Are you considering using a pawn shop to get the cash that you need? If so, it will help to know the following things about pawn shops.
Know How Much Pawn Shops Give For Items
Many people have the misconception that they are going to get a lot of money for their valuable items at a pawn shop. However, pawn shops are not going to give you the full value of an item. You'll likely receive somewhere between 25% and 60% of the item's value, depending on how popular the item is and how quickly the pawn shop can sell it.
For example, a $2,000 ring may only get you 25% of its value ($500) from a pawn shop, because they need to hold onto that ring for a long time until somebody purchases it. Meanwhile, if you have the latest $500 video game console that is sold out everywhere, you may get 60% ($300) because the pawn shop knows that it will sell quickly.
Know Why Pawn Shops Offer What They Do
You may feel like you are not getting a fair value for the items that you take to a pawn shop, but you have to understand that a pawn shop needs to make money to survive. The items that you left behind may need to be cleaned up, have photos taken of it for their website, listed online with an auction site, and then packaged and shipped off. This all takes time, with no guarantee when or if the item will sell.
When a pawn shop does make a sale, they need to make a hefty profit off the item in order to justify taking in those other items that are more difficult to sell.
Know How You Get Your Pawned Items Back
When you pawn an item at a local pawn shop, you'll be given a cash offer for that item. The pawn shop will hold onto the item and give you a ticket so that you can claim the item during your loan period. When you come back to claim the item, you must pay back the item's pawned value plus the premium that is owed for using the pawn shop.
If you want to renew the loan, you can return to the pawn shop and just pay back the premium. This will renew the loan period and give you more time to pay off the item so that you can get it back. If you do not return to pay your premium, the item then belongs to the pawn shop and they can sell it. The only way to get the item back would be to buy it at the full value the pawn shop is selling it.
For more information, contact a pawn shop near you.