When it comes to all of the things that pawn shops take in, not all are immediately obvious but that in part is the nature of the business in a way.
Some pawn shops will take in apparel and some won’t. Then there are those that will take in just about everything, including shoes!
Of course, if you want to make a loan on or sell a pair of shoes, there are some things that you need to know in order to do that successfully.
First of all, let’s just be honest for a moment. Things like shoes are a personal-ware item and not everyone has the same hygiene habits.
I know that might seem a little gross to talk about but we’ve got to because you better bet that it is on the pawn shops mind when you walk into the store with a pair of shoes in your hand, no matter how rare or expensive they might be.
Another thing that you want to keep in mind is that shoes can get beat up pretty easily. After all, we wear them around all day and can accidentally kick things to scrap them against things and not even realize it.
On top of it, shoes have the bare our entire body weight and while that might not seem like a lot, even 100lbs can strain simply, delicate, fashionable leather – like alone other materials such as canvas or suede.
Do pawn shops take shoes? Well the answer is yes, depending on the pawn shop and desirability of the shoes in question.
How Pawning Shoes Works
So with all of that in mind, let’s talk for a second about what makes a pair of shoes something that would be considered pawnable.
The first thing is that they can’t just be any old shoe. They’ve got to be something designer, or rare, or exclusive in some way. There has to be some kind of demand for these shoes among buyers, particularly since we are talking about used shoes, not new shoes.
So with that in mind the kind of shoes that would really apply are, like we said, designer shoes or highly collectible sports shoes that you will often see going to hundreds and sometimes thousands of dollars on a site like eBay, even used.
How Much Do They Pay For Shoes
Well, like all other things, it’s going to depend on the condition of the shoe and the demand for that particular shoe.
If there is very strong demand for those shoes then they will be willing to pay much more for them than if virtually nobody knows about or cares about them.
The next big factor is what kind of condition the shoes are in. Obviously something that is badly beat up is going to be worth much less to the pawn shop than shoes that are in really good condition.
To get an idea of what a pawn shop might pay you for your shoes you can go to a site like eBay.com and search for that specific make, model and color of shoes. Make sure everything matches exactly, every stitch, seam and everything because when it comes to shoes that really is a big deal. Even little variations can make all of the difference here so be very detailed in your analysis of the shoes.
Also, if the shoes in the auction have the original box and yours don’t, you’ve really got to take that into consideration as well. When it comes to shoes, the original packaging makes a huge difference so be aware of that.
Your goal will be to find a pair of shoes on eBay that are just like yours, in very similar condition, the same size and color and with matching packaging materials if you have yours still.
Once you find them, see what they actually sold for by looking at the “Sold” listings which is an option that you can check on the left hand side of the search results screen. These are auctions that have already ended and give you the real idea of what the resale value of your shoes may be.
Now that you have that figure, you’ve got to remember that a pawn shop won’t pay you the full amount. What you will end up getting is roughly 40-60% of that value because there are other costs associated with making loans or reselling items that the pawn shop must pay.
For instance, they’ve got to pay someone to clean, list, package and ship the shoes – none of which is free. Neither is the boxing, bubble wrap or everything else that goes along with it. And finally there are eBay and paypal fees that they have to pay.
When you consider all of these things, getting 40-60% of the auction resale value is actually a very fair price and what’s even better is that you get the cash right away.
Pawn shops will pay more for designer or collectible shoes when you have the original box and packaging materials.
Tips For Pawning Shoes
Now then, we’ve discussed pawning shoes pretty well at this point but I wanted to leave you with a few last minute tips just to remember before you run out the door to head to your local pawn shop.
Clean Them – Pawn shops don’t want to make loans on shoes that smell awful, that are all marked up or have other damage. Take a few minutes and clean the shoes, even consider conditioning them it they are made of the kind of material suitable for that.
Know Exactly What They Are – You bought them originally so the more information you can give the pawn shop about what they are will only help them in determining and approximate value for the shoes that they might be able to loan you against them.
Bring The Box – Make sure that you take the box and original wrapping or padding material if you still have it. In the world of shoes, this can make a huge difference. In fact, it can be up to a 30% difference in the final price so be sure that you keep and take those boxes!
Keep these things in mind and you should have a very favorable pawning experience with your local pawn shop assuming that they take in footware. You may however find that you have to search a little bit for a pawn shop that will work with shoes which you can easily do just by searching “Local Pawn Shops” on Google.com and calling the shops listed.
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.
