Pawnshops have to deal with a large number of items regularly and this is one of the reasons why certain appraisals and evaluations are done before proceeding with the transactions. For calculating the worth of an item, they have to consider the authenticity, resale value, and the condition of the item. In general, the brokers use a blue book catalog to know the current market price of an item. There are different ways by which a pawnbroker will determine the worth of an item. Pawnshops that have been in business for quite a long time can easily determine the value of an item. For instance, Pawnshop Melbourne knows how to figure out the worth of an item and they offer fair pricing to the customers while pawning or selling.
Below mentioned are some of the ways by which pawnbrokers determine the value of the items.
- General merchandise– Different pawnshops deal with different items including jewelry, watches, bags, bullions, coins, electronic gadgets, antiques, DVDs, and sporting goods. Even though each of the merchandises has diverse concerns, all of them have a current market value. Based on this trending value, the broker will evaluate the condition of the item. Apart from this, they also consider the current forecasts and economic trends, for both the economy and the item in general.
- Value databases– Before the era of the digital world, the broker had to use blue book folders to determine the market value of an item. These blue books are the databases or files containing information on the resale value of items. However, the scenario is different now. Pawnbrokers can now access the resale value of the items on the internet. Or they might refer to the Craigslist ads to gain insights into the current market price. However, these databases are used for used items.
- Gold and Jewelry– There is special expertise in the pawnshops that deal with jewelry. They consider a lot of factors to determine the value- the weight of the stones in carat, cut and clarity, as well as the melt price. They keep a constant check on these factors because the price of jewelry keeps on fluctuating! Though there is no ‘fixed minimum value’ for an item, the pawn brokers use a ‘flat percentage’ as a baseline to estimate the trending price of the gem.
- Experts and professionals– Though the pawnshops have different experts to deal with different types of merchandise, the shops that buy or sell weapons or antique items will need to call for third party special experts to access the value.
Besides this, the pawnbroker may also consider the sentimental value associated with the item. Though it is a rare consideration, some pawnshops offer a value based on the sentiment associated with the item. For example, a shop may set a higher value for an item that has been inherited. These are some of the ways by which pawnbrokers offer a price tag to the items for selling, buying, and granting loans.