How does a pawn shop work?

amother

Puce

Wed, Oct 26 2016, 7:27 pm

So I really need money (who doesn't, right?! Smile

) and I have a few pieces of jewelry I could easily give up. as well as a few other random pieces of Judaica that we received as wedding gifts and haven't used in almost 20 years. Does anyone know how to go about pawning stuff? I want to do it in a way that I don't get ripped off but still get the money right away. Have you ever pawned stuff? Do u just walk into these places? Are they shady? How does it work??

doctorima

Wed, Oct 26 2016, 7:41 pm

I B"H don't have any experience with pawn shops, but based on reputation, I think many will be shady and will rip you off. I would definitely get a personal recommendation wherever you live, or check online reviews of anyplace you're considering to make sure they're honest and fair.

amother

Coral

Wed, Oct 26 2016, 7:57 pm

You should absolutely check the reputation of anyone you deal with.

You can sell goods outright at a pawn shop, if its something that they want. Unless you find a specialized store, or a store in a heavily Jewish area, though, they would not be likely to give you a good price for Judaica, or possibly even want it unless its silver (in which case, they would be more likely to give you a melt-down value than a value as Judaica).

You can also "pawn" your goods. Its like a loan, collateralized by your goods. So, if your ring is worth $10,000, they will give you a loan of $5000 (I'm just picking numbers here; I don't know what they would actually give you), and hold your ring as collateral. You have a certain amount of time to pay them back, with the specified interest, or they get to keep your ring. Again, they might not accept Judaica. They're looking for things they can sell.

Also, in selling or pawning any goods, remember that the buyer / pawnbroker needs to make a profit. If you think that someone would pay $1000 for something, the pawn broker can't pay you $1000, or he would walk away with nothing.