Pawn shops are very hit-or-miss when it comes to many factors, such as inventory, affordability, and accessibility. Because of these factors, pawn shops have gathered a negative stigma. As someone who frequently searches for secondhand items such as NES games and animated movies such as The Wild (a Madagascar clone without substance or relation to Hummer drivers), I frequent many secondhand media stores and pawn shops.
There are many problems I run into when I do this. Specialized retro game stores often have pricing that is hard to justify and trade-in value that also cannot be justified. Though this can overlap into pawn shops, it is not as extreme.
I counted nine total pawn shops in Missoula. Three of these are gold/jewelry exclusive, which is not my area of expertise, and another only sells safes, so that brings the amount down to five. Fortunately, I have firsthand experience at all five of these.
Pawn 1 (formerly First National Pawn) was the first pawn shop I ever had the pleasant experience of walking into. One of the biggest strengths of the store is its size. The store is incredibly spacious with lots of room to walk around and search the store for what you need. The store also doesn’t feel overcrowded as it has easily identifiable spots for the front desk and all the different sections.
Another attribute of the store that stands out is the location. Pawn 1 resides on Reserve Street (specifically the lower half, closest to Brooks Street). This puts it into a very centralized position in town, allowing it to have almost equal distribution of convenience for all customers. Furthermore, hours of operation are 10am to 7pm (10 to 6 on weekends), giving more than enough time for anyone to stop in.
The only issue that holds Pawn 1 back from being my immediate first choice is their inventory. Again, as someone who primarily looks for retro video games, this is really the make-or-break thing that will keep me coming back.
Pawn 1 usually doesn’t have a lot for retro games. They have a decent amount, but nothing new ever seems to come in, which doesn’t incentivize me to go back. Prices are also not terrible, but again, if nothing new is ever coming in, it’s hard to compare things to it when everything stays the same price and no new variables are involved. Overall, Pawn 1 somewhat works, but it leaves the customer wanting more. The skeleton for success is there, but it could use some improvement.
Third Street Pawn is up next. It’s in a convenient spot (yet again close to the center of town), and has a somewhat smaller store compared to Pawn 1. The only issue, however, tanks the store for me. I walked in, looked around for a few minutes, and after no success in finding what I was looking for, I asked if they had any NES games. The response I was given was that they simply “Don’t carry games”.
Again, this is what I specifically seek out in pawn shops. Although this doesn’t rule out the possibility of the store having other things I’m looking for, such as DVDs, these are common enough to be found in every Missoula pawn shop, which sets a standard. I’d recommend going into Third Street Pawn to see if they have anything that interests you personally, but for me, those three words put it out of the running.
Cash 1 Pawn has promising qualities. Similar to Pawn 1, it’s a relatively large store. Prices were reasonable, but nothing that stood out. Although they only had a few games when I last went there, it shows that they take games. With that being said, a different factor that didn’t affect the previous two hinders the experience, that being location.
Cash 1 Pawn is located at the very top of Missoula, close to the airport. For me, this means a 50 minute to-and-from drive. It’s a relatively isolated area that for the majority of customers takes time to get to. This single factor again kills the possibility of success for me. It’s hard to justify taking the time to get there, spend maybe ten dollars on something, and take the same amount of time to get back, knowing that your car’s gas tank won’t be forgiving.
Runner up for second best Missoula pawn shop goes to Downtown Pawn. Located in the downtown area, it uses many of the strengths of the other shops, plus some new ones. A large store, wide selection of games, and a relatively centered location (even if it is a bit out of the way for me personally) are all promising factors.
Pawn shops have a somewhat negative stigma surrounding them, often in regards to money. Pawn shops and other secondhand stores are notorious for giving little trade-in value and then flipping it for notably more than what they gave the customer (I haven’t seen this problem with any local pawn shops, specialized retro game stores are a different story though). Obviously, they have to give less than what they’ll sell it for, because that’s how a business like that makes money, but sometimes it goes a little far.
Downtown Pawn’s prices are amazingly low. Everything I’ve found there is below market value. I’ve never actually sold anything to Downtown Pawn, but it can be inferred that if the prices are this low, they’re not upcharging an insane amount, so they’re selling things for similar amounts to what they paid for them. That or they’re giving even less to the customer, but I feel that most people would be optimistic.
The only thing holding back this store from being perfect is related to the location. Again, it’s in a neutral position of town, but said neutral position is the downtown area. Trying to find a parking spot nearby the pawn shop is about as easy as trying to water a plant with your own tears. I think I spent between five and ten minutes just looking for a spot where I wouldn’t get fined. I recognize that this has nothing to do with the shop itself, but it’s still an incredibly important factor that can’t be overlooked.
This leaves the best for last. Nickel’s Worth is by far the one of these five that I most often frequent, and for good reason. It’s located on Reserve, so it’s easily accessible. As the smallest of the five shops, it may not initially seem promising, but it somehow doesn’t feel cramped and instead feels that the space has been used to the maximum.
I’ve also gotten to know the employees better than the other stores. It continues to stun me how incredibly knowledgeable each and every one of them is about what they are selling. If one of them doesn’t know the answer to something, one of the others does. It comes off as genuine interest for what they do.
This also carries over into pricing. It’s incredibly low, again being lower than market value 90% of the time. The trade-in value matches this, with the sale prices only being ever so slightly higher than how much you got for it. It’s an incredibly smart business practice that involves pricing things to make customers want to come back rather than get their money once, even if it’s more. It shows that you actually care about your customers rather than their money, and I cannot express how much I appreciate this.
Honestly, the only drawback I can think of is the fact that they’re closed on Sundays and Mondays, but the positives more than justify this. Nickel’s Worth Pawn is one of the few genuine experiences that prioritizes customer satisfaction over money. It’s welcoming, the employees are amazing people, and it is hands down the best pawn shop in Missoula.
So how do all five stand compared to each other? My ranking would look like this:
- Nickel’s Worth
- Downtown Pawn
- Pawn 1
- Cash 1 Pawn
- Third Street Pawn
This is based on my experiences and wants, so I urge you to go and see for yourself what each of these are like. You may end up surprising yourself. Looking around a pawn shop is an interesting experience, and you will find something fresh and new no matter where you go.
