In my youth, in another state, the local pawnshops were the place to shop for a bargain on a used gun.  Ive tried going into a few pawnshops around here, but I didnt stay inside long after seeing the prices.  Anyone have any luck around DFW or neighboring areas?

I hit pawnshops all the time, but none are in D/FW. The one time I did drive down to hit a few in that area I LOLed. Major cities will have large concentrations of morons and prices will be high.

I've had the same experience.  I can't believe (just an expression...I can believe it) that people are shelling out the ridiculous prices that Metroplex pawnshops are asking for used - and often abused - firearms.

The one locally had an M44 with the bayonet missing for $400, and a Remington870 with the barrel almost rusted off for $300.

I used to hit them all the time, when I had cash flow. I got some really nice deals out of them too.  An older Colt 1911 Series 80 for $450 w/ box, a LNIB S&W 686-4 $350, a S&W M-P9 w/ nite-sites for $350, among others.  

I find that you gotta go to these places, kinda establish a pattern, talk shop, if they are a chain learn their date codes, etc.  The pattern works because even if you dont buy anything, they recognize you.  Talk shop because they are just like any other retail employee, they have bad days too, and would love nothing more to vent, plus you learn that company's inner workings.  Learn those date codes.  The dates in which the product came in and when it was put up for sale, that way you can stuff like "Well I know you've had this since March of last year.  If you wanna sell it so you can get some cash and clear some shelf space, here's my offer.".  Oh, and dont hesitate to ask if they have something in the back they dont think they can sell, like a broken gun, I got lucky and one shop did.  I paid $105OTD for a "broken" Marlin that was reassembled wrong.

trust me the Rural pawn shops have gone Beaver shit happy on their pricing,,Beat up models 15 smiths for $500, AR15 $1800, run of the mil 1911's with extra rust and holster wear $1000

ridiculous

It's a shame that most "pawn shops" have become payday advance loan shops.  The old time pawn shops have gone by the wayside.

I worked at one part time off and on for about 3 years in college. Expect to go in there in haggle over prices and have cash in hand. That's just part of the deal. The date codes don't matter as much as the price codes. We had a code that told you how much money you loaned on it and that basically told you were your floor price was on negotiation. Don't waste your time at a corporate chain shop either, go to individually owned shop.

I didn't care for that part much because you'll always get someone who come in and ask you about a dozen different items and make some crazy low ball offer on each and every one.

Like a Rem 700 in .270 with a basic scope of some type was typical floor price was $300 cash out the door, but it might be marked $375 or $425, and we'd haggle to get $325 or $350. There was always someone who wanted to finger fuck it for 15 minutes and offer a $100 for it. Sure, come on out back and pop my sister's cherry while you're at it.

The best deals went to the guys who came in and bought in bulk. We had an FFL dealer from Indiana or some place up north who would show up every spring with a trailer and buy shotguns. He bought all kinds of pumps, semi's, singles, 15 to 20 at a time. Never bought any rifles because you couldn't hunt with a rifle in his state. He basically got them for loan value + 3 months loan interest. So basically, if we loaned a $100 on a pump shotgun, he got it for $160 ($20 interest/month on $100) while we would be trying to sell it for $200 with the tag marked $250 on the shelf.

We had a mexican guy with a bus who also would show up once a year. He didn't speak english, but he could haggle. His thing was tools. He make a big pile of saws, drill, sanders, etc. in the middle of the floor and my boss would sort through it with a note pad and a calculator, and come up with a total, and they'd haggle over that price in cash. There was a lot of stuff that went out the door at cost.

It's kind of a crazy business and you meet a lot of crazy dishonest people. I had at least one pistol on me everyday I worked there. Most of the time I carried two.

I hit them all the time, every now and then I'll find something that they are unaware they have, or I'll offer a lowball offer and they'll accept or counter with a reasonable price instead of the sky-high price they have it posted at.

But yeah, I've found several good deals, the secret is that I don't need what they are selling and if I can't get it at what's a good price for me, I walk away.

All the ones I've seen are overpriced, and they act like dicks when you want to talk about a lower price...fuck em.

Isn't Bachman Pawn and Gun over that way?

They always have the best prices on H&Ks at the shows around here.

I check in with a few now and then. I have about 3 that are worth a shit near me.
I have found that once you buy a couple of items, and get to know the manager, you usually get a better deal later on.
There is one near me that I have bought several rifles from over the years. I can call and ask if he has anything I would be interested in. He knows me well enough to know what I like.

Jim

There are some deals to be had.  

There is one that I particularly like.  I have bought a 95% or better pre-64 Model 94 ($450), as new Yildiz 20ga O/U ($250), and other reasonable price guns from it.  Nah, I'm not saying where :)

I worked at a Pawn Shop while going to high school and college long ago.  The thing to remember about pawnshops is they are open to offers.  Offer what you think its worth (or less) - the worst they can do is say no.

Earl

You just have to really look, I probably buy one gun for every 50 trips I make to a pawn shop.

My best deal was a Remington 700 Sendero with stainless fluted barrel topped with a Leupold VX-II 3-9x40 for $500. I had already bought that exact same scope and was looking for the rifle to put it on. So I sold the scope I had for $300 and basically had $200 in the rifle.

That's some interesting math...unless you got the scope for free to begin with.

back in the early ninteis I bought a lot of guns and related items from Pawn shops as they generally were not aware of what the price of that stuff was going to do.  Nowadays they have become slightly more knowledgeable but very few deal with guns and some like Cash America just sell them on the net.

Dont really have any pawn shops around if so they rarely sell guns. I have been to a few that do sell guns but they rarely have anything i want and if i am half interested its priced really high.

I've gotten some great deals from Dallas pawn shops, though it's getting more difficult as 1) many have been harrassed by ATF 0have decided to get out of selling guns, and 2) others have gotten caught up in the gun buying frenzy & jacked their prices WAY up.

Deals I've gotten:
MC5D SKS (takes AK mags, 16" barrel) for $120
Nice Romy G AK for $200 out the door
Glock 19 wmags for $350


Posted Via AR15.Com Mobile

I already had the scope and was looking for the rifle. I got the rifle I wanted for $200 when all was said and done.

Rifle and scope $500
- Price of scope $300
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
Price of rifle  $200

One thing I have seen is a few pawn shops checking online auction sites when i try to haggle a price. I usually look for C&R rifles. I had one guy actually say that his asking price of $550.00 for a Swede M38 was lower than an auction going on. When I got home I looked it up. There was a rifle with a $600.00 starting bid- and no bidders after a week. No shit?
Dumbass still has that rifle in his rack, same price, 3 years later. I won't even go back to try to talk him down. This same turd, at another shop, offered me $150.00 for an M1 carbine I was trying to get a value on- this was before I got into the boards.
Look around at a lot of shops. Some will have things you are interested in and others won't. Make a circuit of the ones you like and you will eventually find something.
I bought a Colt flattop AR15 for $700.00 several years ago. deals can be found.

Jim

Best Pawn in Sherman, TX 60 miles north of Dallas.  Best prices and selection on new and used guns.

srt205

I learned long ago when I fished Bass tourneys––- Never give up your honey hole!
If Sherman wasn't so far from Ft.Worth I would check it out.
BTW, there are NO good shops near me. Don't even come looking.

Jim

My favorite pawn shop provided another score!

I got a Buck Strider, 3 Spydercos, and a LNIB CRKT for $50 OTD!