Ottakee Posted February 18, 2019 Share Posted February 18, 2019 This morning a friend and I decided to meet after lunch to go snowshoeing......something I have never done but wanted to try. A bit later I found out the rental pace at the park was closed in Mondays but the weather was perfect....upper 20s and SUN and no wind....with 2-3 inches of fresh snow. So in my frugal mindset I called the local pawn shops and one in town had a brand new pair of snowshoes with the tag still in them in the size I needed......for $40 which is a fabulous deal for this brand. We ended up having a wonderful time snowshoeing about 2 miles through the woods along the river. No one else on the trails. I had never been to a pawn shop before so it was a new experience.....but I lived to tell about it and I got a great deal. 9 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lady Florida. Posted February 18, 2019 Share Posted February 18, 2019 I've never been to a pawn shop but my brother used to always buy tools at pawn shops. He usually got great deals on good tools. He's in construction and back when he didn't have much money for tools but was expected to bring his own to a job, that was the way to go for him. It sounds like you got a good deal, and it makes sense since you didn't know if you'd even like snowshoeing. The bonus is you lived to tell the tale of both the pawn shop experience and the snow shoe experience. 😄 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SKL Posted February 18, 2019 Share Posted February 18, 2019 Not only have I not been to a pawn shop, I am not sure where one even is around here. There must be some somewhere .... Maybe I should try it someday. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted February 19, 2019 Share Posted February 19, 2019 (edited) I have gotten a lot of instruments through Pawn/Consignment stores. Most areas with a large music industry will have one that specializes in higher end used instruments. High end musical instruments are rather like cars in that they take a huge drop in value when they are no longer new (and sometimes rise dramatically if they become “classics”), and if you know how to check out a used instrument, you can find amazing deals when people get a new one (or are not pursuing music performance as a career, and can’t afford to have several thousand dollars sitting in a closet when they also still have their old instruments from high school to play in the praise band at church). Edited February 19, 2019 by dmmetler 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alisoncooks Posted February 19, 2019 Share Posted February 19, 2019 I've never shopped at a pawn shop (though I love thrift stores). DH bought my engagement ring at a pawn shop, though! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J-rap Posted February 19, 2019 Share Posted February 19, 2019 I never have! For some weird reason I've always associated them with something illegal, but I don't really know why. I guess I figured people who have stolen goods try and sell them through pawn shops? I've probably seen too many movies and am completely off base. In any event, I rarely see them, but after hearing about your experience I should give them a try! 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
klmama Posted February 19, 2019 Share Posted February 19, 2019 There's a large (chain?) pawn shop right by the mall here, and I see police cars there regularly. I've heard they notify the pawn shop about stolen merchandise so that the pawn shop can notify them if the stolen items show up. I went in once, just to see what they had; while the store actually looked pretty nice and had a wide variety of interesting things, the merchandise reeked of smoke. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liz CA Posted February 19, 2019 Share Posted February 19, 2019 I don't think I have ever been to one but I love how this worked out for you! I do go occasionally to places like Goodwill but I don't know if there is a pawn shop in this town. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moonflower Posted February 19, 2019 Share Posted February 19, 2019 I never have because my impression was always that people sold things to pawn shops as a form of short term loan, intending to purchase them again later when they had the funds. But this summer we had a few things we wanted to get rid of at the last minute before a move which would have been a huge pain to take with us and not worth the hassle of selling online. We sold them to a local pawn shop - not a great payout but cheaper than moving them and much much much less hassle than selling online or craigslist or something. And fast! 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Penguin Posted February 19, 2019 Share Posted February 19, 2019 I am glad that you had a good experience. My experience with pawn shops is an unpleasant one. Once, I went to a pawn shop looking for my stolen jewelry. One piece was indeed there. So then I went around to all of the pawn shops in town (there were several) looking for the rest of my jewelry. No luck. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alisoncooks Posted February 19, 2019 Share Posted February 19, 2019 Oh, I just remembered... When I was in 10th grade, my boyfriend dumped me in an unexpected and unpleasant way. So I took the ring he gave me for Christmas to a pawn shop. I got 14 bucks and bought a pair of sandals, which lasted longer than the relationship. I loved those sandals. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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