Anybody buy from pawn shops?

I go to them all the time, but I know that the prices listed are only suggested starting points. They will haggle and often at a huge discount.

got a good deal on a sawzall, but mostly they are overpriced around here.

Around here,stated asking prices are all over the map. If you know what 'X' is going for at WallyWorld or HF, offer the guy half or maybe 35-40% and see if he blinks. But if he's adamant about his asking price, maybe he doesn't really want to sell. And I've told 'em that as I walk out the door.

since this thread reminded me, i stopped by the local pawn shop on my way home today to see if they had anything i couldn't live without. they had a couple of old beat up single shot .22s, a (can't remember the sale name, but it was made by marlin arms co or similar), all bolt action.

they also had what looked like an old military rifle, that turned out to be a MK1 lee enfield .303. they're asking $169 for it, it has what seems to be an old red-dot reflex sight on it. the body of it is blued and matches the rifle finish, but im sure its not period correct. there is no bayonett or sling, and i'm not sure whether or not the rear sight is still attached (should be a peep sight with a flip up ladder type long range adjustable peep).

what says GRM? i'm sure someone here knows more about these things than me, good deal or bad deal?

Strizzo wrote: since this thread reminded me, i stopped by the local pawn shop on my way home today to see if they had anything i couldn't live without. they had a couple of old beat up single shot .22s, a (can't remember the sale name, but it was made by marlin arms co or similar), all bolt action. they also had what looked like an old military rifle, that turned out to be a MK1 lee enfield .303. they're asking $169 for it, it has what seems to be an old red-dot reflex sight on it. the body of it is blued and matches the rifle finish, but im sure its not period correct. there is no bayonett or sling, and i'm not sure whether or not the rear sight is still attached (should be a peep sight with a flip up ladder type long range adjustable peep). what says GRM? i'm sure someone here knows more about these things than me, good deal or bad deal?

Lee Enfield with a red dot? That offends me on some level. If it's in good shape and still has some bore though, that's a good price. Check the serial numbers and markings, that can tell you a lot more about it. However check out the price of ammo. .303 British is not cheap, and from what I've seen never will be again. The cheapest I can find is $1.07 a round. The .22's however are always worth it. The make great gifts and hand me downs.

Used to do it all the time, before the economy went bad. A bunch of my tools, my PS2, and who knows what else around here (bought so much stuff that I can't recall what is and what is not from the pawn shops).

After the 2007 crash, there were so many people from folks who were previously in the "middle class" going there that the prices shot up like crazy. And they stopped paying good prices for gold, or electronics, or musical instruments, or damn near anything since so many people were trying (and continue to try) to sell.

I've still got a job, for the moment..so I've actually started buying new stuff again, as long as it's made well.

EDIT: SWMBO is just as angry as I am..the same thing is happening to the thrift stores. Clothing articles that used to be just two or three dollars is now going for ten or twelve.

I'll second that. I've been buying second hand everything for years. I'd much rather buy good quality at a price that I can afford, than buy inferior new goods. Pisses me off to no end when the prices are unrealistic though.

In reply to Drewsifer:

The red dot doesn't stand out on the gun, its just a bit odd for such a variable range gun to be fitted with a 1x "optic" that would have to be sighted fir a fixed range.

I'm thinking that if it still has the rear sight I might try to get it for 125 ish if I can. Hopefully the po didn't remove the rear sight to put the silly red dot on it