Good pawnshop finds?

[flrfh213]

was in 3 today, cant remember the shop but 1 had a p-89 9mm used with 1 clip thats all, no box ect. SALE priced $475. i tried to sell him mine in box w/2 clips for that.. he told me he would never pay that for a ruger p-89 so i told him that his would never sell either..

 

[browningguy]

It is rare to find a true deal in a pawnshop, but about 2 years ago one I check occassionally sold me a like new hard chrome Browning BDA 380 for $250. Looked unfired as there were no marks at all on the bolt face.

 

[hlq]

I picked up a nice older 870 at a pawn shop for under $180 about a month ago.

 

[AK kind of guy]

i bought a norinco sks in great condition for 240 dollars about three weeks ago which is a good deal around here given the current rush to buy them the guy even threw in a 30 rd mag and a soft case for it

 

[ThrottleJockey]

I found a 30-40 Krag for $429 last week! The stock had been changed though So I left it there. It was a springfield, and it had a nice scope, so it may actually have been a good price, but without the original stock all the value went out the window.

 

[DRYHUMOR]

Some have fair prices and some have cranialrectumitis prices.

There is one shop selling more firearms nearby, they deal on the other stuff, so I imagine they would deal on the firearms.

I do recall a S&W 19 for around $450 or so, it wasn't there the next week. I figure for the condition, that was fair.

 

[XavierBreath]

I buy most of my guns from pawn shops. I don't buy unless the deal is cheaper than I can get elsewhere, or unless it's a fair deal on a difficult to find gun. I see one or two fair deals a week. I buy maybe one a month. Some I shoot and resell, others I keep.

To get a good deal at a pwn shop you have to understand their business, and show the guy behind the counter a little respect. They don't make their main money selling anything. Their primary money, and a lot of it, is made from loans. They are financial institutions as well as gun dealers. Guns are small potatoes to them. Selling stolen merchandise places both licenses they need to operate in jeopardy. They aren't going to risk the license they need to operate to make a hundred bucks off a gun. They can make that same money on a loan or two rather quickly.

Most sheriff's departments have pawn shop details that make regular, as in every 14 days, tours of all pawn shops to check serial numbers against reported stolen items. Pawned items cannot go on display until the serial number is checked. This procedure is the case in every state.

Some crack head recentely stole my chainsaw. I've had numerous bicycles stolen from my carport along with other items. Pawnshops are a haven for criminals and they just breed more crime. My neighbor manages a pawn shop and we don't get along at all. I keep asking him if my chainsaw showed up yet. No I don't do business with pawnshops.

This kind of statement shows how wrong some folks can be simply because they don't know the business and how it is regulated. If my neighbor repeatedly insinuated that I dealt in stolen goods, I don't guess I would get along with him either.

You might want to check ebay for your stolen goods. There's a better chance they will show up there. Provide the sheriff's department with the serial numbers of your chainsaw and bicycles. If they do end up in one of the area pawn shops, they will eventually come back to you.

 

[Quoheleth]

...beginning of negotiations

From what I've seen lately, at multiple gun shops, "negotiations" are no longer welcome.

Last fall, a good Smith model 10 was at the local pawn shop. Sticker: $250. Price was decent, but in my wallet I had $200 cash. Offered $200 cash out the door, laid the 2 bills on the counter (I know...drama). He didn't even look at the gun or me...just stared straight ahead..."I think this Smith needs a better offer than $200," and walked away.

Currently, he has a Smith 6" 686 that looks like it's been through 2 wars, a sand blaster, and a turf war - sticker: $789.

Also a VERY well used Smith (what's the blued version of the 642? that's it) he's listing for $450.

When I asked, I was told "Both prices are very firm."

The art of negotiation at the pawn shop is now lost.

Q

 

[chbrow10]

I bought a Ruger p-85 for $200 once. I think that is a deal...

 

[panther22]

I bought a Shotgun that had been painted green for $89 once. Under the green paint you could tell it was a Win. Model 50. I cleaned it up and sold it for $250.
I found a shop that had a Plainfield M1 carbine. They priced it by the Blue Book, which was at $179. I snatched that up quick.
But, for every good story, there's dozens of over priced guns, used guns priced higher then new, etc.
You just have to look and know values. These guys count on the uninformed, impulse buyers.

 

[woof]

The main pawnshop around here that sells guns does not have an ffl an will only ship to an ffl.

 

[Dave/hoff]

I'm with X.B.
I like the pawn shops...poor man's bank.

I bought my taurus 85, like new, $200 (1997); a S&W Model 915, fair condition, good shooter, $250 (1998); Mossburg 500A, like new (really!), $75 (1993). Haven't bought any firearms lately

Yesterday I bought a pneumatic nailer (Bostitch CN80) for $220. This price is easily $100 under retail and the sticker price was $250, still under retail. I probably could have gotten it for 200, but I asked the guy how low he'd go. I watched him figure out his percentage in his head....and he named the price. So I bought it.

This nailer is used - but not very much, there are absolutely no scratches on the thing and no metal shavings in the works (typical sign of use/wear). Looks to me like someone bought it and used it for one project, then got rid of it (gotta love those homeowner-handymen!). It was a GREAT deal.

 

[CoRoMo]

One of my salesmen, a lefty, stopped by a pawnshop a while back and spotted two matching, left handed Weatherbys on their rack. He asked to look at them and they were chambered in 340 and 416 Weatherby. Each priced at $800 and were both in excellent condition. The girl who was running that counter had "no idea why these rifles were priced so high" as their other rifles were all in the $200-$400 range. He was extremely tempted to buy them both, but he passed them by.

 

[Dr. Tad Hussein Winslow]

I bought a Dan Wesson 8" .357 for $125. A Mossberg 500 for $95. A 1937- 5" S&W Commercial M&P .38 for $200. A Ruger 77, .223 varmint rifle with a Leupold scope for $400.

I never find good deals, but I don't search a lot. When I do set foot in a pawn shop, I find plenty o' guns, but the price tag is usually around double what I'm willing to pay - not close enough to even make an offer. "$395 for the beat up Win 9422, eh? Would you take $175? - that's my maximum offer" just doesn't seem like a negotiation that's ultimately gonna fly, so I don't try.

 

[earlthegoat2]

The pawnshops in MI I frequented always had good stuff for good prices. I wouldnt say there were any GREAT deals but everything was a fair to a good price.

Down here in KY the shops have a bunch straight up junk and intermixed with it every so often is something good that is horrendously expensive. For example they have a bunch of bolt action 12 gauges for 90 bucks apiece which is fair. Then they have a Browning Semi Automatic 22 for 750. What gives? Then there were a bunch of used Taurus Revolvers for 250-350 which was fair. Then a Smith 686 snubby that looked well used for 750 and a Browning Hi Power MKII low grade for 800. I dont get it.

 

[Phydeaux642]

Well, I haven't found a great deal in several months (thanks Mr O) but last year I did pick up a nickel S&W model 19 with a 4" bbl in the box for $300. At the same pawnshop I also picked up a S&W model 13 with a 3" bbl for $275. I thought those were pretty good deals for Smiths. The same shop now is getting top dollar on everything they sell, so, I don't buy much anymore.

 

[theotherwaldo]

I'm in a retirement area with a large transient population and a high turnover rate. This means that a lot of older, less popular guns hit the shelves of the local pawn shops. This means that milsurps, single actions, ordinary hunting rifles, and large-frame semi-autos of the less popular brands could be found cheaply - up until the Obama panic started.

Right now, nothing's cheap.

 

[mike724]

My last buy was a Ruger Security SIx 3" for $325...and it appears unfired! I recently visited several of my favorite shops looking for a 12ga for a friend. I found several nice "hunter" pumps for under $200, including a New England 3 1/2" pump for only $180. I wish I was in the market for myself, since these were Great Buys!

 

[MountainBear]

My town has two pawnshops. One has a good selection of guns, but is not all that into them. I have found several good deals in there. They often have them priced reasonable to high, but will come down if you ask for their bottom line. They have to pay their bills too. Sometimes you can get a good deal if they got it from someone who never picked it up after getting a loan on it.
The other in town knows his guns and prices them accordingly. he doesn't gouge, but hes not going to give you a colt delta elite for $250 either.

I do however have to look at the first shops guns more carefully. Condition is generally more of a factor at the first shop than the second.

 

[pmeisel]

I have seen some good deals, and a lot that weren't. Just gotta shop.

 

[trickyrick]

i picked up a mosin m91 w/ a B marked barrel on it, full length. there was only about 8000 B barrels made by belgium, i believe, for a russian contract. they took most of them, about 5000 and cut them down for the 91/30 and m39 sold to finland. so this was plenty rare. the B barrels were supposedly better shooters w/ better metallurgy.
http://www.russian-mosin-nagant.com/allan.htm
got it for 60.00 out the door. cuz it was a big ugly old gun that didn't even fit in the rack. traded it for about 600.00 w/ of c&r's. rick

 

[c5_nc]

Earlier this month picked up a 3 semi-auto 22lrs for $49-75, deals are rare though. My local pawn shop has 450 auctions currently on gunbroker. I'd say 2-4% of them get bids each week, they are that high. I ask for a small discount if something is already a good price, otherwise I don't bother. They have a Taurus Millienum Pro in 45ACP, its used and rough looking, $445. I think the gun is typically low to mid $300s new (?) and $299 on sale sometimes at discount new dealers.

 

[Hardtarget]

I've been in one pawn shop in twenty years. That was three weeks ago. There was a mosin...$240. The same gun in Shotgun News...$69. I went out the door, gun stayed there.

They think highly and dearly of every piece of rust in the place...so they can keep it.

Mark

 

[loneviking]

If you're careful there are some good deals out there. I just bought a S&W 19-5, Millet sites with red insert on the front, action job but very little use for $400 at a pawn shop.

 

[wrc376]

post war 6" S&W M&P like new in gold box. faintest of cylinder ring, all matching numbers down to the mint diamond grips

$250 cash, no questions asked