"THE LGS/PAWN GUY IS MY BUDDY"

[nachogrande]

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.

 

[CH4]

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.

 

[Danby]

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.

 

[pawngal]

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.

 

[vonn]

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.

 

[nachogrande]

IT WASN'T INTENDED AS AN INSULT.

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.

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.

 

[Ron M.]

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.

 

[nachogrande]

MSRP, LOL

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

 

[rettxpo]

Pawnshops do have good deals.....sometimes

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!!!!!!!!!

 

[dmthomp32]

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!

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[Rustyt1953]

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.

 

[KalamazooKid]

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.

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.


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[Ron M.]

Ferengi Rule of Acquisition #3...

Never pay more for an acquisition than you have to.

 

[nachogrande]

SIMILLAR GOALS.

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?

 

[Muley Gil]

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.

 

[doublesharp]

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.

 

[nachogrande]

SOMEHOW I FIND THIS HARD TO BELIEVE.

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.

 

[tlawler]

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

 

[ladder13]

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

 

[nachogrande]

BEING A SMALLFRY

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.