And there is it, splashed all over the TV. Rick from Pawn Stars calling in some expert to look at some antique and then making a crazy offer on it.
Every since this became a thing in the national television spotlight, everyone has wondered the same thing.
“Do pawn shops buy antiques and how much can I get paid for mine?”
Well, I really wish that there was one easy answer to this question but there simply isn’t unfortunately.
Do to the fact that most pawn shops are owned by individual small business owners that all operate a little differently from each other, it’s basically impossible to say that “Yes all pawn shops buy antiques” or that they don’t.
However, with that in mind there isn’t anything that you have to cry over if you were hoping to sell your antiques to your local pawn shop because there’s a good chance that there is a pawn shop in your area that will in fact buy antiques. Actually, there’s a good chance that there is a pawn shop in your area that won’t only buy them, but love them and actively acquire and curate antiques.
Surprising? Maybe, but you have to understand that many pawn shops have been in families for years and have been passed down from generation to generation and things like antique collecting tend to also follow in this same vein. because of that, there are some pawn shops out there that are absolutely nuts about antiques – but not all of them.
You might be surprised to find out that there are a lot of pawn shops out there that buy antiques regularly.
How To Pawn Antiques
Okay, so we’ve established that you might like to pawn or sell your antiques to a pawn shop. Great, what’s the next step?
Well the first most obvious step is to find a pawn shop in your area that really deals with these types of things regularly. The best way to do that is just to go to Google.com and search the phrase “Local Pawn Shops” and Google will return a list of pawn shops in your area, along with their address and phone numbers most of the time.
Based on this list you will want to go through it and call each pawn shop to see what their policies are on buying and selling antiques and if they are something that the pawn shop regularly deals with.
You will probably find one or two pawn shops in your immediate area that do deal with antiques or are willing to take a look at what you have and see if there is something that they can work out for it.
Tips For Pawning Or Selling Antiques
Now this is where things may get a little dicey for some folks.
When you watch a show like Pawn Stars, it always seems that Rick has some expert he can call down to the shop to look at just about anything and determine if the item is real and what it may be worth to Rick if he were to turn around and sell it.
Well, unfortunately this is not at all how it works in the real pawn shop world. It’s not like every pawn shop out there has a rolodex full of numbers of experts on various topics that will just drop everything they are doing and come running to their pawn broker buddies aid to help him figure out what you just brought it.
Trust me, as a pawn broker for years I can’t tell you how nice it would be if this were actually true but then again, this isn’t TV we are talking about.
So with that in mind, you’ve got to understand that not all pawn brokers are going to immediately know exactly what they are looking at if you take in a rather rare of unique antique. In fact, the chances are that they will have never seen what it is that you are bringing in before and because of that, you really need to do a little home work on your own before you come in if you want to try to sell whatever it is that you have for the most money.
Know What It Is – When you are taking an antique down to a pawn shop, you should know exactly what it is and even better yet, have some kind of documentation showing that’s what it is. This is really going to help you out because it’s going to give the pawn shop a good idea of where to begin looking when trying to determine a resale value for your item. If you go there and can’t give them any information on your antique then it will just turn into a game of two people guessing what some random item might be worth and that very rarely works out well for both parties.
Know What’s Wrong With It – When we are talking about antiques, we are typically talking about older items that were probably used during their life and as such are likely not in new condition. If you can go to your pawn shop and demonstrate your knowledge over the item and point out what may be wrong with it, you’re going to give the pawn broker some peace of mind about dealing with you and your item and make them more comfortable to possibly offer you more than if they were just guessing blindly.
Don’t Polish It – I can’t stress this one enough. A lot of people make the mistake of trying to clean up antiques the wrong way and polishing parts of them or removing patina or age marks. Don’t do this. It’s part of the antiques character and adds to it’s value most of the time. Besides if you aggressively clean it, you may end up damaging it and that won’t work out well for anyone.
Don’t Expect A Million Dollars – This is a big one because when it comes to antiques, if you come across as pushy or demanding then that may cause the pawn broker to suspect that there is something wrong with the transaction and he or she may back away from it completely. Just be reasonable and let them research it a little and to see what they came back with as a number. More often than not, if you are reasonable with your approach you will find that your transaction will be much smoother and still fairly profitable for you.
Following these tips should help you pawn or sell your antiques to a pawn shop with ease when it comes time to do so.
