Pawn Shops and Gumtree  – Which is Right for you?

If you have valuable items you would rather sell than give away, pawn shops are the best places to do so. There are other options of course like EBay and if you live in Australia, Gumtree is also a great alternative. The latter has become quite popular over the last two decades or so. Some would call it the CraigsList of Australia.

With app development growing as it has been over the last couple of years, there are a couple of apps that claim to be able to do exactly what Gumtree does. 

There are some glaring pros and cons for both methods. First of all, when dealing with a pawnbroker, you take your item to a Brisbane pawn shop and you negotiate a price there and return home cash In hand. Gumtree on the other hand is an advertising platform.  You can place an advert for free and it will stay on the site for about two months. People are always there looking for great deals but you are vying for attention with countless other sellers.  So, if you have gold jewellery you want to sell, you can take out a loan and set your own price and conditions of sales. It sounds great, because it puts the power in your hands. However, it can be a complete waste of time because of people will haggle over a price and then end up being no-shows. If you need money fast, Gumtree might not be the best way to go.  Some downsides of not using a pawnbroker and choosing a service like Gumtree include: 

• It is slow

With Gumtree you place an order, wait a day, a week or a month to get a response. With pawn shops, you walk in, have the item evaluated, accept the offer and walk out with cash in hand. It takes a few minutes. 

• It is not secure

As a seller advertising precious metals on a platform like Gumtree that everyone gets to see and use. You have no way of screening the people who are interested in buying your items. You might be inviting a criminal through your door or going out to meet someone you have never met and have no way of sussing out the threat level.  People have been murdered after going to meet potential buyers. Pawn shops are retail neutral establishments.

• Options

A Brisbane pawn shop offers different options. You can pawn your items to get a loan you will have to pay back; you could decide to sell your good outright; you could exchange your goods for something in the store that goes for the same amount of money your own item is worth. 

• Convenience 

You can choose a day and time that is convenient for you.  You will get a staff member who will be attending only to you and no one else until your deal is concluded. The staff is interested in making a sale, so they will bend over backwards to make sure that you are satisfied. Pawnbrokers are also interested in creating lasting relationships with customers. 

So, before you go advertising on Gumtree or listing on –bay or going to a swap-meet, you should carefully consider your options. By and large pawn shops are the best option.