Pawn shop blues

[96snma]

So let me start by saying that in saskatoon is the largest pawnshop in western Canada. As far as I'm concerned they are a bunch of criminals. They charge next to retail, about 15% off for crusty items that are only 5% of new condition

Occasionally I go in there to see if there are any deals that could be had that they don't know are worth money as the holiday are coming up and items could be available.

Today I begin to look around as I have time to kill during the day. First thing that catches my eye is a proto j5450 16in ratchet. It's in overall good condition with a little surface rust on the cover plate and a little cruddy. It's got a price on 19.99 on it, which is what I value it at exactly. So I pick it up and continue looking

Next I go to the extensions. Find a gray Canada, sk and sk Wayne 10in extensions in the bin. They are rough looking and all with a price tag of 14. I try putting the ratchet on each as the are half in and none go on becaus they are so messed up. Propbably used as in an impact. In the mean time I pealed the price off the ratchet so I could negotiate at the till and head over to power tools. There is a Mikita angle listed for 99 that is rough to say the least and missing the locking nuts for the arbor. I saw this exact same model new on amazon last week for $40.

So I head to the till and say $10 for the ratchet because that is the price I'm willing to pay as I have to many already. Guy behind the till say oh no that a $40 ratchet. Double what was marked originally. I set it down and walk out

What I want to know is how people on here get unreal deals at pawn shops, or is it just this one that is over priced. I haven't been to many others so I couldnt compair but I hear about people getting ratchets and extensions for less than 3 dollars

 

[Justanoldguy]

Well I guess, you won't be peeling any price stickers
off other peoples products ever again aye.
I would have done what he did too...

 

[Shocker]

+1. I don't try and rip off the stores I visit.

 

[gbh]

Do you own anything of value that I can buy for the price I want to pay because I have too many already?
I don't get your logic

 

[camarotoolman]

You are lucky the guy didn't get in your face for peeling the sticker, if you did that at my table I would have. That ratchet is worth $35 to 40, long handles bring alot more than the standard ones. Pawn guys sell and price there stuff on line, most are not stupid. Just move on.

 

[Rickster]

I always ask "How much?" first. Then whatever they answer I grab my chest with one hand while I steady myself with the other and say " Holy Geeeeez... can't you do any better on that??"

 

[zsuperbee]

an excerpt from Massachusetts general laws

Section 30AShoplifting; penalty; arrest without warrant

any person who intentionally alters, transfers or removes any label, price tag or marking indicia of value or any other markings which aid in determining value affixed to any merchandise displayed, held, stored or offered for sale by any store or other retail mercantile establishment and to attempt to purchase such merchandise personally or in consort with another at less than the full retail value with the intention of depriving the merchant of all or some part of the retail value thereof; or

full text here
http://www.malegislature.gov/Laws/GeneralLaws/PartIV/TitleI/Chapter266/Section30A

 

[sensei_]

pawn shop people arent stupid. heck, they know more than they let on. i just ask for a price and if it is what im willing to pay - great. if not, i thank them and move on.

 

[heavydutyOEX]

The pawn shops I frequent are hit and most of the time miss. I do know of one that when I'm on the road and nearby that I stop, because the young folks that work there don't care about tools they just throw them out in the bins. Very good prices. The one closest to me however the guy who works there goes through all the tools for himself and then throws the junk in the bins. I found that if you talk to the folks in a pawn shop for a few minutes (if they're not stuck up azz holes) always helps. I know a few that are run by stuck ups and don't frequent those too often.

 

[KPSquared]

Ummm. . .you are in Canada. That means you get screwed on the price of everything. I live in a relatively small town (Wetaskiwin, AB - 12,000ish) and we have like 9 pawn shops. Most stuff is priced at very close to retail. My only hope of a deal is that a good friend knows the owner of one of the shops very well.

I tried to buy a second video camera a few years ago, the same as one I already owned. (ok, quite a few years ago. It was for my snowboarding videos and GoPro's hadn't been invented yet. . )

The guy wouldn't budge on the $350 price tag. I paid $400 for the one I already had, brand new, with warranty. After I started to get irritated, he explained it to me like this:

"If I sell you this camera for $100, I'll never see it again. If I wait for Johnny Bearskin (we live near one of the richest Indian Reserves in Canada) to come in, I'll sell it to him for $350. Two weeks from now, he'll bring the same camera back in and I'll give him $50 for it. A month later I'll sell it to his cousin for $350. So, like I said. . .to you it's worth $100, to me it's worth at least $650."

That was the last time I went into a pawn shop in Wetaskiwin. . .I'm just to white.

 

[kiatech]

I had good luck when I lived in Toledo because there were barley any jobs and a million people trying to make a buck so there was a shitload of pawnshops and flea markets. Try to find the dirtiest run down one you can find. Not one you see advertising on the TV or radio.

 

[fred d]

I use to have free time during the day and would stop at pawn shops regularly.

NEVER did I ever get what I thought we a good deal....Never.

I did get an ok deal on the only thing I have ever purchased from a pawn shop, after checking on the item every couple of months for over 2 years they finally asked me what I thought it was worth. I went 25% of new wholesale price.
They sold it to me.
Have not checked since
But now that I think of it may start looking for a stud weld gun for pulling dents at local pawn shops

 

[jmm]

Besides it being wrong, I don't see how peeling the sticker off the ratchet is to your advantage at all. You say you like the price already -- if you'd left the sticker, he'd be locked in on a starting point from which you could haggle him down. Rethink your morals, and get a handle on pawn shop bargaining.

 

[07travis]

My brother and I mus be the lucky ones lately... in the last week or so we've gotten an older 1/2" drive craftsman speeder, a snap on valve core tool, 6 hard handle snap on screw drivers, a near mint new script snap on line wrench, 2 snap on box end wrenches that are a bit rough but usable, a 3/4 & 13/16 3/8" drive snap on socket a stubby matco screwdriver, 2 challenger box end wrenches, and a few other S-K and craftsman sockets all for under $15! All of these items have been in the "junk" bins... we're just willing to take the time and dig a bit and get our hands dirty when apparently nobody else is around here. There are usually younger kids working at the shop here that know more about video games and electronic junk, so they have no idea what they've got when it comes to tools, selling most of them to us for .25 or .50! Don't worry though, we don't luck out like this very often... It's just been our competition lately to see who can get the better deal!

 

[Train]

The pawn shops here are crazy too. Last week I'm browsing and I come across a little 4 1/2 inch angle grinder from Canadian Tire. $60. Canadian Tire has them on sale for $19 about every second week.

 

[Coulea]

Put the price and what kind of your product... Good sport fishing isn't hard to find in Alaska. Alaska Fishing Guide

 

[PT Doc]

Just don't go back. That seems like a reasonable solution if you feel that they are crooks.

 

[jdsac]

Peeling off the price tag was going to do what for you? It was his to sell &
he had it priced- just take it to the counter & see if you could do better- if
not, just put it back. Thinking you could out smart a pawn shop is dumb.
They are smarter than you think. You need them, they really don't need you.
Stick to yard sales & Flea Markets.

 

[trainer]

I was shopping for a beginner guitar acoustic guitar for one of my sons for christmas.
I figured I'd look at a few pawn shops and see if maybe a decent used one would be the way to go.
All I found was off brand and damaged insturments that would barely be good for parts. There was absolutely nothing playable under $150

I guess the Canadian shops make thier money on the pawn loans and the retail side is just gravy for them.

 

[KPSquared]

I didn't think you could find a playable guitar for less than $300. . .anywhere.

 

[KMinAF]

The idea when negotiating (imho) is to acknowledge the asking price and without sounding condescending or like a cheap skate, ask if the price is negotiable. Most times I have found that the pawn shop is willing to come down a bit. Peeling the sticker off is dishonest.

 

[flashman]

an excerpt from Massachusetts general laws

Section 30AShoplifting; penalty; arrest without warrant

any person who intentionally alters, transfers or removes any label, price tag or marking indicia of value or any other markings which aid in determining value affixed to any merchandise displayed, held, stored or offered for sale by any store or other retail mercantile establishment and to attempt to purchase such merchandise personally or in consort with another at less than the full retail value with the intention of depriving the merchant of all or some part of the retail value thereof; or

full text here
http://www.malegislature.gov/Laws/GeneralLaws/PartIV/TitleI/Chapter266/Section30A

Why are you quoting Massachusetts law for a person in Canada???

Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk 2

 

[RCStocker]

You are lucky the guy didn't get in your face for peeling the sticker, if you did that at my table I would have. That ratchet is worth $35 to 40, long handles bring alot more than the standard ones. Pawn guys sell and price there stuff on line, most are not stupid. Just move on.

Your wrong they are stupid! I have traveled all over the world and am in Asutralia at for the winter. I have been buying and selling stuff sense 1962 and every pawn shop I have been in is so over price that it is a joke. I have never been in one that did not have somthing price at way more than you could not buy it new. They make thier money in the back room. They make it on silver, diamonds, gold and loans. The store front is just that a front. I play the piano and I have a bunch of keyboards. Every Pawn shop I go in has a bunch of them. They are always the price of a new one if not more.

I really don't get it. I want to make a profit and flip my money. You can have a museum or you can make money. I choose to make money.

Even the Pawn shops here in Australia are way over priced.
Many shops now are bloding things out on E bay to move them. Don't be fooled they are not getting their prices. If they do they is a fool born every minuet.

 

[KPSquared]

Whatever the law says. . .pulling price tags is a douche bag manuover every day of the week.

 

[Shocker]

Stuff sells for what is sells for. If people are paying the listed prices for their items, why should they reduce it? Just because you think it isn't worth what they are asking, doesn't mean someone else will pay.

Free market baby.

 

[03protege]

The Pawn I frequent has some pretty high prices on all of their torque wrenches, even the used Harbor Freight ones list for $30

 

[85camaro]

#1 That was bunk when you peeled the sticker.
#2 No, I never find smokin' deals at pawn shops either.
#3 To the guy that posted that you need pawn shops, they don't need you.....Gimme a friggin' break.