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tools in pawn shops

reggie_obe

Diamond
Joined
Jul 11, 2004
Location
Reddington, N.J., U.S.A.
A few people have posted about deals they have gotten in pawn shops. I checked out a few shops in Denver, Co. while on vacation and found little but high priced junk. One inch micrometers, regardless of make or country of origin (China!) $29.99. No name dial calipers, 49.99. One shop had a Starrett mic, chipped carbide on the spindle and the anvil, rachet missing, still $29.99. Do the guys just use some trade publication and look up an avarage value? Hand tools, wrenches, sockets, etc., were priced the same way, no deals. Is luck and persistance the key? Or is it just a geographic thing?
 
They are waiting for a fool to come along and pay what they're asking. A shop near me has had a Mitutoyo digital dial indicator in mediocre condition for $150 for about 4 years! A Fluke DMM in fair condition that I would have paid a fair price for has been there for several years with a $180-ish tag on it.

OTOH, I got a Starrett 721, full function digital caliper, current model (1-1/2 years ago) for $20. The overlay for the keys was crinkled up and looked like crap. Without a battery the unit was a crap shoot and I got the price down to $20 from $75 or something like that. A new overlay cost me $4. Den

Bargains are few and far between. If it's something that they know will never move (location, condition, etc.) then you can haggle big time.
 
well I have a friend that has a pawn shop,he mark everything up 75% mainly because of the gold and silver market,he has aton of people wanting to trade jewelry for tools and av equipment so they buy gold and silver but the penny weight not grams, anyway they will deal if you have cash the other thing is most pawn shops have not been buying much since gas went up so much and people have been pawning everything for gas money so now they are trying to sell but anyway pull out cash and they will deal
 
A friend recently bought a Delta 14" woodworking bandsaw, in new condition, for $150. I doubt it had ever been used. These things normally sell for $500. Its a small pawn shop, and they like to move the large items quickly to make space. He sually offers half of the marked or stated price. So, while most of the stuff is useless junk, there are bargains.
 
I had cash in hand and a pile of hand tools on the counter, but it was still no sale. My point was every shop and I do mean every one I stopped in had one inch micrometers $29.99. In Denver, the pawn shop owners must meet for "happy hour" each week an set prices.
 
I met a guy in AZ who had built a wonderful set of Snapon tools (sockets, wrenches, ratchets) by running a route of ~8 pawn shops for several years.

He had a running list of what was needed and bought the oddball, orphan, or partial sets that were low-priced because they weren't attractive to most everyone else looking to get started with a full set.

My only deal (I think) was a 3-4" Mitu micrometer that was just dirty for $19.00. I could detect no problems in the screw, anvil faces were flat and not chipped and I needed it for mounting a large bearing race so it was just comparative measurements against the telescoping gage.

-Matt
 
Years ago, there were great deals at Pawn Shops, many of my tools were bought there in the 70's... I stop at a few occasionally now, nothing but junk , at a rip-off price. One guy I know buys Big Lots at several pawn shops. He may buy a dozen or more full toolboxes at a time, Keeps the Mac & Snap-on, & sells the rest at flea markets. He says he does well doing that...
 
Most pawn shops have become scrap piles lately, used to be able to get some great deals, but now the average price at a pawn shop is just slightly less than retail, a few well used dmms I looked at were only a few dollars less than new, snap on, mac, or craftsman tools are about the same price as new, but I still loop through the local ones every other week just because they sometimes do have good deals.

Ken.
 
our pawn shops here sell snapon,mac or matco sockets for a buck and wrenches for 3 bucks but im in central Il now when I travel down south GA or NC they do want new price for there stolen tools
 
yea i have often wondered who buys those beat up measuring tools that they always have overpriced at nearly any pawn shop. but on the otherhand i have gotten alot of tools from pawn shops for pretty good deals, but not usualy common stuff, more of the oddball stuff that they have sitting on the shelf for a good while, just bought a 3/4 milwaukee drill for 100 bucks, they are around 450 bucks new. they had it there for months priced at 169, they took 100 when i offered it. also i have gotten a few other oddball things, like 4 ft bolt cutters in like new condition, klein tools brand, usa made, for 15 dollars cause they were there for well over a year. i find that the unusual stuff that not everyone wants is the stuff you get the deals on, a snap on 3/8 drive socket set they know that there are hundreds of perspective buyers, but how many people want a 3/4 inch drill, or a 1 inch drive breaker bar. and it does seem that some guys just look up stuff in the msc catalog to find a base price, and dont know the difference between brands but thats understandable occasionaly, we are machinists so we know the difference between a good mike and a bad mike, not everyone does
 
Pawn shops are much like eBay ... some sellers set a reserve higher than retail, others want to actually sell something :D

Half of their asking price is sometimes a good place to start, sometimes it's too high, depending on condition, condition, condition. EBay is much more cost-effective when your time-value is figured in -- easy to scan 1000 listings an hour, hard to look at the same number of pawn shop items.

I bought a brand new ESAB Purox W250 torch & CW250 cutting head for $60 (AirGas sells them for over $200). A Hein-Gericke jacket (that costs over $500 from the Harley dealer) sold for $125. The deals are there if you do the legwork.
 
There is a pawnshop I stop at occaisionally. Their prices are high. But the tags has a listing of dates with sequentially lower prices. As each date comes up the price falls. Somebody eventually buys it.

Mark
 
The problem is Ebay.

Pawn stores use it for pricing and they use it to sell their goods.

Same thing is happening at swap meets, hamfests and any other outlet for used goods.

You are right about Ebay being an effective means to cover alot of offerings in a reasonable amount of time. If your time is worth anything, Ebay is usually better than spending all that time looking...looking...and looking for that one item. The downside is that you can't judge the condition in person and when the item is large/heavy then shipping costs makes the deal uneconomical.

TMT
 
I think what people need to realize is that eBay prices don't relate to local prices. People trying to sell stuff at yard sales for top-dollar just can't do it.

As strange as it sounds, my only good deals from pawn shops were from pawn shops liquidating on eBay. Got some DeWalt drills with $100 shop tags for $25.
 
........One of my shooting buddy's has regaled me with stories of a thrift type store which had recently opened close to him. Apparently the owner has some kind of deal or contract with several local "U-Store-It type storage places and a couple moving/storage outfits. He buys all the stuff after they can legally dispose of it and brings it to the store on Mon-Wed-Fridays.

He said the store is half-assed divided up into areas like tools, appliances, clothes, toys, electronics, landscaping, etc and the stuff is just hauled in and dumped on long tables or on the floor under them.

He said since the place has been 'discovered' it's pretty chaotic on those mornings as there is a bunch of people waiting for them to open. He said there's no telling what there will be. He got a big DeWalt cordless drill package and it was all in great condition except the charger didn't work for $15, and a big old bench vise for $5 among other stuff. He said now it's a zoo.

Rick
 
I am fortunate to have a large flea market about one mile from my home. Some pawn shops sell stuff to vendors to sell there, because they will take everything at one time. Also most of the self storage sales end up there. Have gotten some really good deals, but it takes time and lots of walking.

The best deals still come from someone cleaning out a garage or shop. You have got to compete with a crowd, most of them vendors who want to resell the stuff they buy.
 
Good point about Pawn Shops that sell on Ebay, recently I bought a 1" drive Wright socket set from a pawn shop on Ebay... List price in the book was around 3,600.00 , I got it for just 280.00 + 75.00 shipping... It had never been used... less than 10 cents on the dollar...
 
We have a pawn shop near me that I've been in a bit. They tell you everything in negotiable but don't know a thing of what they sell. However right down the street is the used tool store. Great place. www.used-tools.com. I've gotten some of the best ever bargains there. He does nothing but sell used tools primarily from old lady's basements. He goes to your house and cleans out the shop. So less chance of buying stolen goods etc.. Best deal out there as far as I know. It is kind of like fishing, you never know what will come about from your trip there. Hence it is a ton of fun, especially if you get there at 1pm on a wensday when he opens for the week.

Adam
 
Reggie did you go to any of the machnery dealers in town when in denver I like to stop it Denver machine tool & Scott tools. any of you Denver boys know of any others to stop at.Ken
 
I stopped in carson city nevada a few years ago and was impressed with the size and inventory of the pawn shops.lots of tools and good quality at the time.did not really check the prices.
It is kind of sad that those tools probably were sold to make scratch at the tables in casinos.
for a tradesman to pawn the tools of his trade is just wrong somehow.
 








 
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