MV: I don't pawn. I'm offering to trade my pistol for yours.
Maybe he is trying to nicely tell you he does not trade guns. Maybe he is trying to tell you that trading guns does not pay the light bill, regardless of any "profit" he would make. He is trying to say he wants cash. It is his option to request cash. If you went into a Burger King offering a Sony television for a value meal, they would probably say "Cash only Sir," regardless of their desire for the television.
Look at it this way. The pawn shop owner is not a gun guy. He knows what he gave for the Nigerian Service Revolver, and what he would like to get out of it. He does not know what it is worth. He does not know what your trade-in gun is worth, either. Nor does he care. He does know what he will give for your gun, and what he will ask for it later. He made an offer. The offer was unacceptable to you, and you made no counter offer. Because you took offense there was no meeting of the minds, and thus, no deal. He did not stop dealing, you did.
The only commodity that has an absolute value in the marketplace is cash. The pawn shop owner knows what $300 is worth, so he asks for $300. You are behind the eightball when you try to trade because you must convince someone your property is worth X amount of cash before you can deal. Your property simply may not be worth X amount to the other person. A trade requires that two different people must agree on the value of two different pieces of property. This is much less likely to happen than an agreement of the value of a single piece of property. Guns have no absolute value, and trying to trade them as though they do is foolhardy. The Blue Book does not list absolute values, but rather what particular firearms sold for on average, based on condition, a year or so prior to publication. Trying to subsitute a commodity for cash is what is hurting you in this deal. He wants cash. Get cash. Even if you offer 75% of his asking price, he will likely bite if it is in cash. Offering a commodity is not the same, regardless of what you, or the Blue Book says it is worth. Cash has liquidity. Commodities do not.
That is economics.
There are good deals at some pawn shops, I find them frequently and
blog on them. You do have to know how to deal though, and how to not get so wrapped up in the lost deal that you are unable to complete future deals. If you treat a pawn shop proprietor like a cheap borderline thief who fences stolen goods and rips off poor down and out people, you will never get the deal you want.
The very statement of "I don't pawn." is an insult. It's kind of like saying "My sweat doesn't stink."
Everyone will pawn if they need quick money more than the property they own, especially if they are unable to sell the property outright fast enough. Only by the grace of God, you have never had to pawn your property. Pawn shops provide a service. They are not sharks. Buying customers like you and me insure that pawn shops can continue to provide a service to those in need. Without willing buyers, a pawn shop cannot loan money on commodities. A pawn shop is the only place a construction worker can turn his tools into cash quickly to feed his family when the work runs out. A pawn shop is the only place hurricane evacuees can turn property into cash to make a down payment on a home and start a new life. A pawn shop is the only place an abused woman can sell a piece of jewelry and buy a bus ticket out of town for herself and her kids. Pawn shops help people in need when nobody else will. Adjust your perceptions of the man you are dealing with, and you will stand a better chance in the deal next time. Nobody wants to deal with someone who is condescending, not you, and not the pawn shop owner.
I know you want to vent your frustration a bit, and that is OK. No problem. Do learn from the experience though. Realize where the deal collapsed, so you can get the gun you want next time, at a price you can afford. To better understand how to deal at pawnshops,
click here and read.
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My son-in-law is an assistant manager in a pawnshop. He won't take the title because he would go salary, work more hours, and make less money. He is a smart one. 
