When you’re in a bind looking for extra cash for the holiday season gifts or just needing something to purchase right now, you usually think of the nearest pawnshop. Finding out how to pawn jewellery or how to get the best deal when you pawn watches or whatever stuff you can think of that has value, is the key to a successful pawn. For the untrained eye or a first-timer, it’s nice and important to know the basics in handling pawnbrokers and getting the most out of your beloved mementos or the right amount of cash for gold ones. So here are some tips on how to pawn your stuff and if you live in Johannesburg, you can find lots of pawnshops around Johannesburg.

Figure out what to pawn.

You can pawn just about anything of value and you will get a price for everything you take in a pawn shop but you must analyze which are the ones you can part with for a while. Some items have sentimental value to you so better not to include them in your pawn list. Pawn jewellery, pawn watches, or you can even pawn your car. Just make sure you take note of them so you won’t forget that you have to get them back after some time.

Find out the pawn shop you are closest to or the one you are most familiar with.

There is probably more than one of pawn shop in Johannesburg so you might need to visit a few to find out their deals and prices before settling for one in particular. There are a number of these establishments in various places namely, pawn shops in Sandton or pawnshops around Rivonia.

Find out what the fees are and the interest rate in that particular Johannesburg pawnshop.

Most pawn shop establishments have relatively the same price for the fees and the interest rate especially if they are near to each other. They have to be at par with their competition, not too low and not too high on fees and rates. Ask questions and have your items appraised in several pawnshops around Johannesburg so you can get the best rate for it.

Find out the value of your item, especially for big items like jewellery pawn or if you try to pawn a car for cash.

Don’t get too excited when pawnbrokers give you a high value for your items. They might be setting you up to fail in buying those items back. If the item is worth a lot when you sell it, then they try to match the value of the selling price just to get you to pawn it then when you cannot redeem the item, they can get the best deal out of your item.

Find out where they stash the items.

Make sure that the place where they store your stuff is clean and not likely to get flooded and that the space is not prone to get damaged by moisture and heat. It is important to get your items back in, almost exactly, the same condition as when you gave them to the pawn shop.

So read up on these tips and get more information before finally letting them get your item. In best-case scenarios, you might probably get an honest-enough pawn shop around Johannesburg. Good luck with finding the best deals.