PAWNSHOPPING
Part 2 of 3

by Watchking

Try not to insult a pawn broker with your offers on a watch. This is the fastest way I know for the pawn broker to decide that you are not serious and not a reasonable business person. Contrary to popular opinion, pawn brokers cannot be out-haggled or squeezed and if you waste too much of their time they won't want to do business with you in the long run. I have bought a number of watches from pawn brokers at prices which were very good but not incredible.

By treating the pawn brokers with respect I gained a bit of cache with them and they knew I had the money to spend on watches. At other times I have been offered deals of such incredible dimensions I felt almost unethical accepting them. The best deal I got was a solid gold Hamilton Piping Rock watch in excellent condition (except for a bad balance staff) which was offered to me for $5. My brother purchased a Vacheron Constantine tank watch in 18kt pink gold for $150 because the dial had faded somewhat.

With some enormously expensive watches I have been offered items for 1% of their retail value. Usually though if you have been a good customer you can be offered deals similar to the kinds I am offered all the time, like a 2-tone Rolex chronometer non-date automatic with 2-tone oyster bracelet for $500 or a 24 jewel 18kt Omega Constellation with date (pie pan) for $400. More often it is possible to get very good deals, like a SS Rolex Datejust with white gold bezel (w/SS Jubilee bracelet) for $800 or a Baume Mercier 17 jewel wind-up tank watch with Roman numerals in a 14kt case for $350.

So keep in mind that being in the pawn shop business can be grueling and it can make a pawn broker a bit gritty due to being offered damaged and fake items as good quality merchandise. Don't worry about what a pawn shop looks like, the broker makes money on loans not wide aisles and bright lighting (although shareholder companies will try to achieve this image). Don't go crazy haggling, the broker will consider you a waste of time.

In addition you should assume that your best deals will often be further along in the future. Get to know the cost of repairs because damaged items will often be available at the value of the gold content (the "melt" value).

Finally don't just assume that if you get the deal of the century on one watch, you will get the same discount on another one. The broker may know that local customers will buy a particular watch at a high price or there could be five other watch collectors who have left postcards with the pawn shop. Be considerate and respectful and don't become impatient if the pawn broker takes care of the loan customers before you get attended to. Help the pawn broker on this count and you may get the deal of a lifetime.

In closing I will list some of the areas in the USA and Canada with the most interesting pawn shops. Up in Toronto, Ontario there are a few interesting pawn shops and most seem to have Irish names. If you are looking for very high end merchandise these shops can be great places to shop. Toronto pawn brokers like the diamond encrusted stuff and the quality can be top drawer.

In the Western USA, one of the most famous pawn shop strips is on State Street just south of downtown in Salt Lake City. On this one street are nearly 30 pawn shops. Although only a few specialize in watches, all the others get them. The majority of these other shops have out of state watch dealers where they lay off the watches that are forfeited out of pawn. I have bought a dozen watches from the various State Street pawn brokers and they were worth the wait.

Texas has a huge number of pawn shops including the headquarters for national pawn chains like EZ Pawn and Cash America. Cash America runs a large jewelry store and watch shop on Westheimer Blvd in Houston. This watch outlet doesn't seem to affect whether Cash America has other watches for sale in their branch shops. Besides these two shareholder corporations there are hundreds of smaller pawn shops all over the state of Texas, and since oil fortunes go up and down with the world market prices their watch inventory can be large or non-existent. I think that the recent rise in oil prices has produced a new group of millionaires but there is always tomorrow.

Louisiana has many pawn shops and oil is a big factor there as well. The shops near New Orleans (like in Metairie) have always been good sources of watches for me. The rest of the state is excellent as well although there are fewer possibilities to find high end watches. In some states the ability to resell high grade watches has kept many pawn shops from even taking them in pawn. I found this to be the case in Oklahoma until recently. Now that e-bay gives many pawn shops an outlet into the larger market many of these pawn shops are accepting high grade watches as loan collateral.

The pawn shop landscape changes as we move east towards the Atlantic. Ohio is excellent and some states like Connecticut have exceptional bargains available. Other states in the northeast (and California) seem to have fewer pawn shop opportunities. This could well be because there have been many years for the pawn brokers to establish relationships with legitimate watch shops who dispose of all their incoming watches. As well New York and Los Angeles have large wholesale jewelry marts where high end used watches can be bought and sold. These types of wholesale outlets offer large quick cash turnover for a pawn broker but usually at reduced prices. In addition people wanting to sell their watches outright have learned to go directly to vintage watch dealers or jewelry marts. There are some restrictive laws covering interest rates which also inhibit pawn shop development in the northeast USA.

Not only is Washington D.C. the national capitol of the USA, in many ways it is the pawn shop capitol as well. In various parts of the city, not far from the main government buildings, there are dozens of pawn shops operating in little groups where zoning permits. Many of these pawn shops will display hundreds of watches in their windows and they will have tray upon tray of additional watches (usually of better quality) under their counters. These pawn brokers are savvy traders and in a town where image is important they know what a watch is worth.

On the other hand there are times when they have too much inventory and deals can be had. One of the most beautiful Audemars Piguet watches I have ever seen was on display in a Washington D.C. pawn shop window with an asking price of $2,500. I saw this large men's fully skeletonized automatic watch with an 18kt case and bracelet, a lapis chapter ring and a bezel set with a few dozen marquise cut diamonds as it was being marked down from $4,000 at about 4:00 p.m. as I was heading for a meeting on Eye St. When I returned just before closing 50 minutes later the watch had been sold. If you see a great deal in D.C. follow up on it. Washington is a town full of people who can spend a few bucks on the right deal.

Heading down the coast towards Florida I have found dozens of musty little mom-and-pop pawn shops many of which will have a deal or two. There are many Seikos in their displays and you may have to look long and hard for a quality piece but when you find one the price will often be right. Florida in particular seems to have periods of excess and dearth. There are times when I can find dozens of fine watches available and I run out of money before I run out of bargains. On other occasions I hear the same line over and over, "You should have been here last week, I had a dozen nice watches but this old guy with money said he had just retired down here and he wanted all my watches for his collection". Something like 700 seniors retire to Florida each week. Many of them have substantial savings and fat pensions. Many of these retirees collect watches. Often the pawn shops will be cleaned out by dealers going to the big NAWCC watch regional conventions in mid-winter.

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