This is one of those questions that a lot of people ask themselves but it always seems that the answer is a bit different depending on who you are talking to and what they personal think of pawn shops and pawn brokers.
The fact of that matter is that most pawn shop have been in business for decades, and in some cases 100 years or more. As a result, these pawn shop have built very good businesses and reputations in their local communities.
But that doesn’t mean that everyone is a saint and we understand that.
Just like any professions you are going to have a variety of different people in the mix with different personalities and views about how things should be done.
That of course is true no matter what profession you happen to be in. We could be talking about ice cream sales men, police officers, lawyers, doctors or pawn brokers – everyone is bit different and will operate a bit differently with different standards and feelings for what is right.
But the truth of the matter is this…
Pawn shops have spent years building their business and establishing great relationships with their communities. Despite movies or popular opinions, you can almost always trust your local pawn shop without worry.
Most Pawn Brokers Are Professionals And Pride Themselves On The Business They Run
The fact is that when I go around and talk to pawn brokers one thing is almost very obvious to me. They are really professionals, and just like any other true professional, they pride themselves on the businesses and relationships that they have built over the years with the people and communities that they serve.
In fact, I will go as far as to say that pawn brokers take more pride in their businesses than just about any other small business owner out there at the moment and there are a lot of little reasons for that really.
You see, when you run a pawn shop you are in a unique position in your community.
You have the opportunity and almost the obligation to help those you serve by giving them access to short term, emergency funds so that they can take care of sudden, unexpected expenses or other emergencies that have popped up.
Of course, in some cases, if there was no pawn shop in the local community most of the people in that area might be stuck to having to rely on things like payday loans which come with much higher and much more aggressive payback terms then your average pawn loan.
In addition, while just about everyone can get a pawn loan (because it’s purely based on what you take into the pawn shop) and not everyone can get a payday loan because of either how they are paid or a lack of checking account, etc – the availability of that quick cash is completely indispensable in those communities.
And while all of these things are great things, it’s what they result in that gives a pawn broker the sense of pride in his or her business – which is being able to really help people in a time of desperate need, when they may have no other options and seeing the look of relief wash over their faces when you are able to get them the access to the emergency funds they need right then and there.
Pawn brokers build great reputations for themselves based on this unique service that they offer and really aren’t going to do anything at all to jeopardize that or put it at risk. That means that they have nothing but the upmost interest in operating ethically, within the bounds of the law, and treating the people that come into their pawn shops fairly and with respect.
Can You Trust The Prices Pawn Shops Give You
Now that you understand that pawn shop have a huge interest and concern with protecting their business and their businesses reputation you should understand something else about pawn shops and how they operate.
A lot of people are under the false impression that pawn shops are out there to rip people off or steal your stuff and that really couldn’t be further form the truth.
The fact of the matter is that when a pawn shop buys something, they are going to have to be able to turn around and resell that product to a customer at a small profit. That’s just the nature of the business and something that you’ve got to expect – after all they aren’t a charity organization.
But what people don’t understand sometimes is that even though they may pay one price for an item or have an appraisal that says a certain dollar amount on it, the amount that a pawn shop can actually sell a item for is far less than that.
When people go into pawn shop they are expecting to find deals. They want to see gently used merchandise for sale at prices that they really couldn’t find anyplace else.
Because of that very fact, pawn shop are automatically at a disadvantage when it comes to what they can afford to resell an item for. They have public perception and expectation working against them and often times won’t be able to command a premium price for an item – and that goes for just about any item. Even diamond dealers expect to get diamonds for nothing out of pawn shops and of all people they are the ones that should certainly know how that can’t happen.
So when a pawn shop offers you a price, most of the time it’s going to be a very reasonable price of whatever that item is versus it’s potential resale amount when you take into account the fact that pawn shops still have to pay employees, bills, rent, etc. After all, it’s not free to run a pawn shop so that has to come from someplace and that’s just the nature of how things work.
In addition, most pawn shop don’t just make up prices out of thin air on items that come in their door. They look at the current market value of a used item in similar condition and completeness such as yours and then make a fair, honest offer based off of a percentage of whatever that current second-hand value may be.
The Final Word…
Pawn shops are trustworthy and honest operations that work hard to serve the communities that they operate in. The pawn brokers that run them are often very proud of the business that they run and there services that they are able to offer their customers.
As such, their customers will often trust their local pawn shop and be loyal to them for years to come. That loyalty just wouldn’t happen if pawn shops couldn’t be trusted. That’s simply not the case.
99 out of 100 times, you are going to be able to trust your local pawn shop with your items and know that you are getting a fair value for them.
Mandy Dormain started working for Pawn Nerd in 2020. Mandy grew up in a small town in northern Tennessee. But moved to New York for university. Before joining Pawn Nerd, Mandy briefly worked as a freelance journalist for several radio stations. She covers politics and economy stories.
