How to crack Pawn Shop Codes

[Blacknwhitepit]

It has been a while since I posted this... Some members may find this interesting and we have quite a few new members.... So I will put it out there on a thread...



When you look at the price tags you will see a price and a Alphabetic code.

I.E. $29.99 coded with RNNN (10.00)
$99.99 coded with LNNN (60.00)
$35.99 coded with EBNN (25.00)

Quite simply they are codes for how much the Pawn Shop has in them.


The Simple way to figure them out is to figure out what 0,1 and 2 are. The rest is easy.

By looking at the codes you can get the 0's the easiest in this case it is an 'N'

A 1 would be a 'R'
A 2 would be an 'E'



You go around to the rest of the store and find out what all 10 letters are.

When I did this I found RE were 1 and 2 (I guessed that B was 5 by looking around enough) the other letters were AULPCI and that 0 was N.

Hence REPUBLICAN was the code

R-1 E-2 P-3 U-4 B-5 L-6 I-7 C-8 A-9 N-0

You now know how much the shop has in on the item.

If you are not good with anagrams, then just get all 10 letters and get online and go to an anagram decoder. Put the letters in and it will figure out the word for you.

other common codes:

MONEYTALKS
MARYLOUISE
BLACKHORSE
VOLKSWAGEN

By the way, it is best not to let them know you have cracked their code.... I almost got the bums rush out of one place when I told them I knew what they had in on a certain tool.



-BWP

 

[boogerboy72]

this is great, im putting these codes in my wallet.

 

[bmwpower]

Republican? Thread lock.
You seriously almost got run out of the store? That must have been fun. I find the people that run these joints are a little "scary", but maybe it's just me.

You must spend a lot of time in these places. Good info.
Too bad there aren't a lot of places around me.

 

[Blacknwhitepit]

Republican? Thread lock.
You seriously almost got run out of the store? That must have been fun. I find the people that run these joints are a little "scary", but maybe it's just me.

You must spend a lot of time in these places. Good info.
Too bad there aren't a lot of places around me.

When I said I knew how much I had in them and told her that their code was 'VOLKSWAGEN" She freaked... She immediately asked, How did you know our code, Who gave it to you? All in about 2 seconds. There was definite fire in her eyes... Hence why I really only go in one special pawn shop now. They know why I am there and don't play any games with me.... All the other pawn shop dealers around me know who I am....

-BWP

 

[ephotrod]

Do you know if Pawn America uses the same one at all stores.
Josh

 

[bmwpower]

When I said I knew how much I had in them and told her that their code was 'VOLKSWAGON" She freaked... She immediately asked, How did you know our code, Who gave it to you? All in about 2 seconds. There was definite fire in her eyes... Hence why I really only go in one special pawn shop now. They know why I am there and don't play any games with me.... All the other pawn shop dealers around me know who I am....

-BWP

That's hilarious!
I think I'll head into one (if I can find one) and see if I can crack it just to do it.

 

[scruffy]

another one is DAYORNIGHT or NIGHTORDAY where D=1 or N=1 , I found this one a gun shop
just for info some independent drug stores use the code PHARMOCIST where P=1

 

[Blacknwhitepit]

Do you know if Pawn America uses the same one at all stores.
Josh

I don't know...

Also, Some places don't use codes at all or they are on a UPC bar and only the computer knows how much the have in them...

-BWP

 

[nate379]

I went to a pawn shop once back about 7 years ago and realized that they wanted more than new for most of their stuff.

 

[speed bump]

interesting, around here the hawk shops put it out for 200% of what they paid for it for outright sales and about 3 times for pawn items and without haggling they will do 20-30% off depending on how bad the person you ask math is.

 

[LoneGunman]

I went to a pawn shop once back about 7 years ago and realized that they wanted more than new for most of their stuff.

Yup, most don't care about selling, all the money is in the interest. When I had my shop I cared about selling, LOL I had to or I couldn't pay my rent, that's what happens when you open up a business under capitalized. In my area you are looking at a 300% APR on the loan, the retail end of the business is just gravy. I had retail buyers get pissed because they felt I should pay attention to them while I was in the middle of doing a pawn, their attitude was they are there to give me money while the person at the counter wants money so I should drop what I am doing and take care of them. The customer borrowing is always more important than a retail customer.

I'd loan around 25% of retail and sell at 50% of retail, I double my money and the retail customer gets a somewhat decent deal.

 

[Nealcrenshaw]

You can seriously rip off buying at a pawn shop,they want top dollar for their tools.

 

[Hiball]

Who'd thunk it? Ive never heards such a thing, I dont doubt you guys but sounds crazy to me. My pawn shops dont use any kind of code on the ticket, I figure they just mark everything up 200% and they bargain down. My local does prices his stuff fairly competitively but ive seen him in action, he gives about 20% of new price for tools and then trys to sell around 50%+. Even though he prices his stuff decent i still always ask him what his bottom price is and sometimes i walk away, and alot of times i buy. For instance he had a slug of snap on (underline logo) great shap not much wear and he was asking anywhere from $10 bucks up to $14, so i had him pull out his combo sets to see if he had a complete set, I already knew he did but wanted to see him work, Lol he pulls out about 9 wrenches all of them looked good, No engravings, No flaking and i asked him what he would take. He pondered around like all of them do and said he would take $70 bucks but it was killing him, Lol... i told him i would think about it and next time i go in there i probably offer $60 and we'll see how things go. More than likely i will walk out with them Tomorrow.

 

[Hiball]

You can seriously rip off buying at a pawn shop,they want top dollar for their tools.

Some you can and other not so much.. I have gotten some crazy deals locally and i never pay over 40% of retail even on new like stuff.

 

[Blacknwhitepit]

You can seriously rip off buying at a pawn shop,they want top dollar for their tools.

It does depend on the Pawn Shop. There is a chain of Pawn shops near me "PP" is what I will call it. They have rusty taiwanese sockets in a worn out plastic tool box that they want $80 for... Seriously crazy. The last time I was in there I asked "Do you even care if you sell any tools?" I said I could get a set of Craftsman brand new for that price...He just looked at me and said that was the price that they sold them for.....

I don't even bother with them at all... A complete waste of my time...

Lonegunman definitely summed up their attitude... The money is in the loan....

-BWP

 

[Hiball]

Yup, most don't care about selling, all the money is in the interest. When I had my shop I cared about selling, LOL I had to or I couldn't pay my rent, that's what happens when you open up a business under capitalized. In my area you are looking at a 300% APR on the loan, the retail end of the business is just gravy. I had retail buyers get pissed because they felt I should pay attention to them while I was in the middle of doing a pawn, their attitude was they are there to give me money while the person at the counter wants money so I should drop what I am doing and take care of them. The customer borrowing is always more important than a retail customer.

I'd loan around 25% of retail and sell at 50% of retail, I double my money and the retail customer gets a somewhat decent deal.

I always thought i wanted to get in the pawn business but i would never sell anything i would just keep it all for myself. The loan income would be great but i would just use the money to buy more tools. Plus i thought it would be hard sometimes to lowball people that you knew needed the money, kinda like preying on the weak, So i figured if i couldnt master that technique i might as well not even try. Im too kind hearted and try and help people who are in trouble and it would just come back to bite me in the end i figured.

 

[back2class]

Up north pawn shops were great. Full of good prices and they would haggle down to about 30-50% of new. Here in GA everyone I have been to is asking about 80-110% of new and at best will drop the price about 10% off their asking.
I just do not get how they make any money. Perhaps in the ghettos up north people sell their stuff to pawn shops and here thet seem to use them for loans and that is where they make their money.???

 

[ears]

All the ones by me are seriously overpriced. Generally higher then new, a set of Cman raised panel wrenches from 10 mm to 3/4" mixed metric and SAE $139.99. I dont even bother trying to haggle with these guys.

 

[bgott]

The reason they have their prices so high is lay- away. It's kind of like the Snap- on truck, except the shop holds the goodies until they are paid for.

 

[Hiball]

All the ones by me are seriously overpriced. Generally higher then new, a set of Cman raised panel wrenches from 10 mm to 3/4" mixed metric and SAE $139.99. I dont even bother trying to haggle with these guys.

Yeah ive been in those type of shops, I just look at the price, shake my head and keep moving. If one of the guys do see me they usually say "We can work on that price if your interested" or something similar and i keep moving, No since even dealing with people like that unless its something i really want or cant find any where else.

 

[forceyoda]

I have also noticed that any ebay store associated with a pawn shop always has higher prices that the rest of ebay.

 

[64merc]

When I said I knew how much I had in them and told her that their code was 'VOLKSWAGEN" She freaked... She immediately asked, How did you know our code, Who gave it to you? All in about 2 seconds. There was definite fire in her eyes... Hence why I really only go in one special pawn shop now. They know why I am there and don't play any games with me.... All the other pawn shop dealers around me know who I am....

-BWP

That's funny, I guess she didn't think anyone was capable of cracking the code!!

A while back, everyone knew who I was and they weren't giving me good deals anymore. I have been taking a break for some time now, so when I go back I can hopefully start fresh.

 

[Plombob]

Great job BWP! I've wondered what those codes were.

I've been to pawn shops in many parts of the US and I've found that each has its own personality. Been to a few that wanted new $ for old iron and many more where you got a great deal. I was very impressed with the shops in Anchorage; they were the friendliest of all, and they were downright cheap. One place even threw in a free wrench for no reason. Nashville had pretty good pickin's.

Only been banned at one shop and that was because the idiot behind the counter sold me a set of 8 pristine shorty Proto wrenches for $9. I didn't even haggle with him. I went back to see what other deals they had and they told me I couldn't buy from them anymore because I got the wrenches so cheap. I still enjoy those wrenches....

 

[Danglerb]

All the pawn shops in SoCal I have been to stink, nothing, or junk at 75% of retail. Just low enough that if you were down to your bottom dollar and needed tools right away you might buy them.

OTOH my guess is none of there clientele are very smart or they wouldn't be there.

 

[rsanter]

longs drungs used to use
CHARLESTON
as their code

bob

 

[Skyline]

I have also noticed that any ebay store associated with a pawn shop always has higher prices that the rest of ebay.

I noticed one place in Texas that had a huge amount of high quality stuff on sale; all categories. They had over 100,000 positive feedback. They started every auction at $.99. Taking a look at the excellent (high) prices they were getting convinced me to start doing this for a lot of my eBay items. Anything that I know will have good demand, I now start at $.99. If it's something that will have low demand, (like an individual socket or wrench), I will not do this, but this is still a great strategy for getting maximum return. Once in a while you see an item sell too low, but more often, you get more bidders than if you started an item at 30-40% of new price.

Hell of a business these folks have. Platinum Power Sellers; one of the highest on eBay.

 

[Charles (in GA)]

I noticed one place in Texas that had a huge amount of high quality stuff on sale; all categories. They had over 100,000 positive feedback. They started every auction at $.99. Taking a look at the excellent (high) prices they were getting convinced me to start doing this for a lot of my eBay items. Anything that I know will have good demand, I now start at $.99. If it's something that will have low demand, (like an individual socket or wrench), I will not do this, but this is still a great strategy for getting maximum return. Once in a while you see an item sell too low, but more often, you get more bidders than if you started an item at 30-40% of new price.

I noticed this years ago. It gives some room for buyers to place bids and bid it up, and the large number of bids seem to attract other bidders. It came to the point that I almost didn't bother watching items that started at .99 and had no or few bidders at that time, I knew it would go way too high. Some people place a .99 bid on an item and never bid again, they figure they don't have anything to lose if they win.

It is real hit and miss at southern pawn shops. Most do want way too much for items. Torque wrenches are a good example of items I find are nearly always overpriced. Only deals I can find are on loose sockets and wrenches, after spending lots of time digging thru their mess.

Charles

 

[Major Ramifications]

Pawn shops are hit and miss. I like the national chain Cash America. It is nice to deal with employees who just work there, they don't own the place and didn't purchase everything in there. So they don't mind if you get a good deal. Their code is MARYLOUISE, they even have it taped to their computers.
Some stuff is really cheap and some stuff is high. I find that they have a markup from 30% to 1000%, but most things are priced at double what they paid for them.

 

[Bolster]

OK, so let's say you crack the code. Let's assume you know they paid $50 for the item, and they are asking $100. Now that you know what they paid...what do you offer? How close can you get to their 'pay' price?

 

[SocketDeviler]

From my experience working at a pawn shop the amount loaned is not always as important as how long the item has been there. Much of what goes to ebay is stuff that will not only sell better on ebay but is stuff that has sat in the stores too long and needs to be sold at any price no matter the loss. The loss needs to be written off asap so that new money can be loaned on/out.

As a seller I was encouraged to get stuff out. If that meant 99 cent opening price on an item we had $250.00 in (quite common) so be it.

Inexperienced, uncaring and or thieving pawn shop employees (so many) make very bad loans everyday. I saw thousands of them while I was there.

Also, the amount loaned may have been payed for many times over by repeat loans/interest. If the shop has made a load in interest they may be more flexible when selling but that history will only be in the computer files for the employee to see.

 

[babzog]

When I said I knew how much I had in them and told her that their code was 'VOLKSWAGEN" She freaked... She immediately asked, How did you know our code, Who gave it to you? All in about 2 seconds. There was definite fire in her eyes... Hence why I really only go in one special pawn shop now. They know why I am there and don't play any games with me.... All the other pawn shop dealers around me know who I am.

Why would you tell them you knew the code? Sounds like announcing to a Casino that you're gonna count the cards.

 

[TangoFoxTrot]

That's cool that you figured out how to break their code, I'll have to remember that.

I've pretty much written off pawn shops though. I'm all for haggling, but when the starting price for some rusted up tool is more than it cost new, I'd rather not even bother. I've been to several over the past few years, and now I just stop going. they're all the same in my neck of the woods. Most of what they stock is just overpriced junk.

I prefer Craigslist and Ebay.

 

[toymn6366]

i love pawn shops, i've got about 5 i go to almost every week. there is 2 in town that i can't buy from they are owned by the same woman and are run by women if it says snap on or craftsman on it they want full truck or sears price for it. the others you can get good deals from most of the time.

 

[Blacknwhitepit]

i love pawn shops, i've got about 5 i go to almost every week. there is 2 in town that i can't buy from they are owned by the same woman and are run by women if it says snap on or craftsman on it they want full truck or sears price for it. the others you can get good deals from most of the time.

I do believe in the rule "Don't pitch the B!t@#". I have always had better bargains dealing with men. I think the women think you are getting over on them... JMHO

-BWP

 

[Blacknwhitepit]

Why would you tell them you knew the code? Sounds like announcing to a Casino that you're gonna count the cards.

Well, lets just say I was trying something new..... It obviously didn't go as I had expected....


As for how much over the "known" price I bid. I start at around 30% over and see where it goes.....

Sometimes it helps, sometimes it doesn't.....

-BWP

 

[Bolster]

I do believe in the rule "Don't pitch the B!t@#". I have always had better bargains dealing with men. I think the women think you are getting over on them... JMHO

I've noticed at swap meets, I have near zero luck bargaining with women. I don't even try anymore. If a woman quotes me a price, I either say thank you and buy it, or say thank you and move on.

One time I bought from the man and as I was leaving his wife discovered the price he sold, and lit into him something fearsome. I high-tailed it out of there so I don't know how that story ended.

 

[cortez]

Damm good thread!!!

Learned a hell of a lot and will recommend it to my friends to read.

If any one has more secrets of any type I believe it will benefit the members a whole lot!!

 

[GB Hicks]

I knew a couple shops in the Tulsa area when I lived there used "BLACKMONEY" as the code, SEveral others used MARYLOUISE as well.

 

[kf4zht]

There was a chain in Statesboro that got lazy and just used ABCDEFGHIJ
I see marylousie alot, there was one I couldn't crack but wasn't in there long.

One in downtown marietta has some nice stuff (snap on, square wave tig, etc) but everytime I'm in there nothing has moved. Some of the labels are so old the ink is gone.

There is a real good shop in lilburn, at cash america look at the date code too. They are very pressured to sell stuff within a certain time frame. If it is over 2-3 months old figure they will take pawn +10-15%. The big chains are easy to negotiate with, they have enough rules that you can tell what they will take.

 

[Major Ramifications]

Yes, the date is important. They will not negotiate on something that has been on the floor for two days, but after six months, they are looking to unload it.