You find yourself needing fast cash and you’re looking at two options – pawn shops and buy/sell/trade stores. They look similar – often the stores use similar signage and advertising verbiage. There are some important differences though, both for people who are looking for fast cash and people looking to buy.

What Is a Pawn Shop?

At its core, a pawn shop is a place where you can get a short-term loan by putting personal items up for collateral. Where a bank will require you to put up, say, your home for collateral for a loan, a pawn shop will loan you money based on the value of things like jewelry and electronic equipment. Once you pay off the loan, you can reclaim the item and take it home with you. Since pawn shops also buy items outright and sometimes people don’t pay back their loans, they also offer items for you to buy, usually well below retail price.

What Is a Buy/Sell/Trade Store?

It’s all in the name; a buy/sell/trade store is one that allows you to bring in items to sell, offers items for you to buy, and allows you to trade things you have for things you want in the store – usually by establishing store credit for what you bring in. Once you sell your items to these shops, they’re gone. If you change your mind, you won’t just be paying back the money you bought it for. Usually, you’ll pay whatever price they want to sell the item at.

Which Is Better?

Pawn or sell, it depends on what your needs are. Both are good fast-cash options. With a buy/sell/trade store, you get cash in hand and don’t have to pay anything back. The deal is final. With a pawn shop, you must repay the money based on the terms the store establishes with you. If you feel confident in repaying the loan, going with a pawn shop means that you will get the item back in the end. This is good if you’re looking at the possibility of selling valuable jewelry or something with sentimental or family value.

If you’re in the market to buy something under retail price, both types of shops offer value. Since they deal with the public, you can usually find things you won’t find in retail stores anymore. You will also find items at prices well below retail price for the same or similar items. Since a pawn shop will often buy items outright, if you have something you want to sell, you can still save money. For those in the market to buy, the main difference comes with waiting time. If a pawn shop is displaying items still under loan, you won’t be able to buy it until the pawn shop knows whether or not the person who pawned the item will be able to pay back the loan. With a buy/sell/trade store, the items on display are available to buy right away.

Do you need fast cash? Contact us today to discuss your needs.