You know what I hate? Pawn shops.

[Xizer]

They are always soooo overpriced. They're about twice as expensive as eBay on almost everything, and they smell bad. Then there's the fact that they are so unorganized and have everything thrown into a pile randomly.

 

They put irritating stickers on games, right over the labels, so when you try and peel it off it takes off some of the label. It takes about an hour of digging before you find something that isn't more expensive than eBay.

 

All their stuff always seems to be in awful condition too. The last one I went to had like 99% sports games as well.

[Lord Thag]

And let's not forget the greasy, arrogant owners who sneer condescendingly down at you when you refuse to pay their ridiculously over-inflated prices.

 

'Oh, well, you're not gonna find that anywhere else in town. Better pick it up while I've got it in stock.' Right, jerk-off. Like the muddy 4-switch 2600 with Airlock and Pac man is going to fly off your shelf when it's priced at $75.

 

I hate pawn shops too. Everyone complains about ebay, but I'd rather sit in my living room and go 'clickety-click' than have to deal with smelly, greasy ex used car salesmen anyday.

[EricDeLee]

They are always soooo overpriced. They're about twice as expensive as eBay on almost everything, and they smell bad. Then there's the fact that they are so unorganized and have everything thrown into a pile randomly.

 

They put irritating stickers on games, right over the labels, so when you try and peel it off it takes off some of the label. It takes about an hour of digging before you find something that isn't more expensive than eBay.

 

All their stuff always seems to be in awful condition too. The last one I went to had like 99% sports games as well.

 

 

I personally like pawn shops....

 

I've found my extra copies of Final Fantasy VII there. But I agree... I hate them writing on the label or putting a sticker on the label.

[Crazy Climber]

The cool thing about pawn shops is when they drop the price, they DROP the price. If they are trying to clear some space they will price the shit to move fast. Often times they will sell big lots of stuff as well instead of pricing each game seperately, Thats cool.

[Osbo]

I found a boxed DC complete with keyboard and a game for 29.99 three years ago in a pawnshop.

 

You know what I hate? Indoors fleamarkets. Those jerkoff owners overinflate prices big time, and they get first hands on video games/interesting stuff from the guys selling crap outside.

Edited July 17, 2006 by Osbo

[ComputerCollector]

I gave up on pawn shops years ago. they never have Atari stuff. Just Jewlry, tools, and overpriced Cds.

[NightSprinter]

You know what I hate? Indoors fleamarkets. Those jerkoff owners overinflate prices big time, and they get first hands on video games/interesting stuff from the guys selling crap outside.

 

Try going to one of those so-called "indoor flea markets" down here in Orlando. Nothing authentic. Just a bunch of con-artists trying to sell counterfeit crap.

[masschamber]

why I don't hate pawn shops

final fantasy 3 $5

chrono trigger $5

death trap $2

27 nintendo games like dragon warrior 4 and megaman 5 $25

pawn shops are what they are, you've got to beat them at there own game if there swinders, just buy stuff that's worth more then they think it is, if there a nice pleasent place with fair prices buy only what your looking for

[2600Lives]

I used to work at a pawnshop (one of those big corporate type ones), and let me tell you, the customers that come in are NO better than the greasy guy behind the counter. I'd say that they are about 99.9% complete jackasses. Bottom feeders is what we used to call 'em. Now, these are the loan customers mind, but the ones buying aren't much better. While there, I was held up at gunpoint twice, had a thugged out homeboy take a swing at me (much to HIS dismay, let me assure you), and had the assistant manager (a good friend of mine) beat half to death in the parking lot, along with the girl that was working that night. I'd say that also, probably 5 or so times I had to physically remove someone from the store. You may hate pawn shops, but let me assure, most of the guys behind the counter hate you right back, mostly because they can't trust a SINGLE person walking in the door.

[+RangerG]

So many pawn shops just seem to be a place to buy and sell used guns with all the other merchandise filler.

[rockman_x_2002]

There's a nice little pawn shop down here that actually isn't too bad. They keep things in somewhat neat order, game prices aren't marked directly on the games, but rather they have a paper taped to the underside of the glass listing every game in the cabinet with their prices listed. They keep a nice clean shop, and I know the owners. They're nice folks.

 

My only drawback is that they don't trade in Atari or other older video games much. They claim that down here there's not enough of a market in those older games to be profitable. But if you're in the market for SNES or later stuff, they have a nice selection (mostly unboxed but every so often boxed games).

 

I did land a sweet deal about six years ago. CIB Lunar: Silver Star Story Complete for PS1 for $10.

Edited July 17, 2006 by rockman_x_2002

[shadow460]

I used to work at a pawnshop (one of those big corporate type ones), and let me tell you, the customers that come in are NO better than the greasy guy behind the counter. I'd say that they are about 99.9% complete jackasses. Bottom feeders is what we used to call 'em. Now, these are the loan customers mind, but the ones buying aren't much better. While there, I was held up at gunpoint twice, had a thugged out homeboy take a swing at me (much to HIS dismay, let me assure you), and had the assistant manager (a good friend of mine) beat half to death in the parking lot, along with the girl that was working that night. I'd say that also, probably 5 or so times I had to physically remove someone from the store. You may hate pawn shops, but let me assure, most of the guys behind the counter hate you right back, mostly because they can't trust a SINGLE person walking in the door.

 

Someone' gotta get the business started on the right foot, though. That pawn shop ain't putting a roof over my head, so I could care less if it survives. that means it's up to the people working there to make the first nice gesture--not me.

Now I'm not a butt hole normally, so I don't act like one in a pawn shop, either.

 

On the other hand, it makes me really irate when I have to wait thirty minutes in line while the slowest clerk on Earth deals with a whole two customers, then they've gotta go find the manager, who's also taking care of customers (as slowly as humanly possible, mind you), then somone barges up to the counter, and the manager takes off with them while I'm still waiting to close a sale, then finally I ask him what his lowest price is and I get this resompnse:

"What are you willing to pay?"

I didn't ask for a question, I asked one myself. No matter what price I give, the very next thing out of his mouth is "well, I've gotta mark it up this much"

I know you gotta mark it up to cover costs, please don't throw that fact in my face.

So I finally get an item that might just be worth what I paid for it--maybe.

I get it home, hook it up, and it doesn't work. but the pawnbroker tests everything before they take it in.

Let me put it this way:

I bought a microwave oven from a pawn shop. I had to stand in line holding the thing for over twenty minutes, then haggle over the price, etc, etc, and when I got it home it was busted.

The last (and only) time I pawned something, they tested it inside and out and went over it with a fine tooth comb before they even though of making an offer (which was far too small anyway).

So I assume that they tested that micorwave before they took it in. Why the crap was is broken, then!? did someone cook their dinner in it while it was on the shelf? Did they burn the zucchini or something? that's not the only exapmle--go into any pawn shop and look at their selection of microwaves, or any electric items for that matter. I guarantee you will find at least one item that's supposedly in good condition, except that a further inspection reveals it to be total trash. As in, it should have been thrown into the trash instead of going on the shelf.

You can't tell me that it's the @$$hole customers' fault that half of the stock is broken. If that's the case, the pawnbroker isn't doing a good job of security. Then again, if the cutomers are too much of an @$$hole, maybe you aren't capable of meeting their needs.

 

But wait--I'm not done. I had to spend another half hour trying to get that microwave exchanged, I had to haggle down another price or wind up spending $5-$10 more in addition to what I'd spent on a busted item (when I should have been getting my money back instead), and when I took the replacement home, it was broken, too!

I finally said to heck with it and cut my losses. I got the "replacement" halfway wokring and I'm using it until I can buy an inverter for my Panasonic microwave.

 

Afraid of being held up or beat up? Try treating the customers with a bit more respect--maybe they won't be angry enough to swing. I'm a pretty calm person, and I've even wanted to swing at a few pawnbrokers for the smart aleck better-than-you-you-scum-of-the-earth attitude they have.

Or maybe you could try what this dude does over here on May Ave: Get a license and carry a concealed gun. I noticed it one day when he wasn't paying attention. Normally, he wouldn't turn his back on me at all, and anyone like that makes me nervous.

 

Best deal I got, though, was on my electric bass. I've actually bought a couple of busted instruments from pawn shops, and I'm sure the borker was thinking he found a sucker to buy something that couldn't be fixed or used.

Wrong. I fixed both my bass and my electric guitar, and they get used regularly. they work without flaw.

 

Yeah, I hate going into any pawn shop nowdays. with their snotty attitude and p* poor customer service, the screw 'em. I'm going to the Goodwill instead. I'll get a far better price, and the likelihood of an item working is 95% at Goodwill, compared to 40% at a pawn shop.

[NE146]

You know what I like? Porn shops.

[2600Lives]

Lemme guess, Shadow460. Never worked retail before?

 

Like I said..I USED to work at one. I had rules to follow too you know. I could NOT just discount something without the managers approval. And you know something, it sometimes takes a LONG time to do a pawn, as you've got a shitload of info you've got to input into the computer. This is exacerbated ten times if someone's selling jewelry and you have to test, weigh, and price EVERY single piece. It took me almost 3 hours one time to price up this witch's nasty ass ol' grandma jewelry. Tell me you wouldn't be ready to wrap your hands around some punk's throat when he doesn't want to spend a dollar on a NES cart after that. I've had jackasses who would literally try and get you down on DOLLAR items. I guess getting 10 cents off something gives these poor excuses for life some small satisfaction in the endless joke that is their existence. Seriously, I'm shedding tears that you had to stand in line for a few minutes. Maybe if 100 sorry scumbags didn't flood into the store at the same time like they were giving away free beer, it wouldn't be so bad. I treated everybody there the same way I was treated. AND I did carry a concealed gun, btw. My advice to you is to not go into a place with a chip on your shoulder, or you just might run afoul of that insane ex Navy Seal just waiting for someone to piss him off. (And yes, I did work with a guy like that. We called him Crazy John. Used to eat an entire JAR or habanero peppers every day for lunch, WITH tobasco on 'em.) Needless to say, working there was THE worst job experience of my life, and I'd starve to death before ever going back.

 

The microwave thing does suck, though. ALWAYS ask to test something before you buy it. I got an awesome microwave from a pawn shop for 10 bucks. Still works almost 4 years later, and better than the brand new one they bought for my current workplace.

[+FujiSkunk]

It's been a while since I've hit the local pawn shop. I'll have to go back there again some time soon.

 

I used to hit it once a week, often enough that I got to know the owner. He's definitely the type you would expect to run a pawn shop, but otherwise he is a very nice guy, willing to chat and shoot the breeze when he isn't trying to drive a hard bargain. I've never found any video game stuff in his shop, but he always had CDs reasonably priced ($4 a pop, sometimes less if he was trying to get rid of them), and I found an excellent deal on a 5.1 surround sound processor and receiver a few years back.

 

Basically any store you go in will reflect the neighborhood, and since pawn shops are usually in less affluent areas, they tend to be places you don't want to hang out in for any long while. Still, like thrift stores or flea markets or garage sales, there are some good ones worth seeking out.

[n8littlefield]

There's a pawn shop here in town that I would never go to again, it was just too scummy for my liking. The guys running it were actually decent, it's just not in an area of town that I like to visit. However, this past weekend I went out to an indoor flea and a pawn shop ("trading post" according to their title) and had pretty good luck. Mostly common stuff and sports games, but for about $2 a game there were a few things I found worth picking up.

[shadow460]

Lemme guess, Shadow460. Never worked retail before?

Yes, I have. I worked for Target, and aside from a few slimeballs here and there, it was great.

 

My advice to you is to not go into a place with a chip on your shoulder

Don't worry--I'm not going to any pawn shops anytime soon

, or you just might run afoul of that insane ex Navy Seal just waiting for someone to piss him off. (And yes, I did work with a guy like that. We called him Crazy John. Used to eat an entire JAR or habanero peppers every day for lunch, WITH tobasco on 'em.)

 

Sounds like me. My name is John, I was in the Navy (wasn't a SEAL, though), and I eat jalapeno peppers, and wash them down with salsa.

 

Bottom line is, customer service is part of the pawnbroker's job. Customer service is a BIG part of the job I do now, and trust me, I have to deal with a bad customer this afternoon to try and make him happy.

 

You know how they test microwaves? I've seen pawnbrokers test them with a wet paper towel. That will not tell you if the inverter is bad, the HV diode is shorted, etc. Sure, the litte dab of water heats up red hot. Try cooking a TV dinner in there with a bad inverter or cap, and then you'll find out the unit is fried.

The proper way to test a microvwave is with eight ounces of water, a timer, and a thermometer.

 

2600Lives, this isn't a personl thing directed at you. I never set foot in your shop knowingly, and perhaps it's the best pawn shop I could have visited. There are some good ones out there--a few.

 

Most of them are just as slimy as the EZ Pawn down here on 23rd street, or the three Cash Americas not too far away. Both chains suck. They are absolutely horrible. There' one employee in one of the Cash America shops that actually gives a rip about the customers. Out of over half a dozen pawn shops in the area--one single employee has good customer service. If he can do it, why not everyone else?

The other I shop I can say anything good about is D&P over on May Avenue. It's the one I mentioned before, but I still feel very uneasy in there.

 

As for finding 2600 games, all of the above ('cept D&P) sees too many dollar signs to try and sell them in the store for a decent price. I'd wager the sell those on ebay. One broker even claimed he sold Atari 7800's just super fast because they were in so much demand. And he wanted me to bring mine right on in.

 

I still wonder, though, since everything is thourouhgly tested when it comes in, why does the average pawn shop sell so much busted junk?

[+remowilliams]

I think we can safely say that due to the nature of the business, that a pawn shop is probably not the place to expect social pleasantry

[Dusk2600]

guys, listen every pawner is different, not all of them are trying to buy stolen goods in the innercity to feed someones crack addiction. most are though, drugs fuel pawn shops,

 

your not going to find a register person there usually thrilled about living life, thats what is to expect. shit attracts flies so to speak. and yes they do put up with a lot of horseshit from the fiends and druggies

 

sure there are some exceptions (2600 lives you seem to be one of those exceptions)

 

but if ur around assholes all day u become one

[Almost Rice]

Back in 1990. I went to a pawn shop in SE Houston and they had a 800, 810, printer with games and peripheral for $600. Needless to say I walked out.

 

I only wanted the Koalapad. They said it was part of the package.

[GrandviewCoin]

"your not going to find a register person there usually thrilled about living life, thats what is to expect. shit attracts flies so to speak. and yes they do put up with a lot of horseshit from the fiends and druggies"

 

 

 

 

Oh, this is so true, and it happened to me, and I'm actually still recovering..

 

When your day is filled with such negative behavior by easily half the people you deal with it does and will carry over to you. I was a manager of a up & comming Cash America type chain for 4 1/2 years. Quit recently to go back to school. Dealing with Police, drug users, trash of all colors, and the biggest theives in the city, it does wear on you if you realize it or not. I ended up hating just about all the customers I had to deal with. This attitude was poison and carried over to the way I treated my family also.

 

Did I like my job? yes. I only hated the people in front of me. Customer service is a 2 way street and boths sides need to see that. Also customers are not always right, all one has to do is be fair.

 

And yes, I know I could have left anytime, but life doesn't give you options some days. Life eventually did change, and when it did I got out of dodge quick.

 

Now I don't see police on a daily basis, smell pot on kids, have to deal with thugs and car audio, see mothers sell their ps 2's to buy baby food and diapers because they shouldn't have bought it from us the week earlier. Working in a cash for your stuff/junk store puts a real dark spin on humanity.

 

I could easily go on and on about why it was hell.

[2600Lives]

Hey, I'm not taking it personal, far from it. I'm just suggesting you see the other side of the coin, so to speak. When you work at a place with the threat of constant bodily harm, all day long, you tend to lose your niceness in a hurry. You don't get that kind of thing working at Target. The place I work at now is 100 percent different (a pet store). I love it there, and the assholes are promptly dealt with by management. However, getting a gun shoved in your face (this was an EZ Pawn, btw) sort of changes your perspective on things. You become suspicious of EVERYBODY that comes in there, regulars or not. In one year's time, I had to go to court 3 times and go to the witness stand to testify against thieves that pawned stuff in our store. 3 times. Several years back, the owner of a little independent shop (who I happen to know), shot and killed a 16 year old kid who tried to rob him. The kid walked in and raised his pistol, and before he got it leveled, the guy blasted the kid in half with a shotgun he kept under the desk. There was a big uproar, but I was happy that he did it, because it sent a message to all the other idiot thieves out there. Don't try and rob a place that SELLS GUNS. I worked there for 3 years, and to this day, I still look at people in my current workplace and on the street to see if they might be carrying a gun somewhere (and I can spot a thief from a mile away, so the store I'm at now likes that a lot).

[shadow460]

It's that kind of general atmosphere thath elps keep me out of the pawn shop.

That said, I do have a couple of favorites that aren't all bad. Occasionally I walk into First Cash over on 39th street, or I might take a wary browse through D&P. I got a keyboard amp there a couple of years back. It cost a slew of money, but it's worked without flaw and I love it. The guy was firm on his price, too, but in the end, I think it was worth it.

 

I might also walk into 39th street Pawn, which is the place that wanted my 7800. I told them no that I won't sell it.

 

As for the rest, EZ Pawn is strangely not on my list of places to go, and neither is Cash America or any of its affiliates.

You get a better deal from independent brokers or smaller chains.

 

Still, though, I'm finding that the Goodwill has quite a bit of used stuff, and I expect some of their stuff won't work. They've started getting things I can use--a toaster oven, a N64, computers, yard tools, etc. It's all there and you don'thave to worry about a nasty sales person or a crackhead that just walked in the door. Even though some of their prices are off in left field, there are usually enough similar items for sale (sometimes you gotta visit two or three shops) that you can find you a good deal.

 

In fact, I just bought a computer for $50 at a thrift today. I have most of it parted out, and the parts are going into three or four machines. About 75% of it will get used.

[Dusk2600]

i hate goodwill stores around here there is never anything

[shadow460]

I should have said thrift stores--I was just too lazy to go back and change it. You do have to search several of them sometimes, and sometimes you gotta be persistent to find a particular item.