Perhaps you've always felt a touch of sadness each time you've walked or driven by a pawn shop and seen all those forlorn possessions signifying someone else's bad luck. But in a slow economy, it may be time to rethink your perception.
Perhaps you've always felt a touch of sadness each time you've walked or driven by a pawn shop and seen all those forlorn possessions signifying someone else's bad luck. Maybe you’ve promised yourself that things will never get as bad as that in your life,
and even if they do, you'll never surrender Grandma's silver or Grandpa's gold watch to a greedy pawn shop proprietor.
Then again, what if things have become as bad for you as they have for millions of people in the worst economy anyone can remember? What if you've had to revisit your ideas about pawn shops? Fortunately for you, there is now the alternative of online pawn shops where you can raise cash for your possessions without worrying about having to visit undesirable areas of town. Online pawn shops offer all the services of the brick-and-mortar ones, with added convenience.
You simply describe to the owner of the online pawn shop what it is it is that you have to sell. You'll receive an offer, and if you find acceptable you'll ship the item and get your money. Online pawn shops are ideal for people who get turned down by traditional lenders because they have either no credit or a poor credit record.
They are places where you can qualify for cash in a remarkably short time, and the only things you'll be risking are the possessions you have chosen to sell. Online pawn shops are terrific alternatives to payday loan firms, because you'll never have to worry about exorbitant interest rates or late fees accumulating on your account.
Almost everyone has something to which could get them cash from online pawn shops. Jewelry is one of the most common items, with small electronics a close second. But almost anything small enough to be shipped to the pawn shop qualifies - DVDs, artwork, and collections of comics, baseball cards, stamps, or coins. If you think someone else might want it, there's probably an online pawn shop that will offer you cash for it!
What, then, are the downsides to dealing with online pawn shops?
You can expect online pawn shops to require some of your personal financial information before they'll do business with you. That information is only as secure as the online pawn shops themselves, so keep in mind that you might be putting your data out there for anyone to hack. The reason an online pawn shop requires your financial data is that if you accept their cash offer, they'll need to be able to deposit the funds in your checking (or possibly your PayPal) account.
You'll have to fill out an online form describing the condition of the items you want to pawn before you receive a cash offer for them. If you're happy with the offer, you can schedule a pickup of the items at no charge so that they can be shipped to the owner of the online pawn shop. The downside is that you'll actually have to surrender the items and wait for them to be inspected before you get your money. It also means that you may never see a either a dime, or your items, again.
While reputable online pawn shops will usually make offers of between 20-30% of the fair market value of the items you want to pawn (usually based on what similar items so for on eBay) there are some shops which offer far less than that. Because they have your financial data, they could realize that your loan options are limited and try to take advantage of you.
You should always do what you can to research the background of any online pawn shop you're thinking of working with. In addition to checking with the Better Business Bureau, search for the name of the online pawn shop in Google to try to locate customer complaints or testimonies. Large companies may have had a number past customers write about their experiences in forums or consumer sites.
