If you’re considering pawning your gun as collateral to obtain a pawn loan, there are a few things to consider ahead of time that may influence your pawning experience. Although pawnshops will take guns in as collateral or to purchase outright, if you are a gun owner, you must follow numerous state and federal laws and responsibilities. Pawnshops are also bound by firearm rules.
Following, we’ll go through a few unique guidelines and limitations you may face if you pawn your gun. Finally, we hope you have a good understanding of what will be required of you and that you are well-prepared with knowledge for when you do decide to pawn your weapon.
How To Pawn A Gun
The first thing a pawn shop owner will ask is if you are willing to sell or pawn your firearm. They will keep it until you pay off the cash loan (with interest) if you pawn it. There are a lot of different gun laws throughout the United States. You’ll be asked for any or all of the following under various circumstances if you store your weapon in another state:
- The gun’s registration.
- Your gun license.
- Your driver’s license.
The pawn shopkeeper may keep a copy of these papers so that, if necessary, a background check can be conducted. It’s vital to remember that you can’t pawn something that isn’t yours. Don’t even consider pawning or selling a gun if its registration or license doesn’t match your identification. If the item was ever reported stolen, pawn shops are required by law to notify police who will soon arrive at your home.
Understand The Legal Aspect
Firearms are not toys or other items that you can acquire or give away without any responsibility. You must make sure that you’re dealing with a pawn shop that is authorized to trade firearms by the law.
The pawnshop must adhere to the federal government’s gun rules. Furthermore, before selling a firearm, the business must follow the state’s background check requirements and return a weapon to its owner following the conclusion of a pawn loan.
What you should be aware of is that if you deal with a reputable pawn shop, they must report to the local legal authorities. In addition, they will not allow children to pawn guns.
Determine The Value Of Your Gun
Higher-end guns are typically more expensive than lower-end guns. Antique guns, depending on their rarity, condition, provenance, and demand, can bring in a substantial sum of money. The price of pistol George Washington’s was around $2.1 million, whereas the Wesson and Smith who have killed Jesse James sold for $360,000. Both were auctioned off.
The market value of most guns ranges from $1 to $1,300. The typical pawn value of a gun is about $300. Before pawning a weapon, check out pricemygun.com and bluebookoffgunvalues.com for values.
Don’t expect to receive full market value for your weapon if you pawn it. The biggest benefit of pawning a firearm is that you get money immediately. However, the trade-off is that you won’t make as much money selling it through other channels.
How To Prepare Your Gun Before Taking It To A Pawn Shop
Make sure it is not loaded. The first thing to keep in mind is that you should always make sure the gun is unloaded before bringing it into a pawn shop. If you’re carrying a case, be sure to bring the gun inside of it. When you take your weapon to a pawnshop, the salesperson will double-check that it’s not loaded as well. We realize that some guns might be family heirlooms and have a great value to you, but it’s just business. Pawnshops simply want to take extra precautions for you as well as themselves.
How To Handle The Gun While Conducting A Pawn Transaction
Keep the gun in a secure posture. When bringing the weapon inside, make sure your finger is off the trigger and the firearm is pointed in a safe direction. It’s usually better to assume that a gun is loaded and follow safety measures accordingly, whether you know it to be empty or not. When the salesperson is confident that the gun is indeed unloaded, they will pass a safety zip cord through some section of the weapon to ensure it cannot be loaded. This is just another safety measure pawn shops take to protect everyone in their establishment.
What Types Of Guns Do Pawn Shops Purchase The Most?
At most pawnshops, you can pawn or sell any decent handgun or rifle that has been heavily utilized but the mechanics are still working. Even more desirable will be a gun that is in excellent condition; and, even better, if it is an antique gun from the Civil War era. Regardless, be ready for them to vet and check your antique gun to ensure it’s genuine – while you might know the history, a pawnbroker will follow the standard procedure of precautions.
Pawn Shop Alternatives
Rather than visiting a variety of pawn shops in search of the greatest price, there are online alternatives. One such alternative is pawnguru.com. You may get offers from local pawnshops when you list your weapon with Pawn Guru. You accept an offer and bring your gun to that store if you like one.
There are several other websites that may assist you in selling a gun or obtaining one from you. However, none of them will provide you with instant cash like a pawn shop would. If you can wait a few minutes for the cash, consider checking out gunbroker.com, gunsamerica.com, and budsgunshop.com. They work in different ways, so make sure you read the entire contract.
If you don’t want to sell your gun right away, another option is to put it up for sale on consignment at a local gun store. You might save a lot of time by phoning ahead to inquire whether they accept guns on consignment and if they would be interested in the sort of weapon you have. Inquire what proportion of the sale price they keep. And, no, you can’t sell a gun on Craigslist.
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Thomas Boseman is the author of Pawnbroking.com. A pawn shop owner by day, blog writer by night. When not writing, he enjoys exploring the outdoors with his dog, Roman. Thomas received his bachelor of arts in film from the University of Arizona. A Brooklyn native, Thomas is a lover of filmmaking, motorcycle, and coffee.