February 16, 2020 - Electronics
We love when patrons pawn electronics, but there are some that just won’t fetch a high price. To help our readers, we wanted to give you some inside details on how to get the most money when you pawn electronics.
Pawn shop owners have seen a lot, and they understand the difference between junk and treasure. If there is any question about what the item is (because it’s under a pile of scum and dirt), the pawn value will drop. Why? Because the owner will have to clean it. Cleaning the electronics that you plan to pawn bumps the price up a little.
If it does not work, the item gets relegated to being a paperweight. Essentially, if you do not come back for it, it will be sold for parts if possible. When you go to a local pawn shop of your choice, demonstrate that your electronics are functional and in good condition. Take your time and show all the features, not just the power button!
Instruction manuals, cables, remotes, and other fiddly bits; it is all part of the deal. If you have all of the accessories that go with your electronics, you are going to get a little more money than if you’d just pawned the electronic component alone. Anything that you can add to the deal makes the perceived value a little higher, and that bumps the price that you’ll be offered.
Make sure that the television or Xbox that you are pawning looks good, has the parts and is functional. The local pawn shop in your town has to make the final decision on whether they can sell it. They are experts at negotiating in their local markets, so something that sells well in one part of town might not sell well in another. A computer stuck between current models and true vintage computers, like our Pentium seller in the intro, will have a hard time selling.
Pawnbrokers do not want to get caught with stolen items any more than you want to purchase stolen items. Every day, pawn shop owners submit a list of the items that they have in the shop to local authorities so that it can be checked against a list of reported stolen property. Asking for your ID is a protection measure for both you and the shop.
This depends on the item. If you’ve got your mother’s Pentium, it may be hard to negotiate. If you want to take your Xbox to the pawn shop, then you might get a little more. The person behind the counter has a little bit of wiggle room when it comes to popular, great selling items, but don’t push your luck by over negotiating. That being said, you do not have to take the first offer either. PawnGuru helps you with negotiating by showing you what local shops will offer. Take the highest offer, and your negotiating is done!
Jordan Birnholtz is the cofounder of PawnGuru. An alumnus of the University of Michigan, Jordan started PawnGuru in 2015 with Jon Polter, David Stiebel, and Jessica Zahnd. When he's not working at PawnGuru, Jordan volunteers his time to support undergraduates in building socially-responsible businesses and organizations through Optimize, a program at the University of Michigan.
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