How much do pawn shops pay for iPods? It’s a question that people ask every day so we figured that it was high time for us to give you an authoritative answer!
So how much do pawn shop pay for iPods? That’s a great question, and fortunately, it’s not all that hard to figure out the answer to.
There are a few things that we need to get out of the way before we really get to that though.
First of all, you need to know that not all pawn shops take iPods.
I know, that might sound a little crazy, but it’s the reality of the situation and there’s a few reasons for it.
First of all, pawnbrokers are very aware of their reputations and how the pawn industry is sometimes viewed by people who are unfamiliar with it.
Just be honest with yourself for a moment; pawn shops are sometimes viewed as the place that bad guys go to sell their stolen or ill-gotten items.
While that’s not really true these days, historically it was sometimes the case and therefore pawnbrokers will often try to avoid taking items that are often small, portable, and prone to greater than normal theft rates.
Things like GPS systems, laptop, and in this case, iPods tend to fit those descriptions unfortunately.
Beyond just that however, some pawnshops don’t deal with electronics overall for other reasons. Of course, that might also sound odd to you, but you have to remember that there is no black book of rules that all pawn shops have to follow.
It’s not as if pawn shops are big box chains (in most cases.) They are normally owned by individual, small business owners who each have their own idea of what makes a good type of item to buy or make a loan against.
A lot of people ask how much pawn shops pay for iPods. The answer depends on a lot of things such as what condition yours is in, how complete it is, how old it is, and what the storage capacity is.
How To Find A Pawn Shop That Accepts iPods
The first thing that you need to do if you want to pawn or sell your iPod at a pawn shop is to find one that deals with them on a regular basis.
Fortunately, this is a pretty easy process in most cases.
Just go to Google.com and search the phrase “Local pawn shops” or “Pawn shops in my area.”
Google will return a list of results that will have the names of the pawn shops, their addresses, phone numbers, and maybe even some review information.
Take the top 3 or 4 results and give them a call.
What You Should Ask The Pawn Shops
When you are talking to the pawn shops that you call, there are a few things that you are going to want to ask them.
Do you take all generation and models of iPods? If not, which ones do you take?
What do I have to have with the iPod?
What do I have to bring with me to make a loan or sell an item to you?
It’s important to get this information upfront so that when you get to the pawn shop, you are prepared.
If your iPod is too old for them to take, you won’t waste either their or your time by going there and instead can go to a different shop.
If they require something that you don’t have, unfortunately there isn’t much that they will be able to do to help you.
This is particularly true if it is something that is required by state law, like a specific form of identification.
[Some state laws only require a photo ID while others require driver’s licenses or other forms of identity to do business in a pawn shop.]
How To Get The Most Money For Your iPod At A Pawn Shop
Now that you know what pawn shop(s) you are going to to pawn or sell your iPod, let’s talk about how to make sure that you get the most money possible for yours.
For a moment, I want you to look at this from the pawnbroker’s perspective.
When something comes into a pawn shop, the people who work there are going to evaluate it based on it’s condition, completeness, and what the going market value is for that specific generation and model iPod.
If you keep all of this in mind, you are going to put yourself way ahead of the normal person who comes into the pawn shop and can prepare your iPod to get the most money possible.
Pawn shops will pay less for scratched up or damaged iPods than they would for iPods in very good condition. if you’re ipod is too heavily damaged, unfortunately, the pawn shop may not take it at all.
What Condition Is Your iPod In
The first thing that you need to do is take a good, hard look at your iPod.
Are there scratches all over it?
Are there dents on the back, or cracks anywhere on it?
Are there big marks on it that you can remove?
There are several models of the iPod, the classic being the most common, that have polished chrome rear plates.
They scratch up pretty easily over time, so look at yours objectively. Does it have that new super polished shine, or is it scratched up pretty well? Are there some dents in it, particularly on the corners where it may have fallen and landed on a hard surface?
If so, there’s not much you can do about it, but keep in mind that a pawnbroker is also going to look at this and take it into consideration when deciding what kind of offer to make you on it. Dents will normally be far more negatively viewed than scratches.
Now on the other hand, if there are dirt or some debris on it that you can remove, you should absolutely do so before you take it into the pawn shop.
Don’t dunk it in water or anything (after all, water and electronics aren’t friends), but take a lightly damp towel and wipe it down to remove what you can.
If there is dirt or hair in the charging or headphone jack, remove that as well. If there are sticks on it, remove those and use 91% rubbing alcohol to remove the adhesive left behind.
The idea here is to make your iPod look at close to new as possible. When a pawn shop looks at your iPod, there are really two questions that they are asking themselves.
How easily can I resell this?
How much can I resell this for?
Even if your iPod is older, but it looks like it is in great condition, a pawnbroker will feel more comfortable in their ability to resell it easily and therefore the offer that you get for it will likely be higher than if you brought it in dirty and marked up.
Have All The Parts
Now, if you followed the instructions in this article up to this point, then you will have already called the pawn shops around you and know that they need to have with an iPod to take it.
What you were really asking is “What is the minimum you need to buy one?”
What we are talking about here now is not just being able to sell or make a loan on an iPod at a pawn shop, but getting the most money possible out of it.
In this case, you want to have everything possible for it and ready to go when you arrive at the pawn shop. This is for the exact same reason as why you cleaned it up before taking it in.
Pawnbrokers know that when something is missing pieces, buyers are less likely to pay top dollar for an item, or buy it at all in some cases.
On the other hand, if the iPod has all of the factory included parts, it will be easier for the pawn shop to sell and therefore, they will probably be willing to loan you more against it, or offer you a higher buy price on it than if you had nothing for it.
So make sure that you bring what you have with you and don’t leave the extra parts at home. After all, if you are making a loan on your iPod or selling it to the pawn shop, what good is it to have those things but no iPod?
The things that you will want to look for are:
The original wall adapter – Apple wall adapters are typically higher wattage that cheap wall sockets that you would buy aftermarket and therefore have a higher appeal to them.
The original case and insert – Apple’s packaging is a big part of the buying experience. If you have this, it will present you iPod in the best possible light.
The original earbuds – A lot of Apple’s marketing for the iPod was centered around those white earbuds. In an era where headphone cords were normally black, those white earbuds screamed “I have an iPod.” It’s part of the prestige of owning one. Additionally, they are typically higher quality and sound better than most aftermarket, cheap earbuds.
The original USB cable – Apple’s products can be picky about the cables they use, so be sure to try to have the original Apple USB cord. If you don’t have it, an aftermarket cord will work in a pinch.
Consider Resetting The iPod
Last but not least, before you take your iPod to a pawn shop, you should consider doing a factory reset on it.
The newer iPods can be ‘Activation locked” when they are setup to your iCloud account via “Find My iPod,” so make sure that you deactivate the before you take your iPod into the pawn shop. Trust me, the first thing that they will do is check it and since you need to turn that off from your account, you’ll want to do it at home before you leave.
Additionally, if the iPod is reset when it gets to the pawn shop, that’s one less thing that they really have to worry about, and that will probably work in your favor.
Pawn Shop Payouts On iPods
Okay, finally, we have arrived at the money part of this article.
Assuming that your iPod is in good condition, with all of the parts, the last thing a pawn shop is going to do is research what that model, with that amount of storage sells for currently on sites like eBay and Amazon.
They aren’t looking at “Buy It Now” prices, new prices, or what something is “Listed for.”
What a pawn shop is looking at is the previously sold auctions – that is, what an item just like yours really sold for in the recent past.
You see, when people list things on eBay, they can put any price on it that they want to. Pawn shops aren’t going to pay attention to that. They want to know what things are really selling for, and they aren’t looking at the highest price listed.
They are looking at the average price for an item that has the same parts that you brought in, the same generation, and the same amount of storage. That average price gives them a good idea of what the actual used market value for an iPod like yours really is.
Typically speaking, the earliest iPod classics are varying storage won’t get too much money. They are just too big and heavy compared to the latest models, and the older it is, typically speaking, the weaker the battery is.
These may only get $10-$30 at a pawn shop depending on what specifically you have.
However, the later iPod classics (6th & 7th generation) with large storage can get a good amount of money. You might be looking at $30-$100 for these depending on what you have exactly.
For iPod touches, it will also depend on the generation and storage, but these are really common these days. Pawn shops might be offered 10-50 of them a week, so nothing really stands out about them.
You might be offered as little as $5-$10 for one, but if you have the newest one with a lot of storage and in good condition, you might be looking at $40-$70. It just depends on the age, condition, and storage capacity.
iPod shuffles are pretty much a “Dime a dozen.” They were Apple’s lowest model, with the least storage, the fewest features, and aren’t highly sought after.
Almost no matter what generation iPod shuffle you have, you are only looking at between $5-$15 for it. They are pretty cheap, even when brand new, with a factory warranty and that all-too-loved “New smell.”
In Conclusion
You now know just about everything there is to know about pawning or selling an iPod to a pawn shop.
Call ahead, clean it up, find all of the parts, remove the activation lock and go get some money!
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.
