All those instances of “what if I need it later” and “I’ll do it later” have resulted in a pile of old, dysfunctional, and broken electronics in your house. If you check in your garage or in the multi-purpose drawer, you may find a few old mobile phones, a CPU, a CD player, and whatnot. We tend to buy new stuff when the need arises and forget about disposing of the old things.
Some of us do sell items that have gotten old, but when an electronic item isn’t working or has some broken parts, selling it becomes difficult. Pawn shops are a go-to for many to sell items and get some cash in return. It’s fast, easy, and absolutely safe. Pawn shops buy items like music players, instruments, and jewelry and give you a fair amount in return. But why would anyone, even a pawn shop, pay money to buy old, broken, and malfunctioning electronics? Do pawn shops take broken electronics? Keep reading to know if you can actually make money from the broken electronic items lying in some box in your basement.
What to do with old electronics?
Before we talk about pawning, let’s see what else you can do with your malfunctioning or broken item. There are a few things you can do with old electronics, depending on how good or bad the condition of a specific item is.
1. Give it away
If the item is not being used by you, then why not donate it to someone who will actually use it? There are many charity organizations that would really appreciate some old laptops, CPUs, monitors, and other similar electronics. Use your social network to find a reliable charity organization to which you can donate. If your item is not functioning well but can work fine with little repairing, then repair it before giving it to charity. Remember, donations are meant to be useful. Remember, you just don’t give away trash for donation.
2. Sell it
Suppose you bought a new smartphone or got one as a gift. Now your old smartphone will remain unused in some corner. You can always put your phone on Craigslist, eBay, or any other consumer-to-consumer eCommerce website. If you are not comfortable with eCommerce, you can always reach out to a local store and sell it off. Similarly, a lot of other items can be sold while they are still usable.
3. Recycle it
This is your go-to place for anything that can be recycled. Find a local recycling center and submit your junk there. Selling broken electronics can be difficult because they lose usability, so unless you need some extra money, you can always get rid of your unwanted electronics at a recycling center.
The above methods are great ways to take care of your old or unwanted electronics. Now let’s talk about a method that will help you make a profit out of the electronic junk in your house. A pawn shop.
What are pawn shops?
Pawn shops are a go-to place for many to secure emergency funds. Pawn shops help you acquire money in two ways. You can either use some valuable item like jewelry, car, watches, etc., as collateral for a short-term loan, or you can directly sell the item to the pawn shop owner.
Pawnshop owners don’t conduct a lot of inquiries related to your income status, credit score, and repayment history. Since they provide a collateral loan, they are assured that they will not lose their money. If you fail to pay the loan, the shop owner will assume ownership of the item and resell it to one of their customers.
Another advantage of using a pawn shop for securing funds is that there won’t be any public record of this loan. If you have been acquiring loans from banks, you must be aware that if you already have a loan to be repaid, it is nearly impossible to get another loan from the same or any other bank. With pawn shops, even if you have three-four loans to be repaid, you will still be able to get a loan.
How do pawn shops work?
Let’s take an example to understand how pawn shops work. Let’s say you need some emergency cash to pay your credit card bill. Since you already have a credit card bill to be repaid, you cannot expect a loan from the bank. In this case, a pawn shop can help you. Take a look around your house. There must be something that you can bring to the pawn shop.
Let us consider you have an electric guitar. You can bring this guitar to the pawn shop, and the shop owner will propose the amount he can lend with the guitar as collateral. You might get a 3-month period to repay the loan with interest. The loan repayment period can be as short as one week or a month. It is something you can decide with the pawn shop owner.
If you need an extension, you can have a word with the owner regarding it. Once your financial situation has improved, you can pay back the money with interest and take back your guitar. In case you are not able to repay the loan and interest, the owner will assume ownership of the guitar and resell it to recover his monetary loss.
Short-term loans like this don’t hurt your pocket much. Paying interest for 3-5 months is more affordable than paying interest for years.
What can I sell at a pawn shop?
You can find almost anything at a pawn shop. This also means pawn shops accept a huge variety of items. The best way to figure out what you can pawn is to visit the shop and ask for an estimate.
You can sell anything that has value at a pawn shop. Let me help you with a list of common items that you can pawn easily at a pawnshop.
- New, old, or broken jewelry
- Musical instruments
- Speaker systems
- Mobile phones, laptops, and other electronic
- Branded bags, shoes
- Precious metals like gold, silver, and platinum
- Automobiles
Selling old and broken electronics to pawn shops
Coming back to the question you are curious to find an answer for. Do pawn shops accept broken electronics? The answer is yes! You can certainly sell a broken smartphone, laptop, etc., and acquire cash in return.
But why do pawn shops buy broken stuff?
Why would anyone buy broken devices? It is a very genuine question. A while ago, we spoke about how you can sell anything at a pawn shop as long as it holds some “value”. So why are broken items accepted? A pawn shop owner is a businessman, so why would someone be willing to take something that is of no use and pay you for it?
Well, the answer is quite simple.
Broken doesn’t always mean trash.
Say you broke a piece of some home decor. Won’t you simply use a strong glue and put it back instead of throwing the whole thing away?
Similarly, a cracked screen of a television or laptop can be repaired, and then the broken electronic device will return to its original state. If you fail to repay the loan, the pawn shop owner will most likely repair your broken electronic item and sell it for a better price. Moreover, since they repair and resell items quite often, they usually have someone who can repair stuff without charging a hefty fee.
A pawn shop owner is like a house flipper. They buy things at low prices, revamp them and sell them at a higher price. The only thing that’s different is that they resell at a price lower than the retail price (still higher than the price they bought it for) to attract customers. Don’t be surprised if you find a designer handbag or a used PlayStation 4 for a bargain at a pawn shop.
Pawnshop owners buy broken electronics because they get them at a lower price. Cheap fixes allow them to make a profit out of it. Another reason is that parts of defunct electronic items can be sold as well. Even if the item is broken from the outside, a part of it that is functional can be sold for a good price.
Pawn shops also have customers who are willing to buy broken items for a lower price and fix them later. So pawn shop owners will definitely consider broken items.
One thing that you need to remember is that a pawn shop is a private business. Each shop would have its own rules. So, whether a pawn shop accepts your broken items or not is entirely dependent on the owner.
Some Electronics you can pawn even in a broken state
- Smartphones
- Functioning or broken laptops
- Gaming consoles
- Functioning or broken TV
- Old iPhone, iPad, MacBook
- Smartwatches
- Computers
- Monitors
- DSLRs and web cameras
- Toasters
- Microwaves
- Oven
- Blender
- Food processor
- Electric kettle
- Washing machine
- Refrigerator
- Radio
- CD player
- Headphones
- Speakers
- Vacuum cleaners
Wrapping up
Pawn shops are a great way to find financing in difficult times. Using them to get some quick cash is super simple, fast, and practical. Just take a tour around your house, and you will certainly find something that you can pawn. Remember, broken items aren’t entirely trash. They can help you get some extra cash at a pawn shop.
Key takeaways
- Pawn shops are private businesses that can help you with quick monetary needs.
- They follow a simple process. They buy things from sellers at a cheaper rate or acquire the product as a result of failed repayment of a loan and sell it to buyers at a price lower than the retail price.
- Pawn loans don’t have public records.
- There is no restriction on how many pawn loans you can take.
- You can pawn an unimaginable variety of things, provided they have a monetary value.
- Pawn shops will consider broken items, including broken electronics, if the items promise profit in the future.
