[ditto1958]

Anyone here know how pawn shops tend to price firearms? Do they base it on what they had to pay the seller for it? Or, do they price it based on its actual value, regardless of what they gave for it?

I guess what I'm getting at is if I see a gun I like in a pawn shop, is there any way I can make an educated guess at how much they have marked it up?

 

[Hornet]

I believe there's a blue book on gun values you could check on. Your library probably has one. You could also go to an internet site such as gunbroker.com to see what that particular gun has been selling for. My LGS is a pawn shop and they are great to do business with and consequently that is where I do the majority of my gun purchases. I like to check to see what a gun is going for and if I feel like it is something I want my LGS will usually come down to pretty close to what they are selling for. After factoring in shipping from an internet site I generally come out ahead.

 

[James6591]

From what I've seen..... randomly.....

 

[opos]

Got a friend that has a pawn shop here and from what I've seen him do he checks values from the internet (sales.. as in "completed items" on things like Gun Broker..not listings) and the "blue book" but he's really up on what sells, what guns bring and the like from experience...Not at all like "Pawn Stars" where they pay way too much for things and it just sits around....These guys are pretty sharp on what they will loan on something and also on what they will pay to buy outright....Doubt they do their pricing based on if they buy it cheap...they will get everything it's worth based on the market...no reason not to...they are in business to turn a profit and not for "friendship"

 

[kingpins9]

It doesn't really matter what they paid for it. Find out what it's worth and go from there.

They could've given $5 for the gun, and if you get a good deal on it does it really matter what they paid?

 

[gasbag]

They price them as high as they can and then hope some idiot will pay the price.

 

[Space]

They try to get what they can. I've seen used guns priced as new. It's your job to know what they are worth. You can talk them down. Remember, there's a sucker born every minute.

 

[Nutty Ned]

Just say to them, "that price is a bit high for a used gun"; they may
come down in price.

 

[bwinters]

I wish NJ allowed pawn shops to sell firearms unforunately Nj is the only state I know of that forbids pawnshops from trading in firearms.

 

[Steven]

In South Florida pawn shops pay between ten to twenty percent of an items value. Resell price is whatever you can agree on.

 

[78CJ5]

Most Pawn shops I have been in use websites like gunbroker to set there prices.

 

[OldCrow]

I have purchased literally 100s of guns in my lifetime. Most pawn shops want the same price as I can get the gun new. Of all the guns I have purchased I have never purchased a gun in a pawn shop. In fact, I never look in pawn shops anymore.

 

[RAC55]

I've bought some of my most unusual finds in pawn shops, and you can usually chew them down. If they pawn the gun, they usually loan for far less than the gun is worth. If the owner never comes back, the pawn shop gets the gun so there is always room to haggle. Know what the gun is worth and give it a shot...it's like a one man auction.

 

[BlkHawk73]

Depends on the scruples of the shop but business 101 teaches you that you need to make a profit. Some go the sell quantity for less profit margin while others want to make a higher margin yet will generally sell less. It equals out. As the consumer, what they pay is moot, as you should only worry about what YOU pay. When it's time for you to sell, would you tell the buyer what you paid? Would you want to make all you could on the sale?

 

[deerfieldredneck]

the one by me,would buy a gun for a hundred and turn around and sell it for $1000,maybe not that bad but close,the funny thing is i always see stuff in there and it usualy cost about $20 more then walmart,which is stones throw away.i know alot of people that wont go there because they got burnt so bad.

 

[EDK]

I think they all used the BLUE BOOK OF GUN VALUES and use gunbroker, etc as well. While you get an occasional bargain, don't bet on getting one. I've gotten a few where they didn't recognize the model or scarcity...TWO MARLIN TEXAN model 30/30s at $300 awhile back at the same shop in two months; 44 Magnum Original Size VAQUERO for $300.

Local pawn shop has a NIB 44 VAQUERO at $600...bottom price is $500 when I asked last week...need to get a few more yankee dollars and talk to him. The gun has been in the display case for at least two years. Go figure.

 

[ragsflh]

i have a few that have better deals than gun dealers.last 2 guns were from pawn shop but hes in the buiesness to keep customers happy and return buiesness too

 

[LunaticFringeInc]

Not sure how they price their guns but one thing is for sure, the ones around here are asking dang near NIB prices for guns that are considerably used and show it. I still stop in and sometimes run across a good deal here and there but those seem to be farther and fewer as time goes on.

 

[Con 43]

Depends on the location and what they have in it from what I have seen. I have offered $100 - $200 under there asking price and had it accepted on a number of occasions .

 

[100shots1kill]

It doesn't really matter what they paid for it. Find out what it's worth and go from there.

They could've given $5 for the gun, and if you get a good deal on it does it really matter what they paid?

+1. As long as you get a good deal, who cares what they paid. Plus side of pawn shops, is they almost certainly paid less than what a normal gun shop did, so you should be able to haggle a bit.