Pawn Shop Find. How Much ?

[Mickey Qualls]

Hi, all...

I like to stop at the local pawn shops every month or so and peruse the aisles, looking for the occasional deal. There's one in particular that I enjoy frequenting, as the owner usually has a good story or two. His son is ok, he just isn't as... personable, or willing to budge much on the price. But the old man is somewhat flexible, as long as you've got either a good joke or story.:grin-square:
Frankly, I think the old man would be good on the price either way. But the joke or story angle is a pretty good hook for remembering him and his place.

Today at their shop, I found myself a few Blu-Ray DVDs, and while the son was ringing them up (the old man is out of town until Saturday), I asked (as I usually do) if they had any 'pool sticks' for sale. I discovered a while back that "cues" typically generates a quizzical look from most of the people I ask.

The kid tells me to hang on, the old man just had one come in late yesterday. He steps in the back, and comes out with a 3x6 case... With three Predator cues in it !! :shocked:

These are all pics I pulled from a Google search...

One is a wrapless Predator BK break cue

Another is an SPR4W

The third is (my best guess here) a Predator 5K3, that looks like it may need a rewrap

Now, they've all been around the block. A couple of dings and dents here and there. And all three still have considerable life left on the tips. But in my opinion, a few turns on the lathe, and they'll be good to go. :thumbup:

I asked the kid what he wanted for each/all three. He did some looking in the back, and couldn't find anything on the old man's desk. The kid is going to hold it for me until his father comes back on Saturday. And the kid has my number, should he hear back from his father before then.

Now I need to figure out how much I should consider laying out for the three cues. :shrug:

Any thoughts, input, and advice are greatly appreciated...

 

[Masayoshi]

In Japan, you can sell a used 314-2 for the equivalent of $150 pretty easily as long as it is in good condition. I dunno about the used shaft market in the US, but in Japan I would jump on those cues if they were in good condition and i could get all of them for 300 or less. I might consider going higher if they were in exceptional condition or if I was looking to play with them instead of turning a profit.

 

[Jude Rosenstock]

In Japan, you can sell a used 314-2 for the equivalent of $150 pretty easily as long as it is in good condition. I dunno about the used shaft market in the US, but in Japan I would jump on those cues if they were in good condition and i could get all of them for 300 or less. I might consider going higher if they were in exceptional condition or if I was looking to play with them instead of turning a profit.

Yeah, I'm with Masayoshi. $300 for just the cues is where the line is drawn for a "great deal" no matter what condition. You can theoretically go as high as $600 and it's still a very good deal for used Predator cues but they need to be perfectly straight, screw together well and have no large dings. Anything higher than $600 and I'd probably walk away.

 

[Blue Hog ridr]

I have a 5k3 that is in getting a refinish by a pred repair depot.
You probably know already that new, it's worth $950.00

Nice score. Hope you get them for a decent price.

 

[Jude Rosenstock]

I have a 5k3 that is in getting a refinish by a pred repair depot.
You probably know already that new, it's worth $950.00

Nice score. Hope you get them for a decent price.

Who pays the MSRP? I'm sorry but there's too much internet dealing nowadays to respect those prices. Besides, if he's trying to buy it in a pawn shop, the lower the price, the better. Brand new, this thing could have been purchased for as little as $700 on billiardwarehouse.com

 

[John Novak]

LOL can you imagine if this was at the show Hard Core Pawn........That show is a joke. The show is good for a laugh, even tho its a staged reality show. Its over the top..... They would have offered 100 bucks for all 3 cues....They just want to rob the customer, and brag how much of a score they made....


Usually a pawn shop only offers 30% max of it resale value when they buy an item... Hold you ground when dealing for these cues, they arent gonna be a hot item for sale anytime soon...

 

[trustyrusty]

Who pays the MSRP? I'm sorry but there's too much internet dealing nowadays to respect those prices. Besides, if he's trying to buy it in a pawn shop, the lower the price, the better. Brand new, this thing could have been purchased for as little as $700 on billiardwarehouse.com

I love when someone shows me their cue and says it's a (let's say...) $1200 cue. I always ask if they paid $1200. The answer a large percentage of the time is, "no, I gotta great deal on it; paid $750". Can't ya just say it's a $750 cue? The sticker price on my truck was $36,000....after incentives and all I paid $27,000 and change (plus tax, title, lic. etc. - but the truck was almost $9K less than the sticker). Whenever someone asks how much my truck was, I don't say $36K....

As for purchasing pawned items, offer about 25% less than the most you are willing to pay, and go up from there....but stick to your guns, DO NOT go over what your highest price was - walk away; cuz they will probably stop you before you hit the door.

 

[Mickey Qualls]

I did a little more looking. I think that the last cue may actually be a 99-3.

Don't know how that might change things...

 

[Jude Rosenstock]

I did a little more looking. I think that the last cue may actually be a 99-3.

Don't know how that might change things...

I think the 99s are better, IMO. That's before they started using the Uniloc joints. Falcon was making the butts back then and I always thought they did a really good job.

 

[AAplayr]

values

Figure you can get about $250 each for them. About $100 in shippingand fees when you sell them on Fleabay or here. So if you get them for anything under $500 you make something.

Hopefully they don't check values on them for your sake, but I am sure they will. Then again if they had they would probably be on Ebay already

 

[Mickey Qualls]

I did a little more looking. I think that the last cue may actually be a 99-3.

Don't know how that might change things...

I think the 99s are better, IMO. That's before they started using the Uniloc joints. Falcon was making the butts back then and I always thought they did a really good job.

Hmm...

Then I'll revert back to my original guess, because all three had the uniloc joint.

And the shaft for the "5K3" did not match the butt (sliver ring in butt collar, no ring in shaft collar)...

 

[tommyceilings]

Did you check the area to make sure nothing was stolen recently. A ready to go set with a cue case could be someone who stole it and is looking for a quick buck.

 

[Mickey Qualls]

Did you check the area to make sure nothing was stolen recently. A ready to go set with a cue case could be someone who stole it and is looking for a quick buck.

Hey Tommy,

Haven't gotten that far yet.

To the best of my knowledge, the old man (who I'm waiting to hear a price from) is pretty good at weeding out stolen products. Seems to always know who brings in this or that, and usually has some history to go along with it.

Heck, sometimes it's worth going there just to hear the stories :grin-square:

I'll know a lot more when the old man gets back.

My gut tells me it's not stolen, but who knows...

 

[bigshooter]

My experience in pawn shops it that they look on ebay and figure out how much they can get out of an item. If you are not willing to pay close to what they can get online they won't deal. Unless its something large and hard to ship.

 

[bigshooter]

LOL can you imagine if this was at the show Hard Core Pawn........That show is a joke. The show is good for a laugh, even tho its a staged reality show. Its over the top..... They would have offered 100 bucks for all 3 cues....They just want to rob the customer, and brag how much of a score they made....

First you would have to fight through a crowd of welfare collectors screaming about the TV they pawned and can't get back. Then some crackhead would flip out over only getting a $50.00 offer on his 'grandmothers ring' (the one he boosted yesterday)

Then the Guido looking owner guy would offer you $100.00 - his son would then jump in and argue saying its only worth $10.00 then the daughter would do her best to provoke you into an argument.

You would get the $100.00 then they would sell it later for $500.00 and talk about what great business people they are.

 

[tommyceilings]

Agreed, but it sounds like AZB is having a hard time telling what it is. A mom and pop pawn shop will have a real tough time.

My experience in pawn shops it that they look on ebay and figure out how much they can get out of an item. If you are not willing to pay close to what they can get online they won't deal. Unless its something large and hard to ship.

 

[Mickey Qualls]

I'm thinking $450 is probably a decent number for me to start with. I might be ok with $500 or even a little more.

That's assuming that the old man isn't asking a crazy price...

 

[Shapechaser]

pay $450 if you want them, no more than $300 if you wanna turn them

 

[Blue Hog ridr]

Who pays MSRP, Jude. Probably me most of the time.

I used to manage a Pawn Shop for a friend so am fully ware of how the scam works.

When I mentioned that the 3 K is listed at some places at $950, I wasn't suggesting that he should over pay the owner because of this.

Of course you want to purchase it for as little as possible.
Just that he probably knew what the general asking price is on line so providing that the owner doesn't do a search for it, he would be getting a heck of a deal even if he had to put a bit of repair into it.

The Internet is a killer for people looking for good deals these days. You can find a price on anything.

I went into a pawn shop in Calgary a few years back. They had a ton of Pred cues in a display case. They were basically asking approx $50 or $100 under retail for all of them and wouldn't budge.

I laugh when I go into local shops looking for cues these days. The only cue they seem to have an abundance of is Cue Tecs and seem to think they are worth anywhere from $80 and upwards.

See ya later unless you come down to about $20.

If these cues were in great shape, $400 wouldn't be a killer. If they need repair work, $300 is more reasonable.

You could piece them out and the case and end up with a free 3 K and a bit of cash to boot.

Even if you sold the sneaky and the case, you could end up with the 3 K and the BK for next to nothing. Of course, I am going on Canadian asking prices too. I realize that goods in the USA tend to be considerably cheaper.

 

[jay helfert]

I'd offer $150 (50 per cue) to start and go from there. See how they react to that number. They may have less than $100 invested in them. $300 would be my top price.

P.S. I bought a real nice Schon (I should have kept it) at an L.A. pawn shop over ten years ago. It was in the window in an unfolded soft case. There was a $500 price tag on it and it was worth it. I went in, took a look and offered the guy $100 cash. He countered with $300 and we settled on $200 after maybe 15 minutes of haggling. It pays to bargain! I sold that cue at Hard Times maybe six months later for $500. And that was still a good price.