Pawn store and yard sale buys

C

Camper6

Well-known Member
Location
Northwestern Ontario Canada
Have you ever bought something at a pawn store and when you get it home wonder why the person sold it.

I bought a tripod at a pawn store and I know why the guy got rid of it.

When I used it for the first time I pinched my fingers three times getting the legs to extend.

There were some plastic tabs that snap shut to open and close them.

Other than that. It was a bargain.
 
I found if you go to sell something at a pawn shop, they wont give you much for the item. And when they sell items they often jack the prices up really high.. for that reason I almost never visit pawn shops.
 
I've purchased many things from yard sales, thrift shops, and flea markets over the years but almost nothing from pawnshops.

When I was a kid I used to go to the only pawn shop in town with my stepfather because they sold new hunting and fishing supplies. In those days the pawnshop could not sell pawned items in their stores. The pawnshop was required by law to auction off pawned items after the redemption period expired. The auctions were advertised in a legal notice in the paper and held a couple of times a year but we never went to them.

I'm not sure how it works now but it seems that we have many more pawnshops these days than we did years ago.
 
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i don't think i've ever been in a pawn shop?? i go to Columbus Flea Market occasionally. if you go enough, you'll recognize stuff tht the vendor i calling vintage is just old/dirty & bat up.

i enjoy yard sales but they never opened up this spring/summer, i like going to a yard sale NOT having one!

last time i had a yrad sale... a bit out of guilt. neighbor took care of permit and signs. had 3 big $$ things... per related. one was an insert for a sliding door with a doggie door at bottom. second thing - a LG pet crate (collapsible). last big item was a large wooden toboggan. i know each of these items cost at least $150. not a nibble!
 
There are few pawn stores in my area, and the few that exist seem to carry mostly video games and systems, expensive and well-worn contractor's-grade tools, and a few electronics and musical items. Second-hand and consignment stores have a broader and more appealing inventory. Yard sales are big and vary in quality, plus you have to visit them early almost when they open to scoop up the desirable and best items...
 
macgeek said:
I found if you go to sell something at a pawn shop, they wont give you much for the item. And when they sell items they often jack the prices up really high.. for that reason I almost never visit pawn shops.
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Pawn shops is all bargaining on the price.
Lewkat said:
I have never been in a pawn shop, but I've bought stuff at flea markets.
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You never know what you will find in a pawn shop.
Just traipse around the place. You will be amazed.
And you will notice what the trend is now.
The place will be loaded with kitchen gadgets and CD tapes and bread machines.
Don't expect great bargains on tools with rechargeable batteries.
Check out the price of the rechargeable batteries first.
They may not even be available anymore.
 
Pawn shop people are sometimes shady characters. There is one near me that is a pig sty. It has boxes of filthy, greasy tools that aren't sorted then there is another that is spotless as is all their stuff. I avoid both simply because the mark-up on their items. Get nothing when selling pay too much when buying with no guarantee. Makes zero sense.
 
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debodun said:
At that time I was shopping for one, so I was familiar with instrument prices.
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What type of instrument were you looking for? To state saxophone doesn’t say much of anything. There are about 7 or 8 different types and 100’s of different brands. From reading your other posts it’s very unlikely you knew what you were looking for but I do know for certain that you’d want whatever you were looking for to be dirt cheap. I’d never expect you to ever say you got what you wanted at a very reasonable price.
 
debodun said:
His attitude was abrasive, too. I told him I could get a used alto sax at a music store for $300 (he wanted $600). He said, "Go ahead!" This was probably back in the early 1980s.
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This ^^^^^ doesn’t say anything.
Of course you can get a used saxophone for $300 but what brand was is, how new was it? Was it in working condition because if it was, why not purchase it? Or was the information about the other saxophone just to get a better deal on the other one?

Vintage altos can cost up to $13,000 depending on the brand, age and condition. If you don’t know anything about saxophones then it’s unfair to claim someone else’s is over priced.
 
Keesha said:
I do know for certain that you’d want whatever you were looking for to be dirt cheap. I’d never expect you to ever say you got what you wanted at a very reasonable price.
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And you have a problem with that? Is it a sin to try to get the best deal on anything. Do you pay the sticker price on a car without trying to negotiate a better price?
 
debodun said:
And you have a problem with that? Is it a sin to try to get the best deal on anything. Do you pay the sticker price on a car without trying to negotiate a better price?
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No! You missed my point altogether.
It’s not a sin at all to try and get the best deal but when you are doing all your comparing, the ‘best’ deal isn’t always the one with the lowest price tag. There are cheap brands of saxophones. They might be the cheapest financially but not necessarily the best deal.
 
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