Pawn shop aficionados: Look and be amazed!

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Thernlund

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Stopped in at a pawn shop near downtown Phoenix today. Look at what I saw...

A Glock 27 marked down from $850 to $750!

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An FNP-9! Was $735. Now... $735!

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And the Coup de grâce! This sign sat next to a gold plated AK priced at $3500.

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I was stopped from taking any more pics before I could get a pic of the AK. You can kind of see the corner of the mag in the lower left. Here is a close approximation. Just imagine this one with a standard stock.

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So there's that. Pawn shops are great, eh? :rolleyes:


-T.
 
If you mean overpriced junk dealers, yup they are good at providing a cut throat service to the ill informed and down but not out clientel.

I am stearing clear of the vast repercussion for the Sadam's Son gold plated AK thing.
 
There was a time when bargains could be found in pawn shops, if you were an informed consumer. That was years back. I have pretty much given up on them. They are usually stocked only with junk, and if you do find something, nobody wants to haggle anymore. It's a shame.

A few months ago, I saw a crusty old Enfield in a local pawn shop, marked at $425. The guy behind the counter (also crusty and old, come to think of it) was adamant that it was priced right. Looked like somebody had poured picante sauce (the chunky kind) down the barrel.
 
Yuh, we've got a pawnshop here in Santa Fe that sells used Glocks and assorted beaters for over retail, too. I suspect the only way they stay in bidness is they may not bee too picky about paperwork, but that's JMO . . . Ammo prices were silly, too, esp. since they're only a couple of blocks from Walmart. I guess every town has at least one . . .
 
I got a Finn'ed N.E.W. M-91 from am pawn shop for $140. Good deals can be found. You just have to step thru the minefield of crapola to find them!!!!
 

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The trick is to go to the mom and pop pawn shops. The chain stores have rules and procedures that they must follow if they want to keep their jobs. Although, I have bought some good deals at some of the chains on items that they had no idea they had.
For example, in the last year I purchased a scoped, Blackened, stainless Weatherby Mark V in .308 for less than $300...again, they did not know what they had!
The Good Deal is not DEAD, it simply takes persistence.
David
 
I would defend some pawns by suggesting

that they know it is in their interests to keep the wealthier customers coming back.
I did run into some fairly good deals, and some poor deals at the pawnshops.
Found and almost new sig 220 for $500, a stainless Marlin 22 as new for $125, and a Remington BDL with Leopold scope for $500. Camper jacks, three for $75 which are usually $150 each.
It makes sense to visit for tools, as the gun search is secondary.
 
Pawnshop good fortune

Well I've been eyeing a High Standard at one of the local pawn shops for a few weeks. The tag price was $400, way more than it's actual value. The gun is pretty clean, some wear marks and a couple of small grip dings, but no abuse.

So I go to the pawn shop today to make an offer. Well we discussed it a bit and I said that the price is way too high, and they counter what's it worth to you, so I say $200, they counter, it's going on sale next week for $280. I pause, and say it's still to high, and they counter what's the most I'll go...

I counter $220, and they come back OK $220 :cool: For the price I think I did good.

And I become the new owner of...


HighStandard.gif


Well... while talking and filling out 4473 I said I am on your call list for a Ruger MKII SS. Oh... there's a MKII coming out next week but can be sold now since it's just waiting to be processed and put on the shelf, but I don't know if it blued or SS. They said the price is gong to be $550.

So I said well let me have a look since I'm here. So they bring it out. Turns out it's a SS MKII Competition Olympic model. I look it over trying to not be too excited and trying to keep the drool back.

It's new in box never been fired. We BS for a while and they say it's for sale now, would you like to buy it ? I say well yea but not for $550. They conter well what's your offer, I hedge a bit and say $400, they check there margin and come back with $430 out the door. I said done deal :D

And now I'm the owner of this new safe queen...

RugerMKIISSComp.jpg



I think I did good today :D :D :D
 
good deals can be found..especially at the mom&pop joints....I found one such shop a few weeks ago...they will probaby get all my buisness on used guns.
 
I've gotten some of my best deals from pawnshops , fortunately for me I worked with alot of Turks when I lived in Germany . They taught me the fine art of haggling (and it is an art ) . Unfortunately the uninformed tend to pay whatever the owner asks making it harder for buyers like me to get a good deal .
 
I've never seen a reasonable price for a firearm in a pawn shop in 10 years of trying.

I see a lot of 400.00 Hi-Points, though.
 
If you are in any kind of sales, you can list whatever price that you think you can get away with and keep a straight face. They are banking that the majority of customers will be sufficiently ignorant of true market values (which are relative, after all) to keep the transactions going. Those 'in the know' will either guffaw and walk out, or initiate haggling. The problem I have is when they don't want to haggle!
 
Pawn shops are great, eh?
Click to expand...

My favorite gunshop is a pawn shop. Their new prices are as good or better than any place else around and they get some decent used stuff in from time to time that isn't priced too bad. I recently picked up a nickel Colt Cobra in the box for $460 and an NRA William Ruger Endowment Ruger Mk II for $250.
 
Good deals can indeed be found, but Gold Nugget in Laurel, MS, actually had a Yugo SKS for $699, a Jimenez for $299, and two 710's for $599. Yeah, used. No, I'm not exaggerating. Gold Nugget has since gotten out of the firearms business. Real big surprise!

Ash
 
I've got plenty of deals at pawn shops. I've also seen lots of over-priced junk. That's just part of the fun of looking for a bargain. However, I do get the feeling that SOME pawn shops have little intention of selling to the general public. I know of a few gun show dealers who have agreements with pawn shops to purchase their guns. I think they're getting the deals. They swing through and buy 10-15 guns at a time. As for what's on the shelf at the pawn shop, I think it's almost just for "show", so that people will know that they deal in guns and bring them in to pawn (and for the BATFE so it looks like they're actually doing some retail gun sales). I could be wrong, though....
 
Years ago I used to search pawn shops in search of deals. Some of my friends had found some pretty good deals. These days I still stop and look, but it seems like deals are few and far between. I have seen new firearms cheaper than what I've seen used firearms in pawnshops. Most times they refuse to budge on the price. That goes for almost all items I've seen in pawnshops.
 
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