Pawning

Myths About Pawn Shops
"Pawn shops are dark, dirty, sleazy places I’d rather avoid"
Come see for yourself! Our stores are bright, clean and safe.
"It’s all stolen property. Pawn shops profit from people’s stolen goods."
We do everything in our power to ensure we’re pawning and selling legitimate products. Check out the Crime Buster section for more info!
"Pawn brokers try to rip you off"
We do earn a mark up on the products we sell. We also pawn and sell products at what we feel is fair market value. Bring an item in and we’ll value it for you.
"You pawn it, you lose it"
Most pawns are temporary loans. You have 30 days to pay us back and recover the item. Often, customers realize that really can live without the item and would rather have the cash. It’s up to you!
"Pawning is only for the down and out, as a last resort"
Pawning is a way to get cash fast. It’s quick and convenient. Your property is safe and secure until you want it back. It’s similar to a bank loan, except you leave the collateral with us instead of pledging something you aren’t willing to lose.

What Is Pawnable?

 

Not all items are of resale or collateral value. Remember...your collateral is your credit, so items you pawn must have resale value in the event you decide to keep the money and leave the item with us.

The following items are great for pawning (good condition, quality brands):

Jewellery and high-end watches such as Rolex and Omega are the most common items pawned and are always accepted regardless of condition.

For larger loans, typical items include:

A quick phone call to any of our locations will let you know if your item could be pawnable.

Buying and Selling Tips

Do Your Research

Do research on the item you are looking to buy or sell. Although a drill may look like a drill, the price difference between a quality drill and a cheap drill could be up to 75%. Most pawn stores accept only quality products, mainly because of the longevity. A no-name tool or electronic item was cheaper to buy for a reason...it wasn’t meant to last very long, and therefore has little or no resale value.

Clean The Item

When selling an item, whether it would be to a pawn shop or privately, spend a bit of time cleaning it. The newer and better it looks, most often the more it's worth.

Working Condition

All items brought into our store are tested to verify they are in good working order. If parts are broken and/or missing, it is very difficult for us to resell and unfortunately has no value. These items are usually best disposed of by way of a garage sale or donation.

Sell Privately

Pawning is a quick, easy and convenient way to sell items. However, If you want to realize the maximum value for an item, we always recommend trying to sell it privately first. Pawning is a convenient and fast alternative but you might not get as much as a private sale.

Take Our Advice…

As a safety precaution, never let people come to your house to buy jewellery. Meet them in a crowded coffee shop instead. Also, never take a check or money order – cash is best.

What's It Worth?

Would you buy anything without seeing it first?

The answer to that is most likely NO. It is impossible to give accurate quotes over the phone and it might be dangerous to trust a shop that does. The best way to accurately price any item is to bring it to one of our locations. One of our highly trained staff will examine what you have and make you an offer. 99% of people who come to our stores leave satisfied that they got the best price for what they have.

As a rule, most pawn stores price their stock at approximately 50% of the retail value depending on condition and demand. When pawning an item, you can expect to get between 10-30% for cash value. High demand items such as newer electronics such as LCD TVs, IPods, high-end guitars, gold and diamonds tend to pay out more. Seasonal items such as golf clubs, snowboards and lawnmowers tent to have a little less value because of the short window of opportunity to sell them.