Pawn shop browsing.......

B

Bob Wright

New member
Dropped in on my neighborhood pawn shop this morning ~ didn't buy anything ~ to see what's out there now.

A couple of very nice S&W Model 19s, 6" with full target set up, pristine blue, around $500 each. One old Colt .38 Official Police (I think) pretty rough looking, nickel plated over the rough, $400 or so. A Ruger Bisley Vaquero, old style with case colored finish, nice grips, 5 1/2" barrel .357 Magnum, $469. And an Iver Johnson (Uberti) Cattleman Buntline .45 Colt for $399. One old Military & Police (pre-Model 10) barrel cut to about 2" with no front locking lug, nickeled finish with fake stag grips, $299. Didn't pay any attention to price but the usual bunch of auto loaders in 9mm and .40 S&W, some brand new, and a couple of old Galesi .25s.

The Ruger would have been interesting to me if .44 or .45 caliber. And the Iver Johnson Uberti, well.......

Bob Wright
 
I don't know if it is location or my luck, but every time i go to the pwn shop there is nothing but junk. Meaning guns that look so beat up you cant believe they are even selling them. I saw a M1 baonyet so rusted you could not read the maker and it was $100! I kind of giving up stopiing. I think they have "friends" that say if anything good comes in put it to the side and call me. so only the junk get put in the case. Sounds like some nice guns in you shop though.

WK
 
Pawn shops generally don't have much in them. So offer the max you would pay for it and see what they say. Worst case they tell ya no and you leave.
 
I would probably be a buyer on one of those model 19's. Still one of my favorite revolvers Smith ever put out.
 
I haven't seen a good deal in my area in quite some time. Used to find them all of the time. Quite distressing. Most of the used stuff is priced as new.
 
robhof

I've been lucky twice at pawn shops, by looking for the unexpected; a Thompson Contender pistol in an urban pawn shop in 357max, had dust on it. so I made a low offer and walked out with it, and a few years earlier another shop with a Dan Wesson in 357max, was already marked very low again I made a lower offer and got it. The shop owner actually made me sign a no return letter. The DW had been in the shop for 3 years and came back at least once, the shop had a 10 day policy on guns, he told me that they don't make the bullets for it anymore. I told him that it would fire 357 mags and that I'm a reloader and brass is readily available. I actually worked in a pawn shop for awhile and they usually pay about 50% of book value for their guns, so there's no way I'd pay marked price.
 
The thing with pawn shops is you have to go in there often, new items are put out and taken in every day. I will stop in a local pawn shop but only if I dont already have something on lay-a-way....I find good deals most of the time and end up with something on lay-a-way quite often. So I try to limit my stopping in :o
 
4 years ago when things dealing with guns went crazy I stopped in at several pawn shops to see what they had. If they had anything, it was so beat up I would never consider them. It is pretty much the same thing now. I still look once in a while. I don't ever expect to find anything worth buying. You never know if you don't check them out.

It sounds like there is a better selection in your area than there is here.
 
What smee78 said. You have to go in frequently to find the
Good stuff. I have bought dozens of guns from pawn shops. You just need to know what the fair market price is
In your area and do your homework. You can get some great deals or you can get skinned alive at a pawn shop.
 
There are pawn shop and there are pawn shops. A lot of shops these days have a heavy mix of new items, guns included, with their pawn stuff. The pawned handguns are usually almost unused. Guys by them then find they have no real use for a handgun and can't afford a lot of shooting. Next time they are broke it gets pawned. Rifles and shotguns are another story. Often well used but bargains exist. Next time I want to buy a rifle a tour of the pawn shops will be the first place(s) I go.
 
No, my pawn shop is like a gun shop, rarely used guns, and if they are it's over priced. No deals here.
 
Our family Pawn Shop has both used and new guns... one of the biggest gun shops in/around Dallas.
The above poster is correct in saying Pawn shops are usually willing to haggle a bit on the used guns. Any price you see on a used gun in a pawn shop is roughly twice the amount they paid for it if they bought it outright... and if they gave a loan on it and the person never picked it up, the shop may have a small fraction of the price invested in it.
 
I feel fortunate,,,

I feel fortunate,,,
The Evil Pawn Shop has a motto they live up to.

"It's like a gun show every day!"

The Evil Pawn Shop Guy hasn't engaged in the price gouging so far,,,
Just yesterday I spotted a very nice model 34 snubbie,,,
The price is the same as what he charged for mine,,,
And that was over two years ago.

His inventory is constantly shifting,,,
That's why I pop in at least twice a week.

If you ever pass through Stillwater, Oklahoma,,,
Visit Best Pawn & Trading Company on Perkins Road,,,
Ask for the Evil Pawn Shop Guy and watch the owner laugh out loud.

Aarond

.
 
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I like visiting my local pawn shop / used gun shop too...he still has a lot of guns in inventory - and he's the go to shop around my area....for any collections that guys want to put on consignment....

He's got a dozen or so single actions in inventory ....some Colts, etc...and a couple of Freedom Arms...nothing I want especially ...but you have to go look, just in case !

His inventory on real good DA S&W's and Colt revolvers comes and goes ....but its still a good place to pick up a model 19, or 27 ...or a python once in a while.../ you have to shop it....

He's a little low on 1911's ...but he still have about 25 guns...nothing real high end...a lot of Kimbers, some Colt, Springfield, etc...

the polymer stuff is flying off the shelves...in the double stack handgun world....but so far, he's able to keep some Sig's in the case.../ and he has some of the best inventory around ...on handguns, rifles and shotguns...

Like all shops he's having trouble right now getting the inventory guys are asking about..../ whatever the hot Glock, M&P, XD's are this week...and mags ...and ammo ...but I think it'll all get back to normal in a few months, or at least I hope so.
 
My last Pawn shop gun was a Remington M1917 with a Fajen stock for $150.
Sold the stock for $85 and picked up an original 1917 stock for $120.

When was the last time you seen a Remington M1917 for $200 :D

Doug
 
"Our family Pawn Shop has both used and new guns... one of the biggest gun shops in/around Dallas.
The above poster is correct in saying Pawn shops are usually willing to haggle a bit on the used guns. Any price you see on a used gun in a pawn shop is roughly twice the amount they paid for it if they bought it outright... and if they gave a loan on it and the person never picked it up, the shop may have a small fraction of the price invested in it. "

In most cases my local gun/pawn employee will tell me if it's a purchase or came out of pawn. And I do haggle on the prices, sometimes they give me a fair price sometimes not, most of the time they do. If not I walk and keep checking back. If the item sits on the shelf a few months then I go back and make them the previous offer and usually they take it.

One of the things I have been trying to do is figure out their coding system on their price tags so I know how much they have in the item and how long it's been there, this one shop has me baffled.
 
I've never been very lucky at pawn shops with used revolvers. I do buy new ones at the Exchange in Brookings, SD. A friend of mine went so far as to get banished for life from one for offering a customer more than the shop owner was willing to offer him for a pistol he brought in. Another local pawn shop owner has been good to me when it comes to FFL stuff. He had a Moro sword and didn't know what it was. My grandfather had picked up the one I have on the battlefield so I brought it in and compared it to his. He was grateful since he didn't know what it was and has been good to me with pistols I've bought from other places.
 
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S&W combat magnum purchased for $270 in 1975 with cardboard box and original bill of sale- $799. Colt Python 2.5" barrel, darkest blue finish I've ever seen on any gun. Box was in route but not at pawn shop yet. $1800. Made the M&P's, XDs and Glocks look like trash.
 
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