Pawn

The biggest question that we get asked by customers entering a pawn shop for the first time is "what is the different between pawning and item and selling an item?" 

When you pawn an item, it means that you are taking on a short-term loan when you need money, but you just don't want to sell your stuff outright.  Maybe an unexpected medical bill has come up, or an employer conveniently forgot to sign the paychecks for payday or perhaps you just want a little extra cash to head on a quick vacation and you'll be getting paid after anyway. Regardless of the reason, it's a loan that does not require any credit check and gets you the cash you need quickly.

When you sign a pawn ticket, it means that you have made an agreement with the pawn broker at Red Pawn to receive cash for your item and the pawn broker will hold your item for 30 days. (You may also take your item out before the 30 days are up, however, you will still need to pay the interest agreed upon on the ticket that you signed).

Essentially you are paying for us to store your item safely while you get to a point where you are comfortable with paying to get the item out of our storage room. If you no longer want the item, or do not pay the interest for keeping the item stored for another month, the item is then placed into our system as a hold for another 15 days before we take it out of the room and place it for sale.

The wait period before we put the item up for sale is the time that we will attempt  to contact you.  Meanwhile, the interest that is due monthly will be prorated. If you have not contacted us in those 15 days, and we have not made a prior arrangement with you to hold the item longer, we will then place the item up for sale and no interest is owed to us. You also release your ownership of that item. 

This may sound scary when you're pawning a precious heirloom. We understand when money is tight and sometimes you just need more time for that late check and you don't want to lose your item. We try to work with our customers upon a case-by-case scenario to allow you additional time if you truly intend on coming back for your item.  Communication with our customers is key and we want the best possible scenario for everyone. 

You may pay for additional months for as long as you like, although we try to remind customers that it is wise to get it out as quickly as possible or else it will start to take a hit on your pocketbook. It's better to pawn an item for less money and make it easier for yourself to take out so that you don't risk losing your items.

 When you pawn an item to our store, we start by looking at the item that you have brought in. We look at the condition, the probability of reselling said item, and cross reference the value of the particular item. We do not vary the price we are willing to pawn or sell an item. It's all the same because we have to assume that we will end up with the item regardless. 

A common practice that we use for reference is Ebay sold listings. If you look up your exact item with similar condition, look for the average price that your item sells for. We normally pay 30%-50% of the amount that is listed (sometimes higher if the item is of high value or demand). This is because once an item is sold to us or a pawn has expired, we have now given cash for that item and need to recover that cash somehow. We also need to consider the cost of possibly listing and shipping the item on Ebay if it does not sell quickly in our store. 

We enjoy making deals with our customers and a general rule of thumb for us is a quick nickel is better than a slow dime. Sometimes selling just takes time and sometimes turning an item over for less money than it's listed will result in more money for us to invest in items that our customers in the community are searching for. 

In terms of coins, jewelry, gold, watches, and other luxury goods, it is best to call the owner, Robert, who is most knowledgeable on all of those topics. He can give you a good estimate for the value. This way you are able to make an educated choice on whether you would like a quick nickel or a slow dime. We are here to serve the community and teach (as well as learn from) our customers!