Whether you’re going to shop or to pawn off an item for a loan, it’s good practice to know how to identify quality pawnshops from the bad.
But what makes a quality pawnshop?
Often, it has to do with integrity, a keen eye, and customer service. After all, a good pawnshop is one that inspires trust, knows what they’re doing, and wants to maintain a lasting and positive relationship with their customers.
Quality Assurance
A good pawnshop researches the items brought to them, whether it’s for a loan or to outright sell it.
A poor pawnshop may take any electronic offered to sell it at a discount, whether or not it works. This can be frustrating for people that come in and expect to buy items that actually work.
Being able to go in and trust the items you buy is crucial. As such, their quality assurance is a good sign that the pawnshop knows what they’re doing and is going to provide a fair deal.
Customer Service
If a pawnshop knows they’re going to rip someone off, they often don’t care too much about the people that come in to buy, sell, or take out a loan. Keep an eye on their customer service and see how invested they are in making sure you walk away with a positive experience. This can range from how they greet you as you enter and how willing they are to walk you through each step of the process.
Quality shops will make people feel safe and welcome when they’re either pawning off their own possessions or looking for something to buy. It’s a business’s way of telling customers that they care about your experience and want it to be a positive one.
If you walk into a pawnshop and no one greats you, or they’re trying to rush you along, don’t be afraid to back out of a deal and try the next one!
Online Reviews
The best way to tell if a pawnshop is of any quality is to take to the internet! Though you can’t always believe what you read online, reviews are excellent for getting an idea of a business and how they operate.
Take reviews with a grain of salt, however, as people are more likely to review a business if they’ve had a negative experience than if they’ve had a positive one. If a pawnshop has just as many positive reviews as negative ones, it’s likely that more people have walked away with a positive experience.
If a pawnshop only has negative reviews, see how many reviews there are in total. Only a couple? Probably no need to worry, especially if the dates are spaced out. If it’s a lot, then they have a consistent set of problems that have gone unaddressed.
Lastly, trust your gut when reading reviews. If you find that a review is reasonably steering you clear of a bad situation, you’re under no obligation to give the pawnshop a chance.
