Pawn Shop Guns

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OLD SKOOL

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There is a pattern I see about pawn shops. In that you are
more apt to find a good deal there, as opposed to gun shows.
I never frequented them, but I should. On that note I have
some questions. Am I right in thinking that a pawn shop has
to have a FFL to even buy a gun from somone? If a pawn
shop is a good place to buy, does that make it a "bad" place
to sell a gun, especially a quality/collector one? How long
does one have to "claim" your property if it is in pawn?

Thanks for the insight.
 
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I have gotten some very good deals at a couple of pawn shops and a friend of mine got the deal of the century, an 1881 Colt SAA in great shape for $400. But I see a lot more guns at high prices and in poor shape. To find the good deals you need to visit them regularly. The deals don't stay around long.
Because they are pawning/buying and selling guns I'm sure they need a FFL.
I would never sell a good gun to a pawn shop. The reason you can get a good deal there is because they gave someone about 25% of what the gun is worth. They % may vary with different shops and guns. Plus many of their guns are pawned and then the person never returns to pay the pawn and get the gun back. So the shop ends up selling it.
I think the shops around here pawn things for 30 days but that might also vary.
Of course I'm not a pawn shop owner or expert. This is just things I have noticed and/or suspect to be some what true. JMO.
 
bamabiker said:
I have gotten some very good deals at a couple of pawn shops and a friend of mine got the deal of the century, an 1881 Colt SAA in great shape for $400. But I see a lot more guns at high prices and in poor shape. To find the good deals you need to visit them regularly. The deals don't stay around long.
Because they are pawning/buying and selling guns I'm sure they need a FFL.
I would never sell a good gun to a pawn shop. The reason you can get a good deal there is because they gave someone about 25% of what the gun is worth. They % may vary with different shops and guns. Plus many of their guns are pawned and then the person never returns to pay the pawn and get the gun back. So the shop ends up selling it.
I think the shops around here pawn things for 30 days but that might also vary.
Of course I'm not a pawn shop owner or expert. This is just things I have noticed and/or suspect to be some what true. JMO.
Click to expand...
I remember that old Colt. That was the best deal I've seen anywhere, anytime.
 
As said by others, good deals can be had at pawn shops. I picked up a 1st Model American (oil-hole) at a pawn shop for $400 sometime back. Also a .38DA 1st Model at $250.00. In fact 3 of the last 8 guns I've picked up came from pawn shops. You just have to be patient and discerning.
 
Most of the guns I see in the pawn shops around here look like they were dragged behind the cars of the guys who pawned them. Most of them look like they are just worn out.
 
There are half a dozen pawnshops who still sell guns around here. I make the rounds one or two times a month. I see a good deal on a gun on average about 1 in 50 visits. I see a good deal on a gun I want far less often than that. My last deal; a 39-2 in 90% condition for $200. Before that, it was a 4" transition HD in about 90% condition for $300. You'll never find them if you don't keep trying.
 
I have gotten some GOOD deals in pawn shops.

Have also seem many guns priced beyond reason and walked away.

It is like fishing - some days you get lucky, some days you don't.

I only check when I am in the area of the shops for other business.

Bekeart
 
I've found some gems in pawn shops. You really need to visit them often because the good values don't last very long. I found a real nice Model 36 square butt with the original box, it was just under $500 OTD. It barely had a turn line...
 
Here in Wi where you can't CC, the handguns in the pawn shops aren't beat up and most are in good condition. Most pistols are for HD and look like new.

One has to visit often like was said. The good ones don't last long.

spricks
 
I know of a couple of pawn shops that carry mostly bottom feeders. When they do have revolvers, the prices are very good. I imagine their average customer has no use for revolvers.

As I am a seller these days and not a buyer, I avoid these shops like the plague. Sometimes resistance is futile!
 
Sometimes I find good deals but . . .

Most times these days the pawn shops here have discovered selling via the internet . . . and they will jack up a handgun in mediocre condition as if it is a 98% gun just like it that sold once on Gunbroker for a high price.

I don't mind the initial price being sky high when I ask, but when they aren't willing to get realistic I stop dropping by for a few months. There's no sense in wasting my time in a shop that either doesn't know the true value of a handgun . . . or chooses to hold out and try to sell the gun eventually at a high price to someone who is ignorant to gun values. What they may not realize is that I don't darken the door unless I have cash money in my pocket . . . it is there's for the taking, but it came with hard work and I am not going to waste it.

Lately, I've been much happier buying an occasional handgun from a member here. Of course . . . the screamin' deals here last about 6-8 minutes on a slow day . . . and the good ones don't last but an hour or so.

T.
 
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I visit alot of them quite regularly , it took me 2 years but its how I got both of my 10MMs for well below what they go for on GB or AA . ALso remember , most pawnshops will dicker on the price so don't be afraid to haggle .
 
The last two GOOD guns I purchased from pawn shops where muzzle loaders. I picked up a TC White Mountain Carbine with a Burris 4 x 32 scope for $95.00 and a TC Omega Z5 inline with Nikon Monarch 3-9 x 32 for $175.00 (I think the TCOZ5 and scope where never fired). I took the scope off the WMC and sold the scope for $125.00 and sold the WMC for $250.00. I still hunt with the Omega Z5 with the Nikon Monarch 3-9 x 32. I priced out the set and replacement value is in the $425 neighborhood. Most of the stuff I see at pawn shops is just pure JUNK. Shot out, beat up, dragged through the mud, put up wet peices of CARP (that's right i said CARP, it stinks). Every third blue moon I will find something worth bringing home.

Class III
 
Funny this subject came up.

I work at a pawn shop part time on Saturdays for a few hours. I was there every Saturday anyway so I figured what the heck.

Pawn shops can be a very good place to buy guns and jewelry. As far as guns, you have to know what to look for. I have bought more used guns than I can remember. Less than 10% of those have been faulty.

And as far as high prices, yes sometimes they are. Pawn shops make a lot of money writing loans and collecting on the fees and interest. Anything on the sales floor can be marked up and can sit for a while waiting for some sucker to come in and buy it. When an item sells it's a bonus. Smart pawn shop shoppers will watch an item for a while. The longer it sit's, the more likely that the pawn shop will come down on the price.

Most regular customers or "frequent shoppers" get a discount. Take a hint. :)
 
At a show I spied a military Colt revolver in the case of a pawn shop booth. I looked it over and got his card and went home to do my homework. I went back to the store and dickered a good deal on a 1903 Colt Army DA revolver for $250.
 
OLD SKOOL said:
There is a pattern I see about pawn shops. In that you are
more apt to find a good deal there, as opposed to gun shows.
Click to expand...
My only experience of guns at pawn shops is the ones outside of Ft. Knox in the '80s. EVERY one of them were crooks, with overpriced guns and a ready lie for the uninformed.

I've NEVER seen a "deal" on a gun at a pawn shop. Maybe they're different in other places.
 
bamabiker said:
He got it lettered and it shipped in 1881 to Hartley&Graham in NYC. 1 in a 50 gun shipment. All numbers match and it is in very good shape.
Click to expand...

Is that the one our counterpart had at the show the other day?
 
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