Learn the Art of Haggling at a Pawn Shop

Getting a great deal buying anything is an important point conducting commerce in any age. Learning how to obtain the best purchase price possible understanding the time-tested art of haggling. This can also be called “negotiating” a price. Everyone loves a bargain and one of the best venues for seeking a bargain is a pawn shop. Plus, if you or any friends have ever had the chance to bargain for goods at a flea market, yard sale or estate auction, you have been practicing haggling. Many if the same techniques can be used when seeking bargains at a pawn shop.

Watch Television
The rise and popularity of pawn shops today is due, in part, to the great number of “pawn shop” reality television shows. Many of the scenes depicted on these shows reveal haggling from both the seller as well as the buyer’s viewpoint. But, before you get face to face with a pawn shop owner or employee for the “haggling” stage, there are a few points you need to learn and understand:

•    Behavior Is Important. All pawn shops have security – cameras, alarms and typically a very large guard or two that will be more than happy to show any unruly potential customer to the door. This is business. Don’t make it personal getting loud and boisterous disagreeing with a pawn shop’s offer to either buy or sell an item.

•    Have Knowledge. It is important whether buying or selling at a pawn shop to have current knowledge about the item. This is especially true when dealing with precious metals such as gold, silver and platinum. Know what the current price per weight happens to be. Often, jewelry pieces do not carry a value for even the best well-crafted settings. Many pawn shops offer to purchase gold, silver and platinum at current weight pricing.

•    Understand Retail vs. Wholesale. A mistake often made by newbies to haggling prices at a pawn shop is not realizing the difference between wholesale and retail. Even though your Internet research reveals an item can sell at an auction for “X” amount, this doesn’t mean you can sell it at a pawn shop for that amount. The pawn shop has to “prepare” the piece for auction oftentimes incurring handling and shipping costs and then must pay up to a 25 percent of sale as a commission fee to the auction operator.