May 4, 2018 | 4 Min Read

Do you know how to negotiate at a pawnshop?

You've seen Pawn Stars, right? If for some crazy reason you haven't, here's how most episodes go: Customer comes in wanting $20,000 for a Timex watch once owned by Hillary Clinton. Rick (the pawnshop owner) offers $10, then the customer lowers his/her asking price to $15,000. This goes back and forth until they either agree upon a price, or the customer walks. That's a pawnshop negotiation! Well, kind of.

Most pawnshops leave room for negotiation on everything. When they are buying or pawning an item, their first offer might not be their absolute best offer. On the other hand, if you're buying something from a pawnshop, the ticket price on the item isn't always the lowest price they will sell it for. You've gotta learn to haggle a little bit! That's the beauty of a pawnshop - getting a killer deal!

We want our customers to be informed on the ins and outs of negotiating at the pawnshop. We haggle prices on a daily basis. Some customers are successful - some customers fail miserably. We want you to become better negotiators! Use this short guide to help you in your quest of getting the best price at every pawnshop you visit! (Although you should only visit Pocket Pawn ;)

The Dos and Don'ts of Pawnshop Negotiating

DO: ASK FOR A BETTER PRICE EVERY SINGLE TIME

What can this hurt? If you're buying something from a pawnshop, ask them if that price is as low as they will go. 9 times out of 10 - you'll get a discount. I promise. Trust us on this. We're a pawnshop.

If you're pawning or selling something to the pawnshop, do the same thing! When the pawnbroker gives you their offer, ask them if they can do any better!

If you've never asked for better prices before, I can see how this can seem intimidating. If this is you, remember this: pawnshops are accustomed to being asked for discounts and better prices. Rarely do we sell something for the asking price. There is always some sort of discount.

DON'T: MAKE AN EXTREMELY LOW-BALL OFFER

This is a super important rule to follow. When you ask for a discount on something you're buying at a pawnshop, this is how the conversation will usually go:

Customer: "Hey, I want to get this TV - but is this the lowest you will sell it for?"

Pawnbroker: "Hey! Glad you're interested. What's your offer on the TV?"

A lot of pawnbrokers will use this strategy on you. When you ask for a discount on an item, they'll throw the ball back to you and ask what your offer is.

(Pro Tip: Whoever names the first price loses the negotiation)

If the pawnbroker asks for you to make an offer first - don't lowball them! Most people think that they should offer half of what the ticket price is. This is a bad move! It starts the negotiation process off in a bad way. In 97% of pawnshop deals, you will not get half off. Most pawnshops list their merchandise for double what they have invested in it. When you offer half, you're telling the pawnshop that you don't want them to make money at all!

This move could end up backfiring on you and you might end up with no discount at all.

Instead of offering half, shoot for around a 30% discount. For example, if you're wanting a laptop priced at $149.95, offer them $100.

This let's the pawnshop know two things:

You're a serious buyer
They can probably negotiate up a little and make a sale

DO: BE FRIENDLY TO THE PAWNBROKERS

Do you like to deal with nice people or jerks? Exactly.

If you start negotiating with the pawnbroker and you're a total jerk, you're totally not getting a discount. Do pawnshops want to sell merchandise? Of course they do! Do pawnshops want to deal with jerks all day? Notta.

TV shows like Hardcore Pawn on TruTV have given people this idea that pawnshops like to deal with drama. I'm here to tell you - that is the exact opposite. We hate drama and we avoid it at all costs.

Be friendly. Get good deals.

DON'T: POINT OUT FLAWS IN THE ITEM YOU'RE TRYING TO BUY

Never do this. Say you're buying a pair of Beats by Dre headphones from a pawnshop. You want to get a good deal, so you ask the pawnbroker for a better price. The pawnbroker gives you an offer and you come back with:

"C'mon, you can do better than that. These headphones are in rough shape!"

Don't do it. Most pawnshops price their items according to condition. So a really nice pair of Beats by Dre might be $150, but a pair that has been well used might be priced at $100.

Condition of the item has already been considered when it was priced. Never point out flaws.

When you point out problems an item has while you're trying to get a discount, you're telling the pawnbroker that they do not know what they are doing because they obviously priced it wrong in the first place. It's just a bad idea to try this strategy. You'll get a much better discount by avoiding this.

DO: BE INFORMED

The pawnbrokers at our pawnshop will be honest with you on everything. We're not going to try to tell you that the DVD player you're buying is made of pure gold, or that the Sharp 4K Smart LED TV you're trying to sell us is outdated. We're gonna shoot you straight and try to get to the best deal possible for both parties. That being said, this might not be the case with all pawnshops.

You should have some prior knowledge coming into the negotiations.

If you're looking to sell your TV, put the model number into Google and see how much it sells for new. If you're buying a DeWalt cordless drill, pull out your smartphone and look up the model number to see what it's actually worth. If that DeWalt drill is $100 at Lowe's and $50 at the pawnshop, you've gotta deal! If you see it for $100 at Lowe's and $90 at the pawnshop, this is something you can nicely prove to the pawnbroker during the negotiation.

(Emphasis on the nicely. Don't be rude. People make mistakes. Even me ;)

DON'T: HAVE OUTRAGEOUS EXPECTATIONS

Pawnshops exist to make money. They can't buy your TV for $350 if it sells for $400 brand new and they can't sell you that chainsaw for $30 when they have $50 in it. As stated earlier, most pawnshops will buy things for half of what they expect to sell them for.

If they buy a TV for $75, they're probably going to list it at $149 and negotiate down to $120-$130 if they need to. (This margin drastically decreases as the value the item increases. For example: a pawnshop might have $400 in an item they are selling for $600)

One Final Note

Shopping at a pawnshop should be an enjoyable experience. The pawnbrokers should be nice, friendly, and willing to negotiate on some items. This might not be true with every pawnshop you visit, just like you might not get the same service at every Home Depot you visit. Don't let this stop you from going to pawnshops and scoring great deals! Don't let one bad apple ruin the bunch.

For the most part, pawnshops are owned and operated by great people! Especially Pocket Pawn in Ozark, Alabama. That place is pretty awesome if I say so myself!

Now go out and get a good deal!

Have you ever negotiated at a pawnshop before? Tell us about your experience in the comments! Was it good or bad? Did you get a good deal? We want to know!