Are pawn shops worth it?

Cuebuddy · Jul 29, 2020

I have found hundreds of great, used beat up cues at pawn shops over the years. A few of these cues have been only slightly above retail "new" price.

I am usually so disappointed that I don't even try to bargain.

I have found many deals in antique and secondhand stores and skipped away grinning like a chicken picking bugs off a wire brush.

pt109 · Jul 29, 2020

Danny Diliberto found a Meucci Gambler at a yard sale. Pristine shape...$25

Cuebuddy · Jul 29, 2020

pt109 said:
Danny Diliberto found a Meucci Gambler at a yard sale. Pristine shape...$25

View attachment 553881

That’s a great score. I rarely go to yard sales bit have a couple a year. I have put many “junk cues” for $5 or less and they always sell.

That must have been one pisdoff wife to let that Moochi go for that much. It is common for me to take things out of my wife’s sale and return them to my shop:wink:

mikemosconi · Jul 29, 2020

Z-Nole said:
What kind of reel? I didn't really realize there's a .market for old reels, my wife went back to school and I probably have enough old stuff in the garage to pay a semesters tuition.

MY friend, as a very experienced picker/hunter, I can tell you that there is a market for just about any item on the planet ! People collect EVERYTHING imaginable. So someone who would not know a Balabushka cue from a Sportcraft cue might be willing to pay you $5,000 or more for a certain STEIFF teddy Bear!

There are violin bows worth $10,000. Wind up clocks worth thousands, comic books, cameras, guitars, perfume bottles, etc. etc. etc. Almost every category known to man has their own set of highly valued collectible items. The trick is to be knowledgeable about all subjects enough to spot a possible gem in the rough. That is the real challenge- to gain the knowledge of all possible markets from fine art to roller skates.

Sunchaser · Jul 30, 2020

Ive had luck over the years at pawnshops and goodwill stores. Scored some nice and extremely nice cues for cheap. Right place at the right time.

iusedtoberich · Jul 30, 2020

I think I've been to a pawn shop maybe 5 times in my life, just killing time. Every single time, I said to myself this doesn't make sense. They had cameras from 10 years prior, priced almost what a new camera costs. Same for TV's, same for watches, etc. I walked out every time shaking my head. I guess my experience was different

evergruven · Jul 30, 2020

mikemosconi said:
MY friend, as a very experienced picker/hunter, I can tell you that there is a market for just about any item on the planet ! People collect EVERYTHING imaginable. So someone who would not know a Balabushka cue from a Sportcraft cue might be willing to pay you $5,000 or more for a certain STEIFF teddy Bear!

There are violin bows worth $10,000. Wind up clocks worth thousands, comic books, cameras, guitars, perfume bottles, etc. etc. etc. Almost every category known to man has their own set of highly valued collectible items. The trick is to be knowledgeable about all subjects enough to spot a possible gem in the rough. That is the real challenge- to gain the knowledge of all possible markets from fine art to roller skates.

don't disagree- there's a lot of cool stuff to be had out there
but while there's no substitute for experience
being knowledgeable is so much easier these days
for the same reason I suppose there are fewer secrets in pool
thanks to the internet, anybody with a cellphone
can become a successful picker and dealer
this can be of course be considered a good and bad thing
but I can't help but be-mused at the fact that were this back then
this thread wouldn't even exist...

Z-Nole · Jul 30, 2020

mikemosconi said:
MY friend, as a very experienced picker/hunter, I can tell you that there is a market for just about any item on the planet ! People collect EVERYTHING imaginable. So someone who would not know a Balabushka cue from a Sportcraft cue might be willing to pay you $5,000 or more for a certain STEIFF teddy Bear!

There are violin bows worth $10,000. Wind up clocks worth thousands, comic books, cameras, guitars, perfume bottles, etc. etc. etc. Almost every category known to man has their own set of highly valued collectible items. The trick is to be knowledgeable about all subjects enough to spot a possible gem in the rough. That is the real challenge- to gain the knowledge of all possible markets from fine art to roller skates.

Well I started with antiguefishingreels.com and then went down a wormhole for several hours until I finally realized I just don’t have the patience to be a collector. It seems there’s even more of a collectors market for old lures. Some of those were just crazy but it looked like the really expensive d ones were made to catch the fisherman not the fish.

garczar · Jul 30, 2020

My best pawn-shop story: a good local player went in one of the bigger shops back in the mid/late 80's. He bought a JossWest 4pt cue, 2 shafts AND a Fellini case for the princely sum of THIRTY bux!!!! Score of the century imo. Apparently i have no pawn-shop radar as i have never scored a deal anywhere near that. Ever.

Woof Biscuit · Jul 30, 2020

This is the absolute truth, but it's hard to believe. If I didn't see the cue and hear the story first hand with others, I wouldn't believe it either. A friend of mine, who is pretty well known in the pool scene, found an authentic Balabushka at a pawn shop in southeast Florida. It was one of the more fancy high end ones. He sent it to Tasc and got it cleaned up and the authentication letter. I got to hit some balls with it after he got it back. I think he paid around $60

deanoc · Jul 30, 2020

verl horn used to make the rounds,made friends with many in the business
and bought many the balabushka,joss and szamboti

he also had other things he bought or the stops woud not have been profitable

i would compare it to hustling pool,we had to make 20 stops per night to find a game,and most of the time it was not much money bak in college

occasionally we made a huge score or made contacts that found us playing cards or golf

it was a grind,but i enjoyed the time with friends,also it made for cheap dates,i could always win drinks and the taste of the gambling lifeimpressed the females who were used to the same old thing

Geosnooker · Jul 30, 2020

Z-Nole said:
What kind of reel? I didn't really realize there's a .market for old reels, my wife went back to school and I probably have enough old stuff in the garage to pay a semesters tuition.

Just about everything fishing related is collectable. Huge collecting community.

Best things to look out for are lures, plugs, etc.

Re reels, You need to know your stuff. Best finds are likely that older broken reel that looks like it should be tossed out. Salvageable parts.

Are pawn shops worth it?

Cuebuddy

Mini cues

pt109

WO double hemlock

Cuebuddy

Mini cues

mikemosconi

AzB Silver Member

Sunchaser

Belgian Malinois

iusedtoberich

AzB Silver Member

evergruven

AzB Silver Member

Z-Nole

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garczar

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Woof Biscuit

and gravy

deanoc

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Geosnooker

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