Pawn shops have been around for centuries, and have long been a place where people could get cash for items which they no longer needed, or needed to sell in order to get cash for essentials. Modern pawn shops are more sophisticated than the earlier versions, and there are now strict limits on what can be traded inside a Los Angeles pawn shop. However, the principle is still the same: that the public can use these shops to trade goods that they no longer need, or want, and turn them into cash.
Bringing items to a pawn shop
When you want to exchange items for cash at a Los Angeles pawn shop, the first thing that you should ask is what you have that could bring in a sum of money. Pawn shops will not necessarily give you a great deal of money for a single item, so if you need a large sum of cash, then you need to make sure that you bring in enough items to cover your necessities. For example, a wedding ring which is a few years old, even one made of gold, may only bring in around $10, due to the weight of the ring and its current value. Be prepared to be offered low amounts for all of your items.
Exchanging the items
When you have settled on the items you want to pawn, and are ready to make a trade, then you should talk to a pawn shop. They will examine your goods, possibly weighing any valuable items and checking out the material value of any other pieces, and then offer you a sum of money. If you are satisfied with this amount, then you can pawn your items. The buyer will give you the money, and a pawn ticket. This is a document which you can use to redeem your goods, and will include a description of the items, the money that is loaned, and the due date for repayment.
Recovering pawned items
The benefit of pawning goods, rather than selling them, is that they can be purchased back at a suitable price. The pawn ticket you are given will have an expiry date written on the front which will tell the holder of the ticket how long they have to pay off the loan and get their items back. There is usually a fee for reclaiming goods, so that the $10 can be reclaimed if the ticket holder pays back between $12 and $13.