So, do pawn shops take in desktop computer or not? What a good question but there is an unfortunate truth in this that I’ve got to break to you.
Not all pawn shops operate the same way. They are all typically owned by small individual business owners and they have their own rules on what they will and will not take in for the most part.
But that having been said, most pawn shops will be willing to take in desktop computers assuming that you have all of the parts, it’s somewhat recent and nothing appears to be too bad marked up or damaged.
They are much more likely to take in your desktop computer if it is one of the newer All-In-One desktops where there is no separate tower but instead, the computer and the monitor are all built into one unit.
If you aren’t sure what I mean, you can take a look at the iMac’s and see how they are built. That is the all-in-one look that we are referring to here.
The all-in-one’s are much easier for pawn shops to work with and store. In addition, there are a lot more buyers out there for a newer, stylish all in one then there are for the older style desktops with separate towers that you have to lug around.
If you want to know if your local pawn shop will take your desktop computer, the answer is most commonly that yes they will take them.
How Much Do They Pay
How much a pawn shop is willing to pay you for your desktop is going to depend on a lot of factors.
Some of these will be pretty obvious to you but some won’t. For instance:
How New Is It
What Kind Of Hardware Does It Have
What Kind Of Physical Condition Is It In
Is It A PC Or A iMac
Does It Have All Of The Parts
Once they are able to look at a determine these factors, the next most likely thing for them to do is lookup the desktop on a site like Amazon or eBay and see what similar models are selling for used.
Of those two choices, they are much more likely to reference eBay since eBay acts as a live 2nd hand marketplace and you know exactly what things have sold for in the past as opposed to just seeing what someone on Amazon is hoping to sell one for.
Once they’ve determined that value, in all likelihood, they will offer you between 40-60% of that price. Of course, it will be closer to the higher end if you are just selling the computer outright versus making a loan against it and trying to get it back at a later point in time.
Tips For Pawning A Desktop Computer
Pawning or selling a desktop computer to a pawn shop is a lot like pawning or selling a laptop to them as well. There are some basic things that you will want to do to make their life easier and hopefully get you some more money in the process.
Remove Passwords – if you have passwords protecting you administrator account, it’s not a bad idea to remove them all together if you are going to be making a loan against it. If you don’t want to remove it completely, then at least make sure that you have it available for the pawn shop as they will require it should you end up forfeiting the loan if you weren’t just selling it outright.
Considered Doing A Factory Reset – If you re going to be selling your desktop computer to a pawn shop, it’s probably a good idea to just go ahead and do a full factory reset on it. That way you will know that you personal information is off of the computer and in addition, it saves a little work for the pawn shop upfront, which is something that they will normally appreciate.
Clean It Up – The next big thing that you will want to make sure you do is clean your desktop up. Remove any large marks that you can and try to have it in as close to new and shiny condition as is possible. This ultimately makes the computer easier to sell and that’s an appealing factor to a pawn shop.
Have All Of The Parts – When you take your desktop into the pawn shop, make sure that you have all of the parts and pieces. That includes the monitor, cords, keyboard, mouse, etc. If you are missing these parts then you probably won’t get nearly as much for the desktop as you could have had you brought everything with you.
Following these simple tips should help you get the most out of your desktop when you take it into the pawn shop for either a loan or to sell it outright.
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.
