pawn shop negotiation techniques

[adowns]

I recently bought a very nice 1903 .32 hand ejector at a local pawn shop. It had a $249 price tag on it. When I asked to look at it the first words the pawnbroker said were "All prices are negotiable." I offered him $220 out the door, equivalent to about $203 before our 8% sales tax. He accepted immediately. I'm very happy with the deal I got, but his immediate acceptance makes me think I should have begun with a lower offer.

So, what % of the tagged price is a good initial offer? What's high enough to show I'm not some idiot who has no interest in really buying and low enough to provide some negotiating room? Would be interested in hearing from anyone who buys from pawn shops regularly.

 

[sw282]

si--------

 

[TNDave]

In my area each pawn shop has its own personality. Some are gold mines and some guys are running a museum. Many shops here use codes on the tags of merchandise so they know what they paid for things when they are talking to customers. The most common are:

BLACK HORSE and MARY LOUISE

In each case the first letter of the code represents "1" and the last represents "0". So if you are looking at a revolver and somewhere on the tag it says BKEEE that means he paid $150 for it if he is using black horse.

I have gotten some great deals on some great guns at pawn shops but some shops are impossible to deal with. If you develop a relationship with one and you can start calling dibs on things before the come out then the gravy train will be rolling.

 

[Dennis The B]

...He accepted immediately. I'm very happy with the deal I got, but his immediate acceptance makes me think I should have begun with a lower offer...

Don't get hung up on the "immediate acceptance". It's entirely possible that you "synced" immediately with the dealer.

In many instances, deals get queered by haggling. If you lowball an offer too much, the seller may take this as an insult, and dig in the heels in response.

If you think you got a good deal, so be it, and get on with the enjoyment of your acquisition.

 

[Dragon88]

It really depends on the shop as mentioned. Some won't negotiate for anything, some are flexible. The easiest thing you can do is ask for a cash discount, or to include the "out the door" phrase on your offer as you did, saving you tax.

 

[cantpickone]

I have bought many guns in pawnshops over the years. Some pawnshops price what they are selling unrealistically high and will never budge. In some shops you are dealing directly with the owner and in some you are dealing with employees. An employee is usually authorized to lower the price by 10 percent or some predetermined amount.An owner is better to deal with.
Most pawnshops only pay a seller 10 percent of what they think that an item can be sold for.
I have found that most pawnshops set a monthly goal of how much income that they wish to bring in.
Negotiating is most successful by dealing directly with an owner near the end of the month.
If the owner is way under his goal for the month he will be more likely to negotiate.
Also, never show any appreciation for an item being offered for sale.
Always display the attitude that you don't care whether you get the item or not.

 

[ImprovedModel56Fan]

There are a lot of folks who know more than I do about haggling, and many have posted or will post here, but one of the basics is to actually know what the item is worth. I understand that there are some places (some of the Arab countries come to mind) where both buyer and seller already know what the final price will be, but the interaction has its own purpose and nuances, and is some kind of social event.

Point? Do your homework. Of course, this is not always possible when you walk in on a surprise.

 

[dickttx]

adowns,
I had the same experience a couple of months ago.
A pawn shop had a High Standard Sport-King with both barrels marked $495. I looked at it and handled it and offered $400 out the door. He whispered to his boss a few seconds and said OK. I wondered if I should have went lower.
However, I really like to shoot the gun, so I decided I was satisfied.
Also, thinking maybe, since we were both satisfied with the deal, and they know I am a buyer, not a looker, they will be good to deal with in the future.

 

[adowns]

Lots of good points in the replies.

From them I've learned
*know the value beforehand.
*both parties probably already know pretty much how the negotiation will come out.
*dealers often sell for twice what they paid. As I left I asked if he had about $100 in the pistol. He said "A little more than that."
*a successful negotiation without rancor may lead to a good deal in the future.
*don't obsess over not getting it $10 cheaper.

Thanks for the advice. Here's a picture of the pistol.

 

[Bailey Boat]

I always offer cash and a concealed carry permit up front so they know that the sale is a slam dunk once we come to a price and I discount by 35%. I assume they paid 50% and need to make something to keep the lights on and the doors open. I will go up to 30% but no higher, I'll walk..... I have a couple of shops where I have made multiple deals and they will quote me a different price than whats on the tag....

 

[H Richard]

Nice looking .32. You got a good buy. I actually don't like "haggling". I will compare the asking price to what I feel it is worth, and offer about 10% below what I feel it is worth. If he's in it right I can usually buy for my price, but if he's in it too heavy he won't. Depending on just how much you want the item, make a 2nd offer for what you would pay, and if he still turns it down, walk. I do believe that if you are a buyer a few times it does enhance your status with the shop and will result in more deals

 

[DCWilson]

adowns, that looks like a somewhat used but well cared-for .32 -- you got a very good price on it.

 

[leas327]

If you got it for a price your happy with then you won. You named the price you were willing to pay and he accepted. Don't worry about the what ifs. What if I could have got it a little cheaper? You'll never know. He could have counter offered and you might have had to pay more or take a pass on the gun. It never matters what they paid for it, only what your willing to pay. Just be happy and let them worry what if they could have got you for more money. Congratulations on the gun.

 

[growr]

I have bought many firearms as well as other items in pawn shops over the years and have learned the following.
I ask them how firm they are on the price which almost always means them looking it up. I usually set a price in my head of whatever is the most I am willing to pay them for the item.
As mentioned earlier...you must know you product and pricing, just because it is in a pawn shop doesn't mean it is a great buy.
The pawn employee will usually come back to me with a price of which I will either decline, accept or make a counter offer. ie. maybe they have it priced at 400.00...they look it up and tell me $325.00....If I have $300.00 in my head, I will tell them $300 and they have a sale. More often than not it is mine, sometimes it leads to their counter-offer, perhaps they counter at $310, many times I will offer a coin flip, if they win I pay $310, if they lose I pay $300, usually fun for both parties as well....
My technique has them starting the process instead of me which almost never works....They often will say or ask "What is your offer?" So I learned to ask how firm they are on the price....might work for you. Have fun with it!
Randy

 

[GLL]

A couple years ago I severely overpaid at a pawn shop for a beautiful pre-war .38-44 Outdoorsman with magna grips and I fretted for weeks. Today it is worth twice what I paid ! A few dollars here or there will always wash in the end !

Jerry

 

[Person]

To me it is more important to find a pawn shop that is willing to deal and sell at fair prices. The technique of haggling really does not work if the pawn shop is not realistic on their pricing. Out of about 10 pawn shops around me there is only 1 that has fair pricing in my opinion. That 1 pawn shop has 10 times better firearms for sale then all the other 9 combined.

I have bought my fair share from them and although I cannot say I have walked away with any "steals" I always get a fair deal. I have never sold them anything but with the good quality used firearms they have I can just assume they probably buy at a fair price as well and thus they get the better stuff.

Just my 2 cents.

Later,

Person

 

[JSR III]

In my experience over the years, most sellers are willing to come down around 10%. I usually ask the Seller, "What is your best price?" or I simply state, "I would be willing to pay $350". The latter assumes an asking price of $400 or so. I don't try to devalue the gun by pointing out all of the flaws as many times this merely insults the owner and closes out any negotiations. On the other hand a general statement like, "I would rate this gun around 80% condition so I would be willing to pay $X", is usually less confrontational.

I am not aware of too many pawn shops in my area, so these are just general negotiating tips.

 

[srgvaz]

I recently bought a very nice 1903 .32 hand ejector at a local pawn shop. It had a $249 price tag on it. When I asked to look at it the first words the pawnbroker said were "All prices are negotiable." I offered him $220 out the door, equivalent to about $203 before our 8% sales tax. He accepted immediately. I'm very happy with the deal I got, but his immediate acceptance makes me think I should have begun with a lower offer.

So, what % of the tagged price is a good initial offer? What's high enough to show I'm not some idiot who has no interest in really buying and low enough to provide some negotiating room? Would be interested in hearing from anyone who buys from pawn shops regularly.

You have a long way to go in your negotiating skills.

 

[cantpickone]

My first thought when I read the first post in this thread (echoing the comments of many others here) was "Heck, you did pretty darn good as it is".

 

[bettis1]

A couple of weeks ago I found a very nice older M49 dash nothing with one small area of roughness on the right in front of the trigger guard in a pawn shop tagged $399. I had no real need for it but I made an offer of $300. He studied it a while and said that the best he could do was $375. I imagine I might have gotten it for $350 if I had pressed it but since I was just shopping and didn't really need another carry piece, I walked on.

Bob