There are some items that a pawn store owner may outright deny, whether you’re bringing it to sell or pawn for a loan. Among the weird and interesting things they might turn down, items that are too big commonly get rejected.

What’s too big?

Let’s find out.

What is “Too Big”?

Size

When talking about “too big”, most people think of the actual size of an item. With physical pawn store locations, the idea is to ensure it can fit into their place of business. Often, this may mean fitting through the front door. While some pawn shops might have a back door or garage for larger items, using a door frame as a general reference would be a good idea.

For online pawn shops, shipping costs are the big problem for large or unusual sized items, as postal services upcharge for such items. Thankfully, online services often take this into account and have size and/or weight restrictions for what they will take.

Weight

Weight also plays an important role in understanding what “too big” can mean for an individual item. Is the thing you’re trying to pawn only movable with a large team of people or special equipment? Then it might be too big for a pawn shop to consider a safe or practical investment, in case you default on a loan.

For online pawn shops, weight plays almost as much of a role as size does. Trying to send them five heavy-weight bowling balls in the mail might be too much for what it’s worth to ship them around.

What You Can Pawn

Way Too Big

Despite the ambiguity of what a pawn shop might or might not consider too big, there are some items you could reasonably assume they won’t want to take. This includes:

• Industrial fridge.
• A 20-foot-tall iron sculpture.
• A stalled or otherwise broken car.
• Portable sheds.

Just Big Enough

Some large items might fall into an iffy area, but it’s alright to assume these items will be taken by most pawn shops.

• China cabinets.
• Industrial shelving (especially if you can take it apart).
• Bed frames.
• A tool cabinet.

Call Ahead

Don’t forget to ask the pawn shop themselves if what you want to pawn is too big for them. All pawn shops are different and may have different standards for what they will consider too big. Pawn stores that deal in loans on cars may be willing to use a car as collateral, and an art specialty store might be interested in the aforementioned 20-foot-tall iron statue, so long as you can transport it to them at your own expense.

A good rule of thumb is: if you can fit the item in question into the back of a truck reasonably and safely, you’ll be fine. When in doubt, give the pawn shop owner or manager a call just to save yourself a trip.