Pawn shop idea

S

steve_k

CAGiversary!
Maybe someone who owns a pawn shop will read this.

Here's an idea: use Blu Rays as an item to draw more people to your pawn shop. Pawn shops usually buy blu rays for a couple of dollars and resell them for about ten dollars each. Why not meet on a middle ground and sacrifice profits on blu rays to draw more customers and increase sales on other items? Research the buying and selling price of blue rays of 50 local pawn shops (I live in Houston, so that's not hard to do). Suppose the average buy price is $2 and the average sell price is $10. Meet half way and buy AND sell at $5. Now, you're the pawn shop that pays the most and sells for the least, making a name for yourself. You won't make any money off these, but more people will come in, and when they do, they will surely look around. Sales volume on other items will increase. Maybe they like music and will buy a guitar. Maybe it's some guy with a girlfriend who will buy jewelry. These are people who normally would not consider going into a pawn shop, but because of the word-of-mouth from other people who have bought and sold blu rays, now they are deciding try it out. Unlike DVDs, Blu Rays are nearly industructible. They are very scratch resistant at least. There's really not much of a consequence of your blu ray inventory going out and coming back in. Sure, you will have people coming in and out to take advantage of your shop as their own 'free' Blockbuster, but so what? If it doesn't increase sales, you can always decide to revert to your old policy of buying at $2 and selling for $10. I may even be wrong about the whole pawn shop philosophy. I've never worked at one. Maybe there are enough people desperate for any amount of cash that buy prices aren't even a factor because they are so desperate that they don't care what they get as long as it is something.

It's just an idea.
 
I, too, would also like to buy some cheap Blu-Rays. Please accommodate me pawn shops and maybe I'll buy some something else while I am there
I won't
 
I don't want to go too deep into it because it's a complicated subject, but trust me when I say that there is a reason marketing people get paid so well. There is also a reason why pawn shops don't hire marketing people.

It's not like Best Buy, which is mainly a electronics store. Which is why they do deals like, if you buy a HDTV, then we'll give you a BluRay player. Hopefully, you'll buy a few movies that you saw while walking into the store as well so you can test it out when you get home.

I'm not trying to be mean, but paragraphs are also nice.
 
Pawn shops are check into cash's of the olden days. Their main business is lending money and making it back when the person re buys their stuff. Their main point of business in not selling stuff per se.
 
[quote name='cindersphere']Pawn shops are check into cash's of the olden days. Their main business is lending money and making it back when the person re buys their stuff. Their main point of business in not selling stuff per se.[/QUOTE]

Yep. That's the main way they make money.

I avoid them totally myself. Always to wary of buying something that was stolen, and never been much for buying things used anyway.
 
Typically most items at pawnshops are overpriced, part of this is to give the pawners the idea that their items are valuable and comeback to reclaim them at significant profit for the business. A lot of the really good stuff they get sold or is unclaimed is then in turn resold to other stores or onilne for a tidy profit. In short their actual customers will seek them out.
 
There is a local pawn shop that sells their blu-rays for $8. It's awesome. This includes newer releases. I was just there last Friday and they had a copy of Easy A (a semi-new release) and a copy of Machete (a new release last week) for $8 each.

Does anyone know why most pawn shops (at least around here) are closed on Saturdays? That seems like one of the days where they would do the most business so it doesn't make sense to me.
 
[quote name='PopcornBandit']There is a local pawn shop that sells their blu-rays for $8. It's awesome. This includes newer releases. I was just there last Friday and they had a copy of Easy A (a semi-new release) and a copy of Machete (a new release last week) for $8 each.

Does anyone know why most pawn shops (at least around here) are closed on Saturdays? That seems like one of the days where they would do the most business so it doesn't make sense to me.[/QUOTE]
Machete for $8? Good deal there.
 
This won't work because people like me only go into pawn shops to buy things like this. I will never buy any electronics because they could tear up before you even use it and you are boned.

I would never buy jewerly because there is a chance it is fake and I don't have an eye for it.

But, I will buy all the discounted blu rays and video games they have, while never once pawning anything.
 
Pretty good idea steve_k. Maybe the pawn stores should give you anything you want for free the next time you enter their store. Hell why stop there. They should give you all the money in their register and in the safe in the back.
 
[quote name='FunkyDoRight']This won't work because people like me only go into pawn shops to buy things like this. I will never buy any electronics because they could tear up before you even use it and you are boned.

I would never buy jewerly because there is a chance it is fake and I don't have an eye for it.

But, I will buy all the discounted blu rays and video games they have, while never once pawning anything.[/QUOTE]

Most pawn shops have a jeweler on staff or on call. They don't buy garbage because then they can't resell it. Trust me, most pawn shop jewelery is legit.
 
[quote name='zionoverfire']Typically most items at pawnshops are overpriced, part of this is to give the pawners the idea that their items are valuable and comeback to reclaim them at significant profit for the business. A lot of the really good stuff they get sold or is unclaimed is then in turn resold to other stores or onilne for a tidy profit. In short their actual customers will seek them out.[/QUOTE]

Negotiate.
I've made somke absolutely ridiculous purchases at pawn shops in the last few years. Hell I bought a guitar amp for next to nothing because it was "broken" when all it needed was a retube to be like new.
 
[quote name='nasum']Negotiate.
I've made somke absolutely ridiculous purchases at pawn shops in the last few years. Hell I bought a guitar amp for next to nothing because it was "broken" when all it needed was a retube to be like new.[/QUOTE]

:lol: You're assuming that I'd actually want their crap if it wasn't overpriced. I mainly go in because a couple of them carry cheap ammo which has been hard to find the last couple summers.
 
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