Boy this is one of those strangely tough questions that I will sometimes get asked by pawn shop owners who aren’t sure what to pay their staff.
On the other hand, there are plenty of normal people whom have nothing to do with the pawn industry that may want to know the answer to this question as well, so I figured it was a good one to answer.
When it comes to the staffing of a pawn shop, there are all sorts of factors that can come into play.
First of all, not all pawn shops are alike. The truth of the matter is that there are as many different pawn shops as you might be able to imagine.
There’s everything from really upper-end, high class pawn shops that specialize in loans of $25,000 and great to your more average, almost hole-in-the-wall pawn shop that does loans for as little as $1 – and there’s everything in between.
There’s some pawn shops that will have a very strong sales environment and are looking for managers to really drive sales while there are other pawn shops that operate almost exclusively on the financial services side of things and do very little retail at all.
How much pawn shop managers get paid will often times depend completely on the types of stores they run and the kind of merchandise that they often deal with. That having been said, in order to be a successful pawn shop manager being a people person is critical to their success.
So Is There A Baseline Pay For Pawn Shop Managers
The bottom line here is that there almost isn’t an average that you can really apply across the board to pawn shop mangers in general.
The lowest I’ve heard of a pawn shop manager making was approximately $35,000 while the highest was over $100,000.
It really just depends on the operation, they type of merchandise that they take in, the type of customers they have and the types of services they offer.
Obviously, the more challenging the store, the more services that are offered, and the more expensive the merchandise is that they handle – the more that the manager is likely to be paid.
Is There Special Training That Pawn Shop Managers Have To Go Through
When it comes to managing a pawn shop, the first thing that the manager really needs to have is a strong understanding of their customers and a willingness to negotiate and work through tough situations.
If the manager isn’t a people person then they won’t be very successful at their job. On the other hand, they have to be strong enough negotiators to be able to work through complex transactions in such a way that both parties leave satisfied.
In addition to that a pawn shop manager should have training from the GIA so that he or she fully understand diamonds, precious metals, and precious or semi-precious stones of all types.
Additionally, having a bachelor’s degree in business management or accounting would definitely be beneficial.
Ultimately though, this really is a job that is all about people and a pawn shop manager needs to be able to expertly handle their customers as well as his or her staff.
Is It Easy To Become A Pawn Shop Manager
Typically speaking, it is not very easy to be put in a management role in a pawn shop.
You will normally have to have years of experience buy and selling used merchandise and have a proven background in customer service at the very least.
Because there aren’t too many careers out there where buying and selling is a primary job function, it can be difficult to get the experience you would need unless you have worked into a pawn shop for years already.
What Hours Do Pawn Shop Managers Normally Work
Typically speaking, most pawn shops are only open what are known as “Banker hours” or 9-5 or 9-6. As such, a pawn shop manager will almost certainly be there when the store is open.
Typically speaking they will have a day off just like any other employee and will work between 35-45 hours a week.
This is will of course normally come with 10-21 days of vacation per year, along with other associated health benefits, 401k plans, etc.
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.
