A Guide to Read Before Going to Pawn Shops in Milwaukee, WI

By all estimations and stats, there are innumerable items in every household. Around 70% of the items are only used sparingly during extreme seasonal conditions or during holiday seasons. That is one of the main reasons people think about pawning their spare items in the house to a nearby pawnshop to get some cash. Yet, we are afraid to go to these establishments, partly because of how pop culture references it as a shadowy den with thieves and crooks, hoarding stolen items. In reality, there are many Pawn shops in Milwaukee, WI that offer the best bang for your item. On the other side, if you need to buy, you can get pretty much anything there. For the lucky ones, they may get an antique piece while paying merely cents on dollars.

Pawning your goods can come in handy if you move around too much. It is because fewer items mean fewer worries. In this article, we will go through some of the basic things about pawn shops that will help you in getting the best deal for your item. So, this may be the ultimate guide that you need to read before going to a pawn shop:

What to Sell?

If you need to rephrase that phrase, it is what they buy. A rundown pawnbroker or some reality show joint do not want a set of rusted forks, rather they would give you a great deal on something that is easy to sell for them. This may seem ambiguous but it totally doable. The categories are broad and wide in this segment, including electronics, jewelry, utility items, and so on.

Antiques are notorious for being fetching the best dollar from the market, but you need to understand the small market of die-hard fans or fanatics.

Here is the list of the things that are easy to sell in a pawn shop because they are easy to resell:

• Not too primitive electronics in running condition
• Jewelry
• Guns
• Power Tools
• High-Tech Kids’ Toys
• Collectibles
• Musical Instruments
• Brand Accessories

Clean the Items

Before you set foot in a pawnshop to exchange your goods for cash, it is best to clean them properly. This may not get their value up overnight but it would help you in selling them easily.

So, if are planning on selling your old silver jewelry, polish it before taking it to a pawn shop. If it is an old phone or an electronic device, wipe off all the data, and clean the body of the device. When things are lying in your house, there are chances it would need some pampering before going out for a stroll.

As a pro tip, you should enhance its appearance as much as you can without putting new marks on its body. Also, having the original box or proof of purchase can help you in getting over 5% to 10% more value.

Setting Your Expectations

When it comes to pawning used items, you cannot lie to yourself or the pawnbroker about the real value of the items. Before thinking about hitting jackpot in your mind, you should evaluate the market price of the article.

To make it a little convenient for you, here is the scale to assign a value to an article. Remember that the value for the said item will decrease as you go down on the scale.

• New with Tags Intact
• New without Tags
• Sparingly Used
• Used but in Good Condition
• Used

This is in accordance with what you would want to pay at a regular store or a thrift store.

Cleaning an item before selling can fetch so much value. This is tricky waters for the uninitiated. If you are not clear about the value of your article, Google will always be there for you. There are e-commerce sites for selling new and used items, like ebay.com that can help you in assessing the price of the item.

Pawn or Sell

The best thing about pawn shops is that you have two choices; either you can sell or you can pawn. When you pawn something, you loan the item to the shopkeeper in exchange for your good. This is ideal for the things that you hold dear. If you pay the loan in its entirety without breaching the trust, you can get your item back. If you don’t, then you will lose the item.

Unlike pawning, selling is a one-time transaction. It involves you taking the item to the shop, telling them how much you want for the item, and then negotiate with the pawnbroker. After settling on a price, the pawnbroker is not under any obligation to return your item back. He will be the legal owner of the item after that transaction.