So today we have a really fun question I feel and I’m pretty excited to get a chance to answer it.
Do pawn shops actually buy silver plated items?
Well that’s actually a very interesting question because when it comes to plated items, whether it be gold plated or silver plated, not all shops feel the same way about them.
Some pawn shops will absolutely deal with these items depending on what the item is. Something like silver plated jewelry is much less likely for the pawn shop to take in.
That having been said, things like silver plated silverware can still have some value in the right hands.
Overall though, it really isn’t all that common for pawn shops to deal with plated items of any type. It’s just not something that is very easy for the to resell.
In addition, unlike items that are made out of solid metals, silver plated items can’t really be melt down for their scrape value. There just won’t be much money there for them to work with.
If you have some items that are silver plated then it can be hit-and-miss on if a pawn shop will take them in. That having been said, there are some nicer silver plated items out there that some pawn shops would love to have.
So What Do You Do With Silver Plated Items
This is going to be one of those rare occasions where I actually advise that you sell them yourself online on a site like eBay.
That is really going to be your best chance of getting any kind of appreciable money out of them because most of the time a pawn shop just won’t want to get involved.
However, like I said above, if the item happens to be something like plated silverware, that can be a different deal altogether, particularly if the silverware set is complete and in good condition.
Just keep in mind that even silver plated silverware isn’t going to be worth a whole lot of money, but it will certainly be worth enough not to just throw it away or give it away.
Your best bet on something like that is to just take it down to your local pawn shop and ask them what they think. It can’t hurt and they aren’t going to yell at you, so it’s worth the drive.
Don’t get too attached to silver plated items.
If they were silver plated to begin with, they probably weren’t worth all that much form the start.
In addition, there’s really nobody out there looking to buy silver plated items specifically. Sure you might have customers for some gold plated items but silver plated is really low on the list.
The bottom line here is to make sure that you stay reasonable with your hopes and ideas on what your items may be worth. In a best case scenario, you may find out that you have something really valuable and how great would that be?
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.
