Pawn shops, love/hate...

[zjrog]

Three pawn shops in town, all quite different with tool handling. One shop just lumps all the wrenches in one tub at floor level. HUGE tub. Not easy to dig through. The next has the wrenches in smaller tubs about waist high. But bad lighting. Still, pretty easy to go through and the best prices in town. The third, is better organized, but dumps wrenches into one tub, but has a special tub for Craftsman. And is the priciest.

Stopped in all three today to rummage some missing Craftsman wrenches I needed. Only found a couple I was needing, but added to my ignition wrenches collection. Too bad I didn't know what sizes I already had. I didn't get anything I already have, by luck. But have a question. Once you start digging through the bins at the shops, How do you keep from coming home with what you don't "need"? There were Williams, Proto, a few SK and some Blackhawk. I DID buy the only Bluepoint I came across. Still don't know why.

 

[venturesomerite]

I have only bought one tool from a pawn shop and that was a job box for a hundred bucks. In this economy I imagine that they would be full of good deals.

 

[ajchien]

I carry an iphone. In it I have a list of sizes or things Im looking for just in case....

 

[byoungblood]

I love the ones that single out the Craftsman stuff, but just lump everything else together. That's how I've gotten Snap On, S-K, Proto, etc., for $0.50-1.00 per item.

 

[Outlawmws]

I used to carry a 3x5 card (probably trimmed a bit) in my wallet with a grid of the sizes X drive & length, for sockets, and just checked off the appropriate box once I had it.

The same could be done for wrenches...

 

[Tunger]

We have one in town that is well organized, all wrenches and sockets divided by size (and drive size in sockets.). But they also ask near full retail for anything decent and will hardly deal on anything, especially snap on. The others just dump everything in bins and deal like crazy, plus the digging is half the fun-I always feel accomplished when I come up with something cool. As for not buying what I don't "need"- who cares a typical pawn shop haul for me usually works out at about $1-1.50 an item at the end, and one can never have too many cool tools, however I usually only look for proto, plomb, vlchek, challenger, fleet, snap on, Mac, matco, and cornwell wrenches when pawn shopping and only proto, snap on, and plomb sockets and drive tools so I don't worry too much about duplicates.

 

[Beerman]

Most of the pawn shops in my area have gone out of business-too many "cash for titles" places that seem to be taking all of the old pawn business.

I'd say that EASILY 20 pawn shops that I used to find deals on tools at have gone out of business in the last 15 years. The ones that are still around rarely take in tools.

It was easy to go out, buy a box of used tools at one of these places for $50-$100, take out what I wanted/needed and sell the rest. Usually, I'd make a profit of a few bucks, plus the tools I got on top of things.

Those were the days!!!


Beerman

 

[hickmlg09]

There are a few pawn shops over towards me. My favorite one is in Sparta, Mi. The owner is really nice there. He doesn't rip you off and he is very fair. I have bought a few things there reccently and sold a couple things. Used to go to many pawn shops with the ex all over, but this one has to be my favorite.

 

[zjrog]

I was really just wanting to find 16mm, 18mm and 20mm. So here is my haul...

I needed the 7/32-15/64, but since I found the 5-6 and 10-11mm I have more to look for. As well as straight combinations to match that 5/32 combo... Silly me. What was I thinking? $.25 each though...

I was actually hoping to find a few more in SAE, but this is a good start at $1 each.

I haven't had open ended wrenches ever. But, these were in the box and I thought I needed them. My Dad had nothing but open ended wrenches and I hated them. WHY did I get these? $1.50 each... Guess I need to also look for the metric versions... Madness I tell ya!

Oops, didn't get a pic of the BluePoint. Its pretty beat, but the only one I saw. I like the idea of keeping a list on my phone. Works for my workout schedule, why not tools? While I'm at it, I need to look for VIM tools ignition wrenches too. Missing a couple. Though I got them at a garage sale with a couple Easco wrenches a couple years back. This really is fun!

 

[skeletonizer]

Most of the hoodlums that fed the pawn shops with stolen tools just take them to the scrap yards now. Steel prices being what they are along with law enforcement tracking pawn transactions has them taking the $ hit to stay under the radar. It is pretty easy to hide 200# of tools on a crate of #1.

The one pawn shop near me has nothing but junk that is marked 10 to 20% higher than comparable listings on CL. I have seen better stuff thrown to the side at the scrap yard.

 

[camarotoolman]

From above, here pawn shops finger print, and photo Id to sell, cops are in all the time, 60 day hold on stuff, so its usually not stolen. I sell used at flee markets etc. most of my customers just have a little card in there wallet with there wanted lists. some have print outs, they have it on there computers. Craigs has realy cut into the pawn bus, people just put it on there for free to sell. I love to dig in toughs junk boxes, like digging for gold!

 

[lotsoftools]

I skip the pawnshops around here. Most of their prices are just too high and they won't negotiate at all. One of them wanted $90 for a ratty old Milwaukee Sawzall when a similar new one at the big box was $120.

 

[zjrog]

I bought a new Craftsman 1/4" ratchet at a base PX recently for $12. I had been looking at the same ratchet in a pawn shop for the same price. Too bad the PX doesn't carry more C'man.

 

[racerbob4]

When my son wanted two torque wrenches I found a 1/2" and 3/8" Snap On clicker type on Ebay. Both look like they were never used but I wanted to ask a question about both of them so I sent an eamil thru Ebay and got answers to both questions. Pawn shops were selling them and the prices I paid were fair. The 1/2", which was the newest, had the initials "RM" etched on it with one of those chatter engravers. Those are the first and middle initial of my son so we are going to add the "H" when I find my chatter engraver. They were birthday presents.