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Old February 15, 2020, 05:11 AM   #26
armoredman
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Now that IS a find!
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Old February 19, 2020, 07:15 PM   #27
rock185
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Some of you guys sure do well at pawn shops. Best deal I ever got at pawn shop,years ago, was a new S&W Model 28 at "only" MSRP. Not what anybody would actually call a "deal". Last time I tried to do business with a pawn shop, owner wanted $140.00 to receive a pistol. I no longer go to pawn shops...
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Old February 23, 2020, 08:52 AM   #28
shooter1911
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I read about guys getting terrific finds in pawn shops all the time, but honestly I have never seen a good deal at a pawn shop. When I check local pawn shops it seems like they really don't want to sell their guns other than shotguns. Now I have seen some great deals on used pawn shop shotguns.
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Old February 24, 2020, 08:26 PM   #29
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I don't think I've ever seen a pawn shop gun that wasn't tagged at more than a similar, new gun costs.
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Old March 4, 2020, 12:58 AM   #30
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Sig 229, $329 out the door.
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Old March 5, 2020, 11:17 AM   #31
lifesizepotato
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I got my Benelli B77 in 32acp from a pawn shop, NIB for I think around $400.



Also my ASAI One Pro, a rare Swiss-made CZ clone in 45acp. Amazingly, they had two at the time.


Last edited by lifesizepotato; March 5, 2020 at 02:28 PM.
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Old March 5, 2020, 12:48 PM   #32
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About 8 years ago in a little Mom & Pop pawn shop a very nice Colt 1903 .32 for $225 and a pristine, never in a holster, round butt snubby S&W M12-1 for $200. Two scores in one! They really had no idea. I didn't even haggle; I was afraid they might look them up.
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Old March 5, 2020, 09:03 PM   #33
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Rossi Model 720's have a sort of cult following. They are nice little 44 special five-shot revolvers that they only made for 2-3 years in the early 90's.

I paid around $400 for one and was amazed at what a good shooter it was.

A couple of years later I saw a hammerless version for sale on GB for $300 and realized it was at a nearby pawnshop.

I went there the next morning, offered $250 cash, and they immediately took my offer.

Apparently all that they knew was that a Rossi was an originally inexpensive foreign revolver.
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Old March 6, 2020, 04:48 AM   #34
armoredman
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We carried the One Pro at the gun shop I worked at YEARS ago, had a sweet trigger. Nice find.
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Old July 16, 2021, 03:35 AM   #35
FTurner90
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Pawnshops are like treasure chests. The items you can find include computers, clothing, golf clubs, and furniture. Some stores even have books, jewelry, or sports equipment. You can also get things for free or for cheap if you have a lot of patience. Pawnshops are usually filled with used and rares but always have something new and exciting to sell. Every once in a while, an old coin or two will come up for sale worth a good bit of change. I bought some rare coins with a significant value on the market!. So I found in https://www.newbondstreetpawnbrokers.com/ some collectible coins at an excellent price.

Last edited by FTurner90; July 16, 2021 at 03:41 AM.
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Old July 16, 2021, 09:22 AM   #36
Seedy Character
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I agree, FTurner. Pawnshop "finds" depend largely on the owner. As said earlier, the owner likes and hates can greatly effect price. Owner and staff knowledge, also. The innerweebs has greatly altered the lack of knowledge, for those taking the time to do the research.

I have come across some finds, though.
Picked up a Marlin 1894 .22Mag $125 because Marlin "no longer in business" and ammo is "impossible to find".
P
Same pawnshop, Savage 67E 12ga missing an action screw, so action wouldn't cycle $"4 Numrich item", $40 out the door, as a parts gun.

When son was in college, we spent 1 day a month visiting pawnshops. Would peruse the shop, eventually ending up at the displays with electronics and test equii. Any Fluke meters were our targets. Picked up lots of meters for $10-$35, after convincing the clerk the meters were defective. I took the meters to my shop to clean, repair, and calibrate. Son would take them to class and sell for $100 (30% of new cost), to his classmates. I sold many of them to electricians and refinery techs for 80% of new cost. Best find was a Fluke transmitter calibrator. A new model, that had been out less than a year, was hard to find and sold for $5000. I asked pawn clerk "if they had any meters?"
He said they had 1 that had come out of pawn, that morning. It was a Fluke of some kind. He couldn't get it "read voltage", so owner told him to mark it $50.
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Old July 18, 2021, 05:26 AM   #37
hemiram
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I was in a pawn shop a couple of days ago. I was pretty much laughing at the crazy high prices on mid level, at best, guns. They had a full sized Jericho 941 in nickel, decent shape, but he wanted $999 for it. I offered $500, and he got angry, "Don't be ridiculous!". I hope he gets stuck with it.
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Old July 18, 2021, 08:13 AM   #38
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The best deal I can remember was a Dan Wesson revolver that looked like someone had kept uncased/unholstered in their toolkit. It was marked $150, but I think I could have talked the guy down to $100. There was nothing wrong with it functionally--it just looked like it had been dragged down a gravel road for a couple of hundred yards.

Probably should have bought it and sent it off to be redone in NP3 or chrome.
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Old July 18, 2021, 10:10 AM   #39
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My best was a Beretta Storm carbine for $275.
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Old July 18, 2021, 11:44 AM   #40
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About 10 years ago I bought a Stevens late prewar double barrel shotgun at a pawn shop in Hillsboro, OR for 200 bucks. It was in like new condition and was very surprised when I found out how old it really was.

It has one of the first plastic stocks used on an American firearm. The only thing wrong with it was the stock screw was a little loose and even with a really long screwdriver, I couldn't get it tight but I could get it out. It was an odd size screw and I had to mail order an Alan head screw to replace it but after that, I was able to tighten it with the proper tools...

Tony
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Old July 18, 2021, 03:23 PM   #41
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I have picked up some marlin model 60 22's for under $100 but a few years ago I bought a brand new WARS10 AK 47 for $300 OTD. I thought that was a pretty good deal.
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Old July 18, 2021, 04:50 PM   #42
Paul B.
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Gads! I haven't been in a pawn shop in years. When I did frequent then, it was from 1957 to about 1960. I got to know the bosses there and usually got some very good deals on guns. Probably one of the best was an S&W Highway Patrolman, no model number fo $80.00 and it was NIB. But then at that time I had been buying and trading stuff with the them for a couple of years so he would throw me a better than usual deal every once in a while. Probably the best ever though was at a gun shop I worked for. Guy came in who had ordered one of the first M29 S&Ws to hit San Francisco. He traded in a genuine S&W Registered .357 Magnum for $75.00 and the boss let me have it for that. The following weekend I had the day off so was at the range when the guy that bought the .44 came up to shoot. Same old sad story, six shots and he wanted to sell the gun. He noticed that I gad his old .357 and asked to trade back. I said let me shoot that .44 first before I decide. I did, didn't think it was that bad so we made the swap then and there. I probably should have kept that .357 as it is now a high dollar collectors item. The .44? I traded it off for something else down the road. Not my smoothest move.
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Old July 18, 2021, 06:53 PM   #43
4V50 Gary
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@Paul B. Did you work at the SF Gun Exchange? That sounds like something Nate would do. Were they on Sixth Street back then?
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Old July 22, 2021, 07:57 AM   #44
Hawg
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Not a pawnshop but a gun show. I bought an original 1884 trapdoor carbine for 300.00 back in the 90's. It had a broken mainspring and I got him down from 555.00. I got a new spring from Dixie Gun Works for 9.00.
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Old August 6, 2021, 08:57 AM   #45
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zero chance of finding a firearm in the drug infested pawn shops in my area. Lol
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Old August 7, 2021, 11:18 AM   #46
Mike Irwin
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The local pawn shops here in Northern Virginia all seem to think that every firearm they have in stock is made from gold, platinum, perfect diamonds, with unicorn horn grips.

It's not uncommon at all to see a ragged out firearm at, or above, MSRP.
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Old August 8, 2021, 10:32 AM   #47
Seedy Character
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Typical pawn shop, Mike. They are worse than car dealerships.

They "acquired the item for 10-50% less than true value

To make a pawn shop purchase;
1. Know what you are buying
2. Know it's value
3. Offer 25% less than what you are willing to pay
4. Be prepared to walk, if they don't deal.

The longer they have had the item, they better they will deal. Their objective is getting cash in hand.


Today's market is NOT conducive to great deals on firearms.

My friend visits a nearby pawn on a monthly basis. A couple years back, he had been watching this Kimber 1911. Knowing it had been in the case over 90 days, he offered $700, it was priced at $1100.
The guy acted offended and mad, told him that was a $1500 gun.
My friend walks around the counter and sees an identical Kimber. Looking at the tag, he figured out the coded number, that it was a new item.
He offered $1300 out the door for BOTH, take it or leave it.

He now owns 2 Kimber 1911
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