In a message dated 2/22/01 6:12:54 PM Pacific Standard Time,
krho@xxxxxxxxxxxxx writes:
<snip>
> Can anyone tell me how the pawn
> shop world works, what prices (or percentage) they usually buy the stuff
> at, and how they finally move their product? I think some of them use a
> massive price guide published by "Orion" in Scottsdale AZ (got a chance
> to examine one of these price guides once), but I'm really confused at
> how pawn shops move the stuff they have.
Kelton, I don't know how the pawn shop world works, but I do know that all
the shops in downtown Seattle are WAY overpriced on everything they sell
(sometimes asking more than new retail for used tools, for example -- crazy).
I avoid them like the plague, and cruise the shops out in the burbs, who
seem willing to "dicker" over prices. Sometimes I walk away happy,
sometimes, I just walk away. If you see something you are really interested
in, go back every couple weeks. And mention to them you notice that the item
has been there for awhile, and would they be willing to come down on it.
They KNOW what they paid for everything. They'll look it up. The shop
closest to me is usually willing to try to make a deal for me. But
sometimes, we both have to say, "Sorry".
I have seen NO OM gear in ANY pawn shop recently, and before that, it was
usually the well-worn OM-PC or OM-G, etc., rarely a -1 or -2x, and never a -3
or -4x. That's why I dang near went crazy over e-Bay when I first discovered
it. With all it's shortcomings, e-Bay is no more risky than dealing with
pawn shops, IMHO.
Rich
P.S. Sometimes pawn shops don't know what they have, and let stuff go dirt
cheap. I haven't gotten any DF camera gear gear deals, but with tools, I
have almost floated out of the shop a time or two, getting something for a
third or less of what its actual value is.
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