Pawn Shop: Should You Sell Your Item Or Get A Loan?

Pawn shops can give you two options for your item: you can sell it for its value or get a short-term loan by using it as collateral. Deciding whether to pawn your item or sell it altogether can sometimes be a tough figure. Under what circumstances should you sell and when should you pawn? In today’s article, we’ll be laying out some things to consider when choosing to pawn an item temporarily vs selling it for some fast cash.

Selling Your Item vs Getting a Short-Term Loan

Choosing to sell your item is different than choosing to pawn your item. In the first case, the pawnshop will determine how valuable the item is and negotiate an offer with you. As soon as a deal is made, the pawnbroker can give you cash for the item. As soon as the item has been sold to the pawn shop, the pawn shop has the liberty of re-selling the item to potential customers.

Pawning your item differs from selling your item in that you receive a loan (as a form of collateral) for your item. When you present an item to pawn to a pawnbroker, the pawnbroker will inspect the item and offer a loan amount. If you agree to the loan amount, the pawnbroker will ask you to sign the terms and services of the loan agreement. The loan agreement will state the duration of time the loan is good for and provide the cost and interest amounts of the loan for that given time frame.

Should I Pawn or Sell?

Choosing whether to pawn or sell can be determined by a number of factors. For the most part, if you are in a situation where you need a lot of cash, selling your item can get you the most money for your item. However, the item may be unavailable if you come back later to buy it from the pawn shop as it may have already been sold.

If you want to keep the item and come back for it later you may want to consider pawning the item. This allows you to receive a smaller amount of cash (in terms of the amount you could expect to receive when selling the item) but guarantees the item will remain available for you to pick back up later according to the terms of the loan agreement. But remember, if the loan amount is not paid within the specified time frame, or according to the conditions of the loan agreement, the item will be forfeited over to the pawn shop. If the loan amount is paid back within the given time frame with interest and all conditions of the agreement have been met, the item will be given back to you.

Xtreme Pawn in Salt Lake City

Still unsure if you should sell your item or pawn it? You can give us a call at (801) 876-1727 or chat with us directly on Facebook and we can discuss any options available.

To see our list of items that can bring in the cash, visit our Buy & Sell page. We’re talking gold and jewelry, musical instruments, televisions, electronics, power tools, houseware items, firearms, and more! Come visit any of our four locations to see what’s available!