pawn shop virginity status: taken!

[sidd_laroy]

i went to my first pawn shop today! there's a pawn shop like a block away from my girlfriends house, and every time i've visited her parents house up to this point i've wanted to go, but things keep coming up, and the chance to go disappears.

after reading a bunch of stories about awesome finds i've wanted to go to one, but i haven't seen any around where i live.

anyway, back to the story. i walked in and looked around, and at first it just looked like a bunch of junk. after scoping things out though, i discovered a guitar, some basses, a peavey bass amp, a hartke, and sitting on a shelf, was a EHX metal muff nano. i couldn't see the price, so i asked if the guy behind the counter could tell me the price, and he said i could have it for 25, instead of the sticker price of 30. after thinking about it, i said how about 20, and he said 22. i jumped at that offer and walked out with a metal muff nano with a smile on my face, and the feeling that i got a good deal.

it made my day so much i just felt like sharing.

[A-Step-Towards]

Nice haggling skills, sounds like a real pawn shop , mine locally wont haggle at all.

[sidd_laroy]

thanks! that's too bad about your pawn shop though... i love pawn shops now! i saw a bass in there that looked like it was from the 80s maybe. sharp head stock, maple fret board that looked pretty well aged, but it had no decal, i'm not sure how much it was, but i'm going to go back hopefully and maybe pick it up!

[paulygonemad]

Great place to find pedals. I try to go where the crackheads live to get the really good deals. Sure, you are risking being shot/mugged/murdered... but hey man... pedals!!!

[sidd_laroy]

hahahaha. i think my new life goal is to first get a good sum of money, and then visit pawn shops all over the world and spend all of my money on sweet gear... i've always turned to craigslist, or guitar center's used list online when i thought it was time for used stuff. pawn shops are more exciting! it seemed like that guy wanted to get rid of the pedal though, right when he put it on the counter he said i could have it for less. haha.

[Orangeclawhamme]

I was just in one the other day and saw a Squier Bronco with a SMALL Peavey amp for $185. The guy in the shop said he'd let the bass go for $125 out the door. After considering that anyone who gets GCs flyers every month can get 10% off the new price ($150) any time, I did some math and found that bukying this pawn shop find would have saved me $18.00 off what I could get a new one for. I should have remembered the model of the amp. Maybe that would have been a deal.

[sidd_laroy]

was the bronco used?

[SamanthaCay]

Be careful! not all pawn shop deals are good ones. Also you should never be afraid to low ball these people. I like to start really low, then I’ll usually get the that’s crazy the most I could take off is x. Then I’ll say really that’s the most you could take off? then let him make the next move. After that just say well I don’t know, I mean it’s got a scratch here and a ding there could you maybe meet me half way, cause I mean I’m gonna have to have this fixed and that. anyways you get the idea. if you know what your talking about and you start out real low you can just let the clerk sweat it out. that way you know your getting the lowest possible price. there’s some other tricks and mind games you can play with these people but this has always worked the best for me from an all around stand point. lastly keep in mind that although pawn shops are out to make a profit on the stuff they sell, the most money they take in is from interest on loans. Couple that with the fact that they are used to taking a loss because one of their employees paid to much for an item and you’ll have a win about half of the time.