My Mind

There are few pawn shops in my state and they can't sell firearms. There might be a connection there, but that's not my point.

When dealing with one of the two LGS that I usually buy from, I ask if the tagged price is the best they can do. One shop rarely offers a discount, the other it depends on whether it's a trade in or a consignment. They have more flexibility on trade ins. They do not offer any discount on new guns, because the markup isn't very high. I've heard that at a few different shops, so I'll take it to be true.

I never trade in a gun to a LGS, the numbers don't work well IMHO. As with trading in your used car towards a new one, the chances are great that the LGS will make more on the trade in than on the new gun/car.

I don't begrudge them their profit, not at all. If they don't make money, they'll go out of business and I don't want that. OTOH, I can generally figure out what a fair asking price is based on information I garner here, other forums, and of course online auction sites.

My son has done very well buying tools at pawn shops. Apparently some people on the trades will pawn their tools when work is slow and then (hopefully) pay off the loan and get them back when work picks up. He gets the tools of the guys that weren't able to do that, and he's a good shopping and sharp negotiator.

The pawn shops where he used to live in AL had a wide range of guns, some good, most new, some junque. He's in SC now and hasn't had a chance to scope out the pawn shop/gun store situation yet. I was hoping to do some of that with him this trip, but we ran out of time. Maybe next time.

If I lived in an area where pawn shops sold guns, I'd make it a habit to "ride the circuit" looking for 3rd Gens!

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Can open, worms everywhere.

There is a pawn shop here where they treat me pretty darn well. I got this Winchester 1892 in 44 magnum for under $500 OTD.

I have friends in the pawn buisnes, and I have used them at times when I have bought large collections from heirs of a collector, and either needed some financial help with the purchase or I was not interested in a great deal of the product.

People will complain
About a pawn shop charging 30 percent on a item they might set on for a year,

but will walk into a convince store and pay a 75 percent margin on a product that rotates weekly if not daily

There is a reasonable profit, and then GREED. YES you may have payed big $ for 22's, I doubt you would have "liked" it. Let's call a spade a spade. I don't/didn't whine. I found my "line in the sand" price I WOULD pay and stuck to it. NOT forgetting those who did take advantage is not whining, more like finding another place to spend my $ now. What goes around, comes around.

Pawnshops are businesses. Businesses need to make money or they don't last long. I visit several and watch the inventory. If something is a good deal it goes home with me (like my 2" model 15 for about 400 otd and a similar deal on a 66-1). If it's priced too high I wait and watch. I waited too long on a military Remington Model 11 and missed it. I also waited too long on an autographed Traveling Wilburys guitar. Oh, well, someone else gets to enjoy them.

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Even older, even crankier....

YES I know biz is biz, I have no issue with that. In regards to "friends: I am on a first name basis/polite/cordial with my bank teller, supermarket clerk, Dr's, etc. lot's of people, None of which I would ask for a ride to/from the airport. BUY LOW/SELL HIGH: think you snickered a pro? You may have got a great deal on a gun they may have missed the mark on it's true value TO SOME DEGREE, but they still payed less for it than you did! WHERE WOULD YOU RATHER SPEND YOUR $: at the LGS/PAWN that struggled to stay open (could have taken advantage but didn't) during a rough patch, or the one that took full advantage of you?

Pawn Gal hit it on the head . Have GOOD and i do mean good friends that run a pawn shop . I would not put up with the **** they have to for a second . I clean up guns for them and they in return pass on some good deals to me
I have even over paid their price on some very good deals .Like a 4 screw k-22 for $300 .I feel that they must make a profit to stay in business .ow about a model 66-2 2-1/2 for $300, just what they had in the gun

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age is just a number

'Scuse me, but far as I'm concerned, you are whining right now.
"Those GREEDY so and so's! See if they get any of my business any more!"

I've said it before; I never imagined I would find so many anti-capitalist people on this forum. Buy low and sell high. Take a chance in order to possibly make a big profit. I'm sure the miners out west in the 1880s and 90s despised the people who paid a dime a tin for sardines, then packed them across hundreds of miles, and sold them for a dollar a tin. GREED!!

Back in the late 69s early 70s, my brother and I used to buy cantaloupes for less than a dime each on the Cordele, Ga farmers market and haul them to Columbus, where we sold them to grocery stores for up to 75 cents. We were GREEDY!

GREED is what makes America a place where there is plenty of almost anything people want. What is the desire to make money, if it isn't GREED! You can talk about a reasonable profit all you want to, but a reasonable profit/price is whatever the market will bear.

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Georgia On My Mind