This is a subject about which we've received several inquiries over the past year or two, so we finally decided to tackle it.
It's been a good few years since we last forayed into pawnland and it seems that things have changed. Back in 2000, this writer was part of an out-of-town crew working on a long-term documentary series, and one of her tasks was to furnish the team's rental apartments on a severely limited budget. Fortunately, one of the subjects of our series was a member of the Las Vegas police department, and this Metro contact turned out to have friends in the pawn industry.
We were escorted downtown by the helpful detective and hit the jackpot in terms of cheap electronics: virtually new big-screen TVs for well under $100, plus a great Sony boom box with detachable speakers and six-CD changer (which is still going strong six years later) for $60 were among the bargains. And we were served with a smile and helped carrying out our booty to the car. So, based on past experience, we had high hopes of finding some bargains and embarked on this enterprise with an optimistic attitude. We were sadly disappointed.
First, however, a little information about how the pawn industry works here. If you're looking to hock something for cash in Nevada, be aware that the term of the loan here is 120 days. Once this time period is up, you can usually pay the interest and they'll give you a "new" loan, good for another 120 days. But if you don't show up to pick up your collateral and repay the loan, or at least the interest, the pawnbroker can sell the item to recover his investment. That's where the potential for bargain-hunting comes in, if you don't mind buying used goods.
If you buy something from a pawnshop, your purchase should be covered by some kind of limited guarantee, like return it within a week if it's faulty -- check with the vendor at the time of purchase and make sure you get and keep your receipt.
According to the National Pawnbrokers Association, only about 1/10th of 1% of all the items that come into pawn shops are stolen, because they report their transactions to local law enforcement. Metro here has a detail dedicated to the pawn industry, in fact. As anecdotal proof of this, we can cite some correspondence we received last July from a writer whose room was burgled while staying at a major Strip casino resort. "Someone entered my room and stole a bag filled with CDs and DVDs and -- considerably worse -- my briefcase, which contained irreplaceable papers and my computer. I got visits from the Las Vegas police and hotel security. Several months later, the LVPD informed me that they had recovered my briefcase and (damaged) computer from a pawnshop, which they had positively identified based on a serial number I had given them."
Armed with all this knowledge, two of our researchers set out on a shopping spree. Here's what happened.
"On our first excursion, we went to Sahara Pawn, at Sahara and Jones. You can't just walk in, you have to ring the doorbell and be buzzed in from the worker behind five inches of bullet-proof glass. In spite of the high security, once inside, we found this location didn't have anything worth writing home for, at least in our estimation. The wares on offer consisted mostly of tools, all used and generally in bad shape, and jewelry.
"Where to begin with the jewelry? Most of what we saw at all the pawnshops we visited were not exactly the nicest pieces you could find and not at very reasonable prices, either. For example, we saw a half-carat diamond ring on a plain gold band, very dull looking, for $999.99. From our experience researching this answer, there are few if any jewelry bargains at any pawnshop here. And they're not great places to sell either, but more of that later.
"After looking through all the items at this less-than-salubrious establishment in less than three minutes, we beat a hasty retreat to a larger chain of pawn shops, namely Super Pawn (sev
